Link Checker: Allow relative links in configurable file path patterns by Copilot · Pull Request #14400 · Azure/azure-sdk-tools

Copilot · 2026-03-06T19:20:28Z

The link checker's checkLinkGuidance mode unconditionally rejected relative links, making it impractical for .github/ markdown files (e.g. copilot instructions) that benefit from relative cross-references between files.

Changes

Verify-Links.ps1: Added -allowRelativeLinksFile parameter. When provided, loads a list of glob patterns; pages whose paths match any pattern skip the relative-link restriction while still having all other link guidance enforced (http→https, uppercase anchors, locale checks). Defaults to (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "allow-relative-links.txt") (i.e. the file next to the script). Glob-to-regex compilation is done once at load time for efficiency. Comment-line filtering correctly handles indented # comment lines.
```
.\Verify-Links.ps1 -checkLinkGuidance $true -allowRelativeLinksFile eng/common/scripts/allow-relative-links.txt
```
Verify-Links.ps1: Removed the ad-hoc instructions.md special case (previously added for copilot instruction files) — this is now handled generically via allow-relative-links.txt.
verify-links.yml (DevOps template): Added AllowRelativeLinksFile parameter, defaulting to $(Build.SourcesDirectory)/eng/common/scripts/allow-relative-links.txt. Passed through to the script.
eng/common/scripts/allow-relative-links.txt (new): Default config file placed next to Verify-Links.ps1 in eng/common/scripts/ so it syncs across eng/common to all Azure SDK repos. Pre-populated with .github/** (all files under the .github folder, e.g. copilot instructions) and eng/** (all files under the eng folder, e.g. engineering system scripts and templates). Repo-specific patterns should be added per-repo as needed.
eng/common-tests/Verify-Links-AllowRelativeLinks.Tests.ps1 (new): Pester tests for the pattern-matching logic.

Config file format

One glob pattern per line; # lines are comments (indented comments are also supported). Both * (single segment) and ** (multi-segment) wildcards are supported. A leading ** is not required — patterns are matched as substrings against the full path.

# Allow relative links for all files under the .github folder (e.g. copilot instructions).
.github/**
# Allow relative links for all files under the eng folder (e.g. engineering system scripts and templates).
eng/**

# Example: allow relative links in specs directories (repo-specific)
# **/specs/**

💬 We'd love your input! Share your thoughts on Copilot coding agent in our 2 minute survey.

…sFile parameter Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

eng/common/scripts/Verify-Links.ps1

…idance checks active Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

eng/common/scripts/Verify-Links.ps1

…-links.txt Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

eng/common/scripts/allow-relative-links.txt

…thub/** needs no ** prefix Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

eng/common/pipelines/templates/steps/verify-links.yml

…ll repos Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

weshaggard · 2026-03-10T15:43:42Z

/azp run azure-sdk-tools - sync - eng-common

weshaggard · 2026-03-10T19:16:10Z

@copilot

The filtering logic for comment lines checks StartsWith("#") without trimming leading whitespace. This contradicts the parameter docs (“lines beginning with '#' are treated as comments”) and will treat lines like ' # comment' as patterns. Consider using TrimStart() (or checking after Trim()) before StartsWith('#') so indented comment lines are ignored as intended.

This converts each glob pattern to a regex on every page check. If many pages are scanned, this is avoidable overhead. Consider precomputing and storing normalized/compiled regex objects once when loading $allowRelativeLinkPatterns, then simply iterating the compiled regex list in Test-PageUriMatchesRelativeLinkPattern.

The default path is built via string concatenation with a hard-coded /. While it often works, it’s more robust/cross-platform to build paths with Join-Path (or [System.IO.Path]::Combine) to avoid separator quirks and improve readability.

The comment says this allowlist is for “all markdown files under the .github folder”, but the glob .github/** is not restricted to markdown, and eng/** broadens the scope further without explanation. Please update the comment(s) to match the actual behavior, or (if intended) narrow the patterns (e.g., .github//*.md) and document why eng/ is included.

…, remove eng/** Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-03-10T19:20:32Z

@copilot

The filtering logic for comment lines checks StartsWith("#") without trimming leading whitespace. This contradicts the parameter docs (“lines beginning with '#' are treated as comments...

Done in 1359805:

Trim before # check: All three filter expressions now use $_.Trim().StartsWith("#") so indented comment lines like # comment are correctly ignored.
Precomputed regexes: Glob-to-regex conversion now happens once at load time. $allowRelativeLinkRegexes stores an array of @{ Pattern; Regex } hashtables (compiled [Regex] objects). Test-PageUriMatchesRelativeLinkPattern simply iterates the precomputed list.
Join-Path: The allowRelativeLinksFile parameter default now uses (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "allow-relative-links.txt").
eng/** removed: Dropped from allow-relative-links.txt; comment updated from "all markdown files" to "all files" to accurately reflect the scope of .github/**.

weshaggard · 2026-03-10T19:22:28Z

@copilot I still want eng/** in the allowed list I just wanted the comment to be updated.

Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-03-10T19:25:08Z

@copilot I still want eng/** in the allowed list I just wanted the comment to be updated.

Done in 4e126a4. Added eng/** back with an updated comment: "Allow relative links for all files under the eng folder (e.g. engineering system scripts and templates)."

weshaggard · 2026-03-10T19:26:05Z

/azp run azure-sdk-tools - sync - eng-common

azure-pipelines · 2026-03-10T19:26:16Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

azure-sdk · 2026-03-10T19:33:24Z

The following pipelines have been queued for testing:
java - template
java - template - tests
js - template
net - template
net - template - tests
python - template
python - template - tests
You can sign off on the approval gate to test the release stage of each pipeline.
See eng/common workflow

Sync eng/common directory with azure-sdk-tools for PR Azure/azure-sdk-tools#14400 See [eng/common workflow](https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-tools/blob/main/eng/common/README.md#workflow) --------- Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Wes Haggard <weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Initial plan

cfa297a

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and weshaggard Mar 6, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of weshaggard March 6, 2026 19:20 View session

Allow relative links in configurable file paths via allowRelativeLink…

de67078

…sFile parameter Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Allow relative path links in specs directories~~ Link Checker: Allow relative links in configurable file path patterns Mar 6, 2026

Copilot stopped work on behalf of weshaggard due to an error March 6, 2026 19:26
The "Build azsdk cli" custom setup step from your .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml file failed.

weshaggard reviewed Mar 6, 2026

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Copilot started work on behalf of weshaggard March 6, 2026 20:31 View session

Only lift relative-link restriction for matching pages, keep other gu…

deb0b39

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Copilot stopped work on behalf of weshaggard due to an error March 6, 2026 20:34
The "Build azsdk cli" custom setup step from your .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml file failed.

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Copilot started work on behalf of weshaggard March 9, 2026 19:03 View session

Remove instructions.md special case; add .github/** to allow-relative…

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…-links.txt Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot stopped work on behalf of weshaggard due to an error March 9, 2026 19:06
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Copilot started work on behalf of weshaggard March 10, 2026 15:22 View session

Remove **/specs/** from allow-relative-links.txt (repo-specific); .gi…

49eb8fc

…thub/** needs no ** prefix Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

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Copilot stopped work on behalf of weshaggard due to an error March 10, 2026 15:25
The "Build azsdk cli" custom setup step from your .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml file failed.

Copilot started work on behalf of weshaggard March 10, 2026 15:25 View session

Move allow-relative-links.txt to eng/common/scripts/ so it syncs to a…

82b58b3

…ll repos Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot stopped work on behalf of weshaggard due to an error March 10, 2026 15:30
The "Build azsdk cli" custom setup step from your .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml file failed.

weshaggard added 2 commits March 10, 2026 08:38

Update allow-relative-links.txt

8d349b5

Change Write-Host to Write-Verbose for logging

8a3dd5b

weshaggard approved these changes Mar 10, 2026

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weshaggard marked this pull request as ready for review March 10, 2026 15:42

weshaggard requested a review from a team as a code owner March 10, 2026 15:42

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 10, 2026 15:42

Copilot started work on behalf of weshaggard March 10, 2026 19:16 View session

Address review feedback: trim comments, precompute regexes, Join-Path…

1359805

…, remove eng/** Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot stopped work on behalf of weshaggard due to an error March 10, 2026 19:21
The "Build azsdk cli" custom setup step from your .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml file failed.

Copilot started work on behalf of weshaggard March 10, 2026 19:22 View session

Restore eng/** to allow-relative-links.txt with updated comment

4e126a4

Co-authored-by: weshaggard <9010698+weshaggard@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot stopped work on behalf of weshaggard due to an error March 10, 2026 19:25
The "Build azsdk cli" custom setup step from your .github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml file failed.

weshaggard merged commit 08d406d into main Mar 10, 2026
8 checks passed

weshaggard deleted the copilot/allow-relative-path-links-again branch March 10, 2026 21:19

weshaggard mentioned this pull request Mar 10, 2026

Link Checker: Allow Relative Path links in specs/ directories #14398

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