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PaperClipAI/docs/guides/board-operator/org-structure.md
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DottaandPaperclip ce1ee9e89f fix: stop prompts from encouraging subtasks (#20362)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Agents read runtime prompts, tool help, skills, and role
instructions.
> - Several of these texts tell agents to create child tasks as a normal
next step.
> - One accepted-plan prompt even forbids work on the current task.
> - Task parentage is useful, but it does not need a prompt that
encourages task creation.
> - This pull request removes those prompts and keeps the task APIs
available.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

Refs #10642. This change adjusts prompt wording; it does not add
delegation-cycle guards.

**Current behavior**
Prompts tell agents to create children after plan approval, use children
for long work, and create a task just to pass context. Onboarding
requires a child even for a single request.

**Proposed behavior**
Continue work on the current task. Keep explicit assignments, optional
task creation, parentage, dependencies, and approval gates. Use the
separate-task recipes when the user requests that structure or when
continuing existing work.

**Reason and benefit**
Reduce needless task trees without removing subtask support. Keep the
patch limited to wording, existing test expectations, and generated
catalog data.

## What Changed

- Align accepted-plan prompts and remove direct child-creation advice
from runtime and error text.
- Make task tool descriptions neutral. Keep their fields, defaults, and
handlers.
- Update the main skill, onboarding, CEO instructions, company
templates, specialist workflows, and matching guides.
- Keep historical release snapshots intact. Refresh the explicitly
seeded schema fixture's catalog digest; the server still verifies
historical release snapshot hashes.
- Refresh the affected generated catalogs, capability inventory,
semantic contracts, and fixture manifest.

## Verification

- Final tested head: `c6e304d0c105cdbfbe0b2ab0a233307fcd91a04b`.
- All 66 check runs are complete: 60 pass, one is neutral, and five are
skipped by CI conditions. Snyk also passes. No checks fail or remain
pending.
- [PR
CI](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/42846226554)
passes typecheck, build, server/general tests, all eight E2E shards,
Runner support, Runner Rust, and the aggregate verify gate.
[Windows](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/42846226546)
and [Docker
Runner](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/42846226108)
also pass.
-
[Greptile](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/pull/20362#issuecomment-6751419835)
and [Paperclip
review](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/pull/20362#issuecomment-6751454010)
give this exact head 5/5. All six inline threads are resolved. Neither
current summary has findings.
- Merged master `bf0220d34a156c81853755c3d1365ddc527037de`. Resolved
three generated-file conflicts with the canonical generators.
- Local verification passes: 473 focused prompt, continuation, UI,
catalog, runtime and native-execution tests; Runner TypeScript build;
generated metadata; UI token gates; and diff checks.
- The prior head `c22018cb0f` failed three SDK evidence tests because
two source hashes were stale. Reproduced all three failures locally. The
existing generator refreshed only the hashes for the denial-copy file
and its test. All 53 affected evidence/source-pin tests then passed,
including private-value rejection. No scanner logic, assertions, or
runtime dependency pins changed. Current CI confirms the support suite
passes.
- A prior commit failed the Rust process reaping test. Its cause remains
unproven. No Rust code or assertions changed. Later Rust runs pass; this
does not establish the cause of the earlier failure.
- Local preflight built shared/plugin SDK packages, then stopped because
`cargo` is absent. Current-head CI supplies Rust and full build
coverage. `pnpm verify --explain` selects broad required CI; full local
suites were not repeated.

## Risks

- Wording changes guide the model; they do not enforce a ban on
subtasks.
- Existing installed skill versions and saved custom instructions need
their normal refresh process. This PR does not migrate company
configuration.
- Existing approved task assignments and approval gates remain in
effect.

## Model Used

- OpenAI GPT-6, through Codex, with reasoning, tool use, and code
execution. The exact routed model ID and context-window size were 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>
2026-11-10 09:58:54 -06:00

1.4 KiB
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title, summary
title summary
Org Structure Reporting hierarchy and chain of command

Paperclip enforces a strict organizational hierarchy. Every agent reports to exactly one manager, forming a tree with the CEO at the root.

How It Works

  • The CEO has no manager (reports to the board/human operator)
  • Every other agent has a reportsTo field pointing to their manager
  • You can change an agent’s manager after creation from Agent → Configuration → Reports to (or via PATCH /api/agents/{id} with reportsTo)
  • Managers can assign work to their reports
  • Agents escalate blockers up the chain of command

Viewing the Org Chart

The org chart is available in the web UI under the Agents section. It shows the full reporting tree with agent status indicators.

Via the API:

GET /api/companies/{companyId}/org

Chain of Command

Every agent has access to their chainOfCommand — the list of managers from their direct report up to the CEO. This is used for:

  • Escalation — when an agent is blocked, they can reassign to their manager
  • Delegation — managers can assign work to their reports
  • Visibility — managers can see what their reports are working on

Rules

  • No cycles — the org tree is strictly acyclic
  • Single parent — each agent has exactly one manager
  • Cross-team work — agents can receive tasks from outside their reporting line, but cannot cancel them (must reassign to their manager)