## Thinking Path > - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for work. > - Task lists and inboxes are the main entry points to that work. > - Cold opens fetch overlapping task lists, task descriptions, and run details before useful rows settle. > - Independent responses can insert rows above content that a person has started to read. > - This pull request loads a small task index first and adds details only for visible rows. > - It keeps row order and geometry stable while those details arrive. ## Linked Issues or Issue Description **What existing behavior does this improve?** Cold opens of Tasks and Inbox, including the shared navigation badge. **Subsystem affected** Server list reads, shared response contracts, and the React UI. **Current behavior** The badge fetches full task bodies. Mine fetches several overlapping lists. Historical diagnostics and row metadata add work before the first useful list. A fast failed-run response can appear before task rows, then move down when tasks arrive. **Proposed behavior** Load the selected inbox source and its required context together. Use an index without task descriptions or recovery diagnostics. Fetch diagnostic details for up to 50 visible rows. Keep skeletons, recovery indicators, external status, and live metadata in fixed space. **Reason and benefit** Reduce work on a cold open and prevent loading-induced row movement. On the same 100 local fixture tasks, the compact response was 262,441 decoded bytes and the index was 110,909 bytes. This comparison excludes compression and is not a page latency benchmark. **Breaking changes** Existing full and compact responses remain available. New index/row projections are opt-in and marked as partial data. Mine keeps its existing most-recent-100 display limit, now selected on the server. Existing filters and group preferences remain in the client. No database migration. **Additional context** Refs: #17593. Related: #13095, #17428, #13803. This change addresses collection overfetch and layout stability. It does not replace the blocked-inbox query work or the database activity-index work. ## What Changed - Add authorized index and row projections, with bounded task and parent ID batches. - Replace badge list downloads with unread IDs and aggregate counts. Preserve actor privacy, dismissals, and local archive behavior. - Load only the selected inbox source, plus bounded parent and failed-run context. Return only relevant failures from the bounded run window. - Batch hierarchy reads, including at most one authorized child per collapsed parent in one request. Collapsed markers do not consume the expanded row budget, and partial descendant counts are not shown as totals. Enrich visible rows without replacing membership, ordering, titles, or read state. - Reserve row geometry on desktop and mobile. Reveal the initial inbox only after its sources settle. Preserve legacy task-list reads. - Start collection module downloads during access checks. Keep partial rows out of the task-detail cache. - Keep ETags and concurrent request sharing for the new projections, but skip the short server response TTL so archive undo sees fresh state. ## Verification - On final head `ef6afb2a56`, the full CI workflow passed, including build, typecheck, server/workspace/runner suites, and all eight browser shards. A server shard reported **1,489 passing tests** before runner shutdown canceled the job; its single infrastructure retry passed. Both Greptile and Paperclip Review are **5/5**, with zero unresolved review threads. - The optional external **Entire Gates** check remains `unassessed` because it has no active assessed Change for this comparison. Entire is not set up in this checkout. The repository ruleset requires `ci / verify` and `ci / e2e`; both passed. No gate configuration was changed. - Passed workspace typecheck after the final API batching change. The full production build also passed on the final commit; the exact-retry E2E run built the shipped UI. - Passed token gates and map validation. The final batch-preview pass has 91 passing route/hierarchy/component tests, including privacy, request bounds, 30 collapsed parents in one read, and a 120-child parent alongside a sibling. - Passed the 166-test focused UI/inbox/badge run, 47 additional UI regression tests, and 34 issue-list route tests. The latest regressions cover low-trust agent badge IDs, cold company selection, 30 description-only Mine matches with archive actions, retrying optional row details, and collapsed/expanded siblings. - The full local `pnpm test:run` spanned the rebase and reported failures in five suites before it was stopped; it is not claimed as a complete pass. A fresh serial rerun of all five suites passed **452/452** tests (tool gateway, native resume, project repositories, workspace recovery, and runner selection). Full current-commit coverage is checked by CI. - Real browser: delayed index and row-detail responses on Tasks and Mine. The first placeholder and first row had the same origin and 44-pixel height. Twelve rows on each page had zero position, height, or title-width change after recovery details arrived. - Real browser: reviewed long titles and recovery status at a 390 by 844 viewport. Task text stays on one line and recovery uses a compact indicator. - Three fresh document loads per page on final commit `260893bf92`, with HTTP cache retained on a warm local development server: Tasks 1.031–1.190 seconds; Mine 0.999–1.193 seconds. Browser-control overhead is included. These values must not be compared directly with staging latency or the earlier local samples taken during a full test run. - The browser archive test exposed stale results after Undo. The new projections now bypass the server TTL; immediate-mutation regression tests pass. The final browser retry passed: Archive followed by Undo restored exactly one row and the badge count. - CI exposed a hook-order crash when company selection resolved after the first inbox render. The hook now runs before the empty-company return. All seven affected exact-retry and legacy-continuation browser scenarios pass locally after the fix. - Real browser review regressions: 97 description-only source matches retained Archive actions; deliberately failed optional row reads displayed a retry notice while all 12 observed row positions and heights stayed unchanged. Retry restored the recovery indicator. Network fault injection was removed. - The final production build and workspace typecheck passed. Final focused verification passed 153 UI/helper tests and 26 heartbeat privacy route tests. Final review regressions cover newer diagnostics arriving during the index read, reloading diagnostics when the same task ID changes version, optional source failure/retry without hiding available rows, and required external-status filter failure. The latest-failures route test verifies bounded selection, agent filtering, success suppressing an older failure, and private-run redaction. - Real browser: deliberately failed the run source, then retried it. Twelve available task rows kept the same position and 44-pixel height before, during, and after retry. No loading skeleton replaced them. Fault injection was removed. - Hierarchy review decision: the cold-open barrier stays because inserting ancestors or expanded children after revealing index rows would cause layout shifts. Existing hierarchy context now survives subsequent requests, with a regression proving a new ancestor read does not blank the list. The bounded recursive tree read can still add latency for unusually deep expanded trees. - Tasks now handles a failed external-status filter with an explicit error and Retry, suppressing a false empty state. All 52 Tasks component tests pass, including failure-to-success retry. One existing large-tree test timed out while workspace typechecking ran concurrently; the whole component suite passed when rerun without that competing work. Workspace typecheck, the full production build, and token gates passed for this fix. ## Risks - Saved filters and grouping still operate on the existing bounded collection. This is not a new global server pagination model. - Fixed row slots reduce available title width. Long titles remain accessible through task navigation. - Recovery and related diagnostics arrive after core rows. Their responses cannot replace ordering fields, and stale versions are rejected. - Index/row requests now revalidate against current data instead of a short server TTL. They still share concurrent reads and use ETags. - This has not been deployed by this pull request. Staging latency must be measured after deployment under comparable conditions. ## Model Used OpenAI Codex, GPT-6 family. The exact runtime model ID and context-window size are not exposed in this session. Used code editing, terminal execution, and real-browser diagnostics. ## 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.
Capability identifiers
The feature ID is the recipe filename without .md, such as onboarding.
The full capability ID joins that feature ID and a Sub-features key with /:
the company key in feature-map/onboarding.md is onboarding/company.
Its agent-access-map/onboarding.md companion uses the same local company key.
The feature-map index lists the existing
feature and full capability IDs.
Each child page states Feature ID: `onboarding`. after its introduction or
product-map link. In feature recipes, show the full ID beside the parsed local
key: - `company`: `onboarding/company` — create a company. In access
companions and Storybook verification guidance, keep the existing local heading
and put Capability ID: `onboarding/company`. beneath it. These labels make
the existing identifiers visible without changing keys, anchors, or ID generation.
Use full capability IDs in cross-feature references, Storybook annotations, tests, issues, PRs, and verification evidence. Both segments use lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens. Keep filenames and keys stable when display titles or navigation labels change; renaming either changes the capability ID.
Entry-point IDs describe a surface, such as web-wizard, and are scoped to their
recipe. Reference them with a recipe link, such as
onboarding.md#web-wizard, and record the
capability exercised separately. Navigation section labels are not capability IDs.
See IDs and references for examples.
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,
and its feature ID, followed by one H2 backticked local key per product
sub-feature. Each capability starts with its full capability ID and 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. Keep the feature-map README's readable ID
index aligned with those sources; it does not register entries for generation.
Do not 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.