## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip manages AI agents and their work.
> - Pipelines was an unused experiment with its own UI, API, CLI, and
automation.
> - Keeping it leaves unsupported product surfaces and extra task-detail
queries.
> - Removing the experiment must preserve data that users already saved.
> - This pull request removes the feature and keeps its database schema
and migration history.
> - Cases and Routines remain available as separate features.
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
**What existing behavior does this improve?**
Remove the unused Pipelines experiment across the application.
**Current behavior**
The experiment includes pipeline boards, stage settings, case
automation, review queues, learnings, permissions, and CLI commands.
Task detail also queries pipeline links.
**Proposed behavior**
Remove all these product surfaces and their implementation. Preserve
existing tables, records, and documents. Ignore the retired boolean in
older managed configurations so upgrades still start.
**Breaking changes**
Pipeline URLs, API endpoints, CLI commands, and `pipelines:write` are
removed. Task detail no longer includes the old `linkedCases` field. The
independent Cases API remains available. No database migration or
cleanup is included.
Related feature work: #7907, #9110, #10905, #11375, #13004, #14671,
#16133. Related issues: #9663, #10310, #10312. This removal supersedes
the feature; it does not implement those pending enhancements or delete
their saved data.
## What Changed
- Remove Pipeline UI pages, navigation, gates, clients, query keys,
helpers, and unused design tokens.
- Remove Pipeline REST routes, services, automation dispatch,
task-detail queries, and OpenAPI discovery.
- Remove the CLI commands, shared contracts, experimental flag, catalog
entry, and permission defaults.
- Remove feature-specific tests, tutorials, smoke scripts, maps, and
Storybook examples.
- Preserve database schema, migration history, and the reserved document
key used by old records.
- Keep Cases routes independent and cover obsolete stored and managed
settings.
## Verification
- Passed: `pnpm build` and `pnpm -r typecheck`.
- Passed: targeted settings, managed configuration, sidebar, settings
UI, routing, and feature-catalog tests. A first sidebar run caught a
shared Workspaces icon import; the import was restored and the sidebar
rerun passed.
- Passed: 40 tests covering Cases routes, OpenAPI discovery, retained
Pipeline table constraints, and schema snapshot drift.
- Passed: token gates, map validation, generated API metadata check,
Storybook catalog validation, and 28 map/catalog tests.
- Passed: isolated local browser verification of navigation and
Experimental settings with Pipelines absent; Cases and Routines still
open normally. Live GET/POST requests to retired Pipeline endpoints
return 404, and the retired setting is absent. CLI help has no Pipeline
commands.
- Passed: 22 access-service and agent-default-grant tests after
restoring unrelated permission assertions flagged in review.
- Local full run: `pnpm test:run` reported one failure in the unchanged
workspace-runtime port-allocation test. That test passed in an isolated
rerun. The long local run was stopped after full CI passed; it is not
reported as a complete local pass.
- Passed: all 56 checks on `def9181f3a4491d95fca1d38e9739f5b821aae3e` (2
conditional checks skipped), including build, typecheck, test shards,
and browser suites. Eleven interrupted CI jobs reported “The operation
was canceled”; their one-time retry passed. [CI
run](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/actions/runs/39255211006).
- Greptile: 5/5 on the final commit, with the only review finding fixed
and resolved.
- Sandbox socket restrictions affected the first build/API test
attempts. The same commands ran with local sockets available.
## Risks
- Existing Pipeline clients must stop using the removed endpoints and
commands.
- Existing data remains in the database and backups, but the removed UI
no longer displays it.
- Historical boolean `enablePipelines` values are ignored. They cannot
restore the feature.
- Cases and Routines must retain their separate behavior. Targeted route
tests cover this boundary.
## Model Used
OpenAI Codex, GPT-6, with repository inspection, editing, shell
execution, and browser verification. The exact deployed model ID 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>
