NPC Events

About 2128 wordsAbout 7 min

Introduction

To clearly trace where actions come from, Cloud Native Build strictly distinguishes between UI interactions and automated interactions.

In Cloud Native Build, these automated interactions are collectively referred to as NPC (Non-Player Character) behaviors, and the actor identity is displayed uniformly as NPC.

What is an NPC: An NPC is an automated role identity in Cloud Native Build. You can think of it as a virtual intelligent assistant used to handle automated tasks such as comment replies and code collaboration.

What is an NPC event: Mentioning an NPC role in a specific scenario triggers the corresponding automated pipeline. For example, when you @ mention an NPC in an Issue or PR comment, the NPC automatically runs the preset task and provides a reply.

What NPCs can do:

Auto reply: NPCs can automatically reply to Issue or PR comments, for example by answering questions or generating code review suggestions
Work Mode: After Work Mode is enabled, NPCs can write code autonomously, push code, create branches, submit PRs, and help resolve Issues
Custom behaviors: Users can define custom NPC roles and behaviors to support personalized automation scenarios

NPC Events

The following NPC events are currently supported:

issue.comment@npc
pull_request.comment@npc

Mentioning an NPC role in the following scenarios triggers the issue.comment@npc event:

The description entered when creating an Issue
Issue comments

Mentioning an NPC role in the following scenarios triggers the pull_request.comment@npc event:

The description entered when creating a PR
PR reviews
PR comments
PR review comments

Important

Reopening a PR or Issue, or editing a description or comment, does not trigger the NPC event again.
At most 10 NPC events can be triggered at one time.

NPC Types

Cloud Native Build provides the following two types of NPCs:

System NPCs
Custom NPCs

System NPCs

Cloud Native Build provides the following system NPC:

CodeBuddy

Usage:

@CodeBuddy 帮我回答下这个 issue。

Custom NPCs

Users can define NPC roles in a repository.

Usage:

@cnb/feedback(猿芳) 帮我回答下这个 issue。

Where:

The part after @ is the repository path where the NPC belongs, for example cnb/feedback
The content inside the parentheses is the role name, for example 猿芳

NPC Selector

When mentioning a custom NPC in the editor, you need to enter the full repository path and role name. To make selection easier, typing @ opens the NPC selector.

The selector shows default NPCs, NPCs defined by the user, and NPCs defined in other followed repositories, so you can choose one directly.

Work Mode

You can enable Work Mode by checking 替我上班 in the comment area (repository developer permission or above is required).

In Work Mode, NPCs have elevated permissions. They can write code autonomously, push code, create branches, create merge requests, and help resolve Issues.

For detailed permission information in Work Mode, see CNB_TOKEN.

Illustration of selecting an NPC role and enabling Work Mode in the Markdown editor

How to Define NPCs

Define NPC Roles

You can define NPC roles in the repository's .cnb/settings.yml file.

Configuration example:

.cnb/settings.yml
npc:
  roles:
    - name: 猿芳
      slogan: 此事必有蹊跷！
      prompt: |
        你用"猿芳"自称，叫用户"大人"，
        你的口头禅是『此事必有蹊跷！』，
        结束对话前礼貌地回复一行："此事背后一定有一个天大的秘密。"
        无论是日常对话还是讲解知识，你都会保持以上风格

For detailed configuration, see UI Customization Configuration File.

Define NPC Behaviors

When an NPC is mentioned, Cloud Native Build already provides default behavior, so the NPC role can be used immediately after it is defined.

If you want to customize NPC behaviors, you can configure NPC event pipelines in the .cnb.yml file on the default branch (such as main) of the repository where the NPC belongs, and build an NPC runtime image.

1. Example of custom NPC pipeline configuration:

.cnb.yml
.npc: &npc
  - docker:
      # Specify image containing CLI tools and Skills required by the NPC
      image: ${CNB_DOCKER_REGISTRY}/${CNB_NPC_SLUG_LOWERCASE}:latest
    stages:
      - name: npc go
        type: npc:go

# NPC events can match event configurations under the role name
猿芳:
  issue.comment@npc: *npc
  pull_request.comment@npc: *npc

# If NPC events are not defined under the role name, the corresponding NPC event configuration under $ is used
$:
  issue.comment@npc: *npc
  pull_request.comment@npc: *npc

# Build and push Docker image
main:
  push:
    - services:
        - docker
      stages:
        - name: Docker build
          script: docker build -t ${CNB_DOCKER_REGISTRY}/${CNB_REPO_SLUG_LOWERCASE}:latest .
        - name: Docker push
          script: docker push ${CNB_DOCKER_REGISTRY}/${CNB_REPO_SLUG_LOWERCASE}:latest

2. Build NPC Runtime Image:

Install the Skills and CLI tools required by the NPC in the Dockerfile. The following example installs cnb-skill and cnb-cli.

Dockerfile
FROM node:22-bookworm-slim

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ca-certificates git git-lfs curl jq ripgrep \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
    && git lfs install \
    && npm install -g @cnbcool/cnb-cli skills \
    && npx skills add https://cnb.cool/cnb/skills/cnb-skill.git -g -y

Skills are automatically loaded from the following directories: ~/.agents/skills, ~/.codebuddy/skills and their project-level counterparts: .agents/skills, .codebuddy/skills.

Project-level Skills take priority over user-level Skills. A project-level Skill with the same name will override its user-level counterpart.

After defining a useful NPC, how can you make it available to others?

If the repository that owns the NPC is public, or the other user has code read access to that repository, they can directly mention the NPC in the editor by entering the full NPC path after @. For the format, see the usage example in Custom NPCs above.

When other users follow the repository that owns your NPC, the NPC you defined will also appear in the selector that opens after they type @. For details, see NPC Selector above.

NPC Event Execution

NPC event pipelines run in the repository where the current Issue or PR belongs (not the NPC's repository). The trigger is the current user.

issue.comment@npc: Runs on the repository's default branch.
pull_request.comment@npc: Runs on the PR's source branch, cloning source repository code. The NPC can modify and push code directly on the source branch.

Cross-repo Fork PR

The pipeline is triggered in the target repository but clones code from the source repository's source branch. NPC's changes will be reflected in the PR.

When a custom NPC pipeline uses CNB_TOKEN to reply to comments on an Issue or PR, the comment author is displayed as the corresponding NPC role name.

Using commenting on an Issue as an example, after an NPC event is triggered:

The mentioned NPC role name and the pipeline execution status are displayed below the current comment.
If the NPC replies to the comment, the reply author is displayed as the NPC role name.

Result display after an NPC event is triggered

NPC events are treated as development scenarios, and therefore consume Workspaces usage.

Security Restrictions

For NPC events triggered in non-cross-repo PR scenarios, TOKEN-type environment variables in the pipeline can access only the current repository.
The maximum role of CNB_TOKEN in NPC event pipelines is Developer. Even if the trigger user is a repository Master or Owner, the CNB_TOKEN in the NPC pipeline will not have permissions beyond the Developer role.
If an NPC pipeline references secret repository files via imports, settingsFrom, optionsFrom, or similar methods, the NPC will not be shareable (it will not appear in the NPC leaderboard).

Environment Variables

When an NPC event pipeline runs, additional NPC-related environment variables are injected. For details, see Environment Variables.

External System Integration with NPC

When CNB's NPC executes, it starts a pipeline as a sandbox environment and runs tasks within the sandbox.

External systems can trigger pipelines via OPENAPI(Open in new window), and customize the NPC's role, runtime environment, Skills, Prompt, etc., to leverage CNB's NPC capabilities.

The sequence diagram is as follows:

Configuration Steps

Define the NPC role in the repository's .cnb/settings.yml file, including tone, style, etc.

.cnb/settings.yml
npc:
  defaultRole: 小助
  roles:
    - name: 小助
      prompt: |
        你用"小助"自称，叫用户"朋友"，
        你的口头禅是『收到，马上处理！』，
        结束对话前礼貌的回复一行："任务完成，随时待命！还有其它问题么？\n"，
        无论是日常对话还是讲解知识，你都会保持以上风格，
        所有的表情包使用markdown语法输出，
        用热情的语气回答接下来的问题

Define the NPC Runtime Environment

In the Dockerfile, install the Skills and CLI tools required by the NPC at runtime. For example, the following example installs cnb-skill and cnb-cli.

Install dependencies, CLI tools, and Skills required by external tools as needed. In particular, you need to encapsulate the Skills and prompts for how to send NPC execution results to the external system.

Dockerfile
FROM node:22-bookworm-slim

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ca-certificates git git-lfs curl jq ripgrep \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
    && git lfs install \
    && npm install -g @cnbcool/cnb-cli skills \
    && npx skills add https://cnb.cool/cnb/skills/cnb-skill.git -g -y

Define the NPC Event Pipeline

.cnb.yml
# Define API trigger pipeline. Note that the event name must start with api_trigger_
api_trigger_npc:
  - docker:
      image: ${CNB_DOCKER_REGISTRY}/${CNB_REPO_SLUG_LOWERCASE}:latest
    # Sandbox mode: when enabled, CNB_TOKEN will be invalid
    sandbox: true
    stages:
      - name: npc go
        type: npc:go
        options:
          role: $role
          systemPrompt: $systemPrompt
          userPrompt: $userPrompt

# Build and push Docker image
main:
  push:
    - services:
        - docker
      stages:
        - name: Docker build
          script: docker build -t ${CNB_DOCKER_REGISTRY}/${CNB_REPO_SLUG_LOWERCASE}:latest .
        - name: Docker push
          script: docker push ${CNB_DOCKER_REGISTRY}/${CNB_REPO_SLUG_LOWERCASE}:latest

Call the API to trigger the pipeline. For more parameters, see OPENAPI(Open in new window). After triggering, you can see the corresponding pipeline in the CNB Cloud Native Build pipeline list and check its execution status.

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.cnb.cool/{repo}/-/build/start' \
  --header 'Authorization: YOUR_TOKEN' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "event": "api_trigger_npc",
    "env": {
      "role": "Role name",
      "systemPrompt": "You are an automation assistant responsible for executing user-specified tasks. Results are sent to users via a WeChat Work bot. The WeChat Work bot webhook URL is...",
      "userPrompt": "Help me check today'\''s weather in Shenzhen"
    }
  }'

Parameter Description

Pass the following parameters via the env field. For detailed descriptions, see npc:go Parameter Description and api_trigger Parameters.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`role`	String	No	NPC role name, defining tone and style. Must be defined in `npc.roles` of the repository's `.cnb/settings.yml`, e.g., `小助`
`systemPrompt`	String	Yes	System prompt, used to define NPC behavior guidelines, including how to process the `userPrompt` as user input step by step, and how to send results to the external system, e.g., `You are an automation assistant responsible for executing user-specified tasks and sending results to users via a WeChat Work bot`
`userPrompt`	String	Yes	User input, used to describe specific tasks to the NPC, e.g., `Help me check today's weather in Shenzhen`

Sandbox Mode

When sandbox mode is enabled, the NPC runs in an isolated secure environment. CNB_TOKEN in the pipeline will be invalid, so the NPC cannot call CNB APIs or operate CNB platform resources, such as committing code or commenting on Issues.

If the NPC needs to perform platform operations such as committing code or commenting on Issues, disable sandbox mode.