## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - A growing part of that work runs in sandboxed environments rather
than on the operator's local machine.
> - Today sandbox providers can start fresh workspaces and run probes,
but they do not have a shared contract for capturing and reusing
prepared sandbox state.
> - Operators need a way to set up tools, credentials, and project
dependencies once, then reuse that prepared image for later agent runs.
> - This pull request adds reusable sandbox custom images across the
provider contract, server runtime, and board UI.
> - It also keeps probes and sandbox copy flows aligned with
pre-authenticated/custom-image environments.
> - The benefit is faster, more reliable sandbox runs without repeatedly
rebuilding the same environment setup.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
No public GitHub issue was found for this change. Inline feature request
follows.
### Problem or motivation
Sandboxed agents need reusable prepared runtime state so repeated runs
do not require manual setup every time. Operators often need system
packages, CLIs, SDKs, dependency caches, credentials, and project
tooling available before an agent can work productively.
### Proposed solution
Add a provider-level custom-image capability, server-side setup/capture
lifecycle, Daytona/fake provider support, and board UI controls for
creating, testing, selecting, and deleting custom images.
### Alternatives considered
Leaving this as provider-specific setup outside Paperclip would keep the
control plane blind to image state and would not give agents consistent
environment metadata. Re-running setup commands for every lease is
simpler, but slower and less reliable for interactive or credentialed
setup.
### Roadmap alignment
Checked `ROADMAP.md`; this aligns with the Cloud / Sandbox agents
roadmap area and does not duplicate any related public issue or PR found
by search.
Additional context:
- Subsystem affected: cross-cutting (`packages/db`, `packages/shared`,
`packages/plugins`, `server`, `ui`).
- Duplicate search: searched GitHub for `sandbox custom image` and
`sandbox template environment`; no related public issues or PRs were
found.
## What Changed
- Added custom-image shared types, validators, constants, API paths, and
database schema/migration.
- Added server services/routes for custom-image templates and setup
sessions, including runtime cleanup and provider metadata handling.
- Extended plugin/sandbox provider capabilities for interactive setup,
template capture, and template deletion.
- Implemented custom-image support in the fake sandbox provider and
Daytona provider.
- Updated environment runtime/config handling so active custom images
flow into leases, probes, and agent execution.
- Added board UI controls and API client support for custom-image setup,
capture, selection, status, and error states.
- Hardened sandbox copy/probe behavior for insecure clipboard contexts
and pre-authenticated sandbox images.
- Added targeted coverage across shared validators, DB schema, server
routes/services, provider plugins, adapter probes, and UI flows.
## Verification
- `pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --ignore-scripts`
- `pnpm vitest run
packages/adapters/claude-local/src/server/test.probe.test.ts
packages/adapters/claude-local/src/server/test.ts
packages/adapters/codex-local/src/server/test.remote.test.ts
packages/adapters/codex-local/src/server/test.ts`
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/adapter-claude-local typecheck`
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/adapter-codex-local typecheck`
- `pnpm vitest run
packages/db/src/environment-custom-images-schema.test.ts
packages/shared/src/environment-custom-images.test.ts
packages/shared/src/validators/plugin.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/environment-custom-images-service.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/workspace-runtime.test.ts
packages/plugins/sandbox-providers/daytona/src/plugin.test.ts
ui/src/pages/CompanyEnvironments.test.tsx
ui/src/pages/CompanySettings.test.tsx`
- `pnpm -r typecheck`
- `pnpm build`
- `rm -rf packages/db/dist && pnpm test:run`
- Public-safety scan of the final diff found no internal Paperclip issue
links, private instance URLs, or real secret patterns.
## Risks
- Adds a database migration and new environment runtime tables, so
migration ordering and rollback need care.
- Provider implementations may differ in how reliably they can
capture/delete images; unsupported providers surface capability-gated UI
states.
- Custom-image state can contain operator-prepared tooling and
credentials inside the provider image, so providers must enforce their
own access controls and cleanup semantics.
- Broad surface area across shared contracts, server runtime, plugins,
adapters, and UI means CI and Greptile review should be watched closely.
> 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 GPT-5 (`gpt-5`) via Codex CLI with tool use and code execution.
Assisted with branch cleanup, conflict resolution, local verification,
and PR preparation. Earlier branch implementation work was assisted by
Paperclip-managed Claude/Codex agents.
## 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
---------
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
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