PaperClipAI/docs/adapters/creating-an-adapter.md

title, summary

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Creating an Adapter	Guide to building a custom adapter

Build a custom adapter to connect Paperclip to any agent runtime.

If you're using Claude Code, the `.agents/skills/create-agent-adapter` skill can guide you through the full adapter creation process interactively. Just ask Claude to create a new adapter and it will walk you through each step.

Two Paths

	Built-in	External Plugin
Source	Inside paperclip-fork	Separate npm package
Distribution	Ships with Paperclip	Independent npm publish
UI parser	Static import	Dynamic load from API
Registration	Edit 3 registries	Auto-loaded at startup
Best for	Core adapters, contributors	Third-party adapters, internal tools

For most cases, build an external adapter plugin. It's cleaner, independently versioned, and doesn't require modifying Paperclip's source. See External Adapters for the full guide.

The rest of this page covers the shared internals that both paths use.

Package Structure

packages/adapters/<name>/    # built-in
  ── or ──
my-adapter/                   # external plugin
  package.json
  tsconfig.json
  src/
    index.ts            # Shared metadata
    server/
      index.ts          # Server exports (createServerAdapter)
      execute.ts        # Core execution logic
      parse.ts          # Output parsing
      test.ts           # Environment diagnostics
    ui/
      index.ts          # UI exports (built-in only)
      parse-stdout.ts   # Transcript parser (built-in only)
      build-config.ts   # Config builder
    ui-parser.ts        # Self-contained UI parser (external — see [UI Parser Contract](/adapters/adapter-ui-parser))
    cli/
      index.ts          # CLI exports
      format-event.ts   # Terminal formatter

Step 1: Root Metadata

src/index.ts is imported by all three consumers. Keep it dependency-free.

export const type = "my_agent";        // snake_case, globally unique
export const label = "My Agent";
export const models = [
  { id: "model-a", label: "Model A" },
];
export const agentConfigurationDoc = `# my_agent configuration
Use when: ...
Don't use when: ...
Core fields: ...
`;

// Required for external adapters (plugin-loader convention)
export { createServerAdapter } from "./server/index.js";

Step 2: Server Execute

src/server/execute.ts is the core. It receives an AdapterExecutionContext and returns an AdapterExecutionResult.

Key responsibilities:

1. Read config using safe helpers (asString, asNumber, etc.) from @paperclipai/adapter-utils/server-utils
2. Build environment with buildPaperclipEnv(agent) plus context vars
3. Resolve session state from runtime.sessionParams
4. Render prompt with renderTemplate(template, data)
5. Spawn the process with runChildProcess() or call via fetch()
6. Parse output for usage, costs, session state, errors
7. Handle unknown session errors (retry fresh, set clearSession: true)

Available Helpers

Helper	Source	Purpose
runChildProcess(cmd, opts)	@paperclipai/adapter-utils/server-utils	Spawn with timeout, grace, streaming
buildPaperclipEnv(agent)	@paperclipai/adapter-utils/server-utils	Inject PAPERCLIP_* env vars
renderTemplate(tpl, data)	@paperclipai/adapter-utils/server-utils	{{variable}} substitution
asString(v)	@paperclipai/adapter-utils	Safe config value extraction
asNumber(v)	@paperclipai/adapter-utils	Safe number extraction

AdapterExecutionContext

interface AdapterExecutionContext {
  runId: string;
  agent: { id: string; companyId: string; name: string; adapterConfig: unknown };
  runtime: { sessionId: string | null; sessionParams: Record<string, unknown> | null };
  config: Record<string, unknown>;      // agent's adapterConfig
  context: Record<string, unknown>;      // task, wake reason, etc.
  onLog: (stream: "stdout" | "stderr", chunk: string) => Promise<void>;
  onMeta?: (meta: AdapterInvocationMeta) => Promise<void>;
  onSpawn?: (meta: { pid: number; startedAt: string }) => Promise<void>;
}

AdapterExecutionResult

interface AdapterExecutionResult {
  exitCode: number | null;
  signal: string | null;
  timedOut: boolean;
  errorMessage?: string | null;
  usage?: { inputTokens: number; outputTokens: number };
  sessionParams?: Record<string, unknown> | null;  // persist across heartbeats
  sessionDisplayId?: string | null;
  provider?: string | null;
  model?: string | null;
  costUsd?: number | null;
  clearSession?: boolean;  // set true to force fresh session on next wake
}

Step 3: Environment Test

src/server/test.ts validates the adapter config before running.

Return structured diagnostics:

Level	Meaning	Effect
error	Invalid or unusable setup	Blocks execution
warn	Non-blocking issue	Shown with yellow indicator
info	Successful check	Shown in test results

export async function testEnvironment(
  ctx: AdapterEnvironmentTestContext,
): Promise<AdapterEnvironmentTestResult> {
  return {
    adapterType: ctx.adapterType,
    status: "pass",  // "pass" | "warn" | "fail"
    checks: [
      { level: "info", message: "CLI v1.2.0 detected", code: "cli_detected" },
      { level: "warn", message: "No API key found", hint: "Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", code: "no_key" },
    ],
    testedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
  };
}

Step 4: UI Module (Built-in Only)

For built-in adapters registered in Paperclip's source:

• parse-stdout.ts — converts stdout lines to TranscriptEntry[] for the run viewer
• build-config.ts — converts form values to adapterConfig JSON
• Config fields React component in ui/src/adapters/<name>/config-fields.tsx

For external adapters, use a self-contained ui-parser.ts instead. See the UI Parser Contract.

Step 5: CLI Module

format-event.ts — pretty-prints stdout for paperclipai run --watch using picocolors.

export function formatStdoutEvent(line: string, debug: boolean): void {
  if (line.startsWith("[tool-done]")) {
    console.log(chalk.green(`  ✓ ${line}`));
  } else {
    console.log(`  ${line}`);
  }
}

Step 6: Register (Built-in Only)

Add the adapter to all three registries:

1. server/src/adapters/registry.ts
2. ui/src/adapters/registry.ts
3. cli/src/adapters/registry.ts

For external adapters, registration is automatic — the plugin loader handles it.

Session Persistence

If your agent runtime supports conversation continuity across heartbeats:

1. Return sessionParams from execute() (e.g., { sessionId: "abc123" })
2. Read runtime.sessionParams on the next wake to resume
3. Optionally implement a sessionCodec for validation and display

export const sessionCodec: AdapterSessionCodec = {
  deserialize(raw) { /* validate raw session data */ },
  serialize(params) { /* serialize for storage */ },
  getDisplayId(params) { /* human-readable session label */ },
};

Capability Flags

Adapters can declare what "local" capabilities they support by setting optional fields on the ServerAdapterModule. The server and UI use these flags to decide which features to enable for agents using the adapter (instructions bundle editor, skills sync, JWT auth, etc.).

Flag	Type	Default	What it controls
supportsLocalAgentJwt	boolean	false	Whether heartbeat generates a local JWT for the agent
supportsInstructionsBundle	boolean	false	Managed instructions bundle (AGENTS.md) — server-side resolution + UI editor
instructionsPathKey	string	"instructionsFilePath"	The adapterConfig key that holds the instructions file path
requiresMaterializedRuntimeSkills	boolean	false	Whether runtime skill entries must be written to disk before execution

These flags are exposed via GET /api/adapters in a capabilities object, along with a derived supportsSkills flag (true when listSkills or syncSkills is defined).

Example

export function createServerAdapter(): ServerAdapterModule {
  return {
    type: "my_k8s_adapter",
    execute: myExecute,
    testEnvironment: myTestEnvironment,
    listSkills: myListSkills,
    syncSkills: mySyncSkills,

    // Capability flags
    supportsLocalAgentJwt: true,
    supportsInstructionsBundle: true,
    instructionsPathKey: "instructionsFilePath",
    requiresMaterializedRuntimeSkills: true,
  };
}

With these flags set, the Paperclip UI will automatically show the instructions bundle editor, skills management tab, and working directory field for agents using this adapter — no Paperclip source changes required.

If capability flags are not set, the server falls back to legacy hardcoded lists for built-in adapter types. External adapters that omit the flags will default to false for all capabilities.

Skills Injection

Make Paperclip skills discoverable to your agent runtime without writing to the agent's working directory:

1. Best: tmpdir + flag — create tmpdir, symlink skills, pass via CLI flag, clean up after
2. Acceptable: global config dir — symlink to the runtime's global plugins directory
3. Acceptable: env var — point a skills path env var at the repo's skills/ directory
4. Last resort: prompt injection — include skill content in the prompt template

Cross-run workspace persistence (no-remote-git contract)

The local execution-workspace cwd is the only persistence boundary across runs. No adapter may depend on a git remote for cross-run state.

The supported round-trip:

• Per-run, on the remote side. prepareWorkspaceForSshExecution (in packages/adapter-utils/src/ssh.ts) git-bundles the local worktree and ships it to the run's remote dir. No git remote is set anywhere; the bundle is the transport.
• End-of-run, in the adapter's finally block. The adapter invokes restoreRemoteWorkspace (e.g. claude-local's execute.ts), which calls restoreWorkspaceFromSshExecution → exportGitWorkspaceFromSsh → integrateImportedGitHead. Remote commits made during the run land back in the local Mac worktree with no git push and no remote configured.

The invariant adapters must preserve:

• Never git push from adapter or runtime code. Operator-supplied configuration may opt in, but the default contract is no remote operations.
• Never assume a remote exists. The local cwd is the source of truth between runs.
• Surface restore failures. A failed sync-back must propagate as a run-level error, not a silent warning. The heartbeat records a workspace_finalize row (succeeded/failed) around adapter.execute so dependent issues do not wake on a stale worktree.

The invariant is pinned by the "no-remote-git contract" case in packages/adapter-utils/src/ssh-fixture.test.ts: it asserts git remote is empty before and after the round-trip and that a remote-only commit still lands locally via restore alone.

Security

• Treat agent output as untrusted (parse defensively, never execute)
• Inject secrets via environment variables, not prompts
• Configure network access controls if the runtime supports them
• Always enforce timeout and grace period
• The UI parser module runs in a browser sandbox — zero runtime imports, no side effects

Next Steps

• External Adapters — build a standalone adapter plugin
• UI Parser Contract — ship a custom run-log parser
• How Agents Work — the heartbeat lifecycle