## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Company import/export lets an operator move a full company package
between instances, with the Import page uploading the package as one
compressed `.zip`
> - The server caps that upload at 128 MB, and real company packages
with attachments now exceed it — imports fail at the preview step
> - The failure message tells the user to use the CLI folder import, but
that path posts inline JSON capped at 64 MB, so the advice is a dead end
for exactly these packages
> - This pull request raises the zip upload cap to a 1 GB default, makes
it operator-configurable through an environment variable, scales the
decompression-bomb guards from the cap in effect, and replaces the
misleading hint
> - The benefit is that large real-world company packages import
successfully, and operators with unusual needs can tune the cap without
a code change
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
**What happened?**
A company import fails at the preview step with `Preview failed: Import
package exceeds 134217728 bytes`. The package is a valid Paperclip
export. Its compressed size is larger than the 128 MB server cap (one
reported package is 257 MB). The error panel suggests the CLI folder
import, but that path sends the package as one inline JSON body capped
at 64 MB, so it also fails.
**Expected behavior**
A valid company package of realistic size imports successfully through
the Import page. If a package is too large, the error must state the
limit clearly and suggest a step that can work.
**Steps to reproduce**
1. Export a company with enough attachments to make the compressed
package larger than 128 MB.
2. Open the Import page and upload the `.zip`.
3. Click "Preview import".
4. The preview fails with `Import package exceeds 134217728 bytes`.
**Deployment mode**
Reported from a managed deployment; the limit applies to all deployment
modes.
## What Changed
- Raise `PORTABLE_ZIP_UPLOAD_LIMIT_BYTES` from 128 MB to a 1 GB default
(`server/src/http/body-limits.ts`).
- Add the `PAPERCLIP_IMPORT_ZIP_MAX_BYTES` environment override. Invalid
or non-positive values fall back to the default.
- Scale the zip decompression-bomb guard from the configured cap at the
import route: the aggregate inflated ceiling is 4x the cap. The
per-entry ceiling stays at 512 MB because V8's string length limit
applies to an entry regardless (`server/src/routes/companies.ts`,
`packages/shared/src/portability-zip.ts`).
- Report the 422 limit error in MB instead of raw bytes.
- Replace the "use the CLI folder import for very large packages" hint
on preview failure with advice that works: re-export the package without
large attachments (`ui/src/pages/CompanyImport.tsx`).
- Update the stale comment in `ui/src/lib/import-preflight.ts` that made
the same CLI claim.
- Add tests for the new default, the env override, and the
invalid-override fallback.
## Verification
- `pnpm vitest run server/src/__tests__/body-limits.test.ts
packages/shared/src/portability-zip.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/company-portability-routes.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/company-portability.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/company-portability-import-batching.test.ts` — all
pass.
- `pnpm vitest run ui/src/pages/CompanyImport.test.tsx` — passes,
including the updated failure-panel copy assertion.
- `pnpm typecheck` — clean across the workspace.
- Manual: upload a `.zip` larger than the configured cap; the preview
fails with `Import package exceeds the 1024 MB upload limit` and the new
hint. A package between 128 MB and 1 GB now previews and imports.
## Risks
- Peak per-import memory rises with the cap: the upload is buffered in
memory and unzipped in one pass. A 1 GB compressed package can use
several GB transiently. Imports are instance-admin actions, so the
exposure is a deliberate operator action, not anonymous traffic.
Operators on small hosts can lower the cap with
`PAPERCLIP_IMPORT_ZIP_MAX_BYTES`.
- The aggregate bomb guard moves from a fixed 512 MB to 4x the
configured cap. It still bounds expansion far below what a decompression
bomb needs.
- No migration and no API shape change. The 422 message text changes; no
code matches on the old text.
## Model Used
- Claude Fable 5 (`claude-fable-5`) via Claude Code CLI, with extended
thinking and tool use (file edits, local test runs, live-instance
inspection).
## Checklist
- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (only public GitHub `#NNN` / `github.com/paperclipai/paperclip`
URLs)
- [x] My branch name describes the change (e.g. `docs/...`, `fix/...`)
and contains no internal Paperclip ticket id or instance-derived details
- [x] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Company Import (#10507, hardened in #10523) lets a user upload a
company package on the Import page
> - The page expanded the user's `.zip` into a files map and POSTed it
as ONE inline JSON body — ~40MB for a real company because attachment
blobs get base64-inflated
> - On Paperclip Cloud that body travels browser → harness proxy →
tenant, where it truncated in transit → body-parser 400 → the browser
saw "Failed to fetch", and nothing imported
> - Two compounding causes: the giant inline body itself, and the board
async opt-in riding an `x-paperclip-cloud-*` header that the Cloud
harness strips as anti-spoofing (so async never engaged and the import
held one fragile synchronous connection)
> - This pull request uploads the raw compressed `.zip` as a multipart
request (about a third the size, already compressed) parsed server-side
into the same bundle the importer consumes, and moves the async opt-in
to a proxy-safe `?async=1`
> - The benefit is that a large-company import actually completes
through Cloud: a small compressed upload, a real async job that survives
dropped connections
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
- Refs #10507 / #10523 (Import/Export and its hardening). No open issue;
problem described above (large-company browser import through a proxy:
inline JSON body truncates → 400 → "Failed to fetch"; async opt-in
header stripped by the front door → async never engages).
## What Changed
- **Multipart zip transport.** The Import page uploads the raw `File` as
`multipart/form-data` (field `package`, import options in a JSON `meta`
field); the server unzips it into `{ rootPath, files }` and runs the
exact existing preview/import logic. The `application/json` inline path
is byte-identical for CLI/programmatic callers. Bare `application/zip`
(meta via `?meta=`) is also accepted for programmatic use.
- **Shared node zip reader.** `packages/shared/src/portability-zip.ts`
(node-only subpath, not re-exported to the browser bundle — same pattern
as `portability-hash.ts`); the CLI's `zip.ts` becomes a thin re-export.
Identical codec (STORE + DEFLATE via `inflateRawSync`, rejects data
descriptors/zip64).
- **Proxy-safe async signal.** `wantsAsyncImport` = `?async=1` (board
browsers, survives the harness) OR the existing
`x-paperclip-cloud-async-import` header (cloud tenants, set
server-side). The UI async client now uses `?async=1`. Backward
compatible.
- **Size + preflight.** New `PORTABLE_ZIP_UPLOAD_LIMIT_BYTES = 128MB`;
the inline 56MB preflight no longer gates the zip path (it shows the
compressed size instead). Async submit/poll/resume, the duplicate-guard
fingerprint (now over the resolved bundle), pause-on-import,
progress/error panels, and activation all apply to the multipart path.
- OpenAPI documents json + multipart + zip bodies and the `async` query
param.
## Verification
- Full typecheck chain (shared, server, ui, cli) clean.
- 152 tests across 8 files: new `portability-zip.test.ts`
(STORE/DEFLATE/base64-blob byte-exact round-trip, truncation throws,
data-descriptor rejection); `company-portability-routes.test.ts` +7
(multipart import+preview equals the inline bundle; async multipart
202→poll→success; board async via `?async=1` with no cloud header;
cloud-tenant async via header; sync fallback with neither; truncated-zip
400, nothing imported); `CompanyImport.test.tsx` asserts the local zip
sends the raw File and the inline preflight no longer blocks;
`openapi-routes.test.ts` green.
- NOT yet measured: the end-to-end browser upload through the live Cloud
harness — verified on staging after deploy before closing out.
## Risks
- Import semantics unchanged — only transport changed; the JSON inline
path is byte-identical, the cloud-tenant header async path untouched.
Multipart parsing is server-side (memory-bound: a ~13MB zip → ~30MB
files map, fine on the server).
- The bare `application/zip` path is programmatic-only and covered by
content-type dispatch but not a dedicated route test (the multipart path
is).
## Model Used
- Claude Fable 5 (`claude-fable-5`, Anthropic), Claude Code CLI,
extended thinking + tool use; root-caused against live logs/DB and the
harness proxy source.
## Checklist
- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (only public GitHub `#NNN` / `github.com/paperclipai/paperclip`
URLs)
- [x] My branch name describes the change and contains no internal
Paperclip ticket id or instance-derived details
- [x] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
Devin Foley