Files
PaperClipAI/server/src/services/issue-creation-source.ts
T
DottaandClaude Opus 5.5 958f9aa9f3 feat(issues): limit agent-created task trees to parent and child (#19312)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Agents split work into tasks. A task can have a parent task.
> - Today agents can nest tasks to any depth: parent, child, grandchild,
and deeper.
> - Deep agent-made trees are hard to follow, and an agent that works on
a child task makes grandchildren by default.
> - This pull request limits agent-created trees to two levels: a
top-level task and its children.
> - A request for a grandchild does not fail. The server puts the new
task beside the requester and tells the agent.
> - Board users keep full control. They can still nest to any depth.
Existing deep trees stay valid.
> - The pull request also records which task created each new task, so
the audit trail stays complete when the parent changes.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

No public issue exists. This is the feature description. Related: #16853
(budgets that include descendant work) also reasons about task trees;
this change does not alter its traversal.

**Subsystem affected**

Issues (tasks): create, child create and move in the issue service and
routes. Agent tools, chat suggestions and creation provenance use these
paths.

**Problem or motivation**

Agents create subtasks as deep as they want. An agent that runs on a
child task gets that child as the default parent, so its follow-ups
become grandchildren. The trees become deep and hard to read. The parent
link is also the only record of which task created a follow-up, so that
record is lost when the parent changes.

**Proposed solution**

Limit agent-created trees to a parent and its children. When an agent
asks for a grandchild, put the new task under the requester's parent and
return `parentAdjusted`. Do not reject the request. Keep board users
unrestricted. Record the originating task in a new server-set
`origin_issue_id` column. Keep `origin_run_id` as the originating run.

**Alternatives considered**

Reject grandchild requests with an error. We did not do this, because
agents then fail mid-task. Add a database constraint. We did not do
this, because existing deep trees must stay valid and nesting can return
later.

## What Changed

- Add `MAX_AGENT_TASK_HIERARCHY_DEPTH` (2) and the
`IssueParentAdjustment` type in `packages/shared`.
- Add `resolveNewTaskParent` and `planIssueParentChange` in
`server/src/services/issues.ts`. `create`, `createChild` and `update`
use the agent limit by default (`parentDepthPolicy: "flatten"`).
- The issue create, `/children` and PATCH routes pass `allow_nested` for
board users. For agents, the routes check authorization against the
parent that the server actually writes.
- The requester keeps its behavior when the server moves a task beside
it: `blockParentUntilDone` blocks the requester, and the new task
inherits the requester's workspace and privacy.
- The server never moves a task above a low-trust boundary root that
contains the requester.
- These subsystems keep any depth, because they find their work by
parent: watchdog reviews, monitor recovery, email-channel placement, and
routines that a person configured.
- An agent move of a task that has children skips only the parent change
and returns `reason: "has_children"`.
- Add `issues.origin_issue_id` (nullable, `on delete set null`, indexed)
in migration `0434`. Only the server sets it. The `createdFrom` detail
field, the `createdFromIssueId` filter and task-creation provenance read
it first.
- Chat prompts now let a chat agent create one task, a task with
children, or separate tasks. The conversation is never a parent.
- The runner `create_task` tool accepts an optional `parentTaskId`. A
chat agent can create a top-level task and then put subtasks under it.
The run must be able to read and change the parent. A conversation is
never a parent. The depth limit still applies. Project tools map the
field to `parentId` through the issue route. The protocol manifest,
semantic contracts and eval fixture are regenerated.
- Watchdog runs that have an active watchdog keep their requested parent
on all create paths, because their access is limited to the watched
subtree.
- Fix a bug that the test drive found: the chat (MCP) `create_task`
ignored the requested `status`, so a `backlog` task became `todo` and
started to run. It now uses the same rule as the native tool.
- Update `skills/paperclip`, `doc/SPEC-implementation.md`, and add the
plan `doc/plans/2026-11-05-two-level-task-hierarchy.md`.

## Verification

- `cd server && npx vitest run
src/__tests__/agent-task-hierarchy-depth.test.ts
src/__tests__/agent-task-hierarchy-depth-routes.test.ts`: 19 new tests
for service and route behavior, all pass.
- Related suites (64 files: issues service, thread interactions,
privacy, watchdogs, provenance, runner tool authority, decisions,
routines, project tools): 1208 tests pass. Two tests changed because of
the intended behavior and pass now. Two `email-channels.integration`
tests fail locally because the test cannot find a bundled skill file
from this worktree path. This change does not touch that code.
- `packages/db`: migration safety, snapshot drift and journal tests
pass.
- Typecheck passes for `server`, `packages/shared`, `packages/db`, `cli`
and `ui` (local `ui` errors come only from generated Storybook catalog
files that are absent).
- Local test drive on an isolated instance with real Claude agents: 29
of 29 use cases pass, including an agent on a child task (follow-ups
placed beside it, with the notice) and a chat that creates a top-level
task with three subtasks.
- I did not run the full `pnpm test:run` or `pnpm build` locally. CI
runs them.

## Risks

- Behavior change for agents: some follow-ups that were grandchildren
are now siblings. The parent of the requester is woken when all its
children finish, which now includes these tasks.
- The runner `create_task` input contract adds one optional field, so
the protocol manifest and the pack contract change. The tool output does
not change: it shows the actual `parentId`, and the activity log records
`parentAdjusted`.
- Migration `0434` adds a nullable column, a foreign key and an index.
It does not backfill rows.
- `IssueCreationSource.run` is now nullable.

## Model Used

- Claude Opus 5.5 (`claude-opus-5-5`) in Claude Code, with tool use
(shell, file edits, local test runs).

## 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
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [ ] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-11-05 21:22:33 -06:00

152 lines
5.8 KiB
TypeScript

import { and, asc, eq, inArray, isNotNull, sql } from "drizzle-orm";
import type { Db } from "@paperclipai/db";
import { activityLog, agents, heartbeatRuns, issues } from "@paperclipai/db";
import { isUuidLike } from "@paperclipai/shared";
type IssueRow = typeof issues.$inferSelect;
type HeartbeatRunRow = typeof heartbeatRuns.$inferSelect;
type CreationSourceRun = Pick<HeartbeatRunRow, "id" | "companyId" | "agentId" | "scopeKind" | "nativeIssueId" | "issueId"> & {
contextSnapshot: { issueId: unknown; taskId: unknown; taskKey: unknown; paperclipIssue: { id: unknown } } | null;
};
/** The task that created another task, and the run that did so when one did. */
export interface IssueCreationSourceRecord {
run: CreationSourceRun | null;
sourceIssue: IssueRow;
}
const CREATION_ACTIVITY_ACTIONS = ["issue.created", "issue.child_created"];
/** The route supplies a fresh UUID; a different returned issue is reused. */
export function childCreatedByRequest(proposedIssueId: string, returnedIssueId: string) {
return proposedIssueId === returnedIssueId;
}
function readNonEmptyString(value: unknown): string | null {
return typeof value === "string" && value.trim().length > 0 ? value : null;
}
/**
* The issue a heartbeat run is bound to: native run identity first, then the
* run's issue scope, then the persisted legacy task context. Returns a UUID or
* an issue identifier such as `PAP-168`; the caller resolves identifiers.
*/
export function runBoundIssueReference(run: Pick<HeartbeatRunRow, "nativeIssueId" | "issueId" | "contextSnapshot">): string | null {
const context = run.contextSnapshot && typeof run.contextSnapshot === "object"
? (run.contextSnapshot as Record<string, unknown>)
: null;
const paperclipIssue = context?.paperclipIssue && typeof context.paperclipIssue === "object"
? (context.paperclipIssue as Record<string, unknown>)
: null;
return (
run.nativeIssueId ??
run.issueId ??
readNonEmptyString(context?.issueId) ??
readNonEmptyString(context?.taskId) ??
readNonEmptyString(paperclipIssue?.id) ??
readNonEmptyString(context?.taskKey)
);
}
/** Loads the run's bound issue within the run's company, or null. */
export async function loadRunBoundIssue(
db: Db,
run: Pick<HeartbeatRunRow, "companyId" | "nativeIssueId" | "issueId" | "contextSnapshot">,
): Promise<IssueRow | null> {
const reference = runBoundIssueReference(run);
if (!reference) return null;
const condition = isUuidLike(reference)
? eq(issues.id, reference)
: eq(issues.identifier, reference);
const [issue] = await db
.select()
.from(issues)
.where(and(condition, eq(issues.companyId, run.companyId)))
.limit(1);
return issue ?? null;
}
/**
* Resolves the task from which an issue was created. The recorded
* `origin_issue_id` wins; otherwise the task the origin run (or, for historical
* rows, the run on the creation activity) was executing. Company-scoped; a run
* or source task from another company never resolves. Does not check viewer
* access.
*/
export async function resolveIssueCreationSource(
db: Db,
issue: Pick<IssueRow, "id" | "companyId" | "originRunId"> & { originIssueId?: string | null },
): Promise<IssueCreationSourceRecord | null> {
const run = await loadIssueCreationRun(db, issue);
if (issue.originIssueId && issue.originIssueId !== issue.id) {
const [sourceIssue] = await db
.select()
.from(issues)
.where(and(eq(issues.id, issue.originIssueId), eq(issues.companyId, issue.companyId)))
.limit(1);
if (sourceIssue) return { run, sourceIssue };
}
if (!run) return null;
const sourceIssue = await loadRunBoundIssue(db, run);
if (!sourceIssue || sourceIssue.id === issue.id) return null;
return { run, sourceIssue };
}
async function loadIssueCreationRun(
db: Db,
issue: Pick<IssueRow, "id" | "companyId" | "originRunId">,
): Promise<CreationSourceRun | null> {
let runId = issue.originRunId;
if (!runId) {
const [creation] = await db
.select({ runId: activityLog.runId })
.from(activityLog)
.where(and(
eq(activityLog.companyId, issue.companyId),
eq(activityLog.entityType, "issue"),
eq(activityLog.entityId, issue.id),
inArray(activityLog.action, CREATION_ACTIVITY_ACTIONS),
isNotNull(activityLog.runId),
))
.orderBy(asc(activityLog.createdAt))
.limit(1);
runId = creation?.runId ?? null;
}
if (!runId || !isUuidLike(runId)) return null;
const [run] = await db
.select({
id: heartbeatRuns.id,
companyId: heartbeatRuns.companyId,
agentId: heartbeatRuns.agentId,
scopeKind: heartbeatRuns.scopeKind,
nativeIssueId: heartbeatRuns.nativeIssueId,
issueId: heartbeatRuns.issueId,
contextSnapshot: sql<CreationSourceRun["contextSnapshot"]>`case
when coalesce(${heartbeatRuns.nativeIssueId}, ${heartbeatRuns.issueId}) is not null then null
else jsonb_build_object(
'issueId', ${heartbeatRuns.contextSnapshot}->'issueId',
'taskId', ${heartbeatRuns.contextSnapshot}->'taskId',
'taskKey', ${heartbeatRuns.contextSnapshot}->'taskKey',
'paperclipIssue', jsonb_build_object('id', ${heartbeatRuns.contextSnapshot}->'paperclipIssue'->'id')
) end`,
})
.from(heartbeatRuns)
.where(and(eq(heartbeatRuns.id, runId), eq(heartbeatRuns.companyId, issue.companyId)))
.limit(1);
return run ?? null;
}
/** Company-scoped agent summary for a creation source. */
export async function loadCreationSourceAgent(
db: Db,
companyId: string,
agentId: string,
): Promise<{ id: string; name: string } | null> {
const [agent] = await db
.select({ id: agents.id, name: agents.name })
.from(agents)
.where(and(eq(agents.id, agentId), eq(agents.companyId, companyId)))
.limit(1);
return agent ?? null;
}