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paperclip/packages/paperclip-runner/docs/tutorials/capability-clean-room-chat.md

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Capability Tutorial: Chat With Real Codex In A Clean Room

Time to first success: about 3 minutes, once the package is installed. You open a blank chat, type whatever you like, and watch a real Codex session work a brand-new mock Paperclip issue through a real paperclip-runnerd process. No scenario to pick, no recorded transcript, and no real Paperclip service anywhere in the picture.

This is the second primary Capability path. The first — the preset scenario explorer — is covered by the issue-thread tutorial and stays available and unchanged. Read the clean-room reference for the seed, exposure profile, bounds, and route contract behind what you see here.

What you need

  • Node.js 20 or newer and pnpm 9 or newer (verified with Node 22.22.2 and pnpm 9.15.4).
  • A Rust toolchain, because this path builds the real paperclip-runnerd binary. There is no offline fallback: the clean room is live-only by design.
  • A locally authenticated Codex CLI. The package server owns that authentication; the browser never receives it.

Install the workspace from the repository root:

NODE_ENV=development pnpm install --filter @paperclipai/paperclip-runner --frozen-lockfile --offline --ignore-scripts

Setting NODE_ENV=development matters even if your shell already has NODE_ENV=production: pnpm silently skips devDependencies otherwise, and the build tooling lives there.

1. Prove the path without a browser (about 1 minute)

pnpm --filter @paperclipai/paperclip-runner smoke:capability:cleanroom -- --json

This builds the TypeScript output and paperclip-runnerd, starts the package server on loopback, opens a clean room, and drives two real Codex turns through the same HTTP routes the browser uses. Expected shape:

{
  "schema": "paperclip.capability.clean-room-smoke.v1",
  "firstIssue": "MCK-2114",
  "newChatIssue": "MCK-9539",
  "turns": 2,
  "toolCalls": [
    { "operationId": "get_task_context", "outcome": "ok" },
    { "operationId": "report_progress", "outcome": "ok" }
  ],
  "assertions": { "...": true }
}

Every assertion must read true. The two issue identifiers differ because New chat mints a new mock tenant rather than clearing the old one.

2. Open the chat in a browser (about 1 minute)

pnpm --filter @paperclipai/paperclip-runner console:issue-thread

Open http://127.0.0.1:4184/. The landing surface is the scenario explorer. Above the issue header, a two-item rail offers Scenario explorer and New chat · clean room. Click New chat, or go straight to http://127.0.0.1:4184/#/chat.

The first load takes a few seconds: the server is starting a real runnerd and a real Codex app-server for you. When it settles you should see:

  • three identity chips — Real Codex, Real runnerd, Mock Paperclip — plus a Clean room <token> chip naming the tenant;
  • a mock issue identifier such as MCK-3799 with the title Clean-room chat;
  • a blank thread with a short explanation of what the surface is;
  • a composer, and an Evidence button that is closed.

If Codex or runnerd cannot start, the page says so and offers Try again. It will not quietly show you a fixture.

3. Send a real message

Type anything. A useful first prompt:

Read this issue, then record a one-sentence status on it.

You should see a user message, a Real Codex reply, collapsed tool strips for the semantic calls Codex chose (get_task_context, report_progress, …), and a durable comment card tagged Recorded to mock thread — that card is a mock control-plane record, not model prose.

Keep going. The conversation is free-form and multi-turn on one durable session. Ask Codex to write a document, register a deliverable, propose child tasks, or ask you a structured question; interaction cards render inline and resume the same Codex thread once you answer.

4. Look at the evidence, when you want it

Click DevTools. The drawer carries the same eight evidence sections the scenario path uses: tools exposed, calls and typed results, authorization decisions, control-plane actions, runner events, state diffs, traceability, and parity. Above those sections, the DevTools inspector provides six tabs:

  • Timeline selects any retained control-plane revision.
  • State browses the full mock company tree.
  • Diff compares any two revisions field by field.
  • Documents reads document bodies and switches between revisions.
  • Protocol, Runtime, and Authority show the surrounding scaffolding that explains why each mutation happened.

Use Pause to stop following the newest revision, Export to download a redacted JSON snapshot, or Fork rN to replace this chat with a fresh live branch rooted at the selected mock-company revision.

Drag the bright divider at the drawer's left edge to resize it (up to 960px), or focus that divider and use the arrow keys. As soon as you send a message, the live activity rail reports the current Codex stage; shell commands, built-in Codex tools, and Paperclip semantic calls also appear as individual activity rows while the turn is still open.

Two things are worth finding on your first pass:

  • Tools exposed lists decide_approval, control_workspace_service, and generic_api_request under Control plane (not exposed to the agent). Those grants are withheld on purpose, so a denial stays reachable in a conversation nobody scripted.
  • Control plane carries a network-guard-… row reading Real Paperclip API requests: 0. Child PAPERCLIP_* environment keys: none.

Close the drawer and the surface is a plain chat again.

5. Stop, reset, and start over

  • Stop cancels the active turn and keeps the session and its transcript.
  • Reset stops active work, retires this session's authority, and opens a new mock tenant. The confirmation dialog says so before it happens.
  • New chat does the same without the dialog.
  • Refresh (F5) reconnects to the same chat. It does not become a recording.

After a reset or a new chat, look at the header: the MCK- identifier, the run id, and the Clean room token have all changed. The previous session is gone — its id answers 404 on every route.

6. Confirm the scenario explorer still works

Click Scenario explorer in the rail. Every preset deep link still resolves, including the deterministic capture routes:

http://127.0.0.1:4184/#/issue/hb-baseline?shot=denial-optional-tool&capture=1

Where to go next