DottaandPaperclip
250429942e
## Thinking Path > - Paperclip helps people manage AI agents for work. > - New agents must pass setup and execution checks before they can run. > - The lifecycle worker saved the same retry message for every failure. > - Users could not identify the failed step or correct its configuration. > - The UI also described failed work as work still in progress. > - This pull request names the failed step and gives a safe corrective action. > - Users can identify configuration problems and understand automatic retries. ## Linked Issues or Issue Description **What happened?** A new hire showed a paused status and “The lifecycle step failed. Retry the operation.” Repeated retries did not explain the failure. A successful retry cleared the original error. This change cannot recover an error that an older server already cleared. **Expected behavior** Name the failed setup step. Give a useful action for known execution test failures. Explain automatic retry. Keep provider output and credentials out of lifecycle errors. **Steps to reproduce** 1. Create a disposable agent with an unavailable model or invalid execution command. 2. Open its profile while verification fails. 3. Inspect the error, correct the configuration, and select Retry now. 4. Confirm that the failure disappears after the agent becomes ready. Related change: https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/pull/16155 shows pending setup progress in creation and assignment. This change improves the cause and action shown when setup fails. ## What Changed - Save the failed lifecycle phase and step in the existing lifecycle error field. - Classify authentication, model, command, directory, timeout, and response failures from execution test check codes. - Use fixed error messages. Do not retain raw provider messages, check details, or credentials. - Share the allowed failure codes with the lifecycle log. - Show failed-state labels and automatic retry guidance. Rename Retry to Retry now. - Extend worker, database, and UI regression coverage. Update the agent verification maps. ## Verification - Passed 105 focused tests across lifecycle diagnostics, database lifecycle commands, saved harness verification, and AgentLifecycleStatus. - Passed server TypeScript compilation with `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server exec tsc --noEmit`. - Passed UI typecheck and production build. - Passed module boundary checks, token gates, character sync, map validation, and `git diff --check`. - Used Playwright to inspect the production component with a simulated model failure. Confirmed the failure text, retry guidance, retry callback, and recovered state. Captured a screenshot. This component check does not prove a live provider run. - Attempted `pnpm -r typecheck` and `pnpm build`. Both require Rust cargo, which is not installed in the local execution environment. - Started `pnpm test:run` locally. No final local suite result was recorded before handoff. The complete PR CI workflow passed. - Passed all latest-commit CI gates, including typecheck, build, general and serialized tests, Rust checks, and all eight browser test shards: https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/38726198774 - Greptile scored the latest commit 5/5 with no findings. There are no review threads to resolve. ## Risks - Failure classification depends on existing adapter check codes. Unknown codes use a safe fallback message. - A known code can describe only the checks reported by the adapter. - No database migration is required. The error field remains a string. - Retry schedules, leases, readiness, approvals, and budget controls keep their current behavior. - Full build verification requires a runner with Rust cargo. ## Model Used - OpenAI GPT-6 through Codex. Used reasoning, code editing, browser checks, and tool execution. The runtime does not expose the exact deployment ID or context window. ## 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>
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Hiring, configuration, and organization
Operators hire agents, configure their identity and instructions, assign reporting relationships, and manage their lifecycle. Built-in agents have their own setup and lifecycle constraints.
Implementation: hiring, configuration, organization.
Agent access: companion.
Sub-features
hire: choose identity, harness, model, and required account settings; edit reporting relationships through the agent configuration afterward.grok-bot: experimental existing-Bot agent setup through remote OAuth, routine credentials, and an authenticated two-way challenge; current contact, stop and explicit recovery.instructions: edit agent configuration and instruction files with durable revisions.organization: inspect and change reporting relationships through supported controls.primary-agent: choose a personal primary agent for the company, confirm replacement, and inspect its roster/sidebar and task/chat defaults.lifecycle: pause/resume or retire an agent while preserving history.built-in: configure required agents without treating them as ordinary removable hires.
How to get to it (user POV)
hire-agent
Use New agent from the roster or /agents/new.
agent-configuration
Open /agents/:agentId and the configuration/instruction surfaces it exposes.
organization
Use the roster’s organization view; /org redirects to the roster in the streamlined shell.
personal-primary-agent
Open an agent profile and choose Set as my primary. Inspect its crown on the profile/roster and its position in the Agents sidebar, then open a new task or Chat.
Driving it with Playwright and the Paperclip CLI
Preconditions: follow the baseline. Use a disposable company and supported adapter; hiring may require a formal approval.
hire-agent
Automated: new agent page and configuration form cover mocked UI behavior.
Manual: Hire an agent with a distinct name and role. Complete any required approval, reload the roster, and open its configuration. Confirm manager, adapter, and model persisted; run a small task to prove execution readiness.
For a new Codex hire, choose the Codex harness. Automatic selection uses Paperclip Runner on a qualified selected target; Advanced offers an explicit Legacy runner override. Other harness defaults are unchanged. Record the persisted runner and underlying harness, rather than treating the displayed Codex name as execution proof. See runtime selection and validation and target qualification.
Repeat with an explicit Legacy Codex hire. If approval is required, compare its reviewed execution configuration before and after restart and activation; approval must retain the reviewed runner. Test an existing Legacy and native agent through an unrelated edit, reload and restart: neither is automatically upgraded.
Creation defaults also apply to API/CLI hires, built-ins, plugins and new team imports. Exports preserve resolved execution choices; a package without a runner choice uses the new-agent default, while updating an existing same-harness agent preserves its execution. For a native Codex import, edit a model or account binding and verify unchanged runtime settings survive; an explicit clear must stay cleared. Use the portability recipe for package preparation and boundaries.
The current hiring wizard assigns the first hire CEO and subsequent hires General reporting to the CEO. Change manager/role afterward through supported configuration. Process/HTTP agents can be created through API/CLI but are excluded from the hiring picker; API fixture creation does not prove this UI journey.
agent-configuration
Automated: instruction service and instruction revisions cover file/revision contracts.
Manual: Save a harmless instruction edit, reload, and verify its revision and effect in the next eligible run. Pause and resume the disposable agent; confirm pause prevents new work and does not erase previous runs.
For failed setup, use an unavailable model or invalid command on a disposable agent. Confirm the profile names the failed verification step and gives a relevant action. Check that it explains automatic retry and offers Retry now. Fix the configuration, retry, and reload; the failure must disappear only after readiness commits. Provider output and credentials must not appear in the lifecycle message.
An explicit runner change is a configuration change, with normal revisions and session invalidation. Incompatible settings must produce a field-specific error; selecting another runner must not silently discard them or change an active run's recorded execution. Keep runner choice in Advanced and verify the next eligible run separately from historical transcripts.
organization
Automated: org chart is component evidence. Built-in setup also has configuration modal tests.
Manual: Inspect a manager and report, change the relationship through the offered controls, and reload both views. Exercise a rejected invalid relationship. Configure a built-in agent and verify it retains its required identity and restrictions.
personal-primary-agent
Automated: primary-agent context and primary-agent routes cover selection, company/user scope, and request contracts.
Manual: Select an available agent, reload, and inspect the retained personal choice. Replace it and verify confirmation is required. Leave or terminate the selected agent through permitted controls and inspect the unavailable/cleared state. Switch company/user to check isolation. Open a task and Chat with a valid draft or recent selection; verify those explicit choices take precedence over the primary fallback. Opening Chat must not start execution.
Gotchas
- A roster entry is not proof of an authenticated or invokable adapter.
- Pending hires may live in approval/task surfaces rather than the active roster.
- Skill and tool grants are separate: see skills and app permissions.
- A personal primary agent is a per-user/company preference. It does not change reporting lines, stars, permissions, or another person's primary agent.
connect-grok-bot
Choose Invite an external agent → Grok Bot, identify the Bot by its desktop name, connect its remote MCP plugin, configure a webhook-only routine, and verify delivery plus authenticated reply. Save & exit resumes the same agent. Keep pairing codes in browser authorization and routine credentials in Paperclip’s fields. A working Bot web URL is not required.
Prerequisites: authenticated public HTTPS, Assistant connections (MCP), Paperclip Runner and Grok Bot experimental settings. Cloud uses its normal managed Runner environment. Provider usage is unknown. Routine uncertainty blocks new assignments until explicit inspection and recovery; stopping work revokes Paperclip authority without confirming remote termination.
Evidence: source implementation and focused protocol tests; real provider assigned/proactive workflows and deployed managed acceptance remain release gates.
Documentation scope: Agents, organization, and runtime setup
Per-harness/model/account capabilities, every instruction-file error, and complete built-in-agent lifecycle variants remain separate qualification matrices.