Files
PaperClipAI/maps/agent-access-map/workspaces.md
Devin FoleyandPaperclip c7f4b74111 fix: isolate fresh task sources from restricted project workspaces (#16095)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Each task must have an isolated workspace that its agent can read.
> - Older project checkouts can contain worktrees for restricted tasks.
> - The source access check correctly rejects these shared checkouts.
> - A fresh task then fails even when its agent can clone the project
remote.
> - This pull request gives fresh default tasks a separate clone of the
same remote.
> - The task can start while the restricted task files remain protected.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

**What happened?**

Fresh tasks fail with `Task workspace access is no longer available`
when their default project checkout contains a restricted task worktree.
The caller has access to the new task and its remote repository. The
shared local Git source is unsafe to copy.

**Expected behavior**

Use a separate clone of the same authorized remote for a fresh default
task. Keep source access checks and responsible-user Git credentials in
force.

**Steps to reproduce**

1. Put a restricted task worktree inside a project checkout.
2. Assign a new default task to an agent that cannot read the restricted
task.
3. Start the new task. The current source check fails before workspace
creation.
4. With this fix, the task uses a separate remote source. The restricted
files are absent. Later runs reuse the same owned source.

Related work: Refs #15749, Refs #15528. This change keeps their source
retention and workspace ownership checks.

## What Changed

- Add a remote source path scoped to the company and task.
- Clone through the run’s Git connection after the shared source fails
its access check.
- Reject reused workspaces, explicit selections, pinned branches, local
sources, credential-bearing URLs, and symlink paths.
- Check source access again before publishing the workspace.
- Resolve later runs from the verified recorded source. Ignore leftover
clones that the saved workspace does not own.
- Record provenance for new implicit Git defaults. Read the current task
binding before fallback. Preserve explicit, inherited and ambiguous
legacy checkout choices.
- Keep the effective task strategy during startup validation of matching
implicit defaults. Preserve the existing explicit-selection write check.
- Add regression coverage and document the fallback.

## Verification

- Merged master `c8efdbfba43` and resolved both rounds of catalog/index
conflicts. All upstream suites, classifications, source references and
story IDs are preserved. Both fix branches combine cleanly in either
merge order, with no catalog fingerprint drift.
- Passed locally: 313 focused source-isolation, preparation,
task-creation, binding and trust tests before the final startup fix. The
final fix passes all 100 source-trust, task-binding and
environment-selection tests. Earlier workspace-resolution and
persisted-source suites also passed.
- Real-Git regressions cover all three review findings. Reconstruction
ignores an unrecorded clone and preserves unpublished commits/files.
Explicit and parent-inherited checkout IDs without typed selections
retain their denial and branch tips without cloning or acquiring an
environment. A protected-project heartbeat completes and resumes using
the task’s Git strategy with read access. Explicit selection still
requires writes, and a mismatched default is rejected.
- Passed: the complete Storybook catalog check with no drift errors,
feature and agent map structure checks, and all 17 catalog/index script
tests. The generated index counts match the merged catalog. The current
upstream verification-route inventory remains unchanged. The catalog
contains all 262 authored suites and 2,481 story IDs.
- Passed: full workspace typecheck and build after the final guard
changes, on latest head `79d2adadcb6d3d7a04b9943a91bdb8b0b6abea6d`.
- Latest head `79d2adadcb6d3d7a04b9943a91bdb8b0b6abea6d`: complete CI
passed (54 successful checks, two intentional skips), including the full
general/serialized suites and all eight browser shards. Fresh Greptile
Apex review is 5/5 on this same commit, with no unresolved findings or
recommendations. The full local test command was attempted earlier
without a complete aggregate result; the complete suite result is from
CI.
- Manual check: configure a shared project checkout with a restricted
task worktree. Admit a fresh default task using the authorized remote.
Confirm separate Git storage and no restricted local branch or file.
Reuse, close and reopen the task workspace. Confirm that explicit,
literal branch and low-trust selections retain the denied source.

## Risks

- A clean remote clone excludes unpublished local work. The fallback
applies only to fresh default tasks and rejects existing workspace or
branch selections.
- A private remote can fail to clone when the responsible user lacks Git
credentials. The run then reports the failure; access checks are not
bypassed.
- Older untyped checkout bindings cannot prove default provenance. They
keep the source denial instead of silently dropping unpublished work.
- New implicit Git defaults use the existing workspace-intent contract.
The source directory uses existing instance storage. No schema migration
is required.

## Model Used

OpenAI GPT-6, model ID `gpt-6`, through Codex. Used reasoning,
repository inspection, code editing, terminal tools, and test execution.
The API session does not expose an exact 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

---------

Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
2026-10-13 12:31:40 -07:00

12 KiB

Execution workspaces, services, and files — agent access

Product map: Execution workspaces, services, and files.

Review date: 2026-10-12. Source commit: 58e16dbddfc9c8d0cf60867f9d9847f0feda055b. Native REST transport reconciled in this change; see the shared transport contract.

This is a source-reviewed baseline of representative operations and known gaps. Each capability needs operation-level review before its entire scope can be qualified. No live agent execution is claimed. Follow the map contract for format, permission checks, evidence and maintenance.

binding

Review: baseline.

API: present — representative operation IDs:

  • GET /api/issues/{id}/heartbeat-context.
  • GET /api/execution-workspaces/{id}.
  • GET /api/issues/{id}/workspace inspects the durable task binding.
  • PUT /api/issues/{id}/workspace requests the next binding.
  • GET /api/companies/{companyId}/execution-workspaces?summary=true&selectableForTask=true lists authorized task-selectable workspaces.

Agent access: available — Native get_task_context / REST / CLI / MCP workspace read.

The task-bound native tools get_workspace, list_workspaces, and select_workspace use the ordinary authenticated APIs. Legacy agents can call those APIs with their admitted run token. These paths do not require a project.

Policy: Company/project/workspace visibility and runtime authority; active run, trust preset and task ownership where required.

Task workspace writes require issue:mutate, an active owned task/run for agents, and current source visibility. Shared physical roots also require source-project workspace write authority. Accepting a new pending choice advances its binding revision; superseded retries fail while current-choice retries remain idempotent. Binding revisions and request keys fence retries; selection applies at the next normal admission without interrupting a live run.

Fresh standard-trust tasks with an implicit repository default can use an owned remote clone when the shared default source fails the restricted-task workspace guard. This does not grant access to the private local checkout or its Git metadata. The normal admitted Git identity must already authorize the configured remote. Creation of a fallback source is unavailable for explicit, parent/channel, reused or low-trust selections, or branch templates without a task-derived placeholder; an existing verified owned source remains reusable. Literal branch selections retain the original denial without cloning or replacing their unpublished commits. New implicit Git defaults record project-source provenance. Untyped explicit, inherited and older ambiguous checkout bindings retain the denial; admission reads the current company-scoped binding before considering the fallback. Local paths, unsupported transports and credential-bearing URLs are not fallback sources. Company/task/remote bindings, real paths, Git storage and the exact origin are revalidated for reuse, cleanup and reopening. A failed save removes only the owned task worktree. The isolated-source service and its local regression tests establish source and lifecycle boundaries; live agent/provider qualification remains separate. Writable aliases must also be compatible with current and retained physical source projects' trust boundaries. Incompatible choices are rejected before dispatch; a projectless alias cannot bypass required sandbox containment. Source-copy checks apply the same trust boundary before provisioning. The authoritative sandbox or SSH selection suppresses configured and built-in controller worktree and runtime provisioning regardless of task trust, source write grants or board sponsorship. Genuine isolated worktrees still permit authorized read-only source copying. Source write permission does not authorize controller execution. Explicit, channel, inherited, foreign or nondefault isolated source choices remain copy-only for controller provisioning even on local runs. Their deny-only workspace marker survives metadata and binding changes; a board reopen does not turn it into approval. Implicit trusted local defaults and explicit SSH remote provisioning retain their existing placement; no new sandbox provision transport is claimed. The implicit default follows task creation: configured policy pointer, then primary source, creation time and ID. A missing or foreign configured source does not authorize controller hooks. This precedence neither changes existing creation validation nor rotates bindings or clears retained copy-only markers. Closed-worktree reopening checks current task, agent, organizational and source policies without assuming a future driver. Effective low-trust reopens suppress configured and built-in host scripts. Returned checkpoints must have directory parents for every nested entry before merging, including unchanged entries; invalid output leaves retained host files intact and keeps recovery evidence. Child creation by an admitted agent checks an explicit prospective-task context before the child is saved. The creator run must have an authoritative saved policy and a verified company/agent/parent lineage. Current parent, prospective child and physical source policies must fit that boundary. This creation path does not relax exact task/run checks for existing-task writes. The child trust regression is automated source-level evidence, not live agent qualification. Source review for these additions: PR #15749 and task workspace routes, native authority, and semantic transport.

Evidence: source-only — implementation at the reviewed commit above.

Verification: not-run — exercise a listed permitted operation with actual agent credentials/run context; inspect its result and applicable persistence/attribution. Assert the relevant denied actor, owner, company or mode from Policy. Review the remaining operations before qualifying the whole capability.

Gaps: Run/task context identifies its actual realized workspace; record existence is not a running service.

provisioning

Review: baseline.

API: present — representative operation IDs:

  • GET /api/execution-workspaces/{id}.
  • GET /api/execution-workspaces/{id}/workspace-operations.
  • POST /api/issues/{id}/workspace/repositories requests repository preparation.

Agent access: partial — REST / native call_api reads; task/project assignment triggers server provisioning.

Native prepare_repository and admitted legacy REST callers can request a catalog repository or validated repository URL for their current task. Preparation occurs at normal admission; the agent cannot supply a host path or controller identity. Current source permissions, responsible-user intersection, trust restrictions, immutable receipts, and retained physical-root ownership are checked before acquisition and publication. Low-trust callers cannot trigger a new controller-side Git acquisition. Evidence remains source-only here; focused repository tests are separate from live agent qualification.

Policy: Company/project/workspace visibility and runtime authority; active run, trust preset and task ownership where required.

Evidence: source-only — implementation at the reviewed commit above.

Verification: not-run — exercise a listed permitted operation with actual agent credentials/run context; inspect its result and applicable persistence/attribution. Assert the relevant denied actor, owner, company or mode from Policy. Review the remaining operations before qualifying the whole capability.

Gaps: Observing readiness exists. Creating host commands or arbitrary provision targets is a separate protected operation.

services

Review: baseline.

API: present — representative operation IDs:

  • POST /api/execution-workspaces/{id}/runtime-services/{action}.

Agent access: available — Authorized agent REST / native call_api / CLI runtime service controls and existing stdio MCP controls.

Policy: Company/project/workspace visibility and runtime authority; active run, trust preset and task ownership where required.

Evidence: source-only — implementation at the reviewed commit above.

Verification: not-run — exercise a listed permitted operation with actual agent credentials/run context; inspect its result and applicable persistence/attribution. Assert the relevant denied actor, owner, company or mode from Policy. Review the remaining operations before qualifying the whole capability.

Gaps: No dedicated production control_workspace_service binding. Generic native calls retain runtime trust and workspace/task scope checks. Optional MCP availability must be recorded.

files-git

Review: baseline.

API: present — representative operation IDs:

  • GET /api/issues/{issueId}/file-resources/content.
  • GET /api/issues/{issueId}/file-resources/list.

Agent access: partial — Authorized workspace filesystem tools; Dot workspace bridge when enabled; board file-resource HTTP UI.

Policy: Company/project/workspace visibility and runtime authority; active run, trust preset and task ownership where required.

Evidence: source-only — implementation at the reviewed commit above.

Verification: not-run — exercise a listed permitted operation with actual agent credentials/run context; inspect its result and applicable persistence/attribution. Assert the relevant denied actor, owner, company or mode from Policy. Review the remaining operations before qualifying the whole capability.

Gaps: Files panel HTTP requires board. Agents can use their admitted workspace file tools; remote/Dot scope and Git command availability differ.

File reads also enforce retained source privacy after local copy, configuration move/removal, reopen, and project deletion. A task assignment or repository receipt does not grant access to private files from another physical owner.

Authorized Git-source capture also retains ownership on the actual shared Git storage. Source checks use verified checkout identities, including company-known owners when separate metadata has no primary-checkout registration. Removing that checkout does not release its private committed files in surviving worktrees.

closure

Review: baseline.

API: present — representative operation IDs:

  • PATCH /api/execution-workspaces/{id}.
  • GET /api/execution-workspaces/{id}/close-readiness.
  • POST /api/execution-workspaces/{id}/reconcile-branch.

Agent access: partial — REST / native fallback for permitted update; CLI workspace; reconcile-branch requires board.

Policy: Company/project/workspace visibility and runtime authority; active run, trust preset and task ownership where required.

Evidence: source-only — implementation at the reviewed commit above.

Verification: not-run — exercise a listed permitted operation with actual agent credentials/run context; inspect its result and applicable persistence/attribution. Assert the relevant denied actor, owner, company or mode from Policy. Review the remaining operations before qualifying the whole capability.

Gaps: Closure/readiness exists; not every workspace can be reopened, and branch reconciliation has a board boundary.