## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip manages agent work and preserves task context.
> - Built-in adapters already include wake context in the agent prompt.
> - They also copy the full wake JSON into a process environment
variable.
> - A large environment entry can prevent the agent from starting with
`spawn E2BIG`.
> - This change removes the duplicate environment entry and uses the
existing prompt delivery.
> - The agent keeps its context without extra file transport or new
history limits.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
Refs #13144, #13860, #13872, #13793.
Large wake payloads can exceed the operating system limit for one
environment entry. The launch-envelope fix in #13793 handles the outer
transport but leaves that child environment entry intact.
Credit to @nickyleach for the prompt-only approach in #13144. This PR
applies that part on current master. It does not include that PR's
30-item history limits or recovery-history endpoint. Those behavior
changes can be reviewed separately from the process launch fix.
## What Changed
- Stop exporting `PAPERCLIP_WAKE_PAYLOAD_JSON` in the shared ACP engine
and all ten built-in adapter writers.
- Ignore configured values of the retired variable so saved adapter
settings cannot restore the oversized entry. Also drop inherited copies
in Hermes, which builds its environment directly.
- Keep scalar runtime variables, existing prompt rendering, continuation
history, resume deltas, gateway bodies, and Hermes JSON template
variables.
- Document the prompt delivery contract and the migration for custom
instructions that read the retired variable.
- Test large local and sandbox child-process launches, fresh and resumed
ACP turns, SDK delivery, and configured-variable filtering.
## Verification
- `pnpm -r typecheck` passed.
- Focused adapter utility, ACP, Codex child-process, and Cursor Cloud
suites: 340 tests passed.
- Hermes execution and prompt tests: 18 tests passed using its package
Vitest configuration.
- The child-process tests deliver over 128 KB of context through stdin
and check the complete text. The ACP test retains 50 complete messages
and 50 completed actions, then checks the resumed delta.
- `pnpm build` passed.
- `pnpm test:run` was attempted, then stopped after it reproduced ten
macOS runtime-skill-cache permission failures (also reproduced on
unchanged master) and one HTTPS backfill test failure. The HTTPS test
passed when rerun unchanged on this branch and master. The complete
local suite was not completed; Linux CI provides the full-suite gate.
- CI is green on c3b8191f97: 53 checks passed and two skipped. Attempt 3
passed the remaining shards without source changes. Earlier attempts hit
a lost runner, preview readiness, and chat browser failures. The preview
test passed unchanged locally. Local chat tests passed 3/4; the
remaining sidebar focus-style assertion also fails on unchanged master.
No tests were weakened or skipped to obtain the passing rerun.
- The staged diff passed `gitleaks stdin --redact` and `git diff
--check`.
## Risks
- Custom instructions or scripts that read `PAPERCLIP_WAKE_PAYLOAD_JSON`
must use the wake payload in the prompt instead. The variable is absent
even for small wakes.
- This removes one cause of `E2BIG`. Legacy CLI paths for Gemini, Grok,
Kimi, Pi, and Hermes still pass prompts as arguments and retain their
existing argument-size limits. Other large environment variables also
remain subject to OS limits.
- No new context truncation, API route, database migration,
authorization change, or production rollout is part of this PR. Existing
prompt windows and resume rendering remain unchanged.
## Model Used
OpenAI GPT-6 through Codex, with code execution and repository tools.
The exact model variant and context window size are not exposed in this
session.
## 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>
@paperclipai/adapter-utils
Shared utilities for Paperclip adapters: process spawning, environment injection, sandbox/SSH transport, workspace sync, and the round-trip helpers that move code between the local execution-workspace cwd and wherever the agent actually runs.
For the adapter-author guide see
docs/adapters/creating-an-adapter.md
and the in-repo notes at packages/adapters/AUTHORING.md.
No-remote-git contract
The local execution-workspace cwd is the only persistence boundary across runs. No adapter may depend on a git remote for cross-run state.
Adapters that run the agent on a different host should use the SSH round-trip
helpers in src/ssh.ts:
prepareWorkspaceForSshExecution({ spec, localDir, remoteDir })— bundles the local cwd (tracked files, dirty edits, untracked additions, and the git history needed to reconstruct it) toremoteDirbefore the run starts. Runs with nogit remoteconfigured.restoreWorkspaceFromSshExecution({ spec, localDir, remoteDir, ... })— syncs the remote cwd back intolocalDirafter the run, including any new commits the agent created. Also runs with nogit remoteconfigured.
prepareRemoteManagedRuntime in
src/remote-managed-runtime.ts wraps both
calls for adapters that want a per-run remote workspace and an automatic
restoreWorkspace() finally hook.
The invariant is pinned by the no-remote-git contract case in
src/ssh-fixture.test.ts, which asserts that a
remote-only commit propagates to the local worktree through the
prepare → restore round-trip with no git remote configured at any point. Do
not regress that test.