## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Cloud releases wait for source verification before deployment.
> - That verification reuses compiled Rust dependencies to finish
sooner.
> - PR jobs save large pnpm stores under separate merge refs and
different lockfile keys.
> - Those copies compete with master build caches for the repository's
10 GB cache limit.
> - This PR makes PR dependency caches restore-only and reuses
master-compatible keys.
> - A separate pin update will activate the reviewed workflow.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
**What happened?**
PR merge refs accumulated roughly 700 MB copies of the same pnpm store.
Master Rust caches disappeared, and Cloud readiness run
[34656098157](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/34656098157)
rebuilt dependencies after cache misses. The repository currently has a
10 GB limit. GitHub rejected a request for 50 GB; that setting needs
separate organization/billing access.
**Expected behavior**
PR jobs should reuse downloaded packages without evicting post-merge
compilation caches through duplicate uploads.
**Steps to reproduce**
1. Run several PRs while the checked-in lockfile needs policy
regeneration.
2. Compare the setup-node keys in PR jobs and master jobs.
3. List Actions caches by ref, key, and archive size. The PR keys repeat
across merge refs.
**Paperclip version or commit**
f12b647ae, before this change.
**Deployment mode**
GitHub Actions, with GitHub-hosted and allowlisted AWS PR runners.
Refs #13267 (empty pnpm store prevention). Searched open issues and PRs
for pnpm cache duplication and found no duplicate implementation. This
change leaves the paused capacity documentation PR #13280 alone.
## What Changed
- Replace setup-node cache writes with pinned `actions/cache/restore` in
all seven PR install job definitions.
- Restore against the checked-in lockfile before downloading the
regenerated policy artifact. Keep every install frozen against that
artifact.
- Allow an OS/architecture-specific pnpm fallback and disable automatic
setup-node caching.
- Remove dependency-store caching from the resolution-only policy job.
- Add eight regression tests, update the existing stacked-lockfile cache
assertion, and document cache behavior and storage settings.
## Verification
- Passed 505 workflow, routing, cache, and source-verification tests:
`node --test '.github/scripts/tests/*.test.mjs'
scripts/__tests__/e2e-shard.test.mjs
scripts/__tests__/run-vitest-stable-shard.test.mjs
scripts/__tests__/release-verify-workflow.test.mjs
scripts/cloud-source-verification.test.mjs`.
- Passed `actionlint .github/workflows/pr-trusted.yml` and `git diff
--check`.
- The AWS routing gate is unchanged. Author, event sender, and rerun
actor must still be allowlisted.
- This definition PR does not change the active `pr.yml` pin. After
review and merge, authorize its immutable merge SHA additively and
activate it in a separate PR. Verify a populated restore and no cache
uploads in an allowlisted PR.
- All 32 checks passed or were intentionally skipped on
`44b31eca590f61b75cae646de43c491b6c4deae7`, including full native Runner
verification, application build, server/workspace tests, and browser
shards. Current-head Greptile is 5/5 with no findings. No application
code changes in this PR.
## Risks
- New dependencies present only in a PR may download again on each run
until master saves a cache containing them. Frozen installation remains
the source of dependency resolution.
- Missing or expired stores fall back to normal package downloads.
- Existing PR copies remain until expiry or a separate targeted cleanup.
No cache entries are deleted here.
- The workflow only takes effect after the separate immutable pin
rotation. Storage billing settings are not changed by this PR.
## Model Used
OpenAI GPT-6 through Codex, with reasoning, repository tools, and code
execution. The exact serving model ID and context window are not exposed
by this environment.
## 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
- [x] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [x] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
---------
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
Devin Foley