Show tool arguments and outputs in agent step log summaries by Copilot · Pull Request #21060 · github/gh-aw

Copilot · 2026-03-15T13:02:37Z

MCP tool calls in agent step logs only showed the tool name with no argument context — e.g., ✓ github-list_issues — making it hard to understand what the agent actually did without digging into raw logs.

Changes

formatToolDisplayName(name, input) — new helper that appends formatted parameters to a tool name using the existing formatMcpParameters() logic; returns bare name when input is empty
generatePlainTextSummary — MCP and other non-Bash tools now render with arguments (core.info step log output)
generateCopilotCliStyleSummary — same argument rendering for the step summary markdown

Both functions follow the copilot-cli rendering style already used for Bash commands.

Before / After

# Before
✓ github-list_issues
   └ {"items": [...]}

# After
✓ github-list_issues(owner: github, repo: gh-aw, state: open)
   └ {"items": [...]}

Tools with no inputs are unaffected — name is shown without parentheses.

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https://api.github.com/repos/github/gh-aw/git/ref/tags/v1.0.0
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If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

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Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

Original prompt

Update the default rendering of agent steps in JavaScript to show the tool arguments and outputs.

See https://github.com/github/gh-aw/actions/runs/23110707388/job/67127578095#step:36:1

Use the same rendering style as copilot-cli (see logs)

✨ Let Copilot coding agent set things up for you — coding agent works faster and does higher quality work when set up for your repo.

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

github-actions · 2026-03-15T13:23:19Z

Hey @Copilot 👋 — thanks for picking up the work to improve agent step rendering! The goal is well-aligned with the project.

This PR is currently a planning-stage draft with 0 lines of code. A few things to address before it's ready for review:

Implement generatePlainTextSummary changes to show tool arguments via formatMcpParameters()
Implement generateCopilotCliStyleSummary changes similarly
Add tests covering the new rendering output
Update the PR description with a summary of what was changed and why

Once the implementation lands and tests are green, remove the [WIP] prefix and the draft status. Looking forward to seeing this ship! 🛠️

Generated by Contribution Check · ◷

Copilot

Pull request overview

Updates agent step log summaries to include tool arguments alongside tool names, making tool activity understandable without digging into raw logs.

Changes:

Added formatToolDisplayName(name, input) to append formatted tool parameters (when present) to the tool name.
Updated generatePlainTextSummary() to render MCP and other non-Bash tools with arguments.
Updated generateCopilotCliStyleSummary() to render MCP and other non-Bash tools with arguments in the markdown step summary.

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actions/setup/js/log_parser_shared.cjs

+function formatToolDisplayName(name, input) {
+  const params = formatMcpParameters(input);
+  return params ? `${name}(${params})` : name;
+}


actions/setup/js/log_parser_shared.cjs

          } else if (toolName.startsWith("mcp__")) {
            // Format MCP tool names like github-list_pull_requests
            const formattedName = formatMcpName(toolName).replace("::", "-");
-            displayName = formattedName;
+            displayName = formatToolDisplayName(formattedName, input);



Initial plan

2789e0b

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and pelikhan Mar 15, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of pelikhan March 15, 2026 13:04 View session

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Mar 15, 2026

Smoke Test: Copilot - 23111057190 #21064

Closed

Show tool arguments in agent step log summaries (copilot-cli style)

d98dbe8

Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>

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github-actions bot added the needs-work label Mar 15, 2026

github-actions bot mentioned this pull request Mar 15, 2026

[Contribution Check Report] Contribution Check — 2026-03-15 #21072

Closed

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Update default rendering of agent steps to show tool arguments and outputs~~ Show tool arguments and outputs in agent step log summaries Mar 15, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from pelikhan March 15, 2026 13:23

Copilot finished work on behalf of pelikhan March 15, 2026 13:23

pelikhan marked this pull request as ready for review March 15, 2026 13:24

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 15, 2026 13:24

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of pelikhan March 15, 2026 13:25 View session

pelikhan merged commit 0bfb9d5 into main Mar 15, 2026
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pelikhan deleted the copilot/update-default-rendering-agent-steps branch March 15, 2026 13:27

Copilot AI reviewed Mar 15, 2026

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Show tool arguments and outputs in agent step log summaries#21060

Show tool arguments and outputs in agent step log summaries#21060
pelikhan merged 2 commits intomainfrom
copilot/update-default-rendering-agent-steps

Copilot AI commented Mar 15, 2026 •

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Copilot AI commented Mar 15, 2026 •

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