## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Its web server also owns controller admission and user commands.
> - A rolling deployment starts a replacement before the old server
exits.
> - Shared database state alone does not preserve local agent files,
browser chunks, or in-process commands.
> - This pull request adds an opt-in ephemeral server contract and a
local overlap test.
> - The benefit is a web server that can relinquish traffic and local
files without losing acknowledged work.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
Refs #18403, #18327, #18335, #18341.
**Current behavior**
The control-plane web server still has local agent-file authority and
local command targets. A new container can miss saved bytes or send a
command to the wrong process. An existing browser tab also needs chunks
from its original build.
**Proposed behavior**
Eligible servers share only PostgreSQL, object storage and stable
secrets. A replacement waits for readiness. The old server drains
admitted requests, keeps owner commands available through handoff, and
releases controller leases. Explicit maintenance adopts existing files
before the volume is removed.
**Reason and benefit**
This is the application prerequisite for rolling app-only deployments.
Schema migrations and permanent multi-replica operation are outside this
change.
## What Changed
- Store agent-file manifests in PostgreSQL and immutable bytes in S3.
Treat local roots as disposable projections. Preserve existing
permission checks and edit conflicts.
- Add an explicit migration, eligibility and object-retention command to
the production runtime bundle.
- Add `/api/ready`, admitted-request drain, browser restart signaling
and retained immutable UI chunks.
- Carry transaction-aware work hints across controllers during handoff
and active execution. Keep listeners closed when idle.
- Deliver durable Stop and runtime responses to the execution owner.
Recheck request lifecycle and access before response dispatch.
- Reject local-only configuration in ephemeral mode. Keep the feature
disabled for existing installations by default.
- Add an isolated PostgreSQL/S3/proxy/browser deployment harness with
independent server homes and retained failure evidence.
## Verification
- All CI checks pass on `ce17b95019d3cf1cabd357d19b6d37f96782cc5c`:
workspace typecheck, build, Runner checks, server/general tests and
browser shards. Greptile reviewed the runtime changes at 5/5 with all
findings resolved; the final commit updates maps and the plan.
- Local targeted checks passed: coordinator 27; Stop/recovery 33;
PostgreSQL command delivery 6; route/workspace regressions 8; bootstrap
Stop 1; restart recovery 75. PostgreSQL command tests simulate the
provider edge.
- Local browser proof passed 91 reads and 19 saves; reconnect took
1,013ms. The tab opened Audit from S3 after deletion of A's whole
home/build. This uses compiled workspace code and local-trusted auth,
not released containers or live agents.
- Local workspace typecheck/build passed; current server and runtime
bundle passed. The earlier broad local suite was stopped after three
hours and is not a passing receipt. Its retained failures and isolated
reruns are documented in the plan.
- Stacked #18526 adds stricter graceful-exit proof, an unready
replacement control, live Runner qualification and a Stop handoff
correction. Hosted enablement remains gated on those results and Cloud
#1096. No hosted stack has been enabled.
## Risks
- Apply migration 0422 before enabling the feature. Existing data must
pass each owner's migration and eligibility checks. Do not discard a
volume based on a single migration page.
- Durable manifests remain authoritative after the opt-in is disabled.
Rolling back to a binary that ignores them is unsupported.
- Cold directory restoration and complete shutdown timing still need
qualification before enabling a hosted stack.
- Retained UI assets must cover the supported browser and rollback
window. Cleanup is explicit; no new idle maintenance polling is
introduced.
- This change does not claim production zero downtime or authorize a
fleet-wide enablement.
## Model Used
OpenAI Codex, GPT-6 family. The exact serving model ID and
context-window limit are not exposed in this session. Used reasoning,
code editing, shell execution and browser automation.
## 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
- [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>
The runtime bundle now also has a server entry point, dist-runtime/server.mjs: the bundled dist/index.js without the argv shim. index.mjs loads it, so importing server.mjs loads the server code without starting it, and a compile cache warmed from it covers exactly the files a boot loads. bundleRuntime reports it as serverModule.
Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
CONTRIBUTING.md says PRs add no code comments, but #16485, #16586, #16621 and #16672 added some. This removes the 215 comment-only lines git blame on master attributes to those merge commits, across 12 code files, plus one blank line the removal left doubled. Rewritten (not added) comments in scripts/assert-cloud-image-sentry.mjs and comments in .github workflows are left alone. No code changes.
Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
The production image started the server through the tsx loader, which resolved about 3,100 modules and transpiled about 1,200 workspace TypeScript files on every boot (7.6-20 s before listen on a live instance). A build:runtime step now bundles server/dist/index.js with esbuild, compiling in the workspace packages, and the image starts node server/dist-runtime/index.mjs. Server dependencies stay bare so runtime resolution (including the cloud image's optional peers) is unchanged; each module keeps its original import.meta location; dynamic imports stay split; the entry presents the original dist/index.js as argv[1]. The avatar worker loads through tsx's API when the main thread has no loader, tini runs as a subreaper (-s), and PR CI boots the bundle with scripts/server-boot-smoke.sh.
Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
