Files
PaperClipAI/server
DottaandClaude Opus 5.5 ff53eb84db feat(recovery): add OwnerStamp and proveOwnerGone (gone | alive | unprovable) (#19853)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Restart recovery must decide when a dead process's in-progress
record may be released
> - About 31 sites decide "owner gone" today, with different rules for
EPERM, PID reuse and other hosts (Phase 0 inventory, finding 1)
> - The durable ownership plan (section A) asks for one owner stamp and
one prover that returns `gone | alive | unprovable`
> - This pull request adds that stamp and prover. Nothing calls it yet;
the next PR uses it in a report-only reconciler
> - The benefit is one tested definition of "owner gone" that later
phases move each record kind onto

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

Refs #19831 (plan, section A and Phase 1). Refs #19846 (Phase 0
inventory). Refs #19848 (Track 1: 1 s start-time gap and EPERM as
alive). Stacked on #19851.

**Problem**
Each subsystem proves "owner gone" with its own rules. Some accept a
dead PID on another host as proof. None returns "unprovable".

**Expected behavior**
One prover with one set of rules. A different host and an expired fence
alone are never proof. "Unprovable" never releases a record.

**Impact**
This is the primitive that Phase 1's report-only reconciler and Phase
2's migrations use.

## What Changed

- New `server/src/services/owner-proof.ts`:
- `OwnerStamp`: a local stamp (`host`, `processSpace`, `bootId`, `pid`,
`processStartedAt`, `processGroupId`, `generation`, `scope`) or a remote
stamp (`fenceToken`, `generation`, `scope`, `provider`).
- `proveOwnerGone(stamp, …)` returns `{ verdict: "gone" | "alive" |
"unprovable", reason }`.
- Local rules: this boot is alive; the stamp must name this host and PID
space (host, kernel boot, PID namespace); the PID must be dead or reused
(start-time gap of at least 1 s, via Track 1's
`processStartsDefinitelyDiffer`); EPERM is alive; the process group must
be empty or led by a newer process.
- Remote rules: a superseded fence token or generation is gone; a
provider stop proof is gone; a held fence is alive; a matching fence
that only expired is unprovable. Process liveness is never consulted for
a remote owner.
- `currentLocalOwnerStamp()` reads only cached identity, so writing a
stamp adds no OS call to the turn path.
- `controller-process-identity.ts` exports `observedProcessStartedAt`
and `UNKNOWN_PROCESS_SPACE` for the prover.
- New `owner-proof.test.ts`: the proof matrix (EPERM, ESRCH, PID reuse
inside and at 1 s, unreadable start time, a different host, a different
or unknown PID space, process groups, a held, superseded, expired or
provider-proved remote fence).

## Verification

- `npx vitest run src/services/owner-proof.test.ts` (in `server/`): 20
tests pass.
- `npx tsc --noEmit -p server`: no errors.

## Risks

- Low risk. No caller uses the prover yet, so no behavior changes.
- Previous-release story (`rules/upgrade-safe-run-state.mdc`): no
persisted shape changes. Stamps from older rows that lack fields return
`unprovable` (`missing_identity`), which never releases a record.
- Track 1 is still fixing proofs in place. The prover reuses Track 1's
helpers (`processExists`, `processStartsDefinitelyDiffer`), so a later
Track 1 rule change applies here too.

## Model Used

- Claude Opus 5.5 (`claude-opus-5-5`), Anthropic, in Claude Code with
tool use and code execution.

## 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>
2026-11-07 13:04:55 -06:00
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