## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Paperclip planning skills turn approved plans into executable issue
graphs for agents
> - The executor starts assigned tasks that have no open blockers
> - Parent/child nesting gives structure, but it does not create
execution dependencies
> - Planning guidance that does not make this distinction can let
dependent tasks run too early
> - This pull request clarifies that hard dependencies must be encoded
as `blockedByIssueIds`
> - The benefit is that agents converting plans into tasks have a
clearer checklist for creating and verifying runnable task graphs
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
No public GitHub issue was found for this documentation update.
Problem:
- The planning guidance could be read as if hierarchy, phase order, or
prose blocker notes were enough to sequence execution.
- In Paperclip, only explicit blockers prevent an otherwise-ready
assigned task from starting.
Expected behavior:
- Skill guidance should tell planners to encode each hard dependency as
`blockedByIssueIds` on the dependent issue.
- It should also tell planners to verify the created issue graph before
closing the source planning issue.
## What Changed
- Clarified that parent/child issue nesting is structural and not an
execution blocker.
- Added guidance to build a compact task matrix with task, owner,
initial status, and blockers when converting accepted plans into tasks.
- Added verification guidance to re-fetch or otherwise inspect created
issues before marking the source planning issue done.
- Updated the bundled task-planning skill handoff text to point at the
same dependency expectations without duplicating the full companion
skill text.
## Verification
- Ran `git diff --check origin/master...HEAD` locally.
- Rebased cleanly onto the latest `master` from `paperclipai/paperclip`
before pushing.
- Greptile completed at 5/5 on the latest head; the previous P2 wording
thread was fixed and resolved.
- GitHub PR checks are green on latest head
`2b07db9aef22ca32c65fa66fcca2db86c5b01220`, including policy,
commitperclip review, typecheck/release registry, general test shards,
build, serialized server suites, e2e, canary dry run, verify, Socket,
security-review, Snyk, and Greptile.
- No additional local unit test command was run because this is a
documentation/skill-text-only change and the remote PR suite covered the
repository gates.
## Risks
Low risk. This changes skill guidance only; it does not alter runtime
behavior, database schema, migrations, workflows, or UI code.
> 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-based coding agent in the Paperclip local adapter
runtime. Exact backend model ID and context window were not exposed by
the runtime. Used shell, git, GitHub CLI, and the GitHub connector for
repository inspection and PR creation.
## 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
- [ ] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] 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] 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>
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