## Thinking Path > - Paperclip manages agents and their work. > - The controller prepares workspaces before it starts a Runner. > - A slow run can spend 30–80 seconds inside the combined workspace phase. > - Startup recovery can also delay queued work for minutes. > - Native runs also have gaps before Runner startup and after the provider result. > - Existing traces do not identify the awaited steps inside those intervals. > - This change adds closed timing boundaries around the existing operations. > - Operators can locate the wait without changing execution or exposing content. ## Linked Issues or Issue Description **What existing behavior does this improve?** Operator-configured OpenTelemetry diagnosis of controller preparation and startup recovery. Related: #16178, #16236 and #16285 introduced the existing preparation timing and sampling contract. #16306 and #16312 reduce separate configuration and copyback work. **Current behavior** The workspace interval combines source resolution, trust checks, provisioning, database persistence, binding and repository admission. Startup awaits accounting and native recovery before queued work resumes, but neither has a separate duration. Native backend setup and post-turn cleanup also contain unmeasured awaits. CPU profiles and a fast database probe cannot identify which await is slow. **Proposed behavior** Record workspace steps and native controller setup and cleanup with the existing hashed run ID. Record startup phases as independent, operator-sampled root spans without custom attributes. Keep the same operation order, results, failures and authorization. **Reason and benefit** These boundaries distinguish source work, database writes, repository admission and restart recovery. This is a diagnosis change. It does not claim a response-time improvement or a solved latency budget. ## What Changed - Add 14 closed workspace step names around 16 existing awaits. Repeated updates and bindings produce separate spans. - Time startup tool reviews, gateway sessions, delivery-worker readiness, accounting, plugin readiness, native recovery, hot restart, orphan reaping, retries, queued work and goal recovery. - Time native GitHub setup, wake binding, backend construction, connector assignments, MCP discovery, tool authority, companion selection and binary resolution. Time selected post-turn GitHub, coordinator and instruction cleanup awaits. - Move preparation timing to a pure shared module. Keep the existing heartbeat import as an alias. Both heartbeat and native timing skip tracer lookup when the endpoint is unset or blank, including when another library registered a provider. - Tracing lookup, callback, status and end faults cannot repeat work or replace its value or error. - Add real PostgreSQL workspace timing coverage and silent no-op/fault controls. Update the tracing contract and paired run maps. - Keep span attributes closed. Startup spans add none; workspace steps use only the existing run hash. No commands, paths, returned records or exception messages are recorded. ## Verification - Diagnostic-gap baseline: the new real workspace test fails against the unchanged workspace implementation because the expected step spans are absent. It passes with the wrappers. - Final affected coverage: **804 distinct cases pass** across seven complete suites: 698 native-executor cases, 39 real PostgreSQL workspace cases, 61 timing/context/startup cases, and six execution-configuration integration cases. The final native and unit invocations pass with no selected skips. The workspace suite passed in the initial six-file invocation on the same final workspace source. - Preserve the initial six-file attempt as failed: **7 failed and 789 passed**. All seven errors occurred during embedded PostgreSQL startup. The log reports local macOS shared-memory exhaustion. A fresh 15-case database group passes, followed by the complete 698-case native suite. These runs overlap; do not add their counts. - The new native timing assertion fails against unchanged native code because the expected spans are absent. It passes with the wrappers and retains the credential-isolation assertions. - Full `pnpm -r typecheck` and `pnpm build`: passed on the final production source. Earlier nullable-closure errors are fixed with erased assertions inside existing guards. The failed attempts remain recorded. - Normalized AST comparison: removing only timing wrappers, timing imports/local handles and erased assertions restores the original workspace, startup and native executor programs. This checks call order and policy expressions; it is not live acceptance. - The expanded head first failed two configuration integration assertions because their test providers had no endpoint. Configure the endpoint explicitly in those two tracing tests, and restore it after each test. All six cases then pass with the original credential cleanup, redaction and exact span assertions. Production is unchanged by this repair. - The first PR head failed one unchanged attachment test at its 15-second deadline in CI. The complete 32-case attachment suite passes locally with that deadline. Do not label the failed CI attempt green. The expanded head needs fresh full CI. - `node scripts/check-maps.mjs`: passed, 35 areas and 176 capability IDs. `node scripts/storybook-catalog.mjs`: 283 files and 2,728 stories. Structural checks only; no browser, play or Storybook build claim. - `git diff --check`: passed. No added prose comments, lockfile changes or new 1,000-line crossings. - A duplicate full local test run was not started. Fresh exact-head full CI and E2E pass on `15a683bb2419960f611584f8c07cdcfc9ce3af0b`. All 56 check runs are successful or optional skipped. Superagent and legacy Snyk pass. Completed Apex review is 5/5 on this same head, with zero unresolved review threads. Commands: ```sh pnpm exec vitest run --project @paperclipai/server --maxWorkers=1 --fileParallelism=false server/src/services/native-runtime/native-session-executor.test.ts server/src/services/execution-preparation-timing.test.ts server/src/startup-recovery-timing.test.ts server/src/services/heartbeat/preparation-timing.test.ts server/src/services/heartbeat/preparation-timing-context.test.ts server/src/services/heartbeat/workspace-preparation.test.ts pnpm -r typecheck pnpm build node scripts/check-maps.mjs node scripts/storybook-catalog.mjs ``` ## Risks - Configured operators receive more spans. They still follow the configured sampler and exporter. - Startup spans measure the awaited phase, including remaining readiness waits. They do not measure earlier worker construction or a provider turn. - Workspace and native setup intervals overlap their containing phases. Do not add them to the parent duration. Native timing covers named awaits, not every statement or every error path. - These spans are not yet deployed or tested against a live latency run. No first-party Telemetry event, run-log write, schema or API changes are included. ## Model Used OpenAI GPT-6 through Codex, with tool use and code execution. The exact served variant and context-window size are not exposed to this task. ## 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>
Paperclip maps
The maps describe the same capabilities from two perspectives:
- Feature map: what a person can do, where to reach it, and how to verify the user journey. Preserve its Poteto format.
- Agent access map: the APIs and agent entry points for those capabilities, their permission boundaries, and access verification.
These are sibling directories under maps/. Each feature file has a same-named
agent access companion. Reuse the product map's sub-feature IDs, so tasks/create
identifies the same capability in both maps. Product behavior remains governed by
the implementation spec; a map cannot grant
authority or redefine a permission denial as success.
Access contract
Every business operation needs both an API and a usable agent entry point for an
actor authorized to perform it. A dedicated tool is optional when REST, the CLI,
an assigned MCP client, or native search_api / call_api already provides the
operation. Record which agent surfaces actually have that path; an installed CLI
or optional MCP package cannot be assumed available to every native/remote run.
Track these independently:
| Dimension | Values and meaning |
|---|---|
| API | present, missing, not-applicable, or unreviewed. Use exact methods/paths; distinguish protocols from REST. |
| Agent access | available, partial, missing, restricted, operator-only, not-applicable, or unreviewed. Name the supported surface and actual entry point. |
| Policy | Actor, action/grant, company/resource/ownership scope, responsible-user intersection, run requirements, work modes, and gates relevant to the operation. |
| Evidence | source-only, verified, failed, blocked, or not-run. Source presence and successful board calls are not agent verification. |
| Review depth | baseline records representative operations and known gaps; operation-reviewed enumerates the capability's meaningful operations and their individual access contracts. |
Broad capabilities such as task properties must be split into operations before they count as operation-reviewed: renaming, metadata edits, assignment, dependencies, and lifecycle changes can use different tools and permission rules. An available read path cannot certify a write path. List/get/create/update/delete, execution/control, credential handling, and resolution are separate where their authority or transport differs. Do not duplicate request schemas from OpenAPI.
Exceptions and restrictions
Presentation-only state, static developer fixtures, and pre-start/local operator
work may use not-applicable for a domain API, with a concrete reason and the
existing local path. When a capability combines shared data with presentation,
split the operations: browser recents do not exempt resource lookup from API
coverage. Promoting local state to a shared feature requires revisiting the entry.
A board-only endpoint is restricted for agent identity, not an automatic
exception or a missing API. Cite the enforced policy and record whether the
agent can request the authorized human's action and observe its result. An
unresolved delegation question remains in Gaps. Company access, a job title,
a personal assistant's OAuth grant, or an accepted interaction does not grant
board identity. Keep budget, approval, secret and execution authority intact.
Check actual route/service authorization and production tool admission. OpenAPI actor labels and scenario/evaluation tool declarations are supporting metadata; record disagreements rather than using them as proof of access. Native API fallback restrictions, tool field/scope limits, and rollout settings are part of the agent path, even when a legacy agent can call the REST endpoint directly.
Companion file format
Each agent-access-map/<area>.md has an H1, a relative link to its product file,
followed by one H2 backticked ID per product
sub-feature. Each capability contains these fields:
- Review:
baselineoroperation-reviewed. - API: presence state and exact operation IDs, or a reasoned exception.
- Agent access: availability state and concrete entry points by surface.
- Policy: relevant permission and runtime boundaries, with source references.
- Evidence: evidence state, reviewed commit and sources or executed proof.
- Verification: allowed/denied assertions and observable result; record what has actually run separately from the proposed recipe.
- Gaps: missing APIs/paths, discovery drift, unreviewed operations or policy
decisions; use
noneonly for the enumerated scope that was reviewed.
For an operation-reviewed capability, use H3 backticked operation IDs and repeat
API, Agent access, Policy, Evidence, Verification and Gaps for each operation.
Use small operation names such as create, update, read, or run-now.
The enclosing capability has Review: operation-reviewed only after its
meaningful operations have been enumerated. The following excerpt shows one
operation; include the others before using that review label:
## `definition`
Review: `operation-reviewed`.
### `create`
API: `present` — POST /api/companies/{companyId}/routines.
Agent access: `available` — agent REST, CLI routine create and native call_api
under the enabled rollout and active-run/mode gates.
Policy: same company; assigneeAgentId must be the calling agent; cite the
routine authorization and native API policy sources.
Evidence: `source-only` — reviewed commit and source links; no live proof.
Verification: `not-run` — create an owned routine; reject assignment to another
agent; inspect saved configuration, attribution and retry behavior.
Gaps: verify ownership and responsible-user resolution with a permitted agent
context; source presence alone does not qualify this operation.
Keeping the maps synchronized
When a change adds/removes a capability or changes its behavior, API, permission, tool binding, CLI support, or work mode, update the affected companion and product recipe as appropriate in the same change. Preserve IDs across renames where the capability is unchanged; update the affected cross-links together. Indexes discover recipes automatically. An API-only change may update the companion without rewriting unchanged user instructions.
maintain-verification-skill owns reconciliation of both maps. It follows changed source and authorization, checks real agent reachability, and records product gaps without implementing them during a maintenance pass. The creation skill uses this structure. verify-paperclip consumes the relevant recipes and reports evidence/drift; map editing belongs to maintenance.
Run the structural check after map changes:
node scripts/check-maps.mjs
It checks paired areas/IDs, navigation metadata, required fields, and local references. It does not certify endpoint authorization, production bindings, operation completeness, or live behavior. Source audits must check those against the existing API and tool contracts; avoid a second schema catalog or runtime.
For live access proof, use Paperclip's existing API/runner/MCP fixtures or an owned
isolated instance. Use the actual agent identity, target and work mode. Assert the
allowed result and relevant denial (another company/private resource, wrong
owner, missing grant, invalid run, restricted mode or resolver). Mutations also
need persisted state/attribution and retry behavior. Capture evidence using the
existing artifact workflow; keep executed run results
separate from generated maps/generated/coverage.json, which lists page references.
Local authorship and generated indexes
Change only the recipes, access contracts and stories whose behavior or intent
changed. Feature recipes own navigation metadata; stories own small
parameters.paperclip annotations. Do not register entries or refresh counts in
shared READMEs, inventories, fingerprints or review journals.
node scripts/storybook-catalog.mjs validates and generates aggregate navigation,
Storybook data, verification routes and the page inventory. All outputs live in
ignored maps/generated/, ui/storybook/generated/, and the ignored Storybook
preview.tsx wrapper. Start/build and UI typechecking generate their own inputs.
A clean merged checkout therefore assembles both branches' changes automatically.
Git provides history and diffs. PRs, issues and CI artifacts retain review/run evidence for the named revision. Capability associations do not create whole-file review dependencies. Keep durable scenario limits in the affected recipe or story.