fix(recovery): limit the null-host owner fallback to single-host servers and record each use (#19883)

## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - #19868 and #19871 made restart recovery judge a recorded pid only in
the PID space that recorded it
> - Rows saved before those host columns existed have no recorded host.
They kept the previous local dead-pid proof, so in-flight native runs
would not be stranded at upgrade
> - On an ephemeral (multi-host) server that fallback is unsafe: the row
may have been written on another host
> - This pull request limits the fallback to single-host servers,
records every use, and gives ephemeral servers a working board action
> - The benefit is that single-host upgrades still recover on their own,
multi-host servers never accept a cross-host proof, and the next release
can remove the fallback with evidence

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

**Bug description**
After #19868 and #19871, a `native_run_finalizations` row with
`controller_host_hash = null`, or a run with `process_host_hash = null`,
still accepted "the pid is dead here" as proof on every server. That
includes an ephemeral server, where the row may come from another host.
Nothing recorded how often the fallback was used, so it had no safe
removal path.

**Expected behavior**
- Single-host server: the fallback applies for one release, and each use
writes a `legacy_host_unknown_dead_pid_proof` activity-log entry.
- Ephemeral server (`PAPERCLIP_EPHEMERAL_SERVER=true`): the row is
unprovable, and the board has an action to confirm the previous server
stopped.
- A mismatched host is always unprovable.

Refs #19868, #19871, #19846

## What Changed

- `native-restart-recovery.ts` `evaluateNativeControllerTakeover`:
- A coordinator row with `controllerHostHash: null` returns
`controller_host_unrecorded` when `ephemeralServerEnabled()` is true.
- Otherwise a pid proof from that row carries `legacyHostFallback:
true`.
- `operator_attested` is accepted as proof
(`operator_attested_controller_stopped`).
  - Receipt-built owners, which have no host key, are unchanged.
- New `recordLegacyHostFallbackProof` writes the activity-log entry. It
is not a run-log event: run events are progress evidence for restart
recovery's crash-loop credit, and the record must not change any
recovery decision. It is called from restart recovery, the
dead-controller result-lease release, native retirement, and remote
warm-session recovery.
- New `native-controller-host-recovery.ts`:
- `requestNativeControllerStopConfirmation` (board-owned
`native_controller_host_unverified` recovery action, idempotent, never
displaces another active action).
- `confirmNativeControllerStopped`. It verifies the exact recorded
controller and stamps `operator_attested` with compare-and-set. It then
resolves the action, wakes live-run recovery, and logs
`issue.native_controller_stop_confirmed`.
- Route `POST /issues/:id/recovery-actions/confirm-controller-stopped`.
It is board-only and requires `runtime:confirm_owner_stop`. Generic
`restored`/`false_positive` resolution of this cause is refused. A
shared `confirmNativeControllerStoppedSchema` validates the body.
- UI: `WorkspaceExportRecovery` reuses the "Confirm the previous server
stopped" control for this cause, and the generic recovery card hides it.
Adds the `issuesApi.confirmControllerStopped` client call.
- `recovery/service.ts` orphan reaper: a null `process_host_hash` is
judged only when not ephemeral. A successful use records the entry
best-effort, after the terminal write. On an ephemeral server the run is
left to its existing Stop control.
- `ephemeralServerEnabled` moves to a leaf `ephemeral-server-mode.ts`
(re-exported by `ephemeral-server-contract.ts`). Importing the contract
module from recovery code created an import cycle in the runner child
process.
- The new route is registered in OpenAPI.
- `doc/execution-semantics.md`: documents the host rule and the
one-release sunset.

## Verification

- `native-restart-recovery.test.ts`: null host on a single-host server
is released with the flag. Null host on an ephemeral server is
unprovable. A mismatched host is unprovable in both modes. An attested
controller is accepted. Receipt owners are unchanged.
- New `native-controller-host-recovery.test.ts` (embedded Postgres):
  - The fallback writes the activity-log entry and no run event.
  - Ephemeral mode creates exactly one board action.
  - A wrong run id is refused.
- Confirmation stamps the attestation, after which takeover is allowed.
The action resolves and the activity is logged. A second confirmation is
refused.
- `recovery-stale-issue-lock-sweep.test.ts`: on a single-host server a
null host is terminalized and records one event. On an ephemeral server
it is left alone with no event. The existing audit-failure case still
clears the lock.
- `WorkspaceExportRecovery.control.test.tsx`: the controller
confirmation posts to `confirmControllerStopped` and never to the
copyback endpoint.
- Locally: these suites plus `remote-warm-session-recovery`,
`native-controller-recovery.integration` and
`native-startup-cleanup-recovery` (136 passed), and after the CI fixes
`native-runner-restart-preparation` and `native-runner-restart-recovery`
integration, `openapi-routes` and the suites above (256 passed); the UI
recovery suites (52 passed); `node scripts/typecheck-layers.mjs` with no
errors in the touched files; `pnpm check:token-gates` clean.

## Risks

- Previous-release story: no schema change. Null-host rows saved by
earlier releases recover as before on single-host servers, now with an
event, and wait for the board on ephemeral servers. The next release
removes the fallback; the event count shows whether any rows remain.
- On an ephemeral server, a null-host orphaned run process is not reaped
automatically. The operator uses Stop. That is the intended "unprovable"
outcome.
- A board confirmation is an attestation. It applies only to the exact
recorded controller (boot id + pid) and only while the host is still
unrecorded.

## Model Used

- Claude Opus 5.5 (`claude-opus-5-5`), Anthropic, used with tool use and
code execution in Claude Code.

## 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

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
DottaandClaude Opus 5.5 authored and GitHub committed 2026-11-07 13:25:47 -06:00
1 parent 5a70999306
commit f439150cb3
21 files changed
+433 -28

No files matched your search

+17
View File
@@ -1812,6 +1812,23 @@ provider turn, and saved follow-up messages are reconsidered. A live owner, an
owner without a recorded process, a lease of the current boot, and a remote
workspace keep the lease until it expires. Lease age alone is never proof.
A recorded process is judged only in the PID space that recorded it. Native
controller rows store `controller_host_hash` and run processes store
`process_host_hash` (`"remote"` for a sandbox process). A dead PID on this host
never proves that a process on another host, in another PID namespace, or in a
sandbox is gone; such a record keeps its lease, fence or staleness TTL.
Rows saved before those columns existed have no recorded host. For one release
only, a single-host server keeps the previous local proof for them, and each use
writes a `legacy_host_unknown_dead_pid_proof` activity-log entry, so the release that
removes this fallback can confirm that no rows still depend on it. An ephemeral
server (`PAPERCLIP_EPHEMERAL_SERVER=true`) never uses the fallback. Its native
controller rows with no recorded host wait as `controller_host_unrecorded`, with
a board recovery action to confirm that the previous server stopped. Its run
processes with no recorded host are left to the run's Stop control. The next
release removes the fallback and treats every row with no recorded host as
unprovable.
The stranded-work pass closes the gap where issue state survives a crash but the wake/run path does not. The silent-run scan covers the separate case where a live process exists but has stopped producing observable output.
Native finalization reconciliation (part of native recovery and the orphan