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PaperClipAI/maps/feature-map/recovery.md
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DottaandPaperclip 7d9b93aee2 docs: establish paired feature and agent access maps (#16025)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - Contributors use the feature map to understand and verify product
capabilities.
> - Agents need APIs and usable entry points within their permission
boundaries.
> - Product recipes and agent access need separate records with shared
capability IDs.
> - This pull request establishes that contract and gives maintenance
ownership of both maps.
> - The benefit is repeatable access review without changing product
behavior or permissions.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

Refs: #15983, which added the portable verification skills and updated
the feature map. This is its contract-only follow-up. Related: #15288
added the original feature map.

**Issue type**

Missing documentation and maintenance contract.

**Where is the issue?**

The product map, its missing agent access companions, and the
verification skills.

**What's wrong?**

There is no shared convention for API presence, agent entry points,
permission boundaries, access gaps, or evidence. An API declaration does
not prove that a permitted native or remote agent can use it.

**Suggested fix**

Keep the product and agent access maps as siblings under `maps/`. Reuse
capability IDs. Record representative source inventory separately from
operation review and live proof. Keep both maps aligned through the
maintenance skill.

## What Changed

- Move the existing product map to `maps/feature-map/`. Preserve its
recipes and Poteto format. Update relative links and add companion
links.
- Add `maps/agent-access-map/` with 35 area files and 171 matching
capability IDs. Seed representative API operations, agent paths,
policies and known gaps from the reviewed source inventory. Mark entries
as `baseline`, `source-only`, and live verification `not-run`.
- Define the shared contract in `maps/README.md`. Track API presence,
agent availability, policy, evidence and review depth separately.
Require operation enumeration before marking a broad capability
operation-reviewed.
- Extend `maintain-verification-skill` to reconcile both maps and
inspect actual route policy and production tool admission. Update
creation, verification, notices and contributor references to use the
shared contract.
- Add `scripts/check-maps.mjs` and ten regression tests. Check matching
areas/IDs, indexes, references, contract fields, API method/path
examples, justified exceptions and evidence-state consistency.
- Keep the coverage inventory unchanged. Preserve skill invocation
policies and both MIT license blocks. No product API, permission, UI,
runtime helper, migration, dependency or workflow changes.

## Verification

- Passed: `node scripts/check-maps.mjs` reports 35 paired areas and 171
matching capability IDs. All local map references resolve.
- Passed: `node --test scripts/check-maps.test.mjs` runs ten tests.
Fixtures cover missing companions, renamed/orphan/duplicate IDs, broken
references, missing operation fields, empty exceptions, missing API
examples, empty policy fields, and verified evidence without passed
verification.
- Passed: metadata validation for all three verification skills. Skill
and contributor links resolve. Invocation policies and both license
blocks are unchanged.
- Compared relocated recipes with current master. Contents differ only
in relative links and companion links. `coverage.json` is byte-for-byte
unchanged. Master's updated read-only interaction test reference is
retained.
- Passed: `git diff --check`. The branch starts from current master and
contains only this contract change.
- Repository-wide typecheck, tests and build were not run locally for
this documentation and Node structural-check scope. Live agent access
was not exercised. Those gaps are explicit in the baseline entries; the
structural check does not certify behavior. CI and automated review are
pending.

## Risks

- The companions are representative source baselines. They are not
complete operation inventories or passed agent journeys.
- The checker cannot establish actual permissions, native tool
admission, operation completeness or truthful live evidence. Maintenance
must inspect source and verify with the actual permitted agent context.
- External links to the old product-map directory may need updates.
Repository references have been updated.
- Existing access gaps and board/user restrictions remain recorded. This
contract does not change authority or implement missing paths.

## Model Used

OpenAI GPT-6 through Codex assisted with this change. The session does
not expose the exact serving model ID, configured context-window size,
or reasoning setting. Capabilities used: source analysis, file edits,
shell commands, and structural regression tests.

## 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
- [ ] 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

Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
2026-10-12 14:52:28 -05:00

8.5 KiB

Recovery

People can see why a task stopped, who owns the next action, and whether a safe continuation is available. Recovery retains task context and ownership, honors pause and budget gates, and distinguishes confirmed failure from an uncertain external outcome. A retry acknowledgement alone is not proof that work resumed.

Agent access: companion.

Sub-features

  • diagnosis: a task/run exposes the recorded cause, evidence, owner, attempt progress, and next action without requiring a raw-log interpretation.
  • bounded-continuation: supported interrupted work continues with preserved conversation context and bounded attempts, without blindly replaying tools.
  • source-action: source-scoped recovery actions remain attached to the task; independent repair work may have its own issue and return owner.
  • exhaustion: exhausted or overdue recovery exposes the current gate and permitted operator action; it does not claim an automatic path is still live.
  • workspace: workspace divergence/export failures show the applicable repair, reconcile, or isolated reissue action with evidence and authority checks.
  • unknown-outcome: uncertain external side effects require inspection and an explicit decision, not automatic replay.
  • user-continuation: saved user messages after a stop are reconsidered once cleanup proves the old execution is stopped; duplicate wakes are avoided.
  • reconnect: browser stream recovery refreshes persisted state without claiming the agent itself restarted or that a failed run succeeded.

How to get to it (user POV)

source-task

Open the affected task from Tasks, Inbox/Blocked, search, or a direct task link. Inspect the recovery notice/card in its history, expand details if needed, and use the currently offered action. Follow any linked repair task and return owner.

run-detail

Open the agent's run (/agents/:agentId/runs/:runId) from activity or the task's run link. The run page hosts workspace recovery controls only for a failed run with error code workspace_validation_failed and a linked source task that still has a live workspace_validation recovery action. Use the source task for other stopped-run recovery checks.

operator-retry

On an exhausted disposition or workspace recovery card, inspect the current reason and use the permitted retry/repair/reconcile action. Some repairs require confirmation; unavailable actions must explain the gate or remain absent.

post-stop-message

After a stop, send a new instruction on the same task or inspect one already saved while cleanup was pending. Observe the waiting message, continuation, and eventual result rather than manually changing the task status to look complete.

browser-reconnect

While viewing an active or recovering task, interrupt the browser connection and restore it, or suspend and return to the tab. Reload is a separate check. The current task and run state should reconcile with the server.

Driving it

Preconditions: follow the baseline. Use a disposable instance and reproducible failure. Record source task/run, adapter/runtime mode, cause, attempt count, current owner, and verified stop evidence. Do not kill an unrelated server or induce provider side effects just to get a failure screen. Use the existing deterministic recovery suite first.

source-task

Automated: recovery actions covers source scoping, bounded attempts, operator stops, quota monitoring, ownership, stale action retirement, and continuation deduplication. Recovery cards cover diagnosis, retry progress, exhaustion, and action availability. The fixture-backed execution-recovery journeys start their own test-drive instances and exercise safe, uncertain, restart, manager-lineage, and legacy-unknown paths:

pnpm exec vitest run server/src/__tests__/issue-recovery-actions.test.ts ui/src/components/IssueRecoveryActionCard.test.tsx
pnpm exec playwright test -c tests/e2e/execution-recovery/playwright.config.ts recovery.spec.ts

Manual: open a stopped task through each affected navigation path. Confirm its explanation, original owner, recovery owner if different, and next action. Follow the supported recovery until the source task produces a useful result or a specific escalation. Reload and verify that resolved notices retire and attempt history remains. A fixture pass does not qualify every live harness/provider.

run-detail

Automated: run workspace recovery tests this host; it is component coverage, not an end-to-end repair.

Manual: prepare a failed run with error code workspace_validation_failed, a linked source task, and a live workspace_validation recovery action on that task. Open that exact run and compare its recovery diagnosis to the source task. Use an eligible action from the run surface, return to the task, and verify the same action state, persisted outcome, and restored execution. Repeat with an actor who lacks authority. Verify that the run-page controls are absent for other error codes or after the source action retires; continue other recovery checks on the source task. Full run-detail navigation remains a manual gap.

operator-retry

Automated: disposition notices tests pending/error/gated states and waiting for the real retry acknowledgement. The recovery-card suite covers workspace divergence, reissue, reconcile, and confirmation. Workspace export covers its separate repair surface.

Manual: reproduce an exhausted disposable action. Click once, verify pending state prevents repeated clicks, and inspect a successful continuation or an explicit rejection. Reload to confirm the durable outcome. For a workspace repair, record the compared branches/revisions and preserve uncommitted work; confirm the repair's actual result before resuming. Check the denied and stale action paths. A changed card label is insufficient proof of workspace integrity.

post-stop-message

Automated: legacy continuation, queue routes, and native restart recovery cover their respective recovery paths. Legacy failure continuation adds a browser journey; it is not native runtime proof.

Manual: stop a disposable run, submit a distinguishable follow-up, and observe any cleanup wait. After confirmed stop, verify the follow-up reaches one eligible continuation and produces the requested answer. Repeat with a task/ancestor pause and a budget hold: recovery must not bypass the gate. For unknown external outcomes, inspect the provider before authorizing another operation.

browser-reconnect

Automated: live-update recovery covers client transport recovery with mocks. It does not prove runner restart.

Manual: go offline during a disposable run, let the server reach a new state, then reconnect. Confirm task/run/attention data refresh without duplicate comments or decisions; reload and compare. A healthy websocket proves transport only. Separately inspect the underlying execution if it is still stuck.

Gotchas

  • Legacy and native runtimes have different ownership and restart paths. Record which one was exercised instead of inferring coverage from the adapter name.
  • A process disappearance, elapsed timeout, or successful API retry does not prove an external tool operation never happened. Unknown outcomes stay unknown until corroborated; automatic replay can duplicate a side effect.
  • Active-run watchdogs, task watchdogs, reviewers, and recovery owners have different authority. No recovery card grants board permission by itself.
  • Idle Agent Chat is not stranded work. An intentional operator stop must not silently trigger recovery that fights the user's instruction.
  • Source inspection and mocked component tests do not qualify real server restart continuity. Use the appropriate runtime suite for that claim.
  • See execution semantics for the governing recovery contract and steering for saved follow-ups.