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PaperClipAI/doc/agent-commentary.md
DottaandPaperclip b508a05c43 feat: add internal agent complaints and suggestions (#15367)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Agents use legacy skills or native runner tools to work on tasks.
> - Those agents can encounter friction that does not belong in the task
thread.
> - A complaint should preserve the raw reaction. A suggestion should
describe an improvement.
> - This pull request adds attributed local storage and both submission
paths.
> - Agents can submit feedback once and continue their primary work.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

**Subsystem affected**

Server, database, shared contracts, runtime skills, and native runner
tools.

**Problem or motivation**

Agents have no default internal channel for incidental complaints and
suggestions. Sending this feedback through task comments adds noise and
can alter task workflows.

**Proposed solution**

Store free-form feedback in the current instance database. Derive agent,
run, company, and task attribution from active authority. Provide
default legacy skills and provider-neutral native actions. Keep the
instructions close to Warp's MIT-licensed originals.

**Alternatives considered**

Task comments and external Slack delivery add unwanted side effects.
Mandatory suggestion fields and short editorial limits would discard
useful feedback. This release has no listing API, UI, read tool,
automatic triage, or external forwarding.

**Roadmap alignment**

This is a maintainer-requested addition to the existing runtime skills
and runner tool paths. It does not duplicate a listed roadmap milestone.
Searches for complaint tooling, suggestion-box, and agent commentary
found no overlapping public PR or issue.

## What Changed

- Add the company-scoped `agent_commentary` table, shared validation,
and idempotent migration `0310`.
- Add one transactional service and the agent-only POST route. Validate
active authority before writes or replay. Redact known credentials.
Commit a content-free audit with each new record.
- Add `submit_complaint` and `submit_suggestion` to standard, ask, and
planning modes. Keep review, revocation, and completion restrictions.
Store replay identity on the commentary row.
- Mount `complain` and `suggestion-box` by default for legacy agents.
Bundle a dependency-free Node.js stdin helper in the operational skill
and allow its POST through the sandbox bridge.
- Preserve Warp's complaint voice and suggestion guidance, with
attribution and local transport adaptations. Keep source attribution and
MIT notices in each skill's LICENSE, outside runtime instructions.
- Document custom-runtime HTTP use and database inspection. Add
real-database tests and a repeatable live Codex smoke for local and
Daytona execution.
- Pin the lagging-source migration fixture before the identity-repair
migration so later migrations preserve its regression coverage.

## Verification

- Personally ran real Codex submissions in all four environments on
2026-10-06. Local runs passed at 20:35 UTC. Daytona native passed at
20:31 UTC; Daytona legacy passed at 20:33 UTC. Each stored exactly two
rows with company, agent, run, and task attribution, wrote the
continuation marker, exited zero, created no task comments, and left
task status unchanged. Each recorded two content-free activity entries.
- Daytona used production provider hooks, real remote execution and file
transfer, the legacy queue callback bridge, and native private WebSocket
ingress. The current Linux runner was built from `abf47b595`, staged,
and verified against controller contracts. Both sandboxes were confirmed
deleted. This is a focused feedback transport smoke; it does not claim
full Runner E2E catalog or browser qualification.
- The immutable base image and Linux binary digest are recorded in [the
verification
documentation](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/codex/agent-commentary/doc/agent-commentary.md#verification).
The smoke script can save content-free JSON evidence. No credentials or
feedback bodies are in these reports.

| Environment | Runner | Complaint row | Suggestion row |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| local | legacy Codex | `59413a00-1de2-4bb1-bcc6-9c4b54c64aa6` |
`3db2364d-3e15-4f47-846f-875d3902999d` |
| local | native Codex | `5da22b5f-41df-4de5-8ba0-d9345ab01267` |
`2d5abe17-dd41-403c-a5ee-4729f2d58921` |
| daytona | legacy Codex | `27c9d0aa-8477-409f-9da0-e8ffa48dee50` |
`209681c9-d1e9-4ce1-999e-48fa07692389` |
| daytona | native Codex | `6eb001bb-4bcf-43f7-8717-f662f53dc7c3` |
`77c383d8-a997-49e5-a33e-25c70e15c0b2` |

- Run the local check with `node cli/node_modules/tsx/dist/cli.mjs
server/scripts/verify-agent-commentary-live.ts`. The documentation gives
the Daytona invocation. Both use disposable instance databases and
normal Codex provider usage.
- Repository `pnpm -r typecheck` and `pnpm build` passed after the test
extension. The build includes runner generation, contracts, and replay
checks. The smoke scripts also passed a separate TypeScript check. The
lagging-source migration regression passed. All equivalent current-head
Vitest CI shards passed. The local monolithic `pnpm test:run` invocation
was stopped after CI supplied that coverage; it did not complete
locally.
- Focused tests cover company isolation, spoofing, revoked credentials,
stale ownership, post-finish rejection, concurrent replay, conflicting
keys, atomic rollback, and deletion through existing services. Boundary
tests cover empty text, Unicode, text beyond 8,000 characters, and the
524,288-character ceiling without truncation. Mounting tests cover
Codex, Claude, and sandbox staging. Helper tests cover standalone Node
execution, stdin, invalid UTF-8, redirects, HTTP failure, and its
deadline. Privacy and bridge tests cover successful and rejected
requests.
- Instructions were compared with Warp's originals. MIT notices and
source credits live only in LICENSE files. Native tools preserve
truthful disclosure when asked, without routine announcements.
- [Full
CI](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/37508559190)
and Greptile 5/5 passed on the earlier feature commit `5209c3501`. The
later head found the migration-fixture assumption fixed in this update.
On `8a4965164`, all 55 check contexts passed after one browser shard
rerun. Its initial reviewer signoff failure also passed an isolated
local browser run (1 test). Greptile scored that head 5/5 and identified
one smoke cleanup gap. `6ecbafb0b` fixes failed-acquisition cleanup with
four passing tests and a passing smoke-script typecheck. Fresh CI is
pending for this final test-only fix. No commentary production code
changed during verification.

## Risks

- Feedback is internally attributed. It is not anonymous. Existing
redaction removes known credentials, but agents must still omit
sensitive content. Normal provider transcripts can include their
submitted arguments.
- Default skill availability changes for existing legacy agents. Runtime
policy filtering still applies. The helper uses the existing Node.js
runtime with no extra dependencies; custom runtimes can call the HTTP
endpoint.
- Feedback is removed with its run, agent, or company. Task deletion
clears only the issue pointer. Normal database backups include the
table.
- The migration is additive and has no backfill. Writes serialize on the
active run for replay consistency. No server suggestion quota is
imposed.

## Model Used

OpenAI `gpt-6-astra` through Codex, with `xhigh` reasoning effort and a
reported 258,400-token context window. Capabilities used: repository
inspection, code execution, and live runtime verification. No subagents
were used.

## 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

---------

Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
2026-10-06 16:14:06 -05:00

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Agent complaints and suggestions

Agents submit incidental feedback into the current instance's agent_commentary table. Complaints preserve a raw reaction; suggestions describe an improvement. Both are free-form, internally attributed records, not anonymous feedback.

Agent entry points

Skill-capable legacy adapters automatically receive complain and suggestion-box alongside the paperclip operational skill, including existing agents with empty optional-skill selections. The shared helper lives in that operational skill at scripts/submit-agent-commentary.mjs. It reads the body from stdin and uses the existing PAPERCLIP_API_URL, PAPERCLIP_API_KEY, PAPERCLIP_COMPANY_ID, and PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID. The helper uses the existing Node.js runtime with no additional dependencies; custom runtimes can call HTTP directly. Sandboxed runs use the callback bridge.

Native runs receive submit_complaint({body, idempotencyKey}) and submit_suggestion({body, idempotencyKey}) in standard, ask, and planning modes. Specialized completion-review runs retain their restricted tool set. Native submission uses the bound authority without a shell or API credential. Submit before finishing the run.

Instructions closely adapt Warp's complain and suggestion-box skills, with their MIT notices included. Paperclip changes the transport, attribution, suggestion form, and size limit. Agents submit proactively when warranted, without routine previews or announcements, then continue working. Answer truthfully if a user asks about feedback or submitted content. Operators can exclude these legacy skills through the existing runtime skill policy. Brevity and at most three suggestions per run are guidance, not server quotas. Do not report the same incident through both paths or retry failed submissions.

HTTP contract

POST /api/companies/:companyId/agent-commentary accepts an authenticated agent and its active run (Authorization: Bearer …, X-Paperclip-Run-Id: …):

{"kind":"suggestion","body":"The tool returned before persistence completed. Wait for the write before returning success.","idempotencyKey":"write-completion-1"}

Only these three fields are accepted. Identity and the optional task reference are server-derived. Board callers cannot impersonate agent feedback. Native runs use their dedicated tools rather than this legacy HTTP path.

Bodies must contain non-whitespace text and may contain up to 524,288 JavaScript string code units, matching ordinary issue documents. No truncation is applied. Existing 10 MiB HTTP and callback bridge request limits remain. Keys are nonempty and at most 240 characters.

Creation returns HTTP 201 with {id, kind, createdAt, replayed:false}. Identical replay in the same company/run returns HTTP 200 with the same ID and timestamp and replayed:true. Conflicting key reuse returns 409. Invalid input returns 400; invalid authority returns 401/403; storage failure returns a sanitized 503. Authorization precedes replay. The helper accepts an optional second argument for a stable key, generating one otherwise. It makes one request with a 10-second HTTP deadline and exits zero on failure with a content-free diagnostic. It never follows redirects with credentials or claims an uncertain write succeeded.

Storage and inspection

Rows contain company, agent, run, nullable issue, kind, body, retry key, payload hash, and timestamp. Known run secrets and credential syntax are redacted before storage; instructions remain essential because redaction cannot guarantee secrecy. Writes and one content-free activity record commit together. Feedback bodies are excluded from HTTP diagnostics and dedicated mutation receipts.

There is no feedback UI, read API, notification, automatic task creation, or external forwarding. This is separate from first-party Telemetry, OpenTelemetry Observability, and the run log. Ordinary provider transcripts can still contain submitted tool arguments; there is no anonymity or ephemeral-storage promise.

Authorized operators inspect the instance database, for example:

SELECT id, kind, body, agent_id, run_id, issue_id, created_at
FROM agent_commentary
WHERE company_id = '<company UUID>'
ORDER BY created_at DESC;

The service enforces company/run ownership. Foreign keys clear the task reference on task deletion and cascade deletion with its run, agent, or company. Normal logical database backups include these rows. No retention scheduler or backfill.

Verification

Focused coverage lives in server/src/__tests__/agent-commentary.integration.test.ts, agent-commentary-helper.test.ts, agent-commentary-skills.test.ts, the shared validator tests, and the HTTP logger and sandbox callback bridge suites. These exercise real PostgreSQL and routes, atomic audit rollback, replay races, authority changes, deletion, default mounts, Unicode, and the exact document-body boundary.

The opt-in live smoke uses existing Codex login credentials, copied to a private temporary home, and a disposable instance database. It calls the real legacy adapter and production native-session executor. It incurs normal provider usage:

node cli/node_modules/tsx/dist/cli.mjs server/scripts/verify-agent-commentary-live.ts

To run the same checks on real Daytona sandboxes, install the standalone provider's dependencies, provide its API key and an immutable image reference, and specify a Linux amd64 runner built from this checkout:

pnpm --dir packages/plugins/sandbox-providers/daytona install --frozen-lockfile
PAPERCLIP_LIVE_ENVIRONMENT=daytona \
PAPERCLIP_LIVE_DAYTONA_ENV_FILE=/path/to/private.env \
PAPERCLIP_LIVE_LINUX_RUNNER=/path/to/linux-amd64/paperclip-runnerd \
PAPERCLIP_LIVE_EVIDENCE_PATH=/tmp/commentary-evidence.json \
node cli/node_modules/tsx/dist/cli.mjs server/scripts/verify-agent-commentary-live.ts

The private env file needs only DAYTONA_API_KEY and PAPERCLIP_E2E_DAYTONA_IMAGE (...@sha256:...). Alternatively, export those variables directly. A positional legacy or native argument selects one path. For a current Linux runner, add an export stage to a temporary copy of the root Dockerfile and build it with --platform linux/amd64 --target commentary-runner-export --output type=local,dest=/tmp/commentary-runner-linux:

FROM scratch AS commentary-runner-export
COPY --from=runner-build /app/packages/paperclip-runner/runner/target/release/paperclip-runnerd /paperclip-runnerd

The smoke calls the production Daytona provider hooks for creation, execution, file transfer, private ingress, and confirmed deletion. Legacy feedback crosses the sandbox queue callback bridge. Native feedback crosses the runner's private WebSocket and live tool authority. The current Linux runner is staged and verified independently of the base image. Fixture setup creates authority; the real agent submits all feedback. This is a focused feedback transport smoke, not a full Runner E2E catalog qualification or browser onboarding test.

Both paths passed locally and on Daytona on 2026-10-06. Each persisted one complaint and one suggestion with company, agent, run, and task attribution; each then wrote the continuation marker. Both exited zero, left task status unchanged, created no task comments, and recorded two content-free activity entries. The script emits the attributed row IDs and timestamps as evidence, optionally saves a JSON report, and deletes its temporary data, credentials, and remote sandboxes. Remote reports are emitted only after confirmed sandbox deletion.

The Daytona verification used base image ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip-daytona-runner@sha256:b81a86d5242088f9d832666a411f09da7438d92e99f9962ccf88ebe439cd3b32 and the Linux runner built from abf47b5953d14aa7a8dbf2941460b5df8a4d66c3 (binary SHA-256 c794141152ae2e2986da0df14b01a54e4448949e06ec4031c83bad8a9fff8bac).

Environment Runner Complaint row Suggestion row Submitted at (UTC)
Local Legacy Codex 59413a00-1de2-4bb1-bcc6-9c4b54c64aa6 3db2364d-3e15-4f47-846f-875d3902999d 20:35:10
Local Native Codex 5da22b5f-41df-4de5-8ba0-d9345ab01267 2d5abe17-dd41-403c-a5ee-4729f2d58921 20:35:26–20:35:27
Daytona Legacy Codex 27c9d0aa-8477-409f-9da0-e8ffa48dee50 209681c9-d1e9-4ce1-999e-48fa07692389 20:33:07–20:33:09
Daytona Native Codex 6eb001bb-4bcf-43f7-8717-f662f53dc7c3 77c383d8-a997-49e5-a33e-25c70e15c0b2 20:31:54