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Port and update agentless dev-process scaffolding (skills, instructions, copilot config) - #129

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agentless-dev-latestfrom
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Summary

Ports the AI-agent dev-process scaffolding from the original chef:agentless-dev branch (skills, instructions, copilot-setup-steps.yml) into this repo, and refreshes it with everything learned across many end-to-end debugging sessions of the agentless epic (CHEF-23408) against real Docker, EC2-ephemeral, and real-mode targets. No functional code changes — documentation/process files only.

What's included

  • .github/copilot-setup-steps.yml — cloud agent setup steps, using this repo's actual bundle exec rake unit / cookstyle commands.
  • .github/instructions/pr-workflow.instructions.md — branch/PR conventions for the two-repo epic (TKE core + chef/kitchen-agentless), including a note that PRs should not be opened without explicit user approval.
  • .github/instructions/bug-fix-workflow.instructions.md — rewritten around the actual bug classes hit this epic: the three target-credential provisioning styles and their resolution priority order, provisioner/verifier logic duplication, KITCHEN_YAML and stale .kitchen/*.yml state gotchas, and recurring InSpec/Chef license issues.
  • .github/instructions/agentless-config-extension.instructions.md — rewritten to reflect the current architecture (agentless logic now lives entirely in chef/kitchen-agentless, not TKE core).
  • .github/skills/create-kitchen-plugin/SKILL.md — carried over with an added "Provisioner/Verifier Pairing" section.
  • AGENTS.md — marked both TKE-core stories for CHEF-23408 (CHEF-27348, CHEF-36826) as done, added a "Lessons Learned From KCAI End-to-End Debugging" section.
  • .github/copilot-instructions.md — added a matching "Lessons Learned: Agentless Mode (CHEF-23408) Cross-Repo Development" section.

Repo references were updated from kitchen-chef-infra-agentless to chef/kitchen-agentless to match the plugin's current repo name.

Note: four additional debugging-focused skills (debug-agentless-target-connection, sync-credential-resolution-logic, e2e-target-style-matrix, cleanup-stale-kitchen-state) were drafted but relocated to the chef/kitchen-agentless repo instead, since they reference that repo's own files/classes directly and TKE core should stay agentless-unaware.

Testing

Documentation/process files only — no code changes, no tests required.

Ports the AI-agent dev-process scaffolding from the original
chef:agentless-dev branch (skills, instructions, copilot-setup-steps)
into a new kitchen-agentless-implementation branch, and refreshes it
with everything learned across many end-to-end debugging sessions of
the agentless epic (CHEF-23408) against real Docker, EC2-ephemeral, and
real-mode targets.

Added:
- .github/copilot-setup-steps.yml - cloud agent setup steps, updated to
  use this repo's actual bundle exec rake unit / cookstyle commands
  instead of generic rspec/rubocop placeholders.
- .github/instructions/pr-workflow.instructions.md - branch/PR
  conventions for the two-repo epic (TKE core + chef/kitchen-agentless),
  updated to reflect the current agentless-dev-latest integration
  branch and to note that PRs should not be opened without explicit
  user approval (many sessions commit-and-push for review first).
- .github/instructions/bug-fix-workflow.instructions.md - rewritten
  around the actual bug classes hit this epic: the three
  target-credential provisioning styles (real-mode static host,
  ephemeral Docker with dynamic driver state, ephemeral EC2 with a
  named keypair via the standard transport: block) and their correct
  resolution priority order, provisioner/verifier logic duplication,
  KITCHEN_YAML env var and stale .kitchen/*.yml state file gotchas,
  and recurring InSpec/Chef license and install-strategy failures.
- .github/instructions/agentless-config-extension.instructions.md -
  rewritten to reflect the current architecture: agentless config
  parsing/credential resolution now lives entirely in
  chef/kitchen-agentless (KCAI), not TKE core. TKE core's role is
  limited to generic, agentless-unaware extension points
  (list.rb's source_info hook, destroy.rb's --driver-option
  passthrough). The old version described deleted Wave 1-14 TKE-core
  classes (agentless_context.rb, remote_node.rb) that no longer exist.
- .github/skills/create-kitchen-plugin/SKILL.md - carried over mostly
  as-is, with an added "Provisioner/Verifier Pairing" section capturing
  the lesson that paired provisioner+verifier plugins (like KCAI) tend
  to duplicate credential/endpoint resolution logic across two
  non-inheriting classes, and this needs either a shared module or
  deliberate double-maintenance with tests in both spec files.

  Note: four additional debugging-focused skills drafted during this
  session (debug-agentless-target-connection,
  sync-credential-resolution-logic, e2e-target-style-matrix,
  cleanup-stale-kitchen-state) were relocated to the
  chef/kitchen-agentless repo instead, since they reference that
  repo's own files/classes directly and TKE core should stay
  agentless-unaware per this same commit's architecture notes.

Updated:
- AGENTS.md - marked both TKE-core stories for CHEF-23408 (CHEF-27348,
  CHEF-36826) as done, added a "Lessons Learned From KCAI End-to-End
  Debugging" section summarizing the credential-resolution/environment
  gotchas above, and cross-linked the new instructions files.
- .github/copilot-instructions.md - added a "Lessons Learned: Agentless
  Mode (CHEF-23408) Cross-Repo Development" section covering the same
  ground for the general-purpose Copilot instructions used across all
  work in this repo, not just the AI-agent-specific AGENTS.md.

Renamed repo references from kitchen-chef-infra-agentless to
chef/kitchen-agentless throughout to match the plugin's current repo name.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Signed-off-by: Ashique Saidalavi <ashique.saidalavi@progress.com>
@ashiqueps
ashiqueps requested a review from a team as a code owner August 12, 2026 08:44
@ashiqueps
ashiqueps requested review from a team as code owners August 12, 2026 08:44
@ashiqueps
ashiqueps requested a lite review from Copilot August 13, 2026 07:31

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Pull request overview

Ports and refreshes the agentless epic (CHEF-23408) development-process scaffolding into TKE core, adding consolidated guidance for cross-repo work (TKE core vs chef/kitchen-agentless) and capturing recurring debugging patterns from real end-to-end sessions. All changes are documentation/process scaffolding (no functional runtime code).

Changes:

  • Updates AGENTS.md and .github/copilot-instructions.md with current agentless architecture boundaries and lessons learned from e2e debugging.
  • Adds agentless-focused workflow instruction docs under .github/instructions/ (PR workflow, bug-fix workflow, and “what belongs in TKE core vs KCAI” guidance).
  • Adds a new skill scaffold (create-kitchen-plugin) and a Copilot cloud-agent setup steps file.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file
File Description
AGENTS.md Updates agentless-epic status/constraints and adds “Lessons Learned” debugging guidance.
.github/skills/create-kitchen-plugin/SKILL.md Adds a skill for creating/scaffolding Kitchen plugins, including provisioner/verifier pairing guidance.
.github/instructions/pr-workflow.instructions.md Documents branch/PR conventions and “ask before opening a PR” guidance for the two-repo epic.
.github/instructions/bug-fix-workflow.instructions.md Adds a bug-fix workflow focused on the most common agentless failure modes and credential/endpoint resolution.
.github/instructions/agentless-config-extension.instructions.md Documents the post-rewrite architecture and when changes belong in TKE core vs KCAI.
.github/copilot-setup-steps.yml Adds cloud agent setup steps for dependencies, unit tests, and linting.
.github/copilot-instructions.md Adds a cross-repo “Lessons Learned” section for agentless development and debugging gotchas.

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Comment on lines +5 to +9
- name: Verify unit tests run
run: bundle exec rake unit || true

- name: Verify linter
run: bundle exec cookstyle --chefstyle || true
Comment on lines +1 to +3
---
applyTo: "lib/kitchen/command/list.rb,lib/kitchen/command/destroy.rb,lib/kitchen/provisioner/base.rb"
---

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2 participants