PaperClipAI/packages/paperclip-runner/docs/capability-semantic-catalog.md

Capability semantic catalog and authorization

Capability adds a transport-neutral tool boundary over the deterministic mock ControlPlanePort. It does not contain Paperclip REST routes, authentication headers, credentials, ACPX code, or a real control-plane binding.

Public boundary

Import the catalog, policy, dispatcher, and binding helpers from the package root:

import {
  CapabilitySemanticDispatcher,
  createCapabilityProviderNeutralBinding,
} from "@paperclipai/paperclip-runner";

const dispatcher = new CapabilitySemanticDispatcher(mockPort, {
  scenario: {
    id: "dependency-manager",
    claims: ["dependencies:write"],
  },
  explicitClaims: ["dependencies:write"],
});

const exposed = dispatcher.listTools(runId);
const result = await dispatcher.dispatch({
  runId,
  callId: "tool-call-1",
  operationId: "set_dependencies",
  input: {
    idempotencyKey: "dependency-change-1",
    blockedByTaskIds: ["task-2"],
  },
});

createCapabilityProviderNeutralBinding("fake") and createCapabilityProviderNeutralBinding("live_codex") return identical contract arrays. Only the binding label differs. Track 7E can translate those definitions to Codex tool definitions and pass calls to the dispatcher without changing operation IDs, schemas, claims, or result shapes.

Authorization order

Exposure and invocation both evaluate the actor, active-task ownership and mode, scenario allow/deny rules, role restrictions, run claims, and explicit claims. Optional operations require their descriptor claim to be present in the intersection authorized for the run. The dispatcher repeats the evaluation immediately before every mock read or command; a tool that was exposed earlier can still be denied after a claim or ownership change.

Unauthorized optional tools are absent from listTools. Direct calls receive a paperclip.semantic-denial.v1 result. The mock command boundary independently checks command claims and task ownership, so bypassing catalog exposure does not bypass authorization.

The generic API escape hatch is an optional skill_test descriptor and is disabled by default. When a scenario and explicit claim enable it, only two read-only package-local paths are accepted: /mock/state/revision and /mock/task.

Protected data

Tool schemas contain no credential fields. Inputs containing protected keys or credential-shaped values are rejected before mutation. Read results, denials, and immutable semantic authorization records pass through the same recursive redactor. Mock actor discovery also omits capability and budget internals.

Generate and verify the checked-in contracts with:

pnpm --dir packages/paperclip-runner generate:semantic-contracts
pnpm --dir packages/paperclip-runner check:semantic-contracts

The generated contract is generated/capability/semantic-tool-contracts.json. Capability traceability remains under generated/capability/ and is checked with check:capability-contract.