## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - The instance settings surface (Access, Plugins, Adapters, General,
Experimental) assumes the person at the keyboard operates the whole
instance
> - Operators who host Paperclip for others — a managed cloud or an
internal shared server — expose settings pages and toggles that do not
apply to their deployment, and the related mutation APIs stay open
> - A hosted tenant can open Plugins or Adapters, try an action, and hit
a confusing failure, because only a few hardcoded platform floors exist
> - This pull request adds a generic, operator-configured visibility
mechanism: one env var hides declared settings surfaces in the UI and
floors their mutation routes with a stable 403 code
> - The benefit is a clean hosted-tenant settings surface for any
operator, with zero behavior change for normal self-hosted instances
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
**Subsystem affected**
Instance settings (server routes and UI), the shared settings registry
in `packages/shared`, and the `/api/health` bootstrap payload.
**Problem or motivation**
An operator who hosts Paperclip for other people cannot hide settings
surfaces that the platform manages. Tenants see Access, Plugins, and
Adapters pages, backup retention, and host-level experimental toggles
that do nothing useful for them. The mutation APIs behind these surfaces
also stay open, so a tenant admin can attempt actions the platform must
control. ROADMAP.md names a cleaner shared deployment story as a goal
("Teams should be able to run the same product in hosted or semi-hosted
environments without changing the mental model").
**Proposed solution**
Add a declarative registry of hideable settings surfaces and one env
var, `PAPERCLIP_HIDDEN_SETTINGS`. The server parses the list at boot,
reports it on `/api/health`, and rejects value-changing writes to hidden
surfaces with a stable `settings_operator_managed` 403 code. The UI
reads the list from the health payload and removes the hidden pages,
sections, and toggles from navigation, routes, and page content. Unknown
keys warn and are ignored, so one list can roll across a fleet with
mixed app versions. With the variable unset, behavior is byte-identical
to today.
**Alternatives considered**
- Hardcode the hidden set for cloud instances in this repo: rejected,
because each hosting operator needs a different policy, and policy does
not belong in shared code.
- Deliver the hidden set through the managed-config document: rejected,
because that channel is cloud-specific and fail-closed on unknown
fields; a plain env var works for any operator, including self-hosted
shared servers.
- Lock the controls with a badge instead of hiding them: rejected for
these surfaces, because they are meaningless to tenants, not merely
platform-controlled; the existing managed-overlay lock stays the right
tool for controlled flags.
**Roadmap alignment**
Supports the "shared deployment story" item in ROADMAP.md: hosted and
semi-hosted deployments keep the same product with a settings surface
that matches what the tenant can actually do.
## What Changed
- New `packages/shared/src/settings-visibility.ts`: registry of hideable
surfaces (every instance settings page — profile, environments, access,
heartbeats, experimental, plugins, adapters; every Instance → General
section; every experimental flag as `instance.experimental.<key>`), the
`PAPERCLIP_HIDDEN_SETTINGS` parser, and the `settings_operator_managed`
error code. The General page stays visible as the settings root and
redirect target.
- New `server/src/services/settings-visibility.ts`: parse-once accessor;
unknown keys log one warning and are ignored.
- `/api/health` reports `hiddenSettings` on every response shape; the
field is omitted when nothing is hidden.
- Server floors on hidden surfaces, with same-value echo tolerance (the
`executionMode` precedent): field-backed general sections and
experimental keys reject value-changing PATCHes, and hiding the whole
Experimental page floors every toggle; plugin lifecycle and config
writes, adapter management writes, and the Access admin routes (reads
included) return 403 `settings_operator_managed`. Reads the app itself
needs (plugin `ui-contributions`, adapter metadata, plugin job trigger)
stay open. Pages without instance-scoped mutation routes are hidden in
the UI only.
- UI: new `useHiddenSettings` hook and `HiddenSettingsPageGate` route
gate (hidden pages redirect to the settings root); the settings sidebar
and tab bar drop hidden entries; remembered settings paths remap to the
default page; `InstanceGeneralSettings` skips hidden sections; every
`ExperimentalToggleCard` now carries its flag key and renders nothing
when hidden.
- Removed the dead `InstanceSidebar` component (referenced only by its
own test).
- Docs: `docs/deploy/environment-variables.md` documents the variable
and the key registry.
## Verification
- `pnpm vitest run` over the new and extended suites: shared registry
and parser, representative floor tests per route class (changed-value
403, same-value echo 200, unset env 200, page-level Experimental
hiding), the health field, the route gate, nav filtering, and
section/card hiding with one hidden example per surface kind — 168 tests
pass.
- Full root `pnpm typecheck` passes.
- Manual: booted a server with the variable set. `/api/health` lists the
keys; an unknown key logs one warning and the server boots; hidden pages
redirect; hidden sections and cards do not render; hidden-field PATCH
returns 403 with `details.code = "settings_operator_managed"`; a
same-value echo returns 200. Unset the variable: the full settings
surface returns and responses are byte-identical to master.
## Risks
- Low risk for self-hosted instances: with the variable unset, the
hidden set is empty, the health field is omitted, and no floor
activates.
- Flooring plugin config writes assumes hosted deployments configure
plugins through the platform. If a future bundled plugin needs
tenant-entered config, the floor needs a narrow carve-out.
- Hidden-key floors tolerate same-value echoes, so API clients that
round-trip full GET responses keep working.
- Hiding a toggle does not change its value; operators pair hiding with
the desired default where the value matters.
## Model Used
Claude Fable 5 (Anthropic, `claude-fable-5`) with extended thinking and
agentic tool use, driven through the Claude Code CLI (file edits, test
execution, and live-server verification loops).
## 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.
> - Adapter names are part of the board-facing agent setup and
management experience.
> - The product now treats adapters as harnesses, while execution
environments are modeled separately.
> - Several built-in adapter labels still carried legacy local wording
from the older harness-by-environment model.
> - That wording makes the UI noisier and implies a distinction users no
longer need to reason about.
> - This pull request normalizes adapter display labels while keeping
persisted adapter type identifiers unchanged.
> - The benefit is clearer adapter selection and management copy without
a database migration.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
No public GitHub issue was found for this exact cleanup.
Related public PRs:
- Supersedes #8910, an earlier branch for the same cleanup that did not
include the later docs/gateway/Cursor alignment.
- Refs #8819, which is related display-registry work for external
multi-segment adapter labels, but not a duplicate of this built-in label
cleanup.
Feature request details:
- Subsystem affected: Cross-cutting (`ui/`, `packages/adapters`, and
docs).
- Problem or motivation: user-facing adapter names include legacy local
qualifiers even though adapters map to harnesses and environments are
first-class elsewhere.
- Proposed solution: remove the legacy local wording from built-in
display labels, keep machine-readable adapter type ids unchanged, and
keep gateway disambiguation where it is useful.
- Alternatives considered: changing persisted adapter type ids was ruled
out because it would create migration and compatibility risk; one-off UI
replacements were ruled out because the display registry is already the
correct central label boundary.
- Roadmap alignment: this is small adapter UX polish, not a new
roadmap-level core feature.
## What Changed
- Updated the adapter display registry so known adapter labels are final
and no built-in local adapter renders a legacy local suffix.
- Preserved clean derived labels for unknown plugin local types while
keeping gateway disambiguation for unknown gateway types.
- Updated `AdapterManager` to prefer registry labels when the server
reports raw adapter type ids for built-ins.
- Removed legacy local wording from built-in adapter metadata labels in
UI and adapter packages.
- Aligned Cursor adapter metadata with the central display registry
label.
- Updated adapter docs and Storybook fixtures to match the new display
names.
- Added focused registry coverage for built-in labels and unknown plugin
suffix behavior.
## Verification
- `pnpm check:tokens`
- `git diff --check origin/master...fix/adapter-display-labels`
- Patch-addition scan for added secrets, private paths, and internal
links: no matches.
- GitHub duplicate search for open adapter-label/local-suffix issues and
PRs; #8910 was identified as the older superseded public PR.
- `pnpm exec vitest run
ui/src/adapters/adapter-display-registry.test.ts`
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/ui typecheck`
- Stale-label scan found no remaining user-facing display-label
suffixes; remaining local wording is operational/test terminology such
as adapter ids, docs about running locally, and test descriptions.
## Risks
Low risk. The change is display-label and documentation focused, and
adapter type ids remain unchanged. The main risk is ambiguous gateway
naming, mitigated by keeping explicit gateway labels where variants need
disambiguation.
## Model Used
OpenAI GPT-5 via Codex, tool-enabled coding agent in a local repository
workspace. Context window size is 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>
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip server starts up and sets internal `PAPERCLIP_API_URL` for
downstream services and adapters
> - The server startup code was unconditionally overwriting
`PAPERCLIP_API_URL` with `http://localhost:3100` (or equivalent based on
`config.host`)
> - In Kubernetes deployments, `PAPERCLIP_API_URL` is set via a
ConfigMap to the externally accessible load balancer URL (e.g.
`https://paperclip.example.com`)
> - Because the env var was unconditionally set after loading the
ConfigMap value, the ConfigMap-provided URL was ignored and replaced
with the internal localhost address
> - This caused downstream services (adapter env building) to use the
wrong URL, breaking external access
> - This pull request makes the assignment conditional — only set if not
already provided by the environment
> - External deployments can now supply `PAPERCLIP_API_URL` and it will
be respected; local development continues to work without setting it
## What Changed
- `server/src/index.ts`: Wrapped `PAPERCLIP_API_URL` assignment in `if
(!process.env.PAPERCLIP_API_URL)` guard so externally provided values
are preserved
- `server/src/__tests__/server-startup-feedback-export.test.ts`: Added
tests verifying external `PAPERCLIP_API_URL` is respected and fallback
behavior is correct
- `docs/deploy/environment-variables.md`: Updated `PAPERCLIP_API_URL`
description to clarify it can be externally provided and the load
balancer/reverse proxy use case
## Verification
- Run the existing test suite: `pnpm test:run
server/src/__tests__/server-startup-feedback-export.test.ts` — all 3
tests pass
- Manual verification: Set `PAPERCLIP_API_URL` to a custom value before
starting the server and confirm it is not overwritten
## Risks
- Low risk — purely additive conditional check; existing behavior for
unset env var is unchanged
## Model Used
MiniMax M2.7 — reasoning-assisted for tracing the root cause through the
startup chain (`buildPaperclipEnv` → `startServer` → `config.host` →
`HOST` env var)
## 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 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: Pawla Abdul (Bot) <pawla@groombook.dev>
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
- Restored docs/ directory that was accidentally deleted by `git add -A`
in the v0.2.3 release script
- Replaced generic "P" favicon with actual paperclip icon using brand
primary color (#2563EB)
- Added light/dark logo SVGs for Mintlify navbar (paperclip icon + wordmark)
- Updated docs.json with logo configuration for dark/light mode
- Fixed release.sh to stage only release-related files instead of `git add -A`
to prevent sweeping unrelated changes into release commits
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Devin Foley
Chris Farhood
dotta
Dotta
Forgotten