## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - The approval queue is how agents surface decisions that need a
human, so the approval card is often the only thing an operator reads
before approving or rejecting
> - Agents author those payloads in markdown, because markdown is what
they produce everywhere else in the product
> - `ApprovalPayload.tsx` renders the four prose fields of a board
approval as bare text nodes, while `CommentThread` on the same page
renders through `MarkdownBody` — same authors, two different renderers
> - So the operator sees literal `##`, `**bold**`, backticks and
`[link](url)` in the payload, and correctly formatted text in the
comments directly below it
> - This pull request routes those four fields through the existing
`MarkdownBody` component
> - The benefit is that the highest-stakes text in the product becomes
readable, with no new dependency and no schema change
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
Refs #4911 — prior art, see the note at the bottom of this description.
No open issue covers this, so per (B) here is the bug report:
**What happened:** On a board approval, the `summary`,
`recommendedAction`, `nextActionOnApproval` and `risks` fields display
raw markdown source. Headings appear as literal `##` mid-paragraph,
inline code keeps its backticks, links show as `[text](url)`, and both
levels of a nested bullet list collapse into one run-on paragraph.
**What was expected:** The same rendering the comment thread further
down the same page already gives, since both are agent-authored
markdown.
**Steps to reproduce:** Open any `request_board_approval` whose
`summary` contains markdown — headings, a nested list, code spans or
links.
**Where:** `ui/src/components/ApprovalPayload.tsx`,
`BoardApprovalPayloadContent`.
## What Changed
- `ui/src/components/ApprovalPayload.tsx`: import `MarkdownBody` and
render `summary`, `recommendedAction`, `nextActionOnApproval` and each
`risks` entry through it instead of `<p>` / `<span>` text nodes.
`MarkdownBody` defaults `softBreaks` to `true`, which is the same
behaviour `CommentThread` opts into explicitly, so paragraph handling
matches the comments.
- `stripLeadingListMarker`: risks already render inside a custom bullet
row, so an authored leading `-` / `*` / `•` would nest a second bullet
inside the first. One leading marker is stripped per entry.
- The risk bullet dot gains `shrink-0` so it keeps its shape next to
block-level markdown content.
- `title` stays plain text — it is a one-liner and markdown there is
noise.
- `proposedComment` stays a verbatim `<pre>` block — it is draft text
intended to be posted elsewhere, so it must not be reinterpreted.
- `ui/src/components/ApprovalPayload.test.tsx`: tests for markdown
rendering in all four fields, the leading-list-marker strip, and that
`title` and `proposedComment` remain verbatim.
## Verification
- `npx vitest run ui/src/components/ApprovalPayload.test.tsx` — 5
passed.
- `npx vitest run ui/src/components/ApprovalPayload.test.tsx
ui/src/components/CommentThread.test.tsx` — 12 passed, confirming the
shared `MarkdownBody` path is not disturbed.
- Manual, measured rather than eyeballed: I ran a patched build in a
throwaway container beside an unpatched one and pointed both at the same
real approval payload, then counted nodes in the rendered DOM.
| | unpatched | patched |
|---|---|---|
| `.paperclip-markdown` nodes | 0 | 3 |
| raw backticks in visible text | yes | no |
| rendered `h2` | 0 | 5 |
| rendered `li` | 0 | 16 |
## Risks
Low, and confined to the board approval card.
- Rendering scope widens from text to markdown on four fields. A payload
that contains markdown-significant punctuation but was authored as prose
could render differently than before. This is the intended change, and
it matches how the same author's text is already rendered in comments on
the same page.
- `stripLeadingListMarker` removes one leading list marker per risk
entry. A risk that genuinely begins with a literal hyphen followed by a
space loses that hyphen. Chosen over the alternative of a visible double
bullet on the common case.
- No schema change, no migration, no new dependency. `MarkdownBody` is
already used elsewhere in the same directory.
## Model Used
Claude Opus 4.8 (`claude-opus-4-8`), via Claude Code, with extended
thinking and tool use (repository search, file editing, local test
execution, and headless-browser DOM measurement of the before/after
renders).
## 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 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
- [ ] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes — no
docs describe this rendering behaviour, so there was nothing to update
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green — pending first CI run on this PR
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups —
pending first review
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
---
### On the prior PR
@alxhrzg opened #4911 for this same bug first, and reached the same
conclusion I did: route the four fields through `MarkdownBody`. Credit
for spotting it and for the diagnosis goes there.
That PR has been conflicting against base and untouched since May.
Rather than let the fix sit, this PR reapplies the idea on current
`master` and adds what #4911 was missing: test coverage, the
nested-bullet fix for `risks`, and the `shrink-0` on the bullet dot. I
could not push to #4911 directly as it is on another contributor's fork.
@alxhrzg, if you would rather finish #4911 yourself, I am happy to close
this and hand over the tests and the two risk-row fixes for you to take
across.
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Its UI is the operator's daily surface: task lists, boards, budgets,
agent status — all built on shadcn components and Tailwind
> - Visual values (colors, spacing, type sizes, radii) were hardcoded at
~1,600 call sites: the same "small gray label" was 9/10/11px depending
on the file, charts disagreed with chips about status colors, two
toggle-switch implementations coexisted in two greens, and there was no
visual regression coverage
> - This made the UI drift-prone and made any restyle a
hundreds-of-files project, which discourages design iteration
> - This pull request extracts visual values into a single token layer
in `ui/src/index.css`, adds a Storybook visual regression suite backed
by external immutable baseline archives, and then applies a deliberate
retune reviewed change-by-change on screenshot diffs
> - The benefit is that Paperclip's look becomes a config surface:
retheming is a token edit reviewed as a snapshot diff, drift is blocked
by a token gate, and future UI PRs can prove exactly what changed
visually without committing hundreds of PNGs
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
No existing public issue covers this work (searched "design tokens",
"visual regression", "design system" across issues and PRs). Related in
spirit: Refs #8982 (theming a hardcoded panel — a one-off instance of
the same problem class this PR addresses systematically).
**Problem (feature-request form):** UI visual values are hardcoded per
call site with no source of truth and no regression coverage;
consistency depends on reviewer memory, and restyling requires mass file
edits.
**Proposed solution (this PR):** a single token layer + enforcement gate
+ externally stored visual snapshot suite, then an intentional restyle
on top of that foundation.
## What Changed
- **Token extraction (zero visual change, machine-verified during
development):** committed codemods (`scripts/codemod-*.mjs`) moved
~1,600 hardcoded color/type/spacing/radius/shadow/misc values into named
tokens in a non-inline `:root` block of `ui/src/index.css`.
- **Visual regression suite:** `pnpm test:storybook-visual` covers 255
stories × light/dark = 510 Playwright screenshots at `maxDiffPixels: 0`,
plus new primitive-coverage stories and deterministic-render fixes.
- **External visual baselines:** committed PNG snapshots were removed.
`tests/storybook-visual/baseline-manifest.json` pins an immutable
archive URL/hash/size/count, and `scripts/storybook-visual-baseline.mjs`
handles `download`, `verify`, `pack`, and trusted maintainer `upload`
flows.
- **Opt-in visual CI artifacts:** added a `Storybook Visual` workflow
that runs on manual dispatch or PRs labeled `storybook-visual`,
downloads/verifies the baseline, runs Playwright, and uploads Playwright
report/test-result artifacts for review. Normal PR runs do not mutate
baseline objects.
- **Token gate:** `pnpm check:token-gates` — zero hex literals, zero
arbitrary bracket values, zero raw font-sizes in `ui/src/components/**`
and `ui/src/pages/**`, with a documented inline allowlist for legitimate
opt-outs.
- **Theme retune (intentional, snapshot-reviewed):** new base theme
values; radius ladder derived from a single `--radius` knob; micro-type
cluster collapsed to a named ladder (`--text-nano/micro/compact` +
Tailwind `text-xs`/`text-sm`); letter-spacing collapsed to named steps.
- **One status-color vocabulary:** charts, quota/budget bar fills,
RUNNING/live chips, and liveness indicators all use the canonical
`--status-*` hues. Light-mode legibility fixes for red alert surfaces
that used dark-tuned text classes.
- **One switch:** `ToggleSwitch` restyled to the registry capsule form,
second hand-rolled implementation removed, and all call sites unified.
- **Docs:** `DESIGN.md` is the design contract; `doc/design/` holds
audit reports, decision logs, and updated guidance for external baseline
review/update workflows.
- Dead code removed (`agentStatusBadge` duplicate map), byte-identical
contrast constants consolidated, semantic renames
(`--project-seed`/`--project-none`, `--liveness-blue`).
## Verification
- `pnpm check:token-gates` — 3/3 gates CLEAN during the design-system
run
- `pnpm typecheck` && `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/ui build` — green
during the design-system run
- `node --test scripts/__tests__/storybook-visual-baseline.test.mjs` —
pass after external-baseline rework
- `pnpm exec tsc --noEmit --pretty false --module NodeNext
--moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --types
node,@playwright/test tests/storybook-visual/playwright.config.ts
tests/storybook-visual/storybook-visual.spec.ts` — pass after
external-baseline rework
- `git diff --check origin/pr/9134..HEAD` — pass after external-baseline
rework
- `find tests/storybook-visual -type f -name '*.png' -print | wc -l` —
`0`
- `node scripts/storybook-visual-baseline.mjs verify` — intentionally
fails closed until the first trusted maintainer publishes the baseline
archive and updates `baseline-manifest.json`
## Risks
- **Large but shallow:** the PR still touches many UI files due to
mechanical token extraction and retune work, but committed PNG snapshot
churn has been removed from the branch.
- **Baseline publication required before the visual suite can pass in
clean clones:** the manifest currently has placeholder archive metadata.
A trusted maintainer must publish the first immutable archive, then
update `baseline-manifest.json`.
- **Rendering platform variance:** the external baseline should be
captured in the documented Linux/Chromium environment. Future CI runs
verify against the pinned archive and fail closed on checksum/count
mismatch.
- **Visual CI is opt-in while stabilizing:** add the `storybook-visual`
label or dispatch the workflow manually to produce downloadable
Playwright report/test-result artifacts.
- **Scheduled follow-ups, deliberately out of scope:** Tailwind palette
classes map to semantic tokens in a dedicated pass; card/pill component
consolidation; ESLint ratchet. Tracked in
`doc/design/DECISION-SHEET.md`.
## Model Used
Claude Fable 5 (Anthropic, `claude-fable-5`, Mythos-class tier) with
extended thinking, running in Claude Code with tool use; mechanical
phases delegated to Claude Sonnet subagents. Follow-up external-baseline
rework assisted by OpenAI Codex (`gpt-5` coding agent with repository,
terminal, and GitHub tool use). All bulk rewrites executed via
deterministic, idempotent scripts committed in `scripts/`; intentional
visual changes were human-reviewed on screenshot contact sheets.
## 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 targeted local verification and documented the
intentional baseline-publication failure above
- [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 *(pending new CI run after this
rework)*
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
*(pending review)*
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) and
OpenAI Codex
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: Dotta <bippadotta@protonmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
Instead of the generic "Hire Agent" label, display the agent's name from
the approval payload for hire_agent approvals across inbox, approval card,
and approval detail views.
Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Move icon name list to shared constants with strict enum validation.
Add /llms/agent-icons.txt endpoint, pass icon through hire flow,
and update skills to reference icon discovery step.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Add live ActiveAgentsPanel with real-time transcript feed, SidebarContext
for responsive sidebar state, agent config form with reasoning effort,
improved inbox with failed run alerts, enriched issue detail with project
picker, and various component refinements across pages.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Add ApprovalDetail page with comment thread, revision request/resubmit flow,
and ApprovalPayload component for structured payload display. Extend AgentDetail
with permissions management, config revision history, and duplicate action.
Add agent hire dialog with permission-gated access. Rework Costs page with
per-agent breakdown table and period filtering. Add sidebar badge counts for
pending approvals and inbox items. Enhance Dashboard with live metrics and
sparkline trends. Extend Agents list with pending_approval status and bulk
actions. Update IssueDetail with approval linking. Various component improvements
to MetricCard, InlineEditor, CommentThread, and StatusBadge.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
