Files
PaperClipAI/packages/paperclip-runner/protocol
DottaandClaude Opus 5.5 86a9d3ec6c feat(task-chat): tool rows that say what ran and how it went (#19265)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work.
> - The task chat shows each tool call an agent makes as a short
activity row.
> - Real Claude runs showed Bash rows named "Terminal" with no command
and Write rows stuck at "Preparing file…". No row showed an exit code or
a duration, and a tool refused by policy looked like any other failure.
> - Codex already reported exit codes, durations and parsed command
actions, but the UI dropped them, and every Codex read looked like a
shell command.
> - This pull request gives both harnesses one row grammar: a verb icon,
the real subject, an exit chip and a duration.
> - The benefit is that a reviewer can see what ran and how it went
without opening each row.

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

Refs #19259 (this branch includes its `_meta` passthrough commit; merge
#19259 first or together).

**Problem or motivation**
Claude tool rows hide what ran: the runner keeps the first ACP title
("Terminal", "Preparing file…") and drops the refined one. `exitCode`
and `durationMs` are null on every Claude tool event. The UI ignores
`tool.execution.progressed`, `exitCode` and `durationMs` for every
harness.

**Proposed solution**
Read real tool facts in the runner (Claude `_meta.claudeCode`, raw input
and result text; Codex `commandActions`), carry them in the canonical
tool event, and render one row grammar in the task chat.

**Alternatives considered**
Enable Claude's `terminal_output` client capability to get
`terminal_exit`. That changes how command output arrives, and Claude's
own exit code is derived from the error flag anyway, so this PR reads
the error flag and the "Exit code N" text instead.

## What Changed

- **Runner (TS):** `createAcpxToolEventNormalizer` keeps the latest
concrete title instead of the first placeholder. It merges tool facts
across the lifecycle and measures the duration. New
`acpxToolDetailFromRuntimeEvent` reads the native tool name, the command
or pattern, the description, the exit code and a "Permission denied"
reason. Exit 0 is inferred only for Claude `Bash`, where a non-zero exit
is always a failed result.
- **ACPX sidecar:** reads the facts before `rawInput` is dropped and
sends a bounded `toolDetail`. A file path argument becomes an attested
workspace-relative location.
- **runner-core (Rust):** validates `toolDetail`.
`normalize_acpx_tool_call` uses the native name, exit code, duration,
subject, description and blocked reason. Codex `commandExecution` gets
its operation, a single-file target and a subject from `commandActions`.
The shell wrapper is removed, and a single search reads as `"TODO" in
src`.
- **Protocol:** `toolExecution` gains the optional fields `subject`,
`description` and `blockedReason`. Generated validators and the manifest
are regenerated.
- **UI:**
- `nativeRunEventsToTranscript` handles `tool.execution.progressed` and
passes a canonical `detail` on `tool_call` entries.
- The task-chat row shows `$ command`, a path or a pattern, a red `exit
N` chip (exit 0 only for commands) and a duration (0 is hidden).
  - Three or more consecutive reads fold into "Read N files a, b, c +1".
  - A refused tool shows "Blocked" with its reason.
- **Storybook:** `Tasks/Tool rows` compares the data recorded today with
the new runner data for Claude and Codex.

## Verification

- `cd packages/paperclip-runner && npx vitest run
src/provider-events.test.ts src/cli src/drivers/acpx` (1,957 pass)
- `cd packages/paperclip-runner/runner && cargo test -p
paperclip-runner-core --lib provider_events`
- `cd ui && npx vitest run src/components/transcript
src/components/task-chat` (973 pass)
- `pnpm check:token-gates`, `pnpm --filter paperclip-runner build`
(includes the protocol coverage and replay-golden checks)
- Live runs on a local instance with real harnesses:
- Codex (gpt-5.6-sol): the rows read `$ node --test` with `exit 1` and
then `exit 0`, plus real durations. A three-file `sed` shows as one
command and does not claim a single file.
- Claude (claude-sonnet-5-5 through ACPX): the rows show `Bash` and
`Edit` instead of "Terminal" and "Preparing file…". Commands show their
real text, `exit 0` and durations, and edits show `Edited temp.js`.
- Not seen live: a real Claude `Write`, a folded read run and a Claude
policy denial. Unit and Rust tests cover them.

## Risks

- The tool-execution schema gains only optional fields, so older events
stay valid. Older runs keep rendering with what they recorded.
- Commands now cross the sidecar boundary as `subject` (bounded to 4,000
characters). Codex already recorded commands as the tool name, and
server redaction still applies.
- The tool lifecycle now keeps the latest concrete title. A provider
that retitles a call to something less useful would show the newer
title.

## Model Used

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

## 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
- [ ] 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>
2026-11-05 13:57:04 -06:00
..

PRP v1/v2 Contract

The JSON Schema files in schemas/ are the language-neutral source of truth for Paperclip Runner Protocol versions 1 and 2. The fixtures in fixtures/ define accepted and rejected compatibility cases.

Compatibility

  • protocolVersion, fixtureVersion, and event.schemaVersion are required.
  • A consumer fails closed when a required version or schema discriminator is not supported.
  • A v1 envelope can contain an unknown optional property when its schema marks that object as extensible.
  • A consumer ignores an unknown optional property until a later contract gives it meaning.
  • A required field, enum value, or typed structured-input field is not optional.
  • Question and answer identifiers are stable across the provider boundary.
  • Peers negotiate the highest mutually supported protocol version. Existing v1 runners remain compatible but cannot receive v2-only session-goal commands.

The unknown-optional-fields.json fixture must be accepted. The unsupported-required-version.json fixture must be rejected.

Session goals (v2)

PRP v2 adds a provider-neutral durable session-goal lifecycle. Every v2 capability snapshot includes sessionGoals, even when its availability is unsupported or policy_disabled. Paperclip sends controls only when the negotiated capability advertises the corresponding action.

Commands:

  • session.goal.get
  • session.goal.set for objective, status, and optional token budget changes
  • session.goal.clear

Events:

  • session.capabilities.updated
  • session.goal.snapshot
  • session.goal.updated
  • session.goal.cleared

Goal state is separate from Paperclip's company/business goal hierarchy. The snapshot distinguishes the durable status from workingNow, because an active goal can be idle between autonomous turns. A runner emits the full capability and authoritative snapshot after every session open or resume. Missing v1 capability is unsupported; clients do not infer support from an adapter name.

Harness credential updates

auth.credentials.updated is a P0 runner event available in the v1, v2, and v3 event schemas. Its payload uses paperclip.auth.credentials.updated.v1 and contains only provider, bindingId, revision, and detection. No tokens, account identifiers, credential paths, or credential fingerprints are permitted.

An updated consumer opts in with observeCredentials: true in run.prepare, before session.open. The bundled runner transport opts in for fresh sessions; set its observeCredentials option to false to disable observation for a fresh session. Older hosts that omit the field receive no new event. Consumers must update their schemas before opting in: an event-enum addition is not an unknown optional property. Existing runner binaries ignore the optional flag and do not provide observation; absence of an event does not establish support.

The current Unix runner observes native Codex's managed CODEX_HOME/auth.json and the Codex/Grok ACPX session homes. It uses a non-recursive directory watch plus a one-second polling fallback, so atomic file replacement is handled. Grok's initial inline subscription credential is the baseline, allowing a refresh during launcher startup to be detected. A first valid credential file without a prior baseline establishes the baseline without claiming a refresh. Account identity changes also emit updates, even when token values stay the same, and establish the baseline for later refreshes on the new account. Hosts must evaluate the current credential through their private credential channel and account checks; the event does not authorize an account switch. Metadata-only changes, partial writes, and deletion do not emit updates. Unsupported harnesses and refreshes retained only in memory need their own observer or native-hook integration; adding this event does not make them observable.

bindingId: "harness-auth" identifies the selected harness authentication within the envelope's normalized session. Revisions increase for that binding and survive runner restarts and warm run attachments. The baseline fingerprint and pending event are persisted together in a private runner state file. Source retries retain the same event identity until the durable PRP outbox accepts it. Hosts should commit an idempotent reaction or durable work item through onCommittedEvent before returning and advancing the cumulative ACK. The bundled transport exposes onCredentialsUpdated(event) for this commit. It awaits the callback before ACK, including during warm idle, attachment, and provider cleanup. Callback failures leave delivery unacknowledged for retry; callbacks must therefore deduplicate by the original source event identity. When configured, credential updates bypass the turn notification queue. Paperclip commits them directly to the run log in a separate credential source namespace, preserving the original PRP envelope and avoiding collisions with the driver's normalized event sequence. A turn-only notification consumer cannot reliably handle idle or cleanup updates; use this callback instead.

detection: "credential_store" reports an observed credential change, not proof that an OAuth refresh succeeded. Multiple changes between observations can be coalesced; this is not an audit of every refresh exchange. The schema also allows native_hook for integrations with an explicit signal. Observation continues during warm idle and checks at turn terminal and close boundaries, including Grok's private refresh handoff after live-store cleanup. Retained runner observations enter the durable outbox before a suspend or shutdown command completes, without draining the provider backlog. A final check after provider cleanup also enters the outbox and waits for the host ACK. The runner retains its terminal recovery fence if that delivery fails.

The event authorizes no credential access or write on its own. A host that needs rotated token values must use a separately authorized handoff with its existing account-identity and freshness safeguards. The default Paperclip credential copy-back behavior remains in place.

Scope

The first provider descriptor and adapter fixture cover Codex only. The schemas for provider-neutral events and semantic receipts do not enable those actions. Discovery and authorization are separate contracts.

The conformance manifest records every source file and its SHA-256 digest. Run pnpm generate:protocol-manifest from this package after a source change. CI runs the same generator with --check to reject drift. This check also compiles the JSON Schemas and validates every replay, question, and cross-language conformance fixture against its declared schema.

The files in fixtures/replay/golden/ are deterministic reducer oracles. Each accepted replay fixture has a complete session snapshot and a compact parity summary. pnpm generate:replay-goldens updates them after an intentional reducer change; package build and CI fail when they drift.

The files in fixtures/local-runner/scripts/ drive the package-local fake harness. They cover successful, failed, interrupted, interactive, duplicate terminal, process-cleanup, and oversized-frame behavior without starting a production adapter.

runtime.activity.recorded is a P1 Runner event in v1, v2 and v3 with exactly { namespace, activityKey }. Both opaque identifiers contain 1–160 Unicode code points and exclude C0 controls and DEL. namespace groups a producer's activity types; activityKey names an activity within that group. Consumers use the pair to select a response to activity in the run. The authenticated outer envelope provides run and session identity, source sequence and emission time. Core resolves the run's company, task and agent through its existing authorized run binding; callers cannot supply those identities in the payload. Recording activity does not independently verify the reported action or grant access to any resource. The event uses the ordinary durable outbox, acknowledgement and replay contract.

Local clients capture an opaque context with paperclip-runnerd notification-context before an operation and invoke record-activity CONTEXT NAMESPACE ACTIVITY_KEY after success. Runner publishes its matching absolute executable as host-owned PAPERCLIP_RUNTIME_NOTIFICATION_HELPER and the stable endpoint descriptor path as PAPERCLIP_RUNTIME_NOTIFICATION_CONTEXT. Configured task environment cannot override either value. Context is invalidated on warm attachment and process recovery, so a caller cannot attribute a later completion to a different run.