feat: default new Codex agents to Paperclip Runner on Linux and macOS (#15683)

## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source control plane for agent companies.
> - People choose a harness when creating an agent.
> - The server should resolve that harness to a qualified runner.
> - Codex is the first harness in the staged default rollout.
> - Saved agents must retain their execution choices.
> - New Codex agents therefore use Paperclip Runner on qualified
macOS/Linux targets, with an explicit Legacy override.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

Refs #16028, #15555, #15673, #15422, #15631, #15926, #15932, #16149.

The runtime/install prerequisite and release repair are merged. This
slice owns Codex creation, setup, configuration and preservation. Other
harness defaults remain unchanged. It adds no database migration;
incoming master migrations, required maps and regression coverage are
retained.

## What Changed

- Resolve `runner: auto | paperclip | legacy` at the common creation
boundary across onboarding, API/CLI, hires, built-ins, plugins and
imports. Freeze pending hires and export resolved execution choices.
- Preserve existing runners on upgrades, unrelated edits and import
updates, including compatible accounts, workspace settings, Codex effort
and intentional clears.
- Use the underlying harness picker and branding; put the runner
override in Advanced. Use the shared dropdown and update
production-component stories and creation contracts.
- Support qualified Apple Silicon, Intel Mac, Linux x64 and Linux ARM64.
Linux requires GNU libc 2.39+. Disabled, external, unsupported and
unqualified combinations retain their applicable Legacy execution.
- Test the selected runtime/account/model/environment. Ordinary Connect
probes eligible immutable managed targets and refreshes scoped
discovery. Creation/discovery do not provision. Auth, dependency,
incompatible-setting and cleanup failures remain actionable without
changing runners.
- Keep setup probes read-only, preserve local/SSH isolation and resolve
packaged assets before staging credentials. Bound cleanup reads by the
remaining absolute deadline; physically close every owned ingress socket
before endpoint release. Unconfirmed cleanup retains recovery state.
- Preserve validated completed-onboarding callbacks through startup
recovery. First file-producing work belongs to the child task and uses
the existing dependency/block handoff and task-scoped registration.
- Reuse existing E2E fixtures, artifact checks, reporting and controls.
Keep Docker/Cargo/native compilation remote. Paperclip tarballs contain
no Codex payloads; official optional npm platform dependencies remain.

## Verification

Current tested head: `1c03a8815672d82c264a9b08d4ea1984e8fae107`.
**Merge-ready: required CI, fresh review, package qualification, Mac
core acceptance and Test task/follow-up acceptance pass.** The existing
attachment and native-continuity oracles independently verify both Test
downloads, run attribution and unchanged native/provider/workspace
identities. The maintainer authorized a code-owner-review exception for
this PR only. The first Test setup failure and normal Board
completion-review friction are retained below. Actual post-merge
packages and private Cloud distribution remain separate qualification
gates.

- [Current
CI](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/38564241625):
all 48 ordinary jobs and required verify/E2E pass. Attempt 1 retained
six simultaneous host-shutdown cancellations. One failed-only retry
passes those six lanes and two aggregates, preserving 40 successes.
Actual integration checkout `53104c1` combines this head with master
`c80`; it is not relabeled as the branch tree. Fresh exact-head Greptile
5/5, 30 resolved threads, no actionable findings.
- [Exact-source package
qualification](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/38565287239):
nine applicable jobs pass, nine conditional jobs skip. Four remote
native producers; Linux x64 clean install; Intel Mac, Apple Silicon and
Linux ARM64 native startup/physical cleanup controls. All 18
tarballs/four daemon source/hash/manifest bindings and 343 migrations
through 0344 verify. No Codex payload is packed. These hosted tarballs
are not a published npm canary.
- Normal Apple Silicon installation and credential-free native
startup/cleanup pass using the packaged daemon, with no source build or
provider turn. Fresh installed DB initialization passes. Upgrade
651a→1c03 preserves all three complete execution configs, accounts, ten
recorded run profiles, paused budgets, active incidents, cost summaries
and two historical unpriced events. Historical recovery state is
retained.
- Cleanup regressions: four delayed-read baseline failures become 15
passing deadline/authority controls. No-acknowledgement and prior-error
socket ownership regressions become 12 passing controls. Direct
runtime/server types, maps: 35 areas / 176 IDs, diff checks and
independent reviews pass. Permission/auth/reconnect policy and the
10-second setup budget remain intact.
- Existing source coverage includes creation/selection/imports, pending
approvals, recovery, account/lifecycle handling, mounted forms,
dropdowns and E2E support. Full typechecks/tests/build/token and
applicable Storybook checks pass in the recorded current CI; no
duplicate suite or weakened grader.
- Literal 9546 live Mac proof: ordinary Auto Codex onboarding, useful
document, real completed-child callback/reply, seven successful native
runs, manual follow-up and independently downloaded1,101-byte child
file. Existing Legacy title edit/reload preserves execution; two real
Legacy runs produce independently checked15/34-byte files. These remain
historical source records.
- Current literal 1c03 Mac core acceptance passes independent checks:
ordinary Auto native Codex onboarding without runner override; only
timeout 180 seconds/concurrency 1 saved; six successful native runs and
six serialized turns (maximum overlap 1); both same-task continuity
checks and five mechanical callback checks; actual rendered parent reply
and exact child downloads. The useful handoff advances from revision 1
to 2. Both files are 48 bytes, SHA-256
`8b742bd4e8123a7c078f0a8d9f3449fbfa8a320d7d90be641a2818db3c53d92c` and
`f42db9774fa06e804ab7d596fc8b922a2b638921c418b87d0111151d290a6afe`;
exactly one byte changes and old history remains. The agent is paused
with zero active runs/errors. Both artifact work products have
`isPrimary=false`, and descriptive titles fail a stricter title-helper
assumption; these retained results are scoped editorial follow-up, not
new merge gates. Six source-bound screenshots are uploaded and verified
in the private primary QA report.
- [Literal 9546 managed
proof](https://d1p6rlowie26tp.cloudfront.net/runner-e2e/campaigns/gha-38485488621-1/index.html):
original 19 assertions and completed judge pass, four native turns,
child-bound240-byte file and session/workspace continuity. Checkout
reports a verified generated target-lock mutation; full final porcelain
was not retained. Signed execution-image identity remains separate from
Core source.
- Actual 651a Test deployment succeeds on one owned/pinned target. One
ordinary Auto API-key Connect then fails native cleanup before hire.
Controller turn/drain/suspend completion and service-recorded
environment cleanup are observed; they do not certify physical deletion
or native authority retirement. Failure/recovery/unknown holds are
retained. No Legacy switch or unchanged paid retry. The two source
repairs above require actual treatment.
- [Current immutable Core
preview](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/38570365725)
and matching DB/shared artifacts pass. One owned, pinned Test target
serves exact `1c03`; identical migration history correctly skips the
migrator. Ordinary Auto Codex Connect succeeds and hires native; saved
native selection and QA bounds survive reload. The initial child
preparation attempt fails before provider work, with actual stdout
identifying `renewal_deadline`; its trigger remains unknown and the
failure is retained. Normal Board **Try again** and **Resume** recover
the child to Done, producing a browser-verified 44-byte file, SHA-256
`0a8458b1efcc2d7a0d815689458c4caab039a46c7c7a3e5805de6bc8b1a96ecc`. The
actual parent callback reports the completed child document/file. The
existing validator requires a parent-owned attachment, so recovery
enters normal Review; after byte checking, normal **Approve completion**
reaches parent Done. No forced status or duplicate parent file is used.
The validator is unchanged from integrated and current master.
Autonomous initial callback-to-Done is not proven. The same-child
follow-up completes document revision 2 and publishes a second
independently downloaded 44-byte file, SHA-256
`22022257300fae762784632d08d3bbe0bab61e2ce81f91864a14dcd7aa464591`; only
the revision digit changes. The unchanged existing native-continuity and
attachment oracles pass. All ten recorded runs are terminal: nine native
successes and the retained pre-provider setup failure. The QA agent is
paused with zero active runs. The pre-existing parent evidence scope
mismatch is a separate follow-up, with ordinary completion review
exercised rather than a forced status or relaxed validation. This
unsigned Core preview remains distinct from post-merge private Cloud
composition.

## Risks

- Saved agents are not migrated. Explicit runner changes use normal
configuration/session rules; historical runs retain their recorded
execution.
- Native readiness depends on verified assets and server-owned target
qualification. A Legacy probe, HTTP200 or successful account save cannot
prove native readiness.
- Recovery exceptions remain restricted to validated
completed-onboarding reports; process-loss, ownership and terminal-state
safeguards remain active. Unexecuted live journeys stay open.
- Linux ARM paid tasks, Windows, Alpine and 32-bit ARM remain deferred.
Cold Cargo cache misses are recorded; no warm-cache speedup is claimed.
- Historical invoices/physical cleanup remain unconfirmed and held.
After merge, exact published npm canary, signed standard image/migrator,
private composition and serving/live acceptance still require
qualification. Production deployment/default promotion is not
authorized.

## Model Used

OpenAI Codex, GPT-6 family, with reasoning, tools, code execution and
parallel agents. Exact serving snapshot and context-window size are not
exposed.

## Checklist

- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used with available 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 linked public issues or PRs above
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links
- [x] My branch name describes the change and contains no internal
ticket id
- [x] I have run the stated focused tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation
- [x] I have considered and documented risks
- [x] All Paperclip CI gates are green on the current candidate
- [x] Greptile is 5/5 with no open findings on the current candidate
- [x] I will address all reviewer comments before requesting merge

---------

Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>

cli/src/__tests__/agent-lifecycle.test.ts

@@ -70,6 +70,18 @@ describe("agent lifecycle commands", () => {
     ]);
   });
 
+  it("sends automatic selection when omitted and supports explicit runner overrides", async () => {
+    const fetchMock = vi.fn().mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve(jsonResponse()));
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+    const payload = { name: "Builder", adapterType: "codex_local" };
+    await run(["agent", "create", "--company-id", COMPANY_ID, "--payload-json", JSON.stringify(payload)]);
+    await run(["agent", "create", "--company-id", COMPANY_ID, "--payload-json", JSON.stringify({ ...payload, runner: "auto" }), "--runner", "legacy"]);
+    await run(["agent", "hire", "--company-id", COMPANY_ID, "--payload-json", JSON.stringify(payload), "--runner", "paperclip"]);
+    expect(JSON.parse(fetchMock.mock.calls[0]![1].body).runner).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(JSON.parse(fetchMock.mock.calls[1]![1].body).runner).toBe("legacy");
+    expect(JSON.parse(fetchMock.mock.calls[2]![1].body).runner).toBe("paperclip");
+  });
+
   it("wraps configuration, runtime, skills, and instructions endpoints", async () => {
     const fetchMock = vi.fn().mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve(jsonResponse()));
     vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);

cli/src/commands/client/agent.ts

@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ interface AgentWakeOptions extends BaseClientOptions {
 }
 
 interface AgentJsonPayloadOptions extends BaseClientOptions {
+  runner?: "auto" | "paperclip" | "legacy";
   companyId?: string;
   payloadJson: string;
 }
@@ -348,10 +349,11 @@ export function registerAgentCommands(program: Command): void {
       .description("Create an agent from a JSON payload")
       .option("-C, --company-id <id>", "Company ID")
       .requiredOption("--payload-json <json>", "CreateAgent JSON payload")
+      .option("--runner <runner>", "Runner: auto (default), paperclip, or legacy")
       .action(async (opts: AgentJsonPayloadOptions) => {
         try {
           const ctx = resolveCommandContext(opts, { requireCompany: true });
-          const payload = createAgentSchema.parse(parseJson(opts.payloadJson));
+          const payload = createAgentSchema.parse({ ...parseJsonObject(opts.payloadJson), ...(opts.runner ? { runner: opts.runner } : {}) });
           const created = await ctx.api.post<Agent>(apiPath`/api/companies/${ctx.companyId}/agents`, payload);
           printOutput(created, { json: ctx.json });
         } catch (err) {
@@ -367,10 +369,11 @@ export function registerAgentCommands(program: Command): void {
       .description("Create an agent hire request")
       .option("-C, --company-id <id>", "Company ID")
       .requiredOption("--payload-json <json>", "CreateAgentHire JSON payload")
+      .option("--runner <runner>", "Runner: auto (default), paperclip, or legacy")
       .action(async (opts: AgentJsonPayloadOptions) => {
         try {
           const ctx = resolveCommandContext(opts, { requireCompany: true });
-          const result = await ctx.api.post(apiPath`/api/companies/${ctx.companyId}/agent-hires`, parseJson(opts.payloadJson));
+          const result = await ctx.api.post(apiPath`/api/companies/${ctx.companyId}/agent-hires`, { ...parseJsonObject(opts.payloadJson), ...(opts.runner ? { runner: opts.runner } : {}) });
           printOutput(result, { json: ctx.json });
         } catch (err) {
           handleCommandError(err);