## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - External tools need explicit identity and access boundaries.
> - Shared connection credentials cannot represent every user-scoped use
case.
> - Grants must stay company-scoped and support safe delegation.
> - This pull request adds connection grants, identity rules, and their
database contract.
> - The benefit is durable control over which identity an agent may use.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
Refs #11965
This is stack 3 of 11. It depends on stack 2 and replaces another
reviewable part of #11965.
## What Changed
- Add company and user connection grants.
- Add delegated identity and membership rules.
- Synchronize database, shared, server, and UI contracts.
- Register the grant-member replacement route in the OpenAPI surface in
the same layer that mounts it.
- Add migration 0231 with replay-safe guards and coverage.
## Verification
- `pnpm -r typecheck`
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server exec vitest run
src/__tests__/tool-access-service.test.ts`
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server exec vitest run
src/__tests__/openapi-routes.test.ts` (5 passed)
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/db check:migrations`
- `pnpm build`
## Risks
- Incorrect grant selection could expose the wrong credential scope.
- The service enforces company and subject boundaries before credential
use.
- Migration 0231 is generated, ordered after 0230, and safe to replay.
> I checked `ROADMAP.md`. This stack continues the existing app
connection work from #11965 and does not duplicate another planned item.
## Model Used
OpenAI Codex, GPT-5. The runtime model ID and context window were not
exposed. The model used reasoning, tool use, and code execution.
## 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 linked a public issue or pull request with `Refs #`
- [x] I have not referenced internal or instance-local Paperclip issues
or links
- [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
- [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>
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Repo-only project workspaces are materialized by a server-side `git
clone`, and isolated `git_worktree` runs refresh their base ref with
server-side `git fetch`
> - Both operations run outside the agent process with no credentials,
so private GitHub repositories can never be cloned or refreshed —
agent-scoped credential env bindings do not reach them
> - The company secret store already has a well-known GitHub token
convention (`GITHUB_TOKEN` / `GH_TOKEN` / `PAPERCLIP_GITHUB_TOKEN`,
consumed by the external-object provider for API reads), but nothing
server-side consults it for git
> - This pull request resolves that token per run and authenticates the
managed clone and every base-ref refresh with it through an ephemeral
credential helper
> - The benefit is that isolated workspaces work on private repositories
with one company secret, while public repositories and self-hosted
ambient git configuration keep working unchanged
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
**Subsystem affected**
Server workspace materialization (`server/src/services/heartbeat.ts`)
and execution-workspace realization
(`server/src/services/workspace-runtime.ts`).
**Problem or motivation**
A project workspace configured with only a private GitHub `repoUrl`
cannot be used for isolated `git_worktree` runs: the managed `git clone`
runs with a sanitized, credential-less environment, and plain git cannot
consume a bare token env variable without a credential helper. There is
no way to give the server a git credential — storing a `GH_TOKEN`
company secret has no effect on server-side git, and a credential-less
private clone hangs on a terminal prompt until the ten-minute clone
timeout. Base-ref refreshes (`git fetch`) during worktree realization
have the same gap.
**Proposed solution**
A `git-credentials` module resolves a token per run — company secret by
well-known name (`GITHUB_TOKEN`, `GH_TOKEN`, `PAPERCLIP_GITHUB_TOKEN`),
then `GITHUB_TOKEN`/`GH_TOKEN` in the server process environment for
self-hosted deployments, then none — and builds a git invocation that
authenticates via an inline credential helper. The token travels in an
env variable; it never appears in argv, URLs, or on disk. Only
`https://github.com` remotes are authenticated; everything else keeps
ambient behavior. The provider is a single factory seam so a future
brokered credential source can replace it without touching call sites.
**Alternatives considered**
- A GitHub OAuth "connect your account" flow: heavier product surface,
needs app registration and callback custody; out of scope for a server
credential and better served by a dedicated connector later. The
provider seam keeps that path open.
- `gh auth setup-git`: writes helper configuration to disk and requires
a global token env; rejected in favor of per-invocation config with no
persistent state.
- Embedding the token in the clone URL: leaks into argv, error messages,
and `.git/config`; rejected.
## What Changed
- New `server/src/services/git-credentials.ts`:
`createGitRemoteAuthProvider` (memoized per run, one secret resolution
and one audit event), `buildGitAuthInvocation` (helper-reset + inline
helper, `x-access-token` username, `GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0`),
`isGitHubHttpsRemoteUrl` host gating (rejects ssh/GHES/http/other
hosts/userinfo URLs), `describeGitAuthFailure`, and the canonical
`scrubGitCredentialText`. Secret resolutions pass a `system` consumer
access context so they are recorded as secret access events.
- `ensureManagedProjectWorkspace` (now exported) accepts an optional
auth provider; the clone env spreads the token after
`sanitizeRuntimeServiceBaseEnv` (which strips `PAPERCLIP_*`), always
sets `GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0`, distinguishes "credential rejected" from
"no credential configured — add a GITHUB_TOKEN or GH_TOKEN company
secret" in the error, and removes the partially created directory on
clone failure so a timeout-killed clone cannot be adopted as a broken
checkout by the next run.
- `refreshRemoteTrackingBaseRef` (now exported) captures the remote URL
it already looked up, asks the provider for an invocation, and
attributes failed authenticated fetches to the credential in a scrubbed
warning. The optional provider threads through `detectDefaultBranch`,
`resolveAuthoritativeBaseRef`, `inspectExecutionWorkspaceBaseDrift`,
`realizeExecutionWorkspace`, and
`ensurePersistedExecutionWorkspaceAvailable`; heartbeat builds one
provider per run for both the anchor-resolution clone path and workspace
realization/restore.
- `github-external-object-provider.ts` imports the shared secret-name
list; `isGitHubDotCom` is exported from `github-fetch.ts`.
- Docs: "Private repositories and repo-only project workspaces" section
in the execution-workspaces guide, cross-linked from the secrets deploy
doc.
## Verification
- `cd server && npx vitest run src/__tests__/git-credentials.test.ts` —
resolution chain order and precedence, env fallback, memoization,
audited access context, host-gating matrix, invocation shape (token
absent from argv), scrubber, failure descriptions, and a real-git `git
credential fill` round trip that proves the helper executes and answers
with the env-carried token (no network).
- `cd server && npx vitest run
src/__tests__/heartbeat-managed-clone-credentials.test.ts` — clones
behave byte-identically with no provider or a null-returning provider
(local repos, no network), authenticated-failure errors name the
credential, non-auth failures do not mention credentials, partial clone
directories are removed, pre-existing non-git directories keep the
"Using it as-is" path, and the sanitizer spread order keeps the token
env alive.
- `cd server && npx vitest run src/__tests__/workspace-runtime.test.ts`
— new `refreshRemoteTrackingBaseRef` cases: provider offered the remote
URL and null keeps behavior identical; failed authenticated fetch
warning names the credential; unauthenticated failure warning stays
credential-free.
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server typecheck` is clean.
- Manual (optional, networked): store a `GH_TOKEN` company secret,
configure a repo-only project workspace pointing at a private GitHub
repository, run an isolated-workspace issue — the managed clone succeeds
and the worktree run proceeds.
## Risks
- Every new parameter is optional; with no provider the git invocations
are byte-identical to before. Public repos and ambient credential
helpers keep working whenever no token resolves.
- Precedence change when a token exists: a stored company secret now
wins over ambient helpers for `https://github.com` remotes (the helper
list is reset for that invocation). The rejected-credential error names
the secret so an operator can fix or remove it.
- `GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0` on the managed clone is the one always-on
change: a credential-less private clone now fails fast with a clear
message instead of hanging until the ten-minute timeout (it could only
ever "succeed" interactively on a TTY dev server).
- The token is scoped to the git process env for one invocation; it is
never written to agent env, run context, disk, or logs, and error text
is scrubbed of URL userinfo.
- No migrations, no image changes (git ships in the image).
## Model Used
Claude Fable 5 (`claude-fable-5`, extended thinking, agentic tool use
via Claude Code CLI).
## 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.
> - Isolated workspaces give each task a safe and reproducible checkout.
> - The existing setup cloned the development database before an agent
needed to run the app.
> - This made worktree creation slower and heavier for tasks that never
start a service.
> - Runtime services already use one server start path for heartbeat,
operator, and startup recovery flows.
> - This pull request moves heavy setup to that start path and keeps
worktree creation lean.
> - The benefit is faster isolated workspace creation with the same
reliable runtime setup when a service starts.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
Related pull request: #10652 covers the initial deferred
database-seeding slice. This pull request supersedes it with end-to-end
runtime provisioning and safe cleanup.
**What existing behavior does this improve?**
This improves isolated worktree creation, runtime service startup, and
isolated instance cleanup.
**Subsystem affected**
Cross-cutting: CLI worktree setup, server runtime orchestration, shared
workspace contracts, and development scripts.
**Current behavior**
Paperclip seeds an isolated development database during worktree
creation. It can also leave an isolated instance directory after
workspace teardown. This work happens even when no runtime service
starts.
**Proposed behavior**
Paperclip creates the worktree with a lean eager setup. It runs an
idempotent runtime provision command before the first managed service
spawn. Concurrent starts share one provision attempt. Teardown removes
the isolated instance safely.
**Reason and benefit**
Many agent tasks only edit and test code. They do not need a running
Paperclip instance. Deferring the database seed reduces workspace
startup cost while preserving automatic setup for tasks that start the
app.
**Breaking changes**
None. The new runtime provision command is optional. Existing workspace
behavior is unchanged when it is absent.
## What Changed
- Split Paperclip worktree setup into a lean eager script and an
idempotent runtime provision script.
- Added `runtimeProvisionCommand` to project, issue, realized workspace,
and persisted workspace contracts.
- Added a per-workspace provision mutex before local service spawn for
heartbeat, operator, and startup recovery flows.
- Added a persisted `provisioning` service state and the
`workspace_runtime_provision` operation phase.
- Kept provision time outside the service readiness timeout and made
failed attempts visible and retryable.
- Reclaimed isolated instance data during safe workspace teardown.
- Serialized deferred database seeding across processes and bound
teardown to the instance root captured in persisted workspace metadata.
- Added tests for config flow, concurrency, retry, no-op behavior,
readiness timing, scripts, CLI commands, and cleanup.
- Documented the eager and runtime provisioning contracts.
## Verification
- `pnpm -r typecheck`
- `pnpm build`
- `pnpm test:run` (server: 3,201 passed; UI: 3,345 passed; the CLI phase
exposed one environment-sensitive AWS doctor assertion because the agent
runtime injects static AWS credentials)
- `env -u AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID -u AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY pnpm exec vitest
run cli/src/__tests__/secrets.test.ts -t 'passes AWS doctor checks when
non-secret provider config is present'`
- Focused runtime tests cover serialized provisioning, retry after
stderr failure, absent-command no-op behavior, operation logging,
persisted state order, and readiness timeout exclusion.
- Focused CLI and cleanup tests cover concurrent seed serialization,
stale-lock fail-closed behavior, persisted instance ownership, and
rewritten sibling pointers.
## Risks
- A faulty runtime provision script blocks service startup. Paperclip
records stderr, marks the service failed, and retries on the next start.
- Concurrent service requests share an in-process provision attempt,
while the seed command uses an atomic filesystem lock across processes.
A stale lock fails closed and requires an operator to verify no seed is
running before removing it.
- Isolated instance cleanup is destructive. The cleanup service
validates ownership and path containment before removal.
> For core feature work, check [`ROADMAP.md`](ROADMAP.md) first and
discuss it in `#dev` before opening the PR. Feature PRs that overlap
with planned core work may need to be redirected — check the roadmap
first. See `CONTRIBUTING.md`.
## Model Used
- OpenAI Codex, `gpt-5.6-sol`, with agentic reasoning, tool use, and
code execution. The service does not expose the context-window size.
## 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>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip orchestrates AI agents across isolated execution
workspaces; the local cwd is the only persistence boundary between runs.
> - Workspace lifecycle (worktree_prepare → execute →
workspace_finalize) and the wake/accept flow are what guarantee that
dependent issues see a consistent worktree.
> - PAPA-380 / PAPA-431 / PAPA-432 / PAPA-440 surfaced three holes in
that contract: silent env reuse across assignees, dependent wakes firing
before finalize, and `issue.interaction.accept` advancing before
finalize landed.
> - PAPA-441 / PAPA-442 then needed to document the "no remote git"
contract and prevent future adapter/runtime code from quietly
reintroducing `git push` as a backdoor sync.
> - This pull request lands those server fixes, the static
`check-no-git-push` enforcement, the AUTHORING.md cross-link, and the
Cody-review follow-ups on the PAPA-430 thread.
> - The benefit is that finalize is a real barrier — board accepts,
dependent wakes, and operator-set env all respect it — and adapter code
can't bypass it via raw `git push`.
## What Changed
- **server (PAPA-380, PAPA-431):** `execution-workspace-policy` refuses
silent env reuse when the assignee's resolved env disagrees with the
workspace it would inherit. The inheritance protection is now scoped to
the actual inheritance signal — explicit issue-level `environmentId` is
honored even when the agent's default env is `null`.
- **server (PAPA-432):** `heartbeat.ts` gates dependent wakes on
`listUnfinalizedExecutionWorkspaceIds`, and writes a
`workspace_finalize` row on the succeeded path. Write failures now
surface instead of being swallowed so dependents aren't silently
stranded behind a missing row.
- **server (PAPA-440):** `issue-thread-interactions.acceptInteraction`
adds a workspace_finalize precondition for `request_confirmation` (not
`suggest_tasks`). Accept returns 409 if finalize hasn't succeeded for
the latest workspace operation.
- **ci (PAPA-442):** new `scripts/check-no-git-push.mjs` static check
scans `packages/adapters/`, `packages/adapter-utils/`, `server/src/`,
and `cli/src/` for any `git push` invocation (string or args-array).
Wired into the `policy` PR job and `test:release-registry`. Operators
can opt in per-call with `// paperclip:allow-git-push: <reason>`.
Release scripts are out of scope by design.
- **docs (PAPA-441):** `AUTHORING.md` documents the no-remote-git
contract and cross-links the static check so adapter authors learn the
rule and the enforcement together.
- **review follow-up (PAPA-430, Cody):** three fixes — env resolver bug,
accept-gate scope (request_confirmation only), and finalize record write
on the succeeded path.
## Verification
- `pnpm exec vitest run
server/src/__tests__/execution-workspace-policy.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/issue-thread-interactions-service.test.ts` → 33/33
pass
- `node scripts/check-no-git-push.test.mjs` → check covers string form,
args-array form, comment exclusions, and per-line allow-comment.
- Manual: server compiles; the policy job runs the check in <1s before
heavier jobs.
## Risks
- **Behavioral shift in accept:** boards accepting
`request_confirmation` while finalize is in-flight now get 409s. This is
intentional — they can retry — but it changes timing on a hot path.
`suggest_tasks` is unaffected.
- **Workspace policy:** the env-reuse refusal is a new error path.
Issues that previously silently reused an env from a different-assignee
workspace will now fail-loud; the resolver still honors explicit
issue-level `executionWorkspaceSettings.environmentId`.
- **CI rule:** any future legitimate `git push` in scoped dirs must be
marked with the allow-comment, which is the intended ergonomic.
## Model Used
- Claude Opus 4.7 (`claude-opus-4-7`, extended thinking), via Claude
Code in the Paperclip executor adapter.
## 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 run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [ ] If this change affects the UI, I have included before/after
screenshots (N/A — server/CI/docs only)
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
Closes related issues: PAPA-430, PAPA-380, PAPA-431, PAPA-432, PAPA-440,
PAPA-441, PAPA-442
---------
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip orchestrates AI agents for zero-human companies
> - That operator experience depends not just on issue chat, but also on
how workspaces, inbox groups, and navigation state behave over
long-running sessions
> - The current branch included a separate cluster of workspace-runtime
controls, inbox grouping, sidebar ordering, and worktree lifecycle fixes
> - Those changes cross server, shared contracts, database state, and UI
navigation, but they still form one coherent operator workflow area
> - This pull request isolates the workspace/runtime and navigation
ergonomics work into one standalone branch
> - The benefit is better workspace recovery and navigation persistence
without forcing reviewers through the unrelated issue-detail/chat work
## What Changed
- Improved execution workspace and project workspace controls, request
wiring, layout, and JSON editor ergonomics
- Hardened linked worktree reuse/startup behavior and documented the
`worktree repair` flow for recovering linked worktrees safely
- Added inbox workspace grouping, mobile collapse, archive undo,
keyboard navigation, shared group-header styling, and persisted
collapsed-group behavior
- Added persistent sidebar order preferences with the supporting DB
migration, shared/server contracts, routes, services, hooks, and UI
integration
- Scoped issue-list preferences by context and added targeted UI/server
tests for workspace controls, inbox behavior, sidebar preferences, and
worktree validation
## Verification
- `pnpm vitest run
server/src/__tests__/sidebar-preferences-routes.test.ts
ui/src/pages/Inbox.test.tsx
ui/src/components/ProjectWorkspaceSummaryCard.test.tsx
ui/src/components/WorkspaceRuntimeControls.test.tsx
ui/src/api/workspace-runtime-control.test.ts`
- `server/src/__tests__/workspace-runtime.test.ts` was attempted, but
the embedded Postgres suite self-skipped/hung on this host after
reporting an init-script issue, so it is not counted as a local pass
here
## Risks
- Medium: this branch includes migration-backed preference storage plus
worktree/runtime behavior, so merge review should pay attention to state
persistence and worktree recovery semantics
- The sidebar preference migration is standalone, but it should still be
watched for conflicts if another migration lands first
## Model Used
- OpenAI Codex coding agent (GPT-5-class runtime in Codex CLI; exact
deployed model ID is not exposed in this environment), reasoning
enabled, tool use and local code execution enabled
## 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)
- [ ] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [ ] If this change affects the UI, I have included before/after
screenshots
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
---------
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
Dotta
Devin Foley
dotta