## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip orchestrates AI agents; each agent runs under an adapter
that spawns a model CLI as a child process.
> - The pi-local adapter (`packages/adapters/pi-local`) spawns `pi` and
inherits the child's shell environment — including `PATH`, which
determines what the child's bash tool can execute by name.
> - Paperclip skills ship executable helpers under `<skill>/bin/` (e.g.
`paperclip-get-issue`) and Reviewer/QA-style `AGENTS.md` files invoke
them by name via the agent's bash tool.
> - Pi-local builds its runtime env with `ensurePathInEnv({
...process.env, ...env })` only — it never adds the installed skills'
`bin/` dirs to PATH. The pi CLI's `--skill` arg loads each skill's
SKILL.md but does not augment PATH.
> - Consequence: every bash invocation of a skill helper fails with
`exit 127: command not found`. The agent then spends its heartbeat
guessing (re-reading SKILL.md, trying `find`, inventing command paths)
and either times out or gives up.
> - This PR prepends each injected skill's `bin/` directory to the child
PATH immediately before runtimeEnv is constructed.
> - The benefit: pi_local agents whose AGENTS.md uses any `paperclip-*`
skill helper can actually run those helpers.
## What Changed
- `packages/adapters/pi-local/src/server/execute.ts`: compute
`skillBinDirs` from the already-resolved `piSkillEntries`, dedupe
against the existing PATH, prepend them to whichever of `PATH` / `Path`
the merged env uses, then build `runtimeEnv`. No new helpers, no
adapter-utils changes.
## Verification
Manual repro before the fix:
1. Create a pi_local agent wired to a paperclip skill (e.g.
paperclip-control).
2. Wake the agent on an in_review issue with an AGENTS.md that starts
with `paperclip-get-issue "$PAPERCLIP_TASK_ID"`.
3. Session file: `{ "role": "toolResult", "isError": true, "content": [{
"text": "/bin/bash: paperclip-get-issue: command not found\n\nCommand
exited with code 127" }] }`.
After the fix: same wake; `paperclip-get-issue` resolves and returns the
issue JSON; agent proceeds.
Local commands:
```
pnpm --filter @paperclipai/adapter-pi-local typecheck # clean
pnpm --filter @paperclipai/adapter-pi-local build # clean
pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server exec vitest run \
src/__tests__/pi-local-execute.test.ts \
src/__tests__/pi-local-adapter-environment.test.ts \
src/__tests__/pi-local-skill-sync.test.ts
# 5/5 passing
```
No new tests: the existing `pi-local-skill-sync.test.ts` covers skill
symlink injection (upstream of the PATH step), and
`pi-local-execute.test.ts` covers the spawn path; this change only
augments env on the same spawn path.
## Risks
Low. Pure PATH augmentation on the child env. Edge cases:
- Zero skills installed → no PATH change (guarded by
`skillBinDirs.length > 0`).
- Duplicate bin dirs already on PATH → deduped; no pollution on re-runs.
- Windows `Path` casing → falls back correctly when merged env uses
`Path` instead of `PATH`.
- Skill dir without `bin/` subdir → joined path simply won't resolve;
harmless.
No behavioral change for pi_local agents that don't use skill-provided
commands.
## Model Used
- Claude, `claude-opus-4-7` (1M context), extended thinking enabled,
tool use enabled. Walked pi-local/cursor-local/claude-local and
adapter-utils to isolate the gap, wrote the inlined fix, and ran
typecheck/build/test locally.
## Checklist
- [x] Thinking path from project context to this change
- [x] Model used specified
- [x] Checked ROADMAP.md — no overlap
- [x] Tests run locally, passing
- [x] Tests added — new case in
`server/src/__tests__/pi-local-execute.test.ts`; verified it fails when
the fix is reverted
- [ ] UI screenshots — N/A (backend adapter change)
- [x] Docs updated — N/A (internal adapter, no user-facing docs)
- [x] Risks documented
- [x] Will address reviewer comments before merge
## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip orchestrates AI agents for zero-human companies.
> - Heartbeat runs are the control-plane record of each agent execution
window.
> - Long-running local agents can exhaust context or stop while still
holding useful next-step state.
> - Operators need that stop reason, next action, and continuation path
to be durable and visible.
> - This pull request adds run liveness metadata, continuation
summaries, and UI surfaces for issue run ledgers.
> - The benefit is that interrupted or long-running work can resume with
clearer context instead of losing the agent's last useful handoff.
## What Changed
- Added heartbeat-run liveness fields, continuation attempt tracking,
and an idempotent `0058` migration.
- Added server services and tests for run liveness, continuation
summaries, stop metadata, and activity backfill.
- Wired local and HTTP adapters to surface continuation/liveness context
through shared adapter utilities.
- Added shared constants, validators, and heartbeat types for liveness
continuation state.
- Added issue-detail UI surfaces for continuation handoffs and the run
ledger, with component tests.
- Updated agent runtime docs, heartbeat protocol docs, prompt guidance,
onboarding assets, and skills instructions to explain continuation
behavior.
- Addressed Greptile feedback by scoping document evidence by run,
excluding system continuation-summary documents from liveness evidence,
importing shared liveness types, surfacing hidden ledger run counts,
documenting bounded retry behavior, and moving run-ledger liveness
backfill off the request path.
## Verification
- `pnpm exec vitest run packages/adapter-utils/src/server-utils.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/run-continuations.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/run-liveness.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/activity-service.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/documents-service.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/issue-continuation-summary.test.ts
server/src/services/heartbeat-stop-metadata.test.ts
ui/src/components/IssueRunLedger.test.tsx
ui/src/components/IssueContinuationHandoff.test.tsx
ui/src/components/IssueDocumentsSection.test.tsx`
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/db build`
- `pnpm exec vitest run server/src/__tests__/activity-service.test.ts
ui/src/components/IssueRunLedger.test.tsx`
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/ui typecheck`
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/server typecheck`
- `pnpm exec vitest run server/src/__tests__/activity-service.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/run-continuations.test.ts
ui/src/components/IssueRunLedger.test.tsx`
- `pnpm exec vitest run
server/src/__tests__/heartbeat-process-recovery.test.ts -t "treats a
plan document update"`
- `pnpm exec vitest run server/src/__tests__/activity-service.test.ts
server/src/__tests__/heartbeat-process-recovery.test.ts -t "activity
service|treats a plan document update"`
- Remote PR checks on head `e53b1a1d`: `verify`, `e2e`, `policy`, and
Snyk all passed.
- Confirmed `public-gh/master` is an ancestor of this branch after
fetching `public-gh master`.
- Confirmed `pnpm-lock.yaml` is not included in the branch diff.
- Confirmed migration `0058_wealthy_starbolt.sql` is ordered after
`0057` and uses `IF NOT EXISTS` guards for repeat application.
- Greptile inline review threads are resolved.
## Risks
- Medium risk: this touches heartbeat execution, liveness recovery,
activity rendering, issue routes, shared contracts, docs, and UI.
- Migration risk is mitigated by additive columns/indexes and idempotent
guards.
- Run-ledger liveness backfill is now asynchronous, so the first ledger
response can briefly show historical missing liveness until the
background backfill completes.
- UI screenshot coverage is not included in this packaging pass;
validation is currently through focused component tests.
> For core feature work, check [`ROADMAP.md`](ROADMAP.md) first and
discuss it in `#dev` before opening the PR. Feature PRs that overlap
with planned core work may need to be redirected — check the roadmap
first. See `CONTRIBUTING.md`.
## Model Used
- OpenAI Codex, GPT-5.4, local tool-use coding agent with terminal, git,
GitHub connector, GitHub CLI, and Paperclip API access.
## 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 run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] If this change affects the UI, I have included before/after
screenshots
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
Screenshot note: no before/after screenshots were captured in this PR
packaging pass; the UI changes are covered by focused component tests
listed above.
---------
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
## Thinking Path
Paperclip orchestrates AI agent runs and reports their success or
failure. The Pi adapter spawns a local Pi process and interprets its
JSONL output to determine the run outcome. When Pi hits a quota limit
(429 RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED), it retries internally and emits an
`auto_retry_end` event with `success: false` — but still exits with code
0. The current adapter trusts the exit code, so Paperclip marks the run
as succeeded even though it produced no useful work. This PR teaches the
parser to detect quota exhaustion and synthesize a failure.
Closes#2234
## Changes
- Parse `auto_retry_end` events with `success: false` into
`result.errors`
- Parse standalone `error` events into `result.errors`
- Synthesize exit code 1 when Pi exits 0 but parsed errors exist
- Use the parsed error as `errorMessage` so the failure reason is
visible in the UI
## Verification
```bash
pnpm vitest run pi-local-execute
pnpm vitest run --reporter=verbose 2>&1 | grep pi-local
```
- `parse.test.ts`: covers failed retry, successful retry (no error),
standalone error events, and empty error messages
- `pi-local-execute.test.ts`: end-to-end test with a fake Pi binary that
emits `auto_retry_end` + exits 0, asserts the run is marked failed
## Risks
- **Low**: Only affects runs where Pi exits 0 with a parsed error — no
change to normal successful or already-failing runs
- If Pi emits `auto_retry_end { success: false }` but the run actually
produced valid output, this would incorrectly mark it as failed. This
seems unlikely given the semantics of the event.
## Model Used
- Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic) — assisted with test additions and PR
template
## Checklist
- [x] Thinking path documented
- [x] Model specified
- [x] Tests pass locally
- [x] Test coverage for new parse branches (success path, error events,
empty messages)
- [x] No UI changes
- [x] Risk analysis included
---------
Co-authored-by: Dawid Piaskowski <dawid@MacBook-Pro.local>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Loading an instructions file is normal, expected behavior — not worth
logging to stdout/stderr on every run. Warning logs for failed reads
are preserved.
Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
Drop "api" from the trigger kind dropdown and disable the "webhook"
option with a "COMING SOON" label until it's ready.
Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
Persist child-process metadata for local adapter runs, keep detached runs alive when their pid still exists, queue a single automatic retry when the pid is confirmed dead, and clear detached warnings when the original run reports activity again.
Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
- Hoist PI_AGENT_SKILLS_DIR to module-level constant to avoid duplicate path computation
- Always create ~/.pi/agent/skills directory before early return in ensurePiSkillsInjected, so the path is valid when --skill flag is passed
- Add --skill ~/.pi/agent/skills to pi CLI invocation so it loads the paperclip skill
- Enable pi_local in the AgentConfigForm adapter type dropdown (was showing as coming soon)
The $AGENT_HOME environment variable was referenced by skills (e.g.
para-memory-files) but never actually set, causing runtime errors like
"/HEARTBEAT.md: No such file or directory" when agents tried to resolve
paths relative to their home directory.
Add agentHome to the paperclipWorkspace context in the heartbeat service
and propagate it as the AGENT_HOME env var in all local adapters.
Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
Major improvements to the Pi local adapter:
Bug Fixes (Greptile-identified):
- Fix string interpolation in models.ts error message (was showing literal ${detail})
- Fix tool matching in parse.ts to use toolCallId instead of toolName for correct
multi-call handling and result assignment
- Fix dead code in execute.ts by tracking instructionsReadFailed flag
Feature Improvements:
- Switch from print mode (-p) to RPC mode (--mode rpc) to prevent agent from
exiting prematurely and ensure proper lifecycle completion
- Add stdin command sending via JSON-RPC format for prompt delivery
- Add line buffering in execute.ts to handle partial JSON chunks correctly
- Filter RPC protocol messages (response, extension_ui_request, etc.) from transcript
Cost Tracking:
- Extract cost and usage data from turn_end assistant messages
- Support both Pi format (input/output/cacheRead/cost.total) and generic format
- Add tests for cost extraction and accumulation across multiple turns
All tests pass (12/12), typecheck clean, server builds successfully.
