## Thinking Path > - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for work > - Runs execute in transported workspaces; at finalize, the host syncs the sandbox git history back into the local worktree > - When both sides advanced, `integrateImportedGitHead` reconciles them with `git merge-tree` plus `git commit-tree` on the host > - Execution hosts are often containers with no git config and no resolvable hostname, so `commit-tree` fails with "Author identity unknown" > - That one local command failure marks the whole run as failed, even though the run's work succeeded > - This pull request gives sync-created merge commits an explicit, deterministic identity at the call site > - The benefit is that workspace finalize no longer depends on ambient host git configuration ## Linked Issues or Issue Description No existing issue found. I searched issues and PRs for "Author identity unknown", "unrelated histories", and "commit-tree identity". **What happened?** A run finished its work, but workspace finalize failed. The host-side sync ran `git commit-tree <tree> -p <localHead> -p <importedHead> -m "Paperclip remote git sync merge <sha>"`. Git exited with `Author identity unknown ... fatal: unable to auto-detect email address (got 'node@<container-id>.(none)')`. The adapter recorded the whole run as failed, and the host worktree kept the stale head. Any container deployment without a global gitconfig reproduces this; I observed it on a Paperclip Cloud stack. **Expected behavior** Commits that the sync machinery itself creates must not depend on ambient host git configuration. The merge commit is machine-authored, so it should carry a deterministic Paperclip identity. **Steps to reproduce** 1. Run the Paperclip server in a container with no `user.name`/`user.email` git config and a hostname git cannot turn into an email. 2. Let a run's sandbox branch diverge from the host worktree, so both sides advance. 3. Workspace finalize calls `integrateImportedGitHead`. The `git commit-tree` step fails with "Author identity unknown" and the run fails. ## What Changed - `git-workspace-sync.ts`: new exported `GIT_SYNC_COMMIT_IDENTITY_ARGS` (`-c user.name=Paperclip -c user.email=noreply@paperclip.ing`), applied to the `commit-tree` call in `integrateImportedGitHead`. - `ssh.ts`: the SSH-sync copy of `integrateImportedGitHead` applies the same identity args to its `commit-tree` call. - New regression test: builds divergent histories in a repo with no configured identity and asserts the sync merge commit is created with the deterministic identity, correct parents, and merged tree. ## Verification - `pnpm vitest run packages/adapter-utils/src/git-workspace-sync.test.ts` — 18/18 pass. - `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/adapter-utils typecheck` — clean. - Negative proof: with the source fix stashed, the new test fails on the identity assertion. - Full `pnpm vitest run packages/adapter-utils`: every file passes except `local-process-sandbox.test.ts`, which fails identically on an untouched `master` checkout on macOS (bubblewrap-dependent, pre-existing, unrelated). ## Risks Low risk. The change only adds `-c` identity flags to two machine-generated commit invocations. `GIT_AUTHOR_*` / `GIT_COMMITTER_*` environment variables still take precedence over `-c` when an operator sets them, so existing deployments that configure an identity keep their behavior. ## Model Used - Claude Fable 5 (`claude-fable-5`), extended thinking, via Claude Code CLI (tool use for code exploration, test runs, and verification). ## 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 (no doc surface describes this internal sync path) - [x] I have considered and documented any risks above - [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green - [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups - [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before requesting merge
@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.