## Thinking Path > - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for work > - People open tasks from task lists, the Inbox and the sidebar many times each hour > - A task's chat shows its first frame only after about seven separate reads finish > - #20355 added one batched `chat-bootstrap` read that returns all of these reads. #20450 used it only for the sidebar's Recents > - The hosted database is CPU-bound, so the UI must open tasks faster and must also send fewer requests > - This pull request uses the bootstrap for task lists, for open intent on any task link, for cold opens and for a hard load of a task URL. It shares one coordination module between all of these paths > - The benefit is that a task opens from cache more often, a cold open sends one chat request instead of about seven, and the first content paint comes sooner ## Linked Issues or Issue Description Refs #20355 (server read that this pull request consumes). Refs #20450 (Recents preload, now on the shared path). **Is your feature request related to a problem?** A click on a task in a task list waited for about seven separate chat reads. The default task list (Coordinator) had no preload at all. A press or a resting hover on a task link sent the same seven reads, and the page then sent a second set. A hard load of a task URL started its chat reads only after the JavaScript bundle and the company list loaded. Sidebar project task links had no open-intent prefetch. **Describe the solution you'd like** Use the single `chat-bootstrap` read everywhere a task is about to open. Let the page's gating reads share a bootstrap that is in flight instead of sending their own requests. Keep the core issue read separate so the header does not wait for the larger read. **Describe alternatives you've considered** Preload 30 rows per list in three requests (the first prototype). Each task costs the server about fifty queries, and a resting hover warms any other row before the click, so this change preloads 10 rows in one request. ## What Changed - `ui/src/lib/issue-chat-bootstrap.ts`: one module decides when to send a bootstrap and lets page reads share it (`readFromIssueChatBootstrap`). Seeding uses the existing `issueChatBootstrapCache` (replace-style reads are refreshed when newer, merge-style reads are filled only when empty, other companies are ignored). It skips tasks that are loading, loaded in the last 30 seconds, or already fresh in cache, under the id or the identifier. It never aborts a request in flight, so a click that unmounts the list still uses the answer. Each request is bound to the account that sent it; a request sent before the first session read is bound to the first account the session reports, and a sign-out revokes it. A page read shares a bootstrap only while its key holds no data (a refresh after a write always reads the server), and waits at most 5 seconds for it. Every ref of a task (id and identifier) is tracked at request start. Entries expire after 30 seconds. - Task lists preload the chat of their top 10 rows in one request, after the list's own reads settle and the browser is idle (`usePreloadTaskChats`, `when-page-settles.ts`): the Coordinator task list (`TaskList` with `preloadCompanyId`), the streamlined and legacy issues lists and the streamlined Inbox. Recents now uses the same path, so a task in both places loads once. A list that stays open preloads each task at most once in five minutes: live events (#20563's lanes) keep a preloaded task's cache current or mark it stale, and a stale key is read from the server, never from an older bootstrap. All seeded keys are per-task keys on the fast live lane, not the ambient lane. - Open intent (press, click, resting hover or focus) on a task with no chat history in cache warms it with one bootstrap request instead of six separate reads (`prefetchIssueDetailForNavigation`). A task seen before still refreshes its cached reads one by one. - A cold open starts one bootstrap. The gating reads (recent comments, activity, runs, input facts, interactions, attachments, live runs, active run) wait for it instead of sending their own requests. The core issue read stays independent. - A hard load of a task URL starts `GET /api/issues/:ref/chat-bootstrap` from the inline preload script, in parallel with the JavaScript bundle. The page adopts that answer. - Sidebar project task links (Coordinator sidebar) get the same hover, press and focus warming as Recents and `IssueLinkQuicklook`. - Tests: unit tests for the coordination module, Recents, `TaskList` preload, sidebar warming and the cold-intent path. A new layout journey checks that a task the Inbox preloaded reveals once at its latest message without reading its chat again. Journeys that hold one separate read now also hold or fail the bootstrap. The Inbox reveal journey held a read that the chat no longer sends on open (it was flaky on master too), so it now holds the recent comment window. - The perf harness gains `PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_LIST_DWELL_MS` and the README documents it. ## Verification Measurement setup: production UI builds of master (`e01fe7f84a` and the earlier base `8d2bf78323`) and of this branch, served by one local server with `PAPERCLIP_UI_DEV_MIDDLEWARE=false` and embedded PostgreSQL. Only `index.html` changed between variants (both asset sets were present), so the server, database and seeded task were the same. Four rounds of the issue-detail harness, with master and branch alternated in each round: 20 pairs per S1 cell, 40 per S2 cell. The host was shared with other agents (load average 16 to 43), so the spread is large. Content paint (the task is readable), median paired delta, branch minus master: | Scenario | Profile | Pairs | Content paint | Branch faster in | API requests before content (master / branch) | |---|---|---:|---:|---:|---:| | S1 preloaded click (dwell 1500 ms) | unthrottled | 20 | -45 ms | 15/20 | 25 / 18 | | S1 preloaded click (dwell 1500 ms) | Fast 4G, 4x CPU | 20 | -23 ms | 13/20 | 26 / 18 | | S1 click, no dwell | unthrottled | 20 | -51 ms | 15/20 | 25 / 18 | | S1 click, no dwell | Fast 4G, 4x CPU | 20 | -21 ms | 12/20 | 26 / 18 | | S2 cold deep link | unthrottled | 40 | -61 ms | 28/40 | 54 / 40 | | S2 cold deep link | Fast 4G, 4x CPU | 40 | -129 ms | 29/40 | 47 / 39 | Medians (p25 to p75), content paint in ms: S1 dwell unthrottled 295 (283-315) → 248 (217-276). S1 dwell Fast 4G 1133 (1114-1226) → 1093 (853-1176). S1 no dwell unthrottled 295 (277-328) → 260 (233-332). S1 no dwell Fast 4G 984 (842-1196) → 923 (816-1110). S2 unthrottled 1002 (677-1235) → 896 (619-1280). S2 Fast 4G 4643 (4155-5061) → 4516 (4298-4894). Header paint is neutral to slightly later in two cells: S1 dwell unthrottled +39 ms (3/20 faster) and S2 Fast 4G +56 ms (17/40). In those cells the header now paints in the same frame as the content. In the first two rounds, the median gap from header to content fell from 105-157 ms to 29-74 ms unthrottled and from 557 ms to 298 ms for S2 on Fast 4G. Other header cells are -27 to +1 ms. The local server answers each read in a few milliseconds, so the network wait that the preload removes is small here. The request count is the stable result: a cold open sends one chat request instead of about seven. List page: the preload request starts after the first task row is in the DOM (64 ms after it unthrottled, 200-280 ms after it on Fast 4G, page clock). Time to the first visible row, 30-task list: unthrottled master 1863 ms vs branch 1563 ms (6 pairs, branch faster in 5). Fast 4G master 3626 ms vs branch 3727 ms (14 pairs, branch faster in 6, mixed signs). The preload starts after the row paints, so it cannot delay it; the Fast 4G difference is noise. One 10-task bootstrap took 78-162 ms on the server. Checks run: - `pnpm exec vitest run` for the bootstrap, cache, prefetch, Recents, sidebar, quicklook, `TaskList`, issues list, Inbox, issue detail and Coordinator tests: 18 files, 646 tests pass. - `pnpm exec tsc -p ui/tsconfig.json --noEmit`: clean, except missing generated Storybook catalog files that this change does not touch. - `pnpm check:token-gates`: clean. - `tests/e2e/task-loading-frame.spec.ts`, `disconnect-resilience.spec.ts` and `connection-reviews.spec.ts` (production build): 21 passed, 1 skipped. - `tests/perf/issue-detail/layout-stability.spec.ts` and `plan-startup.spec.ts` against the production build: all pass. The Inbox reveal journey and the new preloaded journey passed 4 of 4 repeats each. - `pnpm verify` asks for broader CI coverage because an e2e spec changed. ## Risks - More server work for list views: one bootstrap of up to 10 tasks per list visit (about fifty queries per task), skipped for tasks already loaded in the last 30 seconds. It runs only after the page's own reads settle and the browser is idle, and only while the tab is visible. - A resting hover on a never-opened task now sends one bootstrap instead of about six reads. The server work per task is about the same; the request count is lower. - If a bootstrap fails, each page read falls back to its own request. The fallback is slower than before for that one open (the reads start when the page mounts, not at the press). - The header can paint a few tens of milliseconds later in the same frame as the content when everything is cached. - An answer that arrives after a sign-out or account change is dropped. An answer for another company is ignored. ## Model Used - Claude Opus 5.5 (`claude-opus-5-5`), Anthropic, used through Claude Code with tool use (shell, file edits, Playwright runs). ## 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 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) --------- Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Issue-detail performance baseline
Run the repeatable baseline from the repository root:
pnpm exec playwright test --config tests/perf/issue-detail/playwright.config.ts
The rig starts an isolated seeded Paperclip instance, runs five samples for each scenario/profile, and writes median-ready raw data plus a Markdown table to test-results/issue-detail-perf/.
Scenarios:
- S1 warm in-app navigation: loads the Issues list, clears the waterfall, and clicks the seeded issue.
- S2 cold open: creates a fresh browser context and deep-links to the seeded issue.
Profiles:
- Unthrottled.
- Fast 4G network with 4x CPU slowdown.
Override the sample count (minimum five) or port when needed:
PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_RUNS=7 PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_PORT=3210 pnpm exec playwright test --config tests/perf/issue-detail/playwright.config.ts
S1 clicks as soon as the list row is visible. Set
PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_LIST_DWELL_MS=1500 to wait on the list first, as a
person does. Task lists preload the chat of their top rows after the list's
own reads settle, so S1 with a dwell measures a preloaded open and S1 without
one measures an open that usually has to read the task.
Outputs include baseline.md, baseline.json, and a Chrome trace for the first run of each scenario/profile. Open *.trace.json in Chrome DevTools Performance to inspect the issue-detail:* user-timing marks.
Set PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_PROFILE=1 to capture actual Chrome CPU samples and
conversation-readiness transitions in one diagnostic sample per scenario/profile.
Import the resulting *.cpuprofile in DevTools and inspect *.readiness.json for
the task, comments, metadata, activity, runs, runtime, plan and transcript gates.
Each gate records changes with detail.ready; use its last transition before
content paint when a gate becomes pending after mount. These diagnostic runs
include profiler overhead. Run without the flag for before/after latency claims.
Readiness marks stay in the local browser and contain only fixed gate names and
booleans; the harness enables them before navigation.
For bundle comparisons, build the UI and serve the production assets from an
isolated local instance with PAPERCLIP_UI_DEV_MIDDLEWARE=false. The default
managed server above uses development middleware, which does not reproduce
production chunk loading. Keep the server, database, browser profile and sample
count the same for both builds, and avoid concurrent builds or test suites while
measuring latency.
Copy the first run's output outside test-results/issue-detail-perf, then reuse
its persisted task with PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_SEED_FILE=/path/to/before/baseline.json
and PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_BASE_URL pointing to that disposable instance. The
harness validates the task identity before measuring. Network spans in the trace
use recorded request start/end timestamps relative to task navigation; they
include completed requests observed during the sample, even after content paint.
Real-instance click harness
Local fixtures cannot reproduce staging's network round trips, server contention
or object-store latency. staging-click-harness.js measures the same journey on
any running instance, including staging, from the signed-in browser:
- Open an Issues list, for example
/<company>/issues?view=mine. - Paste the file into the DevTools console (or evaluate it through a browser automation tool).
- Run
await __taskOpenHarness.series(["ABC-1", "ABC-2", "ABC-3"]).
Each sample reports the time from the row click to a visible composer and to the
latest message in the viewport, the requests started before that point, the
requests that finished last before it (releasedBy), the slowest and repeated
requests, layout shifts, and any movement of the latest message after it first
appeared. serverMs comes from the paperclip_api Server-Timing entry that every
API response carries, so a long duration with a short serverMs points to the
network or browser queueing rather than the handler. A fetch that is still
running when the sample ends is listed with pending: true. Run samples
serially and record whether each task's data was already cached (a revisit) or
not.
The summary labels each sample (sample 1, ...) instead of the task reference.
It replaces query values and every path segment that contains a digit with a
placeholder. Other path segments can stay, so review the output before you
share it outside the instance.
Task layout stability
The normal browser CI suite also runs tests/e2e/task-loading-frame.spec.ts.
It seeds a smaller API-only task and checks desktop/mobile frame and composer
geometry, title typography, the initial reading position, Classic preference
loading and typography, mobile shell handoff, and a stalled font request. It does not require a separate database URL.
The rich 200-message fixture below remains an additional local stress journey.
loading-layout.spec.ts uses a retained synthetic task with a wrapping title,
200 saved messages, document and PR cards, a monitor, and a pending confirmation.
It records every animation frame during direct and list-based entry on desktop
and mobile, including delayed web fonts and workspace preferences. It rejects real headers shown before
the initial conversation is ready, loading-frame movement, different header
typography, composer displacement, and movement of the initial reading position.
The fixture requires the disposable PostgreSQL URL described below. Its agent
has interval and on-demand wakes disabled, including when the retained fixture
is reused. The suite does not start provider work.
Videos, screenshots, and frames.json are retained with each result.
compact-startup.spec.ts keeps a synthetic local reproduction with 24 messages,
a plan, three documents and three saved PR cards. It holds the enriched task
response, records each visible frame's card count and geometry, and rejects
cards inserted after the conversation becomes readable. It also checks document,
older-comment and unknown anchors without full comments/activity/run reads.
Run it with the same loopback-only URL override below. The fixture URL is saved
in test-results/compact-startup-fixture.json for manual inspection and reuse.
It also checks a delayed Coordinator preference with Classic enabled, index-based
Coordinator list navigation, and the responder identity through reassignment,
comment acknowledgement and legacy runtime discovery. The last case uses a
deterministic local process, records identity continuity on each frame, and saves
startup/running screenshots. It does not call a model provider.
Each send fixture uses a unique task title so repeated runs cannot reuse a
previous task and its cancelled run through ordinary task deduplication.
layout-stability.spec.ts exercises the real task route, including Inbox
navigation, with 160 Markdown comments and a resolved interaction. It delays
initial comments, tests failures and retry, tracks a reading anchor across
media growth, composer resizing, properties toggles, older-page loading and
Back navigation, and covers mobile reduced motion and explicit comment links.
The eight scenarios also exercise same-task hash navigation without remounting
on desktop and mobile, and stalled native/log reads that expose Retry after
the 15-second request deadline.
plan-startup.spec.ts opens tasks directly and from the task list, with and
without a saved plan, while holding separate plan reads. The core projection
must reveal the saved conversation and plan before those reads finish. Separate
plan reads are recorded as diagnostics. The hook tests cover fallback reads for
list-only snapshots and responses without a plan projection.
Videos and per-frame layout.json measurements are written under each test's
output directory. The two-pixel assertion measures a logical row's viewport
offset; total scroll offset legitimately changes when history is prepended.
Ordinary task opens defer the concealed history and composer until their initial data is ready. The skeleton and scroll/composer containers retain their geometry. Compact tasks reuse saved replies from completed runs. Their transcript reads start when the reader opens older history through More messages or More run output. Saved Plans from completed runs stay visible while their output is deferred or pending. Live runs, failures, yielded runs, explicit anchors, and runs without a saved reply still load their output. A transcript already shown during this visit stays mounted when the run completes. Comment-link navigation prepares content eagerly so the target can be positioned before reveal. Revealed content stays mounted during refresh. The draft scenario holds a background task read, checks the same editor remains mounted, reloads the saved draft, sends one reply, and independently checks its persisted comment.
To run against an existing disposable local test-drive instance:
PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:3102 \
pnpm exec playwright test --config tests/perf/issue-detail/playwright.config.ts layout-stability.spec.ts
The suite creates its own company and fixtures. The URL override accepts only loopback origins and rejects remote hosts. Use a disposable local instance, not a shared or production instance. Without the override, the harness starts its own isolated instance as before. Live provider walkthroughs additionally require a configured native Paperclip runner and Codex authentication; deterministic browser fixtures do not substitute for watching an actual provider run.
saved-reply-startup.spec.ts adds a PostgreSQL fixture with 200 long saved agent
replies, 200 completed native runs, and a Plan linked to the latest run. It holds
transcript requests, checks both task presentations on desktop and mobile, and measures
reply positions on each frame. Opening older history must start the transcript
reads and preserve the editor and draft. This case is skipped unless
PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_DATABASE_URL points to a disposable loopback PostgreSQL
database whose name ends in _test. Use the same database as the local server:
PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:3102 \
PAPERCLIP_ISSUE_PERF_DATABASE_URL=postgres://paperclip:paperclip@127.0.0.1:5432/task_loading_test \
pnpm exec playwright test --config tests/perf/issue-detail/playwright.config.ts saved-reply-startup.spec.ts
For the live walkthrough, first assign a disposable task to a native Paperclip
runner configured with the Codex provider. Its scratch project should contain
a small sum.mjs fixture. The script sends a paced job, scrolls up, disconnects
and reconnects, steers a follow-up, and records through completion:
PAPERCLIP_LAYOUT_LIVE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:3102/LAY/issues/LAY-8 \
node tests/perf/issue-detail/live-feed.walkthrough.mjs
Inspect test-results/task-layout/live-acceptance/ for the video, screenshots,
per-frame positions, layout shifts, browser timing counters, and reading-anchor
measurement. The live script rejects non-local URLs and uses real provider
capacity. Review the video as well as the assertions: layout-shift scores alone
do not capture programmatic scrolling or replacement flashes.
Long-running agent chats
The separate agent-chat performance rig covers recent-only startup and scrolling history with long-lived conversations. It is opt-in and does not run in this task-detail rig.