## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source control plane people use to manage
AI-agent companies.
> - Its secrets subsystem can resolve external references such as AWS
Secrets Manager values without copying those values into Paperclip
custody.
> - Operators also need to rotate a referenced secret's value while
preserving the same provider reference for consumers inside and outside
Paperclip.
> - Previously, external-reference rotation could only retarget
metadata, and secret detail sheets were driven by local component state
rather than shareable navigation state.
> - This pull request adds an optional provider write capability,
implements AWS Secrets Manager write-through rotation, and exposes
capability-aware rotate modes in the UI.
> - It also makes secret and each-user definition detail sheets
URL-driven and adds a copy-link action.
> - The benefit is that operators can update the canonical external
value safely while keeping AWS rotation tracking intact, and they can
share or navigate directly to secret details.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
### Subsystem affected
Cross-cutting (`server/`, `ui/`, and `packages/shared`).
### Problem or motivation
External-reference secrets can follow a provider-managed value, but
Paperclip could not write a replacement value back to providers that
support it. Operators had to leave Paperclip, update the value
separately, and then return without an auditable Paperclip rotation
record. Secret detail sheets also could not be shared or restored
through browser history because their selection lived only in component
state.
### Proposed solution
Add an optional `updateExternalSecretValue` provider capability and
surface it as `supportsExternalValueWrites`. Implement AWS writes with
`PutSecretValue` while leaving the resolution `versionId` unset so
future reads continue following `AWSCURRENT`. Add write-value and
retarget modes to the rotate dialog for capable providers. Drive secret
detail selection from `?secret=` / `?definition=` query parameters and
provide a copy-link action.
### Alternatives considered
Converting an external reference into a Paperclip-managed secret would
break consumers that depend on the existing provider reference. Pinning
reads to the newly written AWS version would prevent later out-of-band
rotations from flowing through. Keeping sheet selection only in React
state would not support browser Back or shareable links.
### Roadmap alignment
This extends the completed “Secrets Manager with per-agent access”
roadmap capability; it does not duplicate a separate planned roadmap
item. Public GitHub searches found no duplicate or closely related issue
or PR.
### Additional context
The PR includes focused provider, service, and UI render coverage.
Cutter also generated previews for the deep-linked detail sheet and
capability-aware rotate modes.
## What Changed
- Added optional external-value write support to the secret provider
contract and provider descriptors.
- Implemented AWS Secrets Manager write-through with `PutSecretValue`,
audit material, and compensation when persistence fails after the
provider write.
- Allowed `secretService.rotate()` value updates for external references
while rejecting ambiguous value-plus-retarget combinations and
unsupported providers.
- Added capability-aware “Write new value” and “Change reference” rotate
modes with updated custody and action copy.
- Made secret and each-user definition detail sheets source their
selection from URL query parameters, compose with folder paths, close
through browser history, and expose a copy-link action.
- Added provider, service, and UI render coverage for write-through,
rollback, capability messaging, dialog modes, and deep links.
## Verification
- `pnpm vitest run
server/src/__tests__/aws-secrets-manager-provider.test.ts` — 18 passed.
- `pnpm vitest run server/src/__tests__/secrets-service.test.ts` — 75
passed.
- `pnpm vitest run ui/src/pages/Secrets.render.test.tsx` — 31 passed.
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/shared typecheck` — passed.
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server typecheck` — passed.
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/ui typecheck` — passed.
- `pnpm check:token-gates` — passed with all gates clean.
## Risks
- External value writes affect the canonical provider secret and
therefore all consumers of that AWS secret; the UI explicitly labels
this custody behavior.
- A provider write can succeed before Paperclip persistence fails. The
service records the written version and AWS support includes
compensation coverage to restore the prior value where possible;
unrecoverable failures return explicit audit-safe error details.
- URL-driven sheet state changes navigation behavior; render tests cover
deep links, Back/close behavior, and composition with folder query
state.
- No database migration or breaking API requirement is introduced;
providers without the optional capability retain reference-only
behavior.
> 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 using exact model ID `gpt-5.6-sol`, high reasoning mode,
Codex CLI `0.142.5`, with repository, shell, Git, GitHub CLI, and
code-execution tools. The runtime did not expose a context-window size.
- Earlier implementation commits were assisted by Anthropic `Claude
Fable 5` as recorded in their commit trailers; the exact backend model
ID and context-window size were not preserved in the workspace metadata.
## 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 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, or
confirmed no documentation change is required
- [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: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
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