2.13.0-beta.20). Features may change before the next stable release.Switch to stable →ak watch
ak watch dry-run
Preview GitHub issue matches and generated replies without posting comments or updating watch state.
Use ak watch dry-run to review filters and generated reply text before
authorizing GitHub comments.
Usage
ak watch dry-run <owner/repo>Options
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--label <labels> | [] | Match an issue having any listed label. |
--author <logins> | [] | Match an issue from any listed login. |
--keyword <terms> | [] | Match title or body containing any term, case-insensitively. |
--agent <kit/skill> | engineer/scout | Generate each candidate response with this skill. |
--max-per-hour <count> | 10 | Evaluate the current persisted rolling-hour budget using this ceiling. |
--kits-dir <path> | "" | Override the kit source used by ak run. |
Comma-separated values and repeated uses follow Cobra string-slice behavior. Filter categories combine with AND; values inside one category combine with OR. Use a positive rate ceiling.
What the preview does
ak watch dry-run owner/repo --label needs-response --max-per-hour 5
ak watch dry-run owner/repo --author octocat --keyword crash --jsonThe command asks gh issue list for at most 100 open issues, loads existing
local watch state if present, applies filters, and invokes ak run for every
allowed, not-previously-responded issue. It never calls gh issue comment, marks
an issue responded, consumes the persisted bucket, or saves watch state.
Dry-run prevents GitHub posting, not all external effects. It reads GitHub,
sends issue content to the configured agent/provider, and ak run can create
its normal local activity or runtime effects.
The current preview checks the existing rate bucket but does not reserve a slot
for each simulated reply. When some budget remains, multiple candidates can all
appear under would_post_issues even if a live run would hit the ceiling. Treat
rate_limit_remaining as the starting budget, not a simulated final budget.
Output and exit status
Human stdout shows target and first-line response previews; full generated text
is also written to stderr in dry-run logs. JSON stdout uses
kind=watch.dry_run with repository, match count, would-post IDs, would-skip
IDs, and starting rate remainder; it omits generated response bodies.
Per-issue agent and rate errors are logged to stderr but omitted from both ID
arrays, and the command can still exit 0.
| Exit | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 | Polling and final rendering completed; inspect stderr for per-issue failures. |
1 | Home/state loading, GitHub polling, or final rendering failed. |
2 | Repository argument or flags were invalid. |