Add copilot-setup-steps.yml as GitHub Actions workflow for automated agent environment configuration

[Copilot]

Description

Adds automated environment setup for GitHub Copilot agents working on this repository as a proper GitHub Actions workflow.

Resolves #381

Changes

• .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml: Created as a GitHub Actions workflow (following GitHub's official documentation)

  • Job named copilot-setup-steps (required by Copilot to recognize the workflow)
  • Workflow triggers: workflow_dispatch, push, and pull_request on file changes for validation
  • Permissions: contents: read for repository checkout
  • Steps:
    • Checkout code using actions/checkout@v5
    • Set up Java 25 (Temurin) with automatic Maven cache using actions/setup-java@v5
    • Run ./mvnw -B clean verify -DskipTests to compile and cache dependencies without running tests

• .github/copilot-instructions.md: Streamlined Environment Setup section

  • Added reference to the workflow file
  • Removed redundant SDKMAN installation instructions since the automated workflow now handles Java 25 setup

Setup Flow

1. Repository is checked out
2. Java 25 installed via GitHub Actions (consistent with maven_push.yml, maven_pull_request.yml)
3. Maven dependencies cached to ~/.m2/repository
4. Build runs CheckStyle validation and compilation (tests skipped for speed: 1-2 min)

The workflow can be validated automatically when the file is changed and manually tested through the repository's Actions tab.

Checklist:

• Public methods are documented
• Public methods are tested
• New and existing tests pass when run locally
• There are no new warnings or errors

Original prompt

---

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>[Chore]: Add Copilot Setup Steps (copilot-setup-steps.yml)</issue_title>
<issue_description>### What

Implement and verify copilot-setup-steps.yml for copilot:

• Java 25
• Get required depandacys and from cache and cache them for future use

Why

Facilitates standardized and automated setup for copilot, and allows Copilot to reliably build and validate codebase.

Notes

Review steps for completeness, add commands and OS-specific notes, check for automation compatibility; ensure all steps are referenced from main docs.

See https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-cloud@latest/copilot/how-tos/use-copilot-agents/coding-agent/customize-the-agent-environment</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes [Chore]: Add Copilot Setup Steps (copilot-setup-steps.yml) #381

---

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

[thomasturrell]

@copilot did you read the doucmentation?

from the docs:

name: "Copilot Setup Steps"

Automatically run the setup steps when they are changed to allow for easy validation, and

allow manual testing through the repository's "Actions" tab

on:
workflow_dispatch:
push:
paths:
- .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml
pull_request:
paths:
- .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml

jobs:

The job MUST be called copilot-setup-steps or it will not be picked up by Copilot.

copilot-setup-steps:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest

# Set the permissions to the lowest permissions possible needed for your steps.
# Copilot will be given its own token for its operations.
permissions:
  # If you want to clone the repository as part of your setup steps, for example to install dependencies, you'll need the `contents: read` permission. If you don't clone the repository in your setup steps, Copilot will do this for you automatically after the steps complete.
  contents: read

# You can define any steps you want, and they will run before the agent starts.
# If you do not check out your code, Copilot will do this for you.
steps:
  - name: Checkout code
    uses: actions/checkout@v5

  - name: Set up Node.js
    uses: actions/setup-node@v4
    with:
      node-version: "20"
      cache: "npm"

  - name: Install JavaScript dependencies
    run: npm ci

[Copilot]

@copilot did you read the doucmentation?

from the docs:...

You're right, I apologize for not following the documentation correctly. I've fixed it in commit 44a02db.

The file is now properly structured as a GitHub Actions workflow at .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml with:

• The required job name copilot-setup-steps
• Proper workflow triggers (workflow_dispatch, push, pull_request)
• Correct permissions and steps structure as shown in the documentation

[sonarqubecloud]

Quality Gate passed

Issues
0 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

[Copilot]

Pull Request Overview

This PR adds automated environment setup for GitHub Copilot agents by creating a dedicated GitHub Actions workflow following GitHub's official documentation for Copilot agent environment customization.

Key Changes:

• Created copilot-setup-steps.yml workflow with proper job naming, triggers, and setup steps for Java 25 and Maven dependencies
• Updated copilot-instructions.md to reference the automated workflow instead of manual SDKMAN installation instructions

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File	Description
.github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml	New GitHub Actions workflow that configures Java 25 (Temurin), caches Maven dependencies, and runs a fast build validation for Copilot agents
.github/copilot-instructions.md	Updated Environment Setup section to reference the automated workflow, removing redundant manual SDKMAN installation steps