Agentic AI Atlas

Wiki article

docs/github-actions-setup-babysitter

Reading · 9 min

Using the Babysitter GitHub Action reference

This guide explains how to use the official Babysitter GitHub Action(https://github.com/a5c-ai/babysitter) (a5c-ai/babysitter@main) for automated, AI-orchestrated workflows in your CI/CD pipeline.

Page nodewiki/docs/github-actions-setup-babysitter.mdNearby pages · 23Documents · 0

Using the Babysitter GitHub Action

This guide explains how to use the official Babysitter GitHub Action (a5c-ai/babysitter@main) for automated, AI-orchestrated workflows in your CI/CD pipeline.

Overview

The Babysitter action is **harness-agnostic** — it supports multiple AI harnesses (pi, claude-code, codex, gemini-cli, and more) through a single action interface. It builds the local babysitter-agent runtime from the action repository, resolves credentials for the selected provider, and runs babysitter-agent yolo to execute deterministic, event-sourced orchestration with quality gates, iterative refinement, and multi-step process management.

Unlike harness-specific actions (anthropics/claude-code-action, openai/codex-action, google-github-actions/run-gemini-cli), this action lets you switch harnesses with a single input change while keeping the same workflow structure.

Quick Start

Basic Setup

yaml

name: Babysitter

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]
  issues:
    types: [opened, assigned]

jobs:
  babysitter:
    if: |
      (github.event_name == 'issue_comment' && contains(github.event.comment.body, '@babysitter')) ||
      (github.event_name == 'issues' && contains(github.event.issue.body, '@babysitter'))
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      issues: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 1

      - name: Run Babysitter
        uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            ${{ github.event.comment.body || github.event.issue.body }}
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

With a Specific Harness and Model

yaml

- name: Run Babysitter
  uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Review this PR for code quality and security issues'
    harness: codex
    model: openai:gpt-4.1
    openai-api-key: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}

Using the Internal Harness (Default)

The internal harness uses a programmatic pi-coding-agent — no external CLI needed. It reads credentials from environment variables and resolves models via the provider:modelId pattern:

yaml

- name: Run Babysitter
  uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Implement the feature described in this issue'
    model: anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-20250514
    anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Authentication

Provider Credentials

Pass the API key matching your model's provider:

Provider	Input	Environment Variable
Anthropic	`anthropic-api-key`	`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`
OpenAI	`openai-api-key`	`OPENAI_API_KEY`
Google Gemini	`gemini-api-key`	`GEMINI_API_KEY`
Azure OpenAI	`azure-openai-api-key`	`AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY`

Azure OpenAI Configuration

Azure requires additional configuration beyond the API key:

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Your task'
    model: azure-openai-responses:gpt-4.1
    azure-openai-api-key: ${{ secrets.AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY }}
    azure-openai-project-name: ${{ vars.AZURE_OPENAI_PROJECT_NAME }}
    azure-openai-deployment: ${{ vars.AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT }}
    azure-openai-base-url: ${{ vars.AZURE_OPENAI_BASE_URL }}

Model Selection

Models use the provider:modelId format. The provider determines which API key is required:

yaml

# Anthropic
model: anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-20250514
model: anthropic:claude-opus-4-5

# OpenAI
model: openai:gpt-4.1
model: openai:o4-mini

# Azure OpenAI
model: azure-openai-responses:gpt-4.1

# Bare model ID (auto-detected from available credentials)
model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514

Configuration Options

Action Inputs

Input	Required	Default	Description
`prompt`	No	—	Task prompt. GitHub context vars available via shell expansion.
`harness`	No	`internal`	AI harness: internal, pi, claude-code, codex, gemini-cli
`model`	No	—	Model in `provider:modelId` format
`process-path`	No	—	Path to process definition (skips Phase 1)
`workspace`	No	`$GITHUB_WORKSPACE`	Working directory
`max-iterations`	No	`65000`	Max orchestration iterations
`runs-dir`	No	`~/.a5c/runs`	Run state directory
`timeout-minutes`	No	`30`	Step timeout
`verbose`	No	`false`	Enable debug output
`anthropic-api-key`	No	—	Anthropic API key
`openai-api-key`	No	—	OpenAI API key
`gemini-api-key`	No	—	Google Gemini API key
`azure-openai-api-key`	No	—	Azure OpenAI API key
`azure-openai-project-name`	No	—	Azure resource name
`azure-openai-deployment`	No	—	Azure deployment name
`azure-openai-base-url`	No	—	Azure endpoint URL
`github-token`	No	`${{ github.token }}`	GitHub API token

Action Outputs

Output	Description
`run-id`	Babysitter run ID
`run-dir`	Path to the run directory
`status`	Final status: completed, failed, or unknown
`iterations`	Number of orchestration iterations

Workflow Examples

Issue Comment Handler

yaml

name: Babysitter Issue Handler

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]
  pull_request_review_comment:
    types: [created]
  issues:
    types: [opened, assigned]

jobs:
  babysitter:
    if: |
      (github.event_name == 'issue_comment' && contains(github.event.comment.body, '@babysitter')) ||
      (github.event_name == 'pull_request_review_comment' && contains(github.event.comment.body, '@babysitter')) ||
      (github.event_name == 'issues' && contains(github.event.issue.body, '@babysitter'))
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      issues: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 1

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: ${{ github.event.comment.body || github.event.issue.body }}
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

PR Review

yaml

name: Babysitter PR Review

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize, ready_for_review, reopened]

jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      pull-requests: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 1

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Review PR #${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} in ${{ github.repository }}.
            Analyze for code quality, security vulnerabilities, performance, and test coverage.
          harness: internal
          model: anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-20250514
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Feature Development (TDD)

yaml

name: Babysitter TDD Feature

on:
  issues:
    types: [labeled]

jobs:
  develop:
    if: github.event.label.name == 'feature-request'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 60
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      issues: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Implement the feature described in issue #${{ github.event.issue.number }}
            in ${{ github.repository }} using TDD methodology.
            Write failing tests first, implement, refactor, iterate until quality threshold is met.
            Create a PR when complete.
          max-iterations: '50'
          timeout-minutes: '60'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

GSD Quick Tasks

yaml

name: Babysitter GSD

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]

jobs:
  gsd:
    if: contains(github.event.comment.body, '/gsd')
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 15
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      issues: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 1

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Use GSD methodology for rapid implementation:
            ${{ github.event.comment.body }}
          max-iterations: '20'
          timeout-minutes: '15'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Spec-Driven Development

yaml

name: Babysitter Spec-Kit

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      spec_file:
        description: 'Path to specification file'
        required: true
        type: string

jobs:
  implement:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 60
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Implement the specification at ${{ inputs.spec_file }} using Spec-Kit methodology.
            Parse the spec, generate an implementation plan, implement with continuous validation,
            and generate a compliance report.
          timeout-minutes: '60'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Security Scanning

yaml

name: Babysitter Security

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * 1'

jobs:
  security:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 30
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      security-events: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Run a comprehensive security scan of ${{ github.repository }}.
            Perform SAST analysis, dependency vulnerability scanning, and secret detection.
            Report findings and create a PR with fixes where possible.
          timeout-minutes: '30'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Architecture Documentation

yaml

name: Babysitter Architecture Docs

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  push:
    paths: ['src/**', 'packages/**']

jobs:
  docs:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 30
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Generate architecture documentation for ${{ github.repository }}.
            Create C4 model diagrams, system overview, data flow docs, and API docs.
            Update the docs/ directory and create a PR.
          timeout-minutes: '30'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Multi-Harness Example (Codex)

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Implement and test the feature'
    harness: codex
    model: openai:o4-mini
    openai-api-key: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}

Multi-Harness Example (Gemini CLI)

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Analyze the codebase and generate documentation'
    harness: gemini-cli
    gemini-api-key: ${{ secrets.GEMINI_API_KEY }}

Environment Variables

Configure babysitter behavior via environment variables on the workflow step:

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Your task'
    anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
  env:
    BABYSITTER_MAX_ITERATIONS: 50
    BABYSITTER_QUALITY_THRESHOLD: 85
    BABYSITTER_LOG_LEVEL: debug
    BABYSITTER_TIMEOUT: 180000

Variable	Default	Description
`BABYSITTER_MAX_ITERATIONS`	`65000`	Max orchestration iterations
`BABYSITTER_QUALITY_THRESHOLD`	`80`	Quality gate threshold (0-100)
`BABYSITTER_LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	Logging: info, debug, warn, error
`BABYSITTER_TIMEOUT`	`120000`	Operation timeout in ms
`BABYSITTER_RUNS_DIR`	`~/.a5c/runs`	Run state directory override
`BABYSITTER_RUNS_SCOPE`	`global`	Set to `repo` to keep runs under `<repo>/.a5c/runs`

Artifacts and Outputs

Run Artifacts

The action automatically uploads babysitter run artifacts (journals, task results, blobs) as a GitHub Actions artifact named babysitter-runs. Configure retention:

yaml

# Override in your workflow after the babysitter step
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  if: always()
  with:
    name: babysitter-runs
    path: ~/.a5c/runs/
    retention-days: 14

Using Outputs

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  id: babysitter
  with:
    prompt: 'Your task'
    anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

- name: Check results
  run: |
    echo "Run ID: ${{ steps.babysitter.outputs.run-id }}"
    echo "Status: ${{ steps.babysitter.outputs.status }}"
    echo "Iterations: ${{ steps.babysitter.outputs.iterations }}"

Prompt Templates

The prompt input supports GitHub context variables via shell expansion. Common variables:

Variable	Description
`${{ github.repository }}`	Owner/repo
`${{ github.event_name }}`	Event type
`${{ github.event.issue.number }}`	Issue number
`${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}`	PR number
`${{ github.event.comment.body }}`	Comment text
`${{ github.sha }}`	Commit SHA
`${{ github.ref }}`	Git ref
`${{ github.actor }}`	Triggering user

Troubleshooting

Babysitter Agent Runtime Build Failed

The action builds babysitter-agent from the action repository. If it fails, check Node.js availability:

yaml

- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
  with:
    node-version: '22'

Authentication Errors

Ensure the correct API key secret is set for your harness/model:

internal or claude-code with Anthropic models → ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
codex or OpenAI models → OPENAI_API_KEY
gemini-cli → GEMINI_API_KEY
Azure models → AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY plus project/deployment/URL

Runs Timing Out

1. Reduce max-iterations (e.g., 50) 2. Increase timeout-minutes 3. Use a simpler methodology (GSD vs TDD) 4. Break the task into smaller pieces

No Output / Empty Results

Enable verbose mode for debugging:

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Your task'
    verbose: 'true'
    anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Reference

Babysitter

Harness-Specific Actions

Marketplace Plugins

github-actions-cicd-babysitter — Marketplace plugin for this action
github-actions-cicd-claude-code — Claude Code specific
github-actions-cicd-codex — Codex specific
github-actions-cicd-gemini-cli — Gemini CLI specific

Wiki article

docs/github-actions-setup-babysitter

Reading · 9 min

Using the Babysitter GitHub Action reference

This guide explains how to use the official Babysitter GitHub Action(https://github.com/a5c-ai/babysitter) (a5c-ai/babysitter@main) for automated, AI-orchestrated workflows in your CI/CD pipeline.

Page nodewiki/docs/github-actions-setup-babysitter.mdNearby pages · 23Documents · 0

Using the Babysitter GitHub Action

This guide explains how to use the official Babysitter GitHub Action (a5c-ai/babysitter@main) for automated, AI-orchestrated workflows in your CI/CD pipeline.

Overview

Quick Start

Basic Setup

yaml

name: Babysitter

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]
  issues:
    types: [opened, assigned]

jobs:
  babysitter:
    if: |
      (github.event_name == 'issue_comment' && contains(github.event.comment.body, '@babysitter')) ||
      (github.event_name == 'issues' && contains(github.event.issue.body, '@babysitter'))
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      issues: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 1

      - name: Run Babysitter
        uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            ${{ github.event.comment.body || github.event.issue.body }}
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

With a Specific Harness and Model

yaml

- name: Run Babysitter
  uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Review this PR for code quality and security issues'
    harness: codex
    model: openai:gpt-4.1
    openai-api-key: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}

Using the Internal Harness (Default)

The internal harness uses a programmatic pi-coding-agent — no external CLI needed. It reads credentials from environment variables and resolves models via the provider:modelId pattern:

yaml

- name: Run Babysitter
  uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Implement the feature described in this issue'
    model: anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-20250514
    anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Authentication

Provider Credentials

Pass the API key matching your model's provider:

Provider	Input	Environment Variable
Anthropic	`anthropic-api-key`	`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`
OpenAI	`openai-api-key`	`OPENAI_API_KEY`
Google Gemini	`gemini-api-key`	`GEMINI_API_KEY`
Azure OpenAI	`azure-openai-api-key`	`AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY`

Azure OpenAI Configuration

Azure requires additional configuration beyond the API key:

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Your task'
    model: azure-openai-responses:gpt-4.1
    azure-openai-api-key: ${{ secrets.AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY }}
    azure-openai-project-name: ${{ vars.AZURE_OPENAI_PROJECT_NAME }}
    azure-openai-deployment: ${{ vars.AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT }}
    azure-openai-base-url: ${{ vars.AZURE_OPENAI_BASE_URL }}

Model Selection

Models use the provider:modelId format. The provider determines which API key is required:

yaml

# Anthropic
model: anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-20250514
model: anthropic:claude-opus-4-5

# OpenAI
model: openai:gpt-4.1
model: openai:o4-mini

# Azure OpenAI
model: azure-openai-responses:gpt-4.1

# Bare model ID (auto-detected from available credentials)
model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514

Configuration Options

Action Inputs

Input	Required	Default	Description
`prompt`	No	—	Task prompt. GitHub context vars available via shell expansion.
`harness`	No	`internal`	AI harness: internal, pi, claude-code, codex, gemini-cli
`model`	No	—	Model in `provider:modelId` format
`process-path`	No	—	Path to process definition (skips Phase 1)
`workspace`	No	`$GITHUB_WORKSPACE`	Working directory
`max-iterations`	No	`65000`	Max orchestration iterations
`runs-dir`	No	`~/.a5c/runs`	Run state directory
`timeout-minutes`	No	`30`	Step timeout
`verbose`	No	`false`	Enable debug output
`anthropic-api-key`	No	—	Anthropic API key
`openai-api-key`	No	—	OpenAI API key
`gemini-api-key`	No	—	Google Gemini API key
`azure-openai-api-key`	No	—	Azure OpenAI API key
`azure-openai-project-name`	No	—	Azure resource name
`azure-openai-deployment`	No	—	Azure deployment name
`azure-openai-base-url`	No	—	Azure endpoint URL
`github-token`	No	`${{ github.token }}`	GitHub API token

Action Outputs

Output	Description
`run-id`	Babysitter run ID
`run-dir`	Path to the run directory
`status`	Final status: completed, failed, or unknown
`iterations`	Number of orchestration iterations

Workflow Examples

Issue Comment Handler

yaml

name: Babysitter Issue Handler

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]
  pull_request_review_comment:
    types: [created]
  issues:
    types: [opened, assigned]

jobs:
  babysitter:
    if: |
      (github.event_name == 'issue_comment' && contains(github.event.comment.body, '@babysitter')) ||
      (github.event_name == 'pull_request_review_comment' && contains(github.event.comment.body, '@babysitter')) ||
      (github.event_name == 'issues' && contains(github.event.issue.body, '@babysitter'))
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      issues: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 1

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: ${{ github.event.comment.body || github.event.issue.body }}
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

PR Review

yaml

name: Babysitter PR Review

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize, ready_for_review, reopened]

jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      pull-requests: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 1

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Review PR #${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} in ${{ github.repository }}.
            Analyze for code quality, security vulnerabilities, performance, and test coverage.
          harness: internal
          model: anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-20250514
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Feature Development (TDD)

yaml

name: Babysitter TDD Feature

on:
  issues:
    types: [labeled]

jobs:
  develop:
    if: github.event.label.name == 'feature-request'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 60
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      issues: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Implement the feature described in issue #${{ github.event.issue.number }}
            in ${{ github.repository }} using TDD methodology.
            Write failing tests first, implement, refactor, iterate until quality threshold is met.
            Create a PR when complete.
          max-iterations: '50'
          timeout-minutes: '60'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

GSD Quick Tasks

yaml

name: Babysitter GSD

on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]

jobs:
  gsd:
    if: contains(github.event.comment.body, '/gsd')
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 15
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      issues: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 1

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Use GSD methodology for rapid implementation:
            ${{ github.event.comment.body }}
          max-iterations: '20'
          timeout-minutes: '15'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Spec-Driven Development

yaml

name: Babysitter Spec-Kit

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      spec_file:
        description: 'Path to specification file'
        required: true
        type: string

jobs:
  implement:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 60
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Implement the specification at ${{ inputs.spec_file }} using Spec-Kit methodology.
            Parse the spec, generate an implementation plan, implement with continuous validation,
            and generate a compliance report.
          timeout-minutes: '60'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Security Scanning

yaml

name: Babysitter Security

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * 1'

jobs:
  security:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 30
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      security-events: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Run a comprehensive security scan of ${{ github.repository }}.
            Perform SAST analysis, dependency vulnerability scanning, and secret detection.
            Report findings and create a PR with fixes where possible.
          timeout-minutes: '30'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Architecture Documentation

yaml

name: Babysitter Architecture Docs

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  push:
    paths: ['src/**', 'packages/**']

jobs:
  docs:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 30
    permissions:
      contents: write
      pull-requests: write
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

      - uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
        with:
          prompt: |
            Generate architecture documentation for ${{ github.repository }}.
            Create C4 model diagrams, system overview, data flow docs, and API docs.
            Update the docs/ directory and create a PR.
          timeout-minutes: '30'
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Multi-Harness Example (Codex)

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Implement and test the feature'
    harness: codex
    model: openai:o4-mini
    openai-api-key: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}

Multi-Harness Example (Gemini CLI)

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Analyze the codebase and generate documentation'
    harness: gemini-cli
    gemini-api-key: ${{ secrets.GEMINI_API_KEY }}

Environment Variables

Configure babysitter behavior via environment variables on the workflow step:

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Your task'
    anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
  env:
    BABYSITTER_MAX_ITERATIONS: 50
    BABYSITTER_QUALITY_THRESHOLD: 85
    BABYSITTER_LOG_LEVEL: debug
    BABYSITTER_TIMEOUT: 180000

Variable	Default	Description
`BABYSITTER_MAX_ITERATIONS`	`65000`	Max orchestration iterations
`BABYSITTER_QUALITY_THRESHOLD`	`80`	Quality gate threshold (0-100)
`BABYSITTER_LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	Logging: info, debug, warn, error
`BABYSITTER_TIMEOUT`	`120000`	Operation timeout in ms
`BABYSITTER_RUNS_DIR`	`~/.a5c/runs`	Run state directory override
`BABYSITTER_RUNS_SCOPE`	`global`	Set to `repo` to keep runs under `<repo>/.a5c/runs`

Artifacts and Outputs

Run Artifacts

The action automatically uploads babysitter run artifacts (journals, task results, blobs) as a GitHub Actions artifact named babysitter-runs. Configure retention:

yaml

# Override in your workflow after the babysitter step
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  if: always()
  with:
    name: babysitter-runs
    path: ~/.a5c/runs/
    retention-days: 14

Using Outputs

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  id: babysitter
  with:
    prompt: 'Your task'
    anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

- name: Check results
  run: |
    echo "Run ID: ${{ steps.babysitter.outputs.run-id }}"
    echo "Status: ${{ steps.babysitter.outputs.status }}"
    echo "Iterations: ${{ steps.babysitter.outputs.iterations }}"

Prompt Templates

The prompt input supports GitHub context variables via shell expansion. Common variables:

Variable	Description
`${{ github.repository }}`	Owner/repo
`${{ github.event_name }}`	Event type
`${{ github.event.issue.number }}`	Issue number
`${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}`	PR number
`${{ github.event.comment.body }}`	Comment text
`${{ github.sha }}`	Commit SHA
`${{ github.ref }}`	Git ref
`${{ github.actor }}`	Triggering user

Troubleshooting

Babysitter Agent Runtime Build Failed

The action builds babysitter-agent from the action repository. If it fails, check Node.js availability:

yaml

- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
  with:
    node-version: '22'

Authentication Errors

Ensure the correct API key secret is set for your harness/model:

internal or claude-code with Anthropic models → ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
codex or OpenAI models → OPENAI_API_KEY
gemini-cli → GEMINI_API_KEY
Azure models → AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY plus project/deployment/URL

Runs Timing Out

1. Reduce max-iterations (e.g., 50) 2. Increase timeout-minutes 3. Use a simpler methodology (GSD vs TDD) 4. Break the task into smaller pieces

No Output / Empty Results

Enable verbose mode for debugging:

yaml

- uses: a5c-ai/babysitter@main
  with:
    prompt: 'Your task'
    verbose: 'true'
    anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

Using the Babysitter GitHub Action reference

Continue reading

Using the Babysitter GitHub Action

Overview

Quick Start

Basic Setup

With a Specific Harness and Model

Using the Internal Harness (Default)

Authentication

Provider Credentials

Azure OpenAI Configuration

Model Selection

Configuration Options

Action Inputs

Action Outputs

Workflow Examples

Issue Comment Handler

PR Review

Feature Development (TDD)

GSD Quick Tasks

Spec-Driven Development

Security Scanning

Architecture Documentation

Multi-Harness Example (Codex)

Multi-Harness Example (Gemini CLI)

Environment Variables

Artifacts and Outputs

Run Artifacts

Using Outputs

Prompt Templates

Troubleshooting

Babysitter Agent Runtime Build Failed

Authentication Errors

Runs Timing Out

No Output / Empty Results

Reference

Babysitter

Harness-Specific Actions

Marketplace Plugins

Using the Babysitter GitHub Action reference

Continue reading

Using the Babysitter GitHub Action

Overview

Quick Start

Basic Setup

With a Specific Harness and Model

Using the Internal Harness (Default)

Authentication

Provider Credentials

Azure OpenAI Configuration

Model Selection

Configuration Options

Action Inputs

Action Outputs

Workflow Examples

Issue Comment Handler

PR Review

Feature Development (TDD)

GSD Quick Tasks

Spec-Driven Development

Security Scanning

Architecture Documentation

Multi-Harness Example (Codex)

Multi-Harness Example (Gemini CLI)

Environment Variables

Artifacts and Outputs

Run Artifacts

Using Outputs

Prompt Templates

Troubleshooting

Babysitter Agent Runtime Build Failed

Authentication Errors

Runs Timing Out

No Output / Empty Results

Reference

Babysitter

Harness-Specific Actions

Marketplace Plugins