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PaperClipAI/maps/agent-access-map/onboarding.md
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DottaandPaperclip 50b932a142 fix(server): require approval before onboarding task creation (#17914)
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https://entire.com/gh/paperclipai/-/trails/78/changes/paperclip/78
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## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip manages agent work and human decisions.
> - Onboarding asks the first agent to propose a task before it starts
work.
> - The first-task skill requires human acceptance before task creation.
> - The native tool could create and schedule that task without
acceptance.
> - REST task creation had the same gap.
> - This change checks saved acceptance in the shared creation
transaction.
> - Valid approvals and ordinary delegation keep their existing
behavior.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

**What happened?**

An agent could create a task from the canonical onboarding first task
before the user accepted its proposal. A real journey caught this after
the agent read the first-task skill. A local database regression
reproduces the missing check in the native tool and both REST creation
endpoints.

**Expected behavior**

New task creation must wait for saved human acceptance of the latest
ordinary proposal. A different parent or a standalone task must not
bypass that check.

**Steps to reproduce**

1. Bind an authenticated agent run to a server-created onboarding first
task.
2. Leave its proposal unaccepted.
3. Call native `create_task`, `POST /api/companies/:companyId/issues`,
or `POST /api/issues/:issueId/children`.
4. Before this fix, creation succeeds. After this fix, it is denied
before a child or wake is committed.

**Paperclip version or commit**

Reproduced on `3be54534c24fc279533ff421e62a77ad15b72954` before the fix.

## What Changed

- Add a shared check for new task creation from an authenticated
onboarding run.
- Read the latest ordinary confirmation across both confirmation kinds
under the source task lock.
- Require a human card decision or validated conversational acceptance.
Require the current revision for a saved plan.
- Preserve ordinary delegation, committed replay, and dispatch recovery.
- Add database regressions and update execution and onboarding map
documentation.

## Verification

- Real PostgreSQL regression before the fix: 17 failures and four
passing approval/delegation controls. No skips.
- Exact published source: 102 tests passed across admission,
conversational confirmation, and project tools, including all 25
admission regressions. Real Linux PostgreSQL, no skips.
- `pnpm build` and `pnpm -r typecheck` passed locally.
- Map checks and `git diff --check` passed.
- `pnpm test:run` was attempted locally. Existing suites failed because
the host exhausted PostgreSQL semaphore sets. The remaining owned test
process was stopped; its failed log is preserved. No unrelated database
was stopped. Current-head Linux CI passed, including build, typecheck,
and browser E2E. The first CI attempt lost runners; its evidence is
preserved, and interrupted jobs passed one CI rerun.
- The live Cloud attempt remains failed. Local tests do not qualify
Cloud onboarding, artifact delivery, or native tracing. No deployment or
model retry is part of this change.

## Risks

A stricter creation check could reject a valid approval. Tests cover
direct, conversational, checkbox, dismissed-card, and clock-skew cases.
The check applies only to new tasks from the canonical onboarding run.
It does not change existing task updates, execution policy, or wake
recovery.

## Model Used

OpenAI GPT-6 through Codex, with tool use and code execution. The
session does not expose a more specific serving model ID or
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>
2026-10-27 12:30:50 -05:00

13 KiB

Onboarding and first work — agent access

Product map: Onboarding and first work.

Feature ID: onboarding.

Review date: 2026-10-12. Source commit: f981fa3cc10cb8663a87dec60345fbff46d54d0a.

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.

Scoped runner-default source review: 2026-10-12 at eee0534154eaf5d0d3f2bbc97c1e24d86f34a5a5, limited to first-agent selection, selected-runtime validation and draft restoration. Unrelated baseline entries retain the original source commit; no live agent verification is added.

instance

Capability ID: onboarding/instance.

Review: baseline.

API: not-applicable — Bootstrapping an instance cannot depend solely on an API served by that not-yet-running instance.

Agent access: operator-only — Existing CLI onboard/run/doctor / test-drive.

Policy: Instance setup is operator work; company creation is board; agent creation/task creation retain their individual permissions.

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

Verification: not-run — exercise the listed local workflow in an authorized, owned operator environment. Verify its isolation and result; do not count local machine authority as company-agent API access.

Gaps: Bootstrapping an instance cannot depend solely on an API served by that not-yet-running instance.

company

Capability ID: onboarding/company.

Review: baseline.

API: present — representative operation IDs:

  • POST /api/companies.
  • POST /api/companies/{companyId}/agents.

Agent access: partial — Board company creation; authorized in-company agent hiring API.

Policy: Instance setup is operator work; company creation is board; agent creation/task creation retain their individual permissions.

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: API building blocks exist; an ordinary agent cannot create its parent company with a company key.

adapter

Capability ID: onboarding/adapter.

Review: baseline.

API: present — representative operation IDs:

  • GET /api/companies/{companyId}/adapters/{type}/models.
  • POST /api/companies/{companyId}/adapters/{type}/test-environment.

Agent access: partial — Permitted agent/model API; operator provider-account/environment setup.

Policy: Instance setup is operator work; company creation is board; agent creation/task creation retain their individual permissions.

The wizard selects the Codex harness and lets the server resolve an automatic new-agent runner; explicit Legacy remains available. Supported-platform and immutable sandbox evidence follow environment probe policy. Creation/discovery do not provision a target to determine this default. Adapter setup validation requires agents:create, plus saved-agent update access when testing an existing agent; interactive account login additionally requires a board user and owner-bound session. An agent's right to hire is not login or instance-environment administration authority.

Scoped source-only runtime preparation: the existing authorized adapter test prepares the default Claude CLI in its already acquired sandbox when the image version is too old for the selected model. It installs a pinned package into a workspace-private versioned prefix and verifies the executable before the hello test. This adds no installation API, account grant, environment authority or engine fallback. Cloud UI omits manual shell debugging and legacy operator hints while retaining check messages and details. Local, SSH and custom commands remain operator-managed. Controls: runtime, probe, and wizard. Live managed authorization and subscription execution remain not-run for this change.

For fresh managed Codex Auto setup, the wizard's explicit Connect path can call POST /api/environments/{environmentId}/probe?companyId={companyId} before selected-runtime testing, then refresh scoped adapter discovery. This reuses the existing board instance-admin/local-implicit probe gate; agents:create alone is insufficient. A 403, absent proof, changed configuration, missing response identity or unconfirmed cleanup remains visible. No probe is added to creation or discovery, no agent/company grant is broadened, and provider authentication errors never cause an automatic runner switch.

Native setup derives outer sandbox isolation from the server-resolved execution target, as task execution does. This is an internal transport choice, not a request/configuration permission. Local and SSH setup keep Codex isolation; caller-supplied environment flags do not authorize an external sandbox. Existing company, account, probe and registration-cleanup gates still apply. The bounded hello probe retains read-only permissions and no dynamic tools. Its trusted launch skips project-instruction discovery in the new, empty setup workspace. This grants no filesystem or networking permission and does not change instruction discovery for ordinary task execution.

Scoped source review: 2026-10-13, exact baseline 1a0ca66242121e39d88455aa2b52a07acc4a07d9 plus the privately composed onboarding correction. Wizard controls and existing Product E2E observer controls exercise mocked allowed/denied setup and sticky unknown cost coverage. They do not prove live actor authorization or provider execution. The explicit manual confirmation-replies.runner-codex.daytona.task-card-accept case requires an eligible immutable OCI target and the existing probe authority, two identified setup leases and separately authorized paid/cleanup reservations. Its fixture neither prequalifies the environment nor creates the agent. Actual Cloud named snapshot binding, warm/cold signup and live allowed/denied agent checks remain not-run.

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

Scoped Evidence: source-only — wizard/default selection, creation resolver and setup/login authorization at the scoped commit. Existing agent/approval execution preservation follows hiring access; no live onboarding proof is claimed here.

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: Account authorization, environment administration and model selection need separate checks.

Verify automatic onboarding without a post-hire runner change, explicit Legacy, saved configuration after reload and the actual selected runtime's useful task plus follow-up. Assert denied agent login/probe and foreign-company account or environment access separately. These agent-context checks remain not-run.

first-task

Capability ID: onboarding/first-task.

Review: baseline.

API: present — representative operation IDs:

  • POST /api/companies/{companyId}/issues.
  • POST /api/issues/{issueId}/children.

Agent access: available — Native create_task / agent REST / CLI issue.

Policy: Instance setup is operator work; company creation is board; agent creation/task creation retain their individual permissions.

An authenticated run bound to the server-created onboarding first task must obtain persisted human acceptance of the latest ordinary proposal before creating new tasks through native create_task or REST. Its authenticated run determines this admission even for an explicit standalone task. A card decision or a saved conversational resolution with a genuine later same-task user message supplies acceptance; an agent-only resolution does not. A plan approval must name the current same-task revision. Newer pending/rejected proposals stop new creation. Already admitted task replay and ordinary delegation retain their existing rules. Source: creation admission. Controls: native/REST PostgreSQL regressions. These controls do not qualify a live Cloud provider journey.

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: Task creation is agent-accessible where permitted; scheduling/readiness does not follow from successful creation. The Codex first-task fixture's operator cost guard uses the existing board agent-configuration PATCH before admitting work. This is not evidence of agent permission to update its runtime; the listed agent-context checks remain not-run.

Scoped source review: 2026-10-13, the first-task asset correction against ea6c8eb5e16d61111968f633a66748b397b64a3e. The existing first-task instructions send file-producing work through the child's own execution and existing dependency/block controls. Native register_deliverable retains its current-task binding; this adds no cross-task file-registration authority or permission. Document-only work may use the existing child-document API inline, and plan-only approval does not authorize implementation. The existing asset tests check wording only. The literal baseline live attempt failed child-file delivery and completion reporting; revised live authorization and execution remain not-run.

resume

Capability ID: onboarding/resume.

Review: baseline.

API: not-applicable — No server onboarding-draft API for this browser-local state; classify explicitly or intentionally make it a cross-client product feature.

Agent access: not-applicable — Browser localStorage wizard draft; persisted resources use their domain APIs.

Policy: Instance setup is operator work; company creation is board; agent creation/task creation retain their individual permissions.

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

Verification: not-run — use the product recipe for the local/developer surface. Verify listed shared-resource reads separately; local presentation alone is not agent API evidence.

Gaps: No server onboarding-draft API for this browser-local state; classify explicitly or intentionally make it a cross-client product feature.

Scoped source review of draft restoration preserves harness/runner intent and invalidates obsolete setup-test results after a selection change. Browser draft continuity is not API or live-agent evidence, and opening a saved Legacy agent does not apply new-agent defaults.

The initial matching route opening preserves the authorized saved wizard step on bare and company-prefixed reloads. Explicit new-company or changed-company openings retain their navigation override and clear foreign company resource IDs. Existing component controls exercise these presentation and account boundaries. This scoped correction adds no server draft API, agent grant or proof of live actor authorization. The managed first-task eval still reloads before Get started and remains a separate live acceptance gate. The existing mocked-login browser case also checks the same company-scoped active session and saved selection through route reopening and a real reload, with one login start and no pending-login hire. These fixture assertions do not prove server authorization or live credential use.