fix(ui): keep a busy-workspace wait as a quiet status, not a notice (#19507)

## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - The task page tells the user what an agent is doing and what needs
their attention
> - When another task uses the same workspace, the agent waits and
Paperclip starts the work automatically
> - A tester reported that the "Waiting for workspace" notice is not
helpful, because the user cannot do anything about it
> - On `master`, the task page shows this wait four times: a pinned top
banner, a conversation banner, the composer strip and the Workspace
property row
> - This pull request removes the two banners and keeps the two quiet
status surfaces
> - The benefit is that a transient system wait no longer looks like
something that needs the user

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

Refs #19369

**What happened?**
During new-user onboarding tests on Paperclip Cloud staging (Claude
subscription path), the tester saw a "Waiting for workspace" notice and
reported: "this isn't helpful and the user can't do anything about it."

**Steps to reproduce**
1. Start work on a task while another task uses the same workspace.
2. Open the waiting task.
3. See the pinned "Waiting for workspace" banner under the title and a
second "Waiting for workspace" banner in the conversation.

**Expected behavior**
A busy workspace is a transient system wait with no user action. It
shows only as a quiet status on the task. It does not show as a banner
or notice.

**Investigation**
- No server inbox, Needs-you item or activity entry is created for a
workspace wait. The live-updates toast already skips `workspace_busy`
(`LiveUpdatesProvider.tsx`), and the chat thread already hides the
cancelled admission attempt.
- The remaining notices are UI banners: `IssueMonitorBanner` (pinned top
banner) and `IssueScheduledRetryCard` (conversation banner).
- #19369 stopped showing resource waits as failed attempts, but it kept
these banners.

## What Changed

- `IssueMonitorBanner`: render nothing for a workspace wait. The
composer strip still shows "Waiting for workspace" and "You can keep
sending instructions while the agent waits."
- `IssueScheduledRetryCard`: render nothing for `workspace_busy`. The
Workspace property row still shows "Waiting for workspace".
- `DESIGN.md`: add the rule that a busy-workspace wait is a quiet status
only, never a pinned banner, conversation notice or toast.
- Tests: replace the old "shows the banner" assertions with N-14
regression tests.

## Verification

Red on `master` (`819420a60a`), test change only:

```
cd ui && npx vitest run src/components/IssueMonitorBanner.test.tsx src/components/IssueScheduledRetryCard.test.tsx
     × does not raise a pinned banner for a workspace wait the user cannot act on (N-14) 7ms
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ Failed Tests 2 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
 FAIL  src/components/IssueMonitorBanner.test.tsx > IssueMonitorBanner / IssueMonitorComposerStrip rendering > does not raise a pinned banner for a workspace wait the user cannot act on (N-14)
AssertionError: expected 'Waiting for workspaceAnother task is …' to be '' // Object.is equality
 FAIL  src/components/IssueScheduledRetryCard.test.tsx > IssueScheduledRetryCard > raises no conversation notice for workspace contention the user cannot act on (N-14)
AssertionError: expected 'Waiting for workspaceAnother task is …' to be '' // Object.is equality
      Tests  2 failed | 32 passed (34)
```

Green after the fix, same command:

```
 Test Files  2 passed (2)
      Tests  34 passed (34)
```

Neighbouring suites:

```
cd ui && npx vitest run src/components/TaskChatThread.test.tsx src/pages/IssueDetail src/components/issue-properties src/lib/issue-monitor
 Test Files  7 passed (7)
      Tests  687 passed | 1 skipped (688)
```

- `pnpm check:token-gates`: all gates clean.
- `tsc --noEmit -p ui`: no errors in the changed files. Local errors
come only from unbuilt workspace packages (`@paperclipai/plugin-sdk/ui`,
Storybook feature map). CI typecheck covers the full build.

## Risks

- Low risk. UI-only change. Two banners no longer render for
`workspace_busy`. Other scheduled-retry reasons (failures, pool
exhaustion, continuations) are unchanged.
- A long workspace wait now has no prominent notice. No actionable next
step exists in the current data (the API does not name the task that
holds the workspace). A persist-past-threshold escalation with a link to
that task can follow when the data exists.

## Model Used

- Claude Opus 5.5 (`claude-opus-5-5`), Anthropic, via Claude Code with
tool use (shell, file edit, browser for read-only staging evidence).

## 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 2026-11-06 11:30:10 -06:00
1 parent 0d03610d2f
commit f5de197536
5 files changed
+22 -15

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+12 -2
View File
@@ -206,13 +206,23 @@ describe("IssueMonitorBanner / IssueMonitorComposerStrip rendering", () => {
flushSync(() => root.unmount());
});
it("explains automatic workspace waiting without promising that a reply bypasses the lock", () => {
it("does not raise a pinned banner for a workspace wait the user cannot act on (N-14)", () => {
const issue = {
status: "todo", scheduledRetry: { status: "scheduled_retry", scheduledRetryReason: "workspace_busy", scheduledRetryAt: NOW.toISOString() },
} as Issue;
const root = createRoot(container);
flushSync(() => root.render(<IssueMonitorBanner issue={issue} onCheckNow={vi.fn()} />));
expect(container.textContent).toBe("");
flushSync(() => root.unmount());
});
it("keeps the workspace wait as a quiet composer status without promising that a reply bypasses the lock", () => {
const issue = {
status: "todo", scheduledRetry: { status: "scheduled_retry", scheduledRetryReason: "workspace_busy", scheduledRetryAt: NOW.toISOString() },
} as Issue;
const root = createRoot(container);
flushSync(() => root.render(<><IssueMonitorBanner issue={issue} onCheckNow={vi.fn()} /><IssueMonitorComposerStrip issue={issue} onCheckNow={vi.fn()} /></>));
expect(container.textContent).toContain("Waiting for workspace");
expect(container.querySelector('[data-testid="issue-monitor-composer-strip"]')?.textContent).toContain("Waiting for workspace");
expect(container.textContent).toContain("You can keep sending instructions while the agent waits.");
expect(container.textContent).not.toContain("wakes the agent now");
expect(container.querySelector("button")).toBeNull();
+4
View File
@@ -278,6 +278,10 @@ export function IssueMonitorBanner({
const copy = useMonitorSurfaceCopy(issue, reviews.length);
if (!copy) return null;
// A busy workspace is a transient system wait the user cannot act on. It stays
// a quiet status (composer strip, properties row), never a pinned notice.
if (copy.workspaceWait) return null;
const canCancel = onCancelMonitor && deriveMonitorState(issue).source === "monitor";
return (
@@ -121,11 +121,9 @@ function getRetryNowButton() {
}
describe("IssueScheduledRetryCard", () => {
it("shows workspace contention as an automatic wait without failure or retry controls", () => {
it("raises no conversation notice for workspace contention the user cannot act on (N-14)", () => {
renderWithProviders(<IssueScheduledRetryCard issueId="issue-1" scheduledRetry={{ ...baseRetry, scheduledRetryReason: "workspace_busy" }} />);
expect(container.textContent).toContain("Waiting for workspace");
expect(container.textContent).toContain("Work starts automatically");
expect(container.textContent).not.toMatch(/failed|Retry|Attempt|Replaces run/);
expect(container.textContent).toBe("");
expect(getRetryNowButton()).toBeNull();
});
it("surfaces model capacity and the automatic retry without a generic failure", () => {
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import { formatRetryReason } from "@/lib/runRetryState";
import type { IssueScheduledRetry } from "@paperclipai/shared";
import { useRetryNowMutation, type RetryNowError } from "../hooks/useRetryNowMutation";
import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
import { InlineBanner } from "@/components/InlineBanner";
import { describeError } from "@/api/errors";
const MAX_TURN_CONTINUATION = "max_turns_continuation";
@@ -34,13 +33,9 @@ export function IssueScheduledRetryCard({
if (!scheduledRetry || !issueId) return null;
if (scheduledRetry.status !== "scheduled_retry") return null;
if (scheduledRetry.scheduledRetryReason === "workspace_busy") {
return (
<InlineBanner tone="info" icon={Clock} title="Waiting for workspace" className="mb-3">
Another task is using this workspace. Work starts automatically when it is available.
</InlineBanner>
);
}
// Workspace contention is a transient wait with nothing for the user to do.
// The composer strip and properties row carry the quiet status instead.
if (scheduledRetry.scheduledRetryReason === "workspace_busy") return null;
const continuation = isContinuationReason(scheduledRetry.scheduledRetryReason);
const dueAtIso = scheduledRetry.scheduledRetryAt