fix(runner): refuse a finish or block decided before earlier results reached the agent (#20069)

## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Restarts must be invisible to a task: an agent that was working
keeps working after the control plane comes back
> - Restart chaos t03 (Daytona warm wave, K4 holds) ended a task as
blocked even though its document was saved
> - The cause is in how a terminal decision (paperclip_block or
paperclip_finish) is handled after a long controller outage, not in how
the Runner journals tool calls
> - This pull request refuses a terminal call that the agent made before
it had seen results that already returned, so the agent continues with
those results
> - The benefit is that a controller outage no longer turns into a false
"blocked" task

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

Restart chaos t03, wave `w-20261108T142906-s9501` (Daytona, codex, A1,
three back-to-back K4 holds of 136 s, 252 s and 152 s). Refs #19831
(durable ownership plan).

**What happened**

The kept instance's run log shows the order of events:
1. The turn is accepted at 14:29:57. The runner then delivers nothing to
the controller until 14:39:27. The holds keep the controller down, and
the Runner keeps Codex's `item/tool/call` requests until it is
reattached.
2. During that outage Codex keeps running. Its `write_document` call
stays pending. The model is sampled again about once a minute and says
"The save request is also waiting on Paperclip". It then calls
`paperclip_block`, with the reason `tool_unavailable`.
3. After the reattach the Runner delivers the backlog in order.
`write_document` runs and returns (the document is created: sourceSeq
152). Then the stale block arrives (sourceSeq 247) before Codex has
acknowledged the write result: there is no `tool.execution.completed`
for it before the block. The task ends blocked.

**Codex behavior, checked directly** against the pinned Codex 0.160
app-server. A local probe sent one dynamic tool call and left it
unanswered:
- Codex does not time out. It re-samples the model at about 60 s and 127
s ("The save call is still waiting to return").
- A reply sent 130 s later is accepted (`durationMs` 130003), and the
model finishes ("DONE").

So the reply is not lost. The agent's terminal decision was made without
it.

**Expected behavior**
- A terminal call decided while earlier Paperclip results were still
unseen is refused with a retryable error.
- The agent continues with those results. In t03 it would see that the
document was saved, and finish.

## What Changed

- `packages/paperclip-runner/src/live/terminal-call-freshness.ts`:
`unseenReturnedToolCalls` reads the turn's committed run events up to
the terminal call. It returns each dynamic call that has a returned
`tool_result` but no provider `tool.execution.completed`.
`staleTerminalCallResult` builds the retryable
`terminal_call_before_results` error, which names those calls.
- `runnerd-codex-transport.ts` `#handleSemanticToolInput`: when such
calls exist, `paperclip_finish` and `paperclip_block` get that error
instead of being dispatched. The recovery path after a restart uses the
same handler. A long-running call with no result yet does not count.
- Crash point `runner.semantic_tool.after_input_before_dispatch`, just
before the controller dispatches a dynamic tool call. A crash-point hold
(`--hold-ms`, `--crash-point-hold-ms`; a K4-style receipt) keeps the
controller down after the self-kill. Together they reproduce t03 on
Daytona.

## Verification

- Red/green: `cd packages/paperclip-runner && npx vitest run
src/live/runnerd-codex-transport.test.ts -t "refuses a terminal call
decided"`.
- The case `seen: false` failed on master: the handler was called and
the stale block was dispatched. It passes with the fix.
- The case `seen: true` (the agent saw the result first) dispatches
normally, both before and after.
- `npx vitest run src/live/runnerd-codex-transport.test.ts`: 289 passed.
`src/live/terminal-call-freshness.test.ts`: 5 passed.
- `npx tsc --noEmit -p packages/paperclip-runner` passes, and `node
scripts/typecheck-test-projects.mjs tests/restart-chaos` passes.
- Shared registry: 15 passed. Call-site test: 3 passed. Chaos runner
tests: 12 passed.
- Codex probe (local, about 2.5 min per run): reproduced the "still
waiting" re-sampling and the accepted late reply described above.
- Not yet run: the Daytona crash-point repro with a hold. It needs the
shared harness slot, and I'll add the result here. The fix is controller
TypeScript, which is not an input of the Daytona image, so the current
image still matches.

## Risks

- A refused terminal call costs the agent one more turn step. It applies
only when a result returned that the agent had not seen, which in
practice happens only after a controller outage.
- The check reads committed run events. If the store evicted the earlier
call's events, it finds nothing and keeps today's behavior.
- Upgrade-safe run state: no persisted shape changes. The check reads
events the Runner already commits. A run saved by the previous release
resumes with the same history and the same answer.
- ACPX and other providers emit no dynamic `tool.execution.*` events, so
the check is a no-op for them.

## Model Used

- Claude Opus 5.5 (`claude-opus-5-5`), Anthropic, via Claude Code with
tool use (shell, file edits).

## 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>
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DottaandClaude Opus 5.5 authored and GitHub committed 2026-11-08 10:43:21 -06:00
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@@ -64,6 +64,12 @@ export const CRASH_POINTS = {
kinds: ["native_restart_recovery_claim"],
invariants: ["I4", "I6"],
},
"runner.semantic_tool.after_input_before_dispatch": {
description: "The controller received a dynamic tool call (for example write_document) from the Runner and has not dispatched it. On Daytona the Runner and Codex outlive the controller, so with --hold-ms Codex keeps the call pending through the outage (restart chaos t03); a local restart also stops the Runner.",
environments: ["local", "daytona"],
kinds: ["native_executor_claim"],
invariants: ["I4", "I7"],
},
"native.result.after_accept_before_finalize": {
description: "The run's result and its workspace_finalizing finalization row are committed; finalization has not started. The accepted result must be finalized exactly once.",
environments: ["local", "daytona"],