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2 Commits
Author SHA1 Message Date
Nicky LeachandClaude 6ef37398c8 fix(build): fit typecheck and image build in 4 GiB (#18737)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Contributors, agents, and image builds run `tsc` to check and
compile the repository.
> - The repository uses TypeScript 7, which is a native binary. Node
heap flags do not limit it.
> - The server is one large program, so one `tsc` process needs about 10
GiB.
> - The operating system stops `tsc` under a 4 GiB memory limit.
> - This pull request checks the server in layers, removes the server
from the CLI program, and removes declarations and checks from the image
emit.
> - The benefit is that the full typecheck and the image `tsc` step now
complete in 4 GiB.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

I found no duplicate pull request or issue. A search for `tsc`, memory,
typecheck, and OOM found only runtime memory work, which is a different
subject.

**What happened?**

`tsc` used too much memory, and the kernel stopped it with exit code 137
in resource-constrained environments. Measured peaks before this change:

| Command | Peak |
| --- | --- |
| Server `tsc --noEmit` | About 10 GiB |
| Server `tsc` emit, as in the Docker build | About 10.7 GiB |
| CLI `tsc --noEmit` | About 7 GiB |
| `pnpm -r typecheck`, whole process tree | About 10.2 GiB |

**Expected behavior**

The typecheck and the image `tsc` step complete under a 4 GiB memory
limit.

**Steps to reproduce**

1. Start a Linux container with `--memory=4g --memory-swap=4g --cpus=4`.
2. Install the dependencies on the base commit.
3. Run `pnpm -r typecheck`. The kernel stops the process with exit code
137.
4. Run `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server build`. The `tsc` step needs
more than 4 GiB.

**Paperclip version or commit**

Base commit `09162fe893`, with TypeScript 7.0.2.

**Deployment mode**

Not applicable. This issue applies to development, CI, and image builds.
It does not change the server at runtime.

## What Changed

- Add `server/scripts/typecheck-layers.mjs`. It reads the import graph
on each run and runs one `tsc` process per layer. The layers are the
files below the largest import cycle, the cycle, the files above the
cycle, and the tests. Each layer reads the earlier layers as
declarations.
- Add `scripts/run-tsc.mjs`. It adds `--singleThreaded` when
`PAPERCLIP_TYPECHECK_LOW_MEMORY=1` is set. The server layers and the UI
typecheck use it.
- Add `scripts/typecheck-low-memory.mjs`. It checks one package at a
time in this mode. It has no `package.json` entry, as
`.greptile/rules.md` requires.
- Change the server `typecheck` script to build only the Runner
TypeScript output. It does not build the Runner release binary now.
`pnpm build` and `typecheck:build-gaps` still run the full Runner build
and its generated-file checks.
- Change the `tsc` step of the server `build` script to
`scripts/run-tsc.mjs`. The `Dockerfile` sets `PAPERCLIP_TSC_EMIT_ONLY=1`
for that build, so the image emits JavaScript without checks or
declarations. Without this variable, `build` still does a full check for
npm packages and CI.
- Use a non-literal specifier for the `@paperclipai/server` import in
`cli/src/commands/run.ts`. The import result already had no useful type,
and the literal specifier added the full server to the CLI program.
- Add a layered server typecheck step to the `pr-trusted` typecheck job,
because `typecheck:build-gaps` does not run this script.
- Update `AGENTS.md` and `doc/DEVELOPING.md`.

## Verification

Results on Linux use a clean copy of this branch, a new `pnpm install`,
Node 24, Rust 1.97.1, 4 CPUs, and a 4 GiB memory limit with no swap.
Results before the merge of `master`:

| Command | Result | Peak non-reclaimable memory |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `node scripts/typecheck-low-memory.mjs` | Exit 0, 0 OOM kills | 3,492
MiB |
| `PAPERCLIP_TSC_EMIT_ONLY=1 pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server build` |
Exit 0 | 3,656 MiB, from the Rust release build |
| Server single-program `tsc --noEmit --singleThreaded` | Exit 137, 1
OOM kill | Reached the limit |

Results on macOS on the merged head, with peak memory for the full
process tree:

| Command | Before | After |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `pnpm -r typecheck` | 10.2 GiB, exit 0 | 5.47 GiB, exit 0 |
| `node scripts/typecheck-low-memory.mjs` | Not available | 3.81 GiB,
exit 0 |
| CLI typecheck | 7.06 GiB | 1.68 GiB, before the merge |

Other checks:

- Compiler tests: new tests run the real compiler on a small fixture.
They prove that the layers emit declarations and pass, that a renamed
export fails the layer that imports it, and that a changed type fails
the test layer.
- Declaration imports: a new compiler test proves that types from
`.d.mts` and JSON imports stay correct in later layers. On the real
server, a wrong use of `AgentFileManifest` in the cycle layer failed
with `TS2353`.
- Coverage: a test on the real server source asserts that each source
file is in one layer and that no import goes to a later layer. The test
layer contains the remaining files. `src/__tests__` stays out of the
root list, as in `server/tsconfig.json`.
- Error detection: I added one type error to one file in each of the
four layers. The typecheck reported all four errors and exited with 1.
- Cross-layer errors: I renamed an export in the lower layer. The cycle
and upper layers reported the error and the typecheck exited with 1. I
reverted these temporary edits.
- Emit: full `tsc` and `--noCheck --declaration false --declarationMap
false` gave byte-identical JavaScript and source maps for 2,249 files on
the base commit.
- Runtime: `scripts/server-boot-smoke.sh node
server/dist-runtime/index.mjs` passed with a bundle from the emit-only
build.
- CLI: the esbuild bundle keeps the dynamic import, and `node --check`
passed.
- Tests on the merged head: `typecheck-layers`, `prepare-runner-vendor`,
`cli-invocation-safety`, the CLI `runtime` tests, and all 503
`.github/scripts/tests` tests passed. Before the merge,
`release-verify-workflow` and `runner-release-crate-cache` passed.
- Full `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server build` passed before the
merge.

Failures during this work:

- The first low-memory run failed in the UI with `TS5023: Unknown
compiler option '-b'`, because the flag came before `-b`. I corrected
the argument order and added a test that runs build mode with the flag.
- The first rename check did not rename the export, because BSD `sed`
does not support `\b`. Its exit 0 was not evidence. I ran the check
again with `perl`, and the result above is from that run.
- The first version of the real-compiler fixture had a `TS2774` error in
its own source. The test found this error, and I corrected the fixture.
- CI failed `server-package-build-script.test.ts` on `1abc5e5a43`,
because that test reads the steps of the server `build` script, and I
had moved them to `build:prepare` and `build:assets`. My first search
for readers of this script did not include `server/src`. I removed those
scripts and `build:image`, restored one `build` script, and kept the
test unchanged.
- `GOMEMLIMIT` did not help enough, and I removed it from the plan. On
these steps, `3GiB` saved at most about 300 MiB. With default checkers,
the cycle layer was stopped with and without it, and the lower layer
went from 7 seconds to 151 seconds.

Not run or not proven:

- I did not run the full `pnpm test:run`, a root `pnpm build`, or a full
`docker build`. I expect CI to run the test and build gates.
- I did not measure the Docker build steps other than the server build.
- I did not run the 4 GiB checks on x86-64.
- I did not measure the merged head in the 4 GiB container. The macOS
result on the merged head is 3.81 GiB, and the merge added one source
file to the lower layer.

## Risks

- The margin is small. In the 4 GiB container, the cycle layer peaks
about 600 MiB below the limit, and the Rust release build in the image
build peaks about 440 MiB below it. Growth of the largest import cycle
uses this margin first.
- `node scripts/typecheck-low-memory.mjs` applies only to `pnpm -r`
packages. These commands still check the server as one program and need
more than 4 GiB: `pnpm build`, `test:e2e:runner:typecheck`,
`test:lifecycle-baseline:typecheck`, and the `tests/speko-native`
project.
- A local flow that used the Runner binary from a previous typecheck
must now run `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/paperclip-runner build`.
- The image does not include server declarations now. I found no
consumer in this repository. A downstream image that reads
`server/dist/*.d.ts` must change.
- An image build does not find type errors now. A typecheck in CI must
find them before the image build.
- The import scan uses a regular expression. A false edge can only make
a layer larger. A missed edge causes a `TS6307` failure, so it cannot
skip a file.
- The new CI step adds about one minute to the typecheck job.

> For core feature work, check [`ROADMAP.md`](ROADMAP.md) first and
discuss it in `#dev` before opening the PR. Feature PRs that overlap
with planned core work may need to be redirected — check the roadmap
first. See `CONTRIBUTING.md`.

## Model Used

Anthropic Claude Opus 5.5 (`claude-opus-5-5`) through Claude Code, with
reasoning, tool use, and code execution. The runtime does not show the
context window size.

## 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

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

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-11-03 08:53:35 -08:00
7df517d18f perf(build): reuse a current Runner build in the server's prepare:runner-vendor step (#15926)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Its CI runs a `Build` job on every pull request. That job runs `pnpm
build` and then verifies the public npm install. Since the server test
shards got faster, `Build` is the slowest check in most runs (419-497s
on the six fully green `master` runs created 2026-10-11 19:46Z to
20:17Z).
> - Inside `pnpm build`, the server package is the last package to
build. Its first step, `prepare:runner-vendor`, runs the full build of
`@paperclipai/paperclip-runner` so the server can vendor
`packages/paperclip-runner/dist`. In `pnpm -r build` that package was
built seconds earlier by the same command. The second build took 12-16s
on those six runs and sits on the critical path of the job.
> - The step cannot just be removed. A standalone `pnpm --filter
@paperclipai/server build` (the Dockerfile's path) must produce a
current vendored Runner on its own.
> - This pull request keeps that guarantee and skips only the build that
is provably redundant. The Runner's `build` records a digest of its
inputs, captured before its first step and confirmed after its last,
together with a manifest of every file it left under `dist`. The
server's `prepare:runner-vendor` reuses the build when the digest
matches, the stamp is for this platform, and every recorded output is
still there at its recorded size. Any other state runs the same full
Runner build as before.
> - The benefit is 12-16s off the `Build` job and off every other `pnpm
build` (the Canary Dry Run's `release.sh` build, local builds), with no
change to what a standalone server build produces. The PR's own first
run measured it: the server step reused the build in 56ms where `master`
runs rebuilt for 11-15s.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

No GitHub issue exists for this. The description below follows the
enhancement template.

**What existing behavior does this improve?**

The server build's `prepare:runner-vendor` step, which builds
`@paperclipai/paperclip-runner` so the server can vendor its `dist`.

**Subsystem affected**

Build and CI (`server/package.json`,
`packages/paperclip-runner/package.json`, the `Build` job).

**Current behavior**

`prepare:runner-vendor` runs the Runner's full `build` every time.
Inside `pnpm -r build`, the Runner was already built by the same command
20 to 25 seconds earlier, with every check passing. On six fully green
`master` runs (2026-10-11, 19:46Z to 20:17Z) the repeated build took
11.8s to 15.9s, measured from the `server build$ pnpm run
prepare:runner-vendor` log line to the Runner's `Finished release
profile` line. The server package builds last, so that time is on the
critical path of `Build`, which is the slowest check in most pull
request runs.

**Proposed behavior**

- The Runner's `build` starts with `node scripts/record-build-inputs.mjs
--begin` and ends with `node scripts/record-build-inputs.mjs --finish`.
`--begin` removes the previous stamp and records a digest of every build
input before the first step reads anything. `--finish`, after every step
and check has passed, recomputes the digest and writes
`packages/paperclip-runner/node_modules/.cache/paperclip-runner-build-inputs.json`
only if the inputs are still the ones the build began with, together
with the path and size of every file under `dist`. A stamp therefore
exists only for a build that completed every step on inputs that did not
move while it ran.
- The server's `prepare:runner-vendor` becomes `node
scripts/prepare-runner-vendor.mjs`. It reuses the build if the stamp is
for this platform and architecture, every recorded output is still there
at its recorded size, and the recomputed digest matches. In every other
case it removes the stamp and runs `pnpm --filter
@paperclipai/paperclip-runner build`, the exact command the step ran
before.
- `PAPERCLIP_RUNNER_VENDOR_REBUILD=1` forces the rebuild.

**Reason and benefit**

12-16s off the `Build` job and off every other `pnpm build` (the Canary
Dry Run's `release.sh` build, local builds), with no change to what a
standalone `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server build` produces.

**Breaking changes**

None. The rebuild path runs the same command as before. A fresh
checkout, a changed input, a missing or truncated output, an edit that
landed during the build, or a stamp from another platform always
rebuilds.

## What Changed

- `packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/build-inputs.mjs` (new): defines
the input set, the digest, the output manifest and the reuse decision.
Inputs are every file under `packages/paperclip-runner` except `dist`,
`dist-browser`, `runner/target`, `node_modules` and dot-directories;
every file under `packages/paperclip-eval-kernel` except `dist` and
`node_modules` (the Runner's `build:typescript` builds it first); every
file under the root `patches` directory (`check:acpx-profiles` hashes
`acpx@0.13.1.patch`, and `build-verified-provider-entrypoints.mjs`
copies the `pi-acp` and `brace-expansion` patches into
`dist/cli/pi-provision-inputs`); and the root `package.json`,
`pnpm-lock.yaml`, `pnpm-workspace.yaml` and `tsconfig.base.json`. The
toolchain pins are inside the package (`rust-toolchain.toml`,
`runner/Cargo.lock`) and the TypeScript version is in the lockfile, so
both are covered. A symlink is hashed as its target path and is not
followed. Outputs are every file under `dist`, the tree the server
copies wholesale, recorded with their sizes. Exports `beginRunnerBuild`,
`recordRunnerBuild` and `assessRunnerBuild` (returns `current` plus a
stable reason code: `no_stamp`, `schema_mismatch`, `platform_mismatch`,
`missing_output`, `outputs_changed`, `inputs_changed`,
`inputs_unchanged`).
- `packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/record-build-inputs.mjs` (new): the
two phases, `--begin` and `--finish`, added as the first and last step
of the Runner's `build` in `packages/paperclip-runner/package.json`.
Each build chain has its own pending record under
`node_modules/.cache/paperclip-runner-build-inputs.pending/`, named
after the shell pnpm runs the chain in (the parent of both phases;
`--finish` also accepts a record named after its own pid, for a shell
that execs the last command of the chain), so two Runner builds running
at once in one checkout do not consume each other's record. `--finish`
without a pending record for its chain is an error, so the chain cannot
silently lose its first step; `--finish` after an edit that landed
mid-build prints `not recorded: inputs changed while the build ran` and
leaves no stamp. Records of builds that never finished are pruned by the
next `--begin` after a day.
- `server/scripts/prepare-runner-vendor.mjs` (new): the reuse-or-rebuild
step. It resolves the pnpm that is running it through `npm_execpath`
with the same rule as the CLI's `resolvePnpmInstallInvocation` (a
JavaScript entry runs through this Node, a native executable runs
directly, otherwise `pnpm` on PATH). It prints one
`paperclip.runner-vendor.timing.v1` line with `action`, `reason`,
`check_ms` and `build_ms`, so the saving is measured on this PR's own
`Build` job.
- `server/package.json`: `prepare:runner-vendor` now runs that script.
The `build` and `typecheck` scripts are unchanged.
- `server/src/__tests__/server-package-build-script.test.ts`: pins the
new indirection and the command behind it (imported from the script, so
the Dockerfile's standalone path stays pinned), and a new test asserts
the Runner's `build` starts with `--begin`, ends with `--finish`, and
has exactly those two record steps.
- Tests: `packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/build-inputs.test.mjs`
(node:test, added to `test:typescript:prep`) and
`server/scripts/prepare-runner-vendor.test.mjs` (vitest, in the server
lane).
- `doc/DEVELOPING.md`: a "Reused Runner build in the server build"
section under Test Commands.

## Review findings on the first head, all fixed in
[2d57542](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/pull/15926/commits/2d575425977f87b4612222d0a1961bc9cc5ba569)

Greptile scored the first head 2/5 with three P1 findings. All three
were valid.

| Finding | Fix |
| --- | --- |
| **Patch edits leave stale output.** The root patch files the build
reads were not in the digest. | Every file under the root `patches`
directory is an input. Tests assert the patches are in the input list
and that editing the pi-acp patch, the acpx patch, or adding a patch
changes the digest. |
| **Missing helpers pass the build.** Only four outputs were checked, so
a `dist` that lost `dist/cli/acpx-runtime-sidecar.cjs` still counted as
current. | `--finish` records the path and size of every file under
`dist`; reuse requires all of them intact and reports `outputs_changed`
naming the first missing or resized file. Schema bumped to
`paperclip.runner-build-inputs.v2` so an older stamp is rejected. Tests
cover a deleted helper, a truncated helper, and the server step
rebuilding on `outputs_changed`. |
| **New edits count as compiled.** The digest was hashed after the
build, so a source edited while `build:binary` ran was recorded as
compiled. | The build is bracketed: `--begin` captures the digest before
the first step, `--finish` compares after the last and writes nothing if
it moved. Tests cover the mid-build edit, the undisturbed build, and the
CLI in both orders. |

## Review finding on the second head, fixed in the third commit

Greptile scored the second head 4/5 with one P1, valid: two Runner
builds running at once in one checkout (server `build` beside
`typecheck`) shared one pending record, so the second `--begin`
overwrote it, the first `--finish` consumed it, and the second
`--finish` threw `no pending build inputs` after every step of its build
had passed. Reproduced on the second head's module: two
`beginRunnerBuild`, then the first `recordRunnerBuild` records and the
second throws.

| Finding | Fix |
| --- | --- |
| **Overlapping builds fail each other.** One pending file for every
build chain. | One record per chain, named after the shell pnpm runs the
chain in: `--begin` sees it as its parent, and so does `--finish`,
unless the shell execs the last command of the chain (bash can), in
which case `--finish` is that shell and finds the record under its own
pid. Pending records of builds that never finished are pruned after a
day. An edit between two overlapping starts leaves no stamp whichever
build finishes last: the build that began before the edit reports
`inputs_changed_during_build` and removes the stamp the other wrote, so
a stamp always means every build that wrote `dist` read the inputs it
names. Tests: both finishing orders with and without an edit, the
pruning, a `--finish` that cannot use another chain's record, and two
real `sh -c` chains (plus one under `bash`) held open at the same time,
both recording. On the real repo, two `pnpm --filter
@paperclipai/paperclip-runner build` chains started 8s apart with a
cargo stand-in both recorded (`files=1223 outputs=1434`) and left the
pending directory empty. |

## Measured on this PR's runs

The `Build` job ran `pnpm build` from the branch, so both builds of the
Runner in that job used the new chain.

First head (c23faab, run 38175281058), against the four fully green
`master` runs created 20:41Z to 21:37Z the same evening:

| | PR run 38175281058 | `master`, four runs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Runner build inside `pnpm -r build` | 55.3s | 47.3-62.0s |
| Server step `prepare:runner-vendor` |
`action:reuse,reason:inputs_unchanged,check_ms:56,build_ms:0` | full
Runner rebuild, 11.0-14.8s |
| Server package build | 29.7s | 32.3-43.5s |
| `pnpm build` step | 114s | 102-135s |
| `Build` job | 411s | 409-474s |

Second head (2d57542, run 38178686999), against the two fully green
`master` runs created in the same half hour (38178951607 and
38180574768):

| | PR run 38178686999 | `master`, two runs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Runner build inside `pnpm -r build` | 53.9s (`begin:` 22:03:04,
`recorded:` 22:03:57, digest 460e02616081 over 1231 files and 1434
outputs) | 62.2s, 64.6s |
| Server step `prepare:runner-vendor` |
`action:reuse,reason:inputs_unchanged,check_ms:109,build_ms:0` | full
Runner rebuild, 14.5s, 15.2s |
| Server package build | 27.4s | 43.5s, 44.8s |
| `pnpm build` step | 106s | 91s, 95s to the Runner's end plus the rest;
127s, 135s in all |
| `Build` job | 405s | 461s, 479s |

The rebuild is gone from the server build on both heads, and the check
costs 56-109ms where `master` rebuilds for 11-15s; the rest of the
spread between runs is runner speed on the `runs-on` fleet. The third
commit changes nothing on the reuse path: it only changes where the
pending record lives between `--begin` and `--finish`.

## Verification

- `node --test packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/build-inputs.test.mjs`:
11 tests, three consecutive runs clean. Two builds at once in one
checkout each keep their own pending record and both record, in either
finishing order; with an edit between their starts the build that began
before it leaves no stamp whichever finishes last. A build's start
prunes records older than a day and no others. A `--finish` cannot use
another chain's record. Two chains run by separate `sh -c` shells at the
same time (and one under `bash`) both record and leave the pending
directory empty. The input set is exactly the sources, the eval kernel,
the root patches and the root config, and skips outputs and caches. The
output manifest lists every file under `dist` with its size and nothing
outside it. The digest is stable across reads, does not change when
`dist`, `dist-browser`, `node_modules`, `.vite` or `runner/target`
change, and does change for a Runner source, a Rust source, an
eval-kernel source, the pi-acp patch, the acpx patch, a new patch, the
lockfile, the base tsconfig, a new file and a rename. A symlink changes
the digest but its target's files are not read. A build is current only
with a matching v2 stamp, the same platform and architecture, the four
named outputs present, and every recorded output intact (a deleted or
truncated helper is `outputs_changed`; a file the build did not produce
may appear). An input edited between `--begin` and `--finish` leaves no
stamp and removes the pending record; the next build records normally.
`--finish` without `--begin`, or after a build that left a required
output missing, throws and leaves no stamp. The CLI brackets the build
for the package it is pointed at, reports a mid-build edit, and rejects
`--finish` first, both flags, neither flag, and unknown arguments.
- `vitest run scripts/prepare-runner-vendor.test.mjs
src/__tests__/server-package-build-script.test.ts` in `server/`: 21
tests. The decision reuses a current build, rebuilds a stale one, and
rebuilds a current one only when `PAPERCLIP_RUNNER_VENDOR_REBUILD=1`.
The pnpm resolver covers a JavaScript entry, a native executable, a
Windows executable, no `npm_execpath`, and npm's `npm_execpath`. With an
injected build command: a current stamp runs nothing and prints
`action:reuse`; changed inputs run the exact command from `server/` with
the stale stamp already removed; a lost
`dist/cli/acpx-runtime-sidecar.cjs` rebuilds with
`reason:outputs_changed`; a failing build returns its status and leaves
no stamp. End to end, the CLI with a stand-in `pnpm` on PATH that
brackets its build the way the real one does rebuilds on the first call,
reuses on the second, rebuilds after a source change, rebuilds after a
lost output, and reuses again. The guard test asserts
`prepare:runner-vendor` is the new script, the rebuild command is still
`pnpm --filter @paperclipai/paperclip-runner build`, the server build
still starts with the step, and the Runner's `build` starts with
`--begin` and ends with `--finish` with exactly two record steps; it
fails against the previous build script on its first assertion.
- Real repo, this checkout, with `cargo` and `pnpm` stand-ins on PATH
(no Rust toolchain here; the stand-in writes the one file
`stage-runner-binary.mjs` copies): `pnpm --filter
@paperclipai/paperclip-runner build` ran the complete chain through the
real nested pnpm (every TypeScript step and check, the stand-in cargo,
the binary staging, the two binary-reading checks) and recorded
`files=1223 bytes=18735059 outputs=1434`; the stamp is 128 KB. `pnpm run
prepare:runner-vendor` in `server/` then printed
`action:reuse,reason:inputs_unchanged,check_ms:222,build_ms:0`.
Appending a newline to `patches/pi-acp@0.0.33.patch` made the assessment
`inputs_changed`; truncating or deleting
`dist/cli/acpx-runtime-sidecar.cjs` or
`dist/cli/opencode-app-server-proxy.cjs` made it `outputs_changed` in
1-5ms; restoring each made it current again. `--begin`, an edit to
`src/index.ts`, then `--finish` printed `not recorded: inputs changed
while the build ran` and left no stamp.
- The whole check on the real set (1223 inputs, 18 MB; 1434 outputs)
takes 165-227ms on this host and took 56ms on the CI runner; the output
manifest part is 1-5ms.
- Not run here: the real `cargo build`, and `pnpm build` end to end.
This PR's `Build` job runs `pnpm build` from the branch, so its log
carries the Runner's `begin:` and `recorded:` lines and the server
build's `paperclip.runner-vendor.timing.v1` line with the measured
result.

## Risks

- A build input outside the digest would let a stale Runner be vendored.
The digest covers the whole Runner package except its outputs, the eval
kernel the Runner builds first, the root patches, and the root files the
Runner's tsconfig and dependency graph read. The lockfile covers
dependency versions, and the pins inside the package cover the Rust
toolchain. An input missed here is a bug to fix by adding it to the set;
the fallback direction is always a rebuild, never a skip.
- The whole `patches` directory is an input, although the Runner build
reads three of its fourteen files. An edit to an unrelated patch
therefore costs one extra Runner rebuild, which is the safe direction
and avoids a hand-kept list of file names that could drift from the
scripts that read them.
- The stamp lives in `node_modules/.cache`, which pnpm does not manage
and `.gitignore` and `.dockerignore` already exclude. It is about 128 KB
with the output manifest. The Docker build has no stamp and no prior
Runner build, so it rebuilds exactly as before.
- A stamp is written only after the Runner's `build` passed every step
on inputs that did not change while it ran. The Runner's first step and
the prepare step both remove any existing stamp before a rebuild starts,
so a build that stops partway, or a build command that fails before its
first step, leaves no stamp.
- `node scripts/record-build-inputs.mjs --finish` on its own is an
error; the script is only meant to run as the two ends of the `build`
chain, and the guard test pins that.
- The pending record is keyed by the pid of the shell that runs the
chain. pnpm runs every script through a shell (`sh -c` on POSIX, `cmd`
on Windows), and both phases are children of that shell; a shell that
execs the last command of the chain is covered by matching the finishing
process's own pid too. A chain run some other way, with the two phases
under different parents, fails loudly at `--finish` rather than
recording. Two builds running at once still write the same `dist`, which
no stamp can make safe; what the record guarantees is that a stamp is
written only by a build whose own inputs did not move.
- The platform and architecture are part of the comparison, so a stamp
from another machine is never trusted; an older v1 stamp is rejected by
schema.
- The Typecheck job builds the Runner once, through this step, with no
prior `pnpm -r build`, so it gains nothing and loses nothing: there is
no stamp and it rebuilds as before.
- The step now spawns pnpm through `npm_execpath` instead of relying on
`pnpm` being on PATH, because under corepack the script shell has no
`pnpm`. Outside a pnpm script it still falls back to `pnpm` on PATH.

## Model Used

- Claude (Anthropic), model id `claude-fable-5-1` (Claude Fable 5.1),
extended thinking, with tool use (shell, file editing, GitHub CLI) in a
Paperclip agent session.

## 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: devinfoley <139239+devinfoley@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-12 11:25:24 -07:00