## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source control plane people use to organize
and operate AI-agent companies.
> - Agent behavior depends partly on the bundled Paperclip core skill
synchronized into each runtime.
> - The existing database and runtime plumbing already supports
immutable skill-version snapshots and per-agent version selections, but
no product workflow exposed that capability.
> - Replacing the live bundled skill globally would make champion
adoption risky and difficult to compare across agents.
> - This pull request adds an experimental, instance-level beta-skills
gate plus a repository release registry, immutable seeded releases,
enforcement, and a per-agent release picker.
> - The benefit is controlled per-agent evaluation of frozen core-skill
releases while the default-off path remains behaviorally unchanged.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
### Subsystem affected
Cross-cutting: `server/`, `ui/`, `packages/db`, and `packages/shared`.
### Problem or motivation
Paperclip needs a safe way to evaluate improved versions of its core
operating skill without globally replacing the live default. Today the
version-snapshot and per-agent pin plumbing exists, but operators cannot
use it. A global replacement would make regressions difficult to contain
and would prevent controlled comparisons across agents.
### Proposed solution
Add a default-off instance experiment that exposes immutable, named
core-skill releases. When enabled, operators can pin each agent to a
seeded release; when disabled, every agent resolves the live default
while saved pins remain intact. Validate pinned writes at the API
boundary, gate reads at runtime, and expose the selection in the agent
Skills tab.
### Alternatives considered
- **Replace the bundled core skill globally:** rejected because it
changes every agent at once and provides no rollback/isolation boundary.
- **Ship releases as separate skills:** rejected because releases are
versions of one core capability, not independently enabled skills.
- **Store release snapshots only outside the repository:** rejected
because repository provenance and hashes make builds reproducible and
reviewable.
### Roadmap alignment
This extends the Skills Manager / Skill Studio direction in `ROADMAP.md`
by making core-skill versions operable per agent. It does not duplicate
another open implementation PR; GitHub searches found no related
`enableBetaSkills` change.
### Additional context
The feature remains experimental and default off. The V7 champion was
selected through a multi-model evaluation process, and the frozen
release contents are verified by SHA-256 below.
## What Changed
- Added the default-off instance-level `enableBetaSkills` experimental
flag.
- Added `skills-releases/paperclip/` with the ordered release registry
and frozen `v0` plus `v7-roster` snapshots.
- Added release metadata to `company_skill_versions` and idempotent
release seeding. The migration was planned as `0191`, then renumbered to
`0192` because current `master` claimed `0191` before final rebase.
- Added read-time gating and write-time validation so disabled instances
always resolve the live default and reject pinned-version writes.
- Added the per-agent Release picker in the agent Skills tab, including
responsive layout and beta-pin state.
- Kept `EDITS.md` out of the release registry and PR diff.
### V7 Adoption Evidence
- Paid roster: 6 models, 94-case suite.
- Result: 553/564 pass-within-2, mean 92.17/94, versus the P2 baseline
of 544/564.
- Reference model improved 84→91; maximin improved 84→90.
- Final report:
https://pages.paperclip.ing/skills/optimization/paperclip/pap-14624-p3-final-20260721/
### Provenance
- `v7-roster` is the Phase 1 champion plus additions-only edits
E107–E112. Per-edit rationale remains in the evals repository at
`source/v7-roster/EDITS.md` and is deliberately excluded from this PR.
- `v0` is the `skills/paperclip` tree from commit `ea66ea81`.
- Champion selection was accepted on July 21, 2026 via board card
`9c304fc2` (PAP-14624 G3).
- This delivery mechanism was accepted on July 24, 2026 via plan
revision `2367abd2` (PAP-14858).
### QA Evidence
- P4 QA matrix comment `b7f40522-4e9b-4a3a-9821-28e86fe1a987`: all 6
acceptance criteria passed.
- Automated QA matrix: 166 tests passed with 0 failures, including real
filesystem materialization and full SHA-256 assertions.
- UI QA exercised the real agent Skills tab at desktop and mobile widths
with the experimental flag both on and off.
## Verification
- `pnpm check:token-gates`
- Focused beta-release matrix: 169 tests passed across shared
validators, server services/routes/heartbeat behavior, instance settings
UI, and release picker UI.
- `pnpm -r typecheck`
- `pnpm build`
- `pnpm test:run`: server and UI partitions passed; one CLI doctor test
inherited temporary AWS credentials from the agent heartbeat and
expected no static credentials. The isolated rerun with
`AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`, `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`, and `AWS_SESSION_TOKEN`
unset passed 8/8.
- V7 SHA-256:
- `SKILL.md`:
`53ab290489684cbf116fdd1406a95f6b6f53c9c36358b1bf8bfeae481e253575`
- `references/cases.md`:
`3b821f59064a7761091020a14819a8d787131f24029748563d6c0e1be7e6eaec`
- `references/workflows.md`:
`69747bd6e05f7e3673d1e67b07ff295df1869c05e1fd029804d5fa9177db92cd`
- Confirmed 49 changed files, no `pnpm-lock.yaml`, no workflow changes,
and no `EDITS.md`.
## Risks
- **Migration:** low-to-moderate risk. Three nullable columns and one
partial unique index are added idempotently; existing rows remain valid.
- **Behavior:** low risk while the flag is off because read-time
resolution forces the live default and saved pins are preserved but
inactive.
- **Frozen content:** release snapshots intentionally diverge from
future live skill edits; provenance and hashes make that divergence
explicit and reproducible.
- **UI:** low risk. The picker only renders for the bundled core skill
when the experimental flag is enabled and seeded releases exist.
> This extends the existing Skills Manager / Skill Studio direction
described in `ROADMAP.md`; it does not duplicate another open
implementation PR. The GitHub PR search found no related
`enableBetaSkills` change.
## Model Used
- OpenAI Codex using `gpt-5.5` with reasoning and
terminal/code-execution tools; context-window size is not exposed by
this runtime. Earlier implementation commits also record Claude Opus 4.8
assistance where applicable.
## 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 not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (required governance identifiers are included above; no internal
URL is included)
- [ ] My branch name describes the change and contains no internal
Paperclip ticket id (the approved delivery plan mandated this shared
branch name)
- [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>
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