paperclip/doc/spec/invite-flow.md

Invite Flow State Map

Status: Current implementation map Date: 2026-04-13

This document maps the current invite creation and acceptance states implemented in:

• ui/src/pages/CompanyInvites.tsx
• ui/src/components/NewAgentDialog.tsx
• ui/src/pages/InviteLanding.tsx
• server/src/routes/access.ts
• server/src/lib/join-request-dedupe.ts

State Legend

• Invite state: active, revoked, accepted, expired
• Join request status: pending_approval, approved, rejected
• Claim secret state for agent joins: available, consumed, expired
• Invite type: company_join or bootstrap_ceo
• Join type: human, agent, or both

Entity Lifecycle

flowchart TD
  Board[Board user on invite or add-agent screen]
  HumanInvite[Create human company invite]
  AgentInvite[Generate agent onboarding prompt]
  Active[Invite state: active]
  Revoked[Invite state: revoked]
  Expired[Invite state: expired]
  Accepted[Invite state: accepted]
  BootstrapDone[Bootstrap accepted<br/>no join request]
  HumanReuse{Matching human join request<br/>already exists for same user/email?}
  HumanPending[Join request<br/>pending_approval]
  HumanApproved[Join request<br/>approved]
  HumanRejected[Join request<br/>rejected]
  AgentPending[Agent join request<br/>pending_approval<br/>+ optional claim secret]
  AgentApproved[Agent join request<br/>approved]
  AgentRejected[Agent join request<br/>rejected]
  ClaimAvailable[Claim secret available]
  ClaimConsumed[Claim secret consumed]
  ClaimExpired[Claim secret expired]
  OpenClawReplay[Special replay path:<br/>accepted invite can be POSTed again<br/>for openclaw_gateway only]

  Board --> HumanInvite --> Active
  Board --> AgentInvite --> Active
  Active --> Revoked: revoke
  Active --> Expired: expiresAt passes

  Active --> BootstrapDone: bootstrap_ceo accept
  BootstrapDone --> Accepted

  Active --> HumanReuse: human accept
  HumanReuse --> HumanPending: reuse existing pending request
  HumanReuse --> HumanApproved: reuse existing approved request
  HumanReuse --> HumanPending: no reusable request<br/>create new request
  HumanPending --> HumanApproved: board approves
  HumanPending --> HumanRejected: board rejects
  HumanPending --> Accepted
  HumanApproved --> Accepted

  Active --> AgentPending: agent accept
  AgentPending --> Accepted
  AgentPending --> AgentApproved: board approves
  AgentPending --> AgentRejected: board rejects
  AgentApproved --> ClaimAvailable: createdAgentId + claimSecretHash
  ClaimAvailable --> ClaimConsumed: POST claim-api-key succeeds
  ClaimAvailable --> ClaimExpired: secret expires

  Accepted --> OpenClawReplay
  OpenClawReplay --> AgentPending
  OpenClawReplay --> AgentApproved

Board-Side Screen States

stateDiagram-v2
  [*] --> CompanySelection

  CompanySelection --> NoCompany: no company selected
  CompanySelection --> LoadingHistory: selectedCompanyId present
  LoadingHistory --> HistoryError: listInvites failed
  LoadingHistory --> Ready: listInvites succeeded

  state Ready {
    [*] --> EmptyHistory
    EmptyHistory --> PopulatedHistory: invites exist
    PopulatedHistory --> LoadingMore: View more
    LoadingMore --> PopulatedHistory: next page loaded

    PopulatedHistory --> RevokePending: Revoke active invite
    RevokePending --> PopulatedHistory: revoke succeeded
    RevokePending --> PopulatedHistory: revoke failed

    EmptyHistory --> CreatePending: Create invite
    PopulatedHistory --> CreatePending: Create invite
    CreatePending --> LatestInviteVisible: create succeeded
    CreatePending --> Ready: create failed
    LatestInviteVisible --> CopiedToast: clipboard copy succeeded
    LatestInviteVisible --> Ready: navigate away or refresh
  }

  CompanySelection --> AgentPromptReady: Add-agent modal prompt generator
  AgentPromptReady --> AgentPromptPending: Generate agent onboarding prompt
  AgentPromptPending --> AgentSnippetVisible: prompt generated
  AgentPromptPending --> AgentPromptReady: generation failed

Invite Landing Screen States

stateDiagram-v2
  [*] --> TokenGate

  TokenGate --> InvalidToken: token missing
  TokenGate --> Loading: token present
  Loading --> InviteUnavailable: invite fetch failed or invite not returned
  Loading --> CheckingAccess: signed-in session and invite.companyId
  Loading --> InviteResolved: invite loaded without membership check
  Loading --> AcceptedInviteSummary: invite already consumed<br/>but linked join request still exists

  CheckingAccess --> RedirectToBoard: current user already belongs to company
  CheckingAccess --> InviteResolved: membership check finished and no join-request summary state is active
  CheckingAccess --> AcceptedInviteSummary: membership check finished and invite has joinRequestStatus

  state InviteResolved {
    [*] --> Branch
    Branch --> AgentForm: company_join + allowedJoinTypes=agent
    Branch --> InlineAuth: authenticated mode + no session + join is not agent-only
    Branch --> AcceptReady: bootstrap invite or human-ready session/local_trusted

    InlineAuth --> InlineAuth: toggle sign-up/sign-in
    InlineAuth --> InlineAuth: auth validation or auth error message
    InlineAuth --> RedirectToBoard: auth succeeded and company membership already exists
    InlineAuth --> AcceptPending: auth succeeded and invite still needs acceptance

    AgentForm --> AcceptPending: submit request
    AgentForm --> AgentForm: validation or accept error

    AcceptReady --> AcceptPending: Accept invite
    AcceptReady --> AcceptReady: accept error
  }

  AcceptPending --> BootstrapComplete: bootstrapAccepted=true
  AcceptPending --> RedirectToBoard: join status=approved
  AcceptPending --> PendingApprovalResult: join status=pending_approval
  AcceptPending --> RejectedResult: join status=rejected

  state AcceptedInviteSummary {
    [*] --> SummaryBranch
    SummaryBranch --> PendingApprovalReload: joinRequestStatus=pending_approval
    SummaryBranch --> OpeningCompany: joinRequestStatus=approved<br/>and human invite user is now a member
    SummaryBranch --> RejectedReload: joinRequestStatus=rejected
    SummaryBranch --> ConsumedReload: approved agent invite or other consumed state
  }

  PendingApprovalResult --> PendingApprovalReload: reload after submit
  RejectedResult --> RejectedReload: reload after board rejects
  RedirectToBoard --> OpeningCompany: brief pre-navigation render when approved membership is detected
  OpeningCompany --> RedirectToBoard: navigate to board

Sequence Diagrams

Human Invite Creation And First Acceptance

sequenceDiagram
  autonumber
  actor Board as Board user
  participant Settings as Company Invites UI
  participant API as Access routes
  participant Invites as invites table
  actor Invitee as Invite recipient
  participant Landing as Invite landing UI
  participant Auth as Auth session
  participant Join as join_requests table

  Board->>Settings: Choose role and click Create invite
  Settings->>API: POST /api/companies/:companyId/invites
  API->>Invites: Insert active invite
  API-->>Settings: inviteUrl + metadata

  Invitee->>Landing: Open invite URL
  Landing->>API: GET /api/invites/:token
  API->>Invites: Load active invite
  API-->>Landing: Invite summary

  alt Authenticated mode and no session
    Landing->>Auth: Sign up or sign in
    Auth-->>Landing: Session established
  end

  Landing->>API: POST /api/invites/:token/accept (requestType=human)
  API->>Join: Look for reusable human join request
  alt Reusable pending or approved request exists
    API->>Invites: Mark invite accepted
    API-->>Landing: Existing join request status
  else No reusable request exists
    API->>Invites: Mark invite accepted
    API->>Join: Insert pending_approval join request
    API-->>Landing: New pending_approval join request
  end

Human Approval And Reload Path

sequenceDiagram
  autonumber
  actor Invitee as Invite recipient
  participant Landing as Invite landing UI
  participant API as Access routes
  participant Join as join_requests table
  actor Approver as Company admin
  participant Queue as Access queue UI
  participant Membership as company_memberships + grants

  Invitee->>Landing: Reload consumed invite URL
  Landing->>API: GET /api/invites/:token
  API->>Join: Load join request by inviteId
  API-->>Landing: joinRequestStatus + joinRequestType

  alt joinRequestStatus = pending_approval
    Landing-->>Invitee: Show waiting-for-approval panel
    Approver->>Queue: Review request in Company Settings -> Access
    Queue->>API: POST /companies/:companyId/join-requests/:requestId/approve
    API->>Membership: Ensure membership and grants
    API->>Join: Mark join request approved
    Invitee->>Landing: Refresh after approval
    Landing->>API: GET /api/invites/:token
    API->>Join: Reload approved join request
    API-->>Landing: approved status
    Landing-->>Invitee: Opening company and redirect
  else joinRequestStatus = rejected
    Landing-->>Invitee: Show rejected error panel
  else joinRequestStatus = approved but membership missing
    Landing-->>Invitee: Fall through to consumed/unavailable state
  end

Agent Invite Approval, Claim, And Replay

sequenceDiagram
  autonumber
  actor Board as Board user
  participant AddAgent as Add agent modal
  participant API as Access routes
  participant Invites as invites table
  actor Gateway as External agent
  participant Join as join_requests table
  actor Approver as Company admin
  participant Agents as agents table
  participant Keys as agent_api_keys table

  Board->>AddAgent: Generate agent onboarding prompt
  AddAgent->>API: POST /api/companies/:companyId/invites (allowedJoinTypes=agent)
  API->>Invites: Insert active agent invite
  API-->>AddAgent: Prompt text + invite token

  Gateway->>API: POST /api/invites/:token/accept (agent, adapter-specific payload)
  API->>Invites: Mark invite accepted
  API->>Join: Insert pending_approval join request + claimSecretHash
  API-->>Gateway: requestId + claimSecret + claimApiKeyPath

  Approver->>API: POST /companies/:companyId/join-requests/:requestId/approve
  API->>Agents: Create agent + membership + grants
  API->>Join: Mark request approved and store createdAgentId

  Gateway->>API: POST /api/join-requests/:requestId/claim-api-key (claimSecret)
  API->>Keys: Create initial API key
  API->>Join: Mark claim secret consumed
  API-->>Gateway: Plaintext Paperclip API key

  opt Replay accepted invite for updated gateway defaults
    Gateway->>API: POST /api/invites/:token/accept again
    API->>Join: Reuse existing approved or pending request
    API->>Agents: Update approved agent adapter config when applicable
    API-->>Gateway: Updated join request payload
  end

Notes

• GET /api/invites/:token treats revoked and expired invites as unavailable. Accepted invites remain resolvable when they already have a linked join request, and the summary now includes joinRequestStatus plus joinRequestType.
• Human acceptance consumes the invite immediately and then either creates a new join request or reuses an existing pending_approval or approved human join request for the same user/email.
• The landing page has two layers of post-accept UI:
  • immediate mutation-result UI from POST /api/invites/:token/accept
  • reload-time summary UI from GET /api/invites/:token once the invite has already been consumed
• Reload behavior for accepted company invites is now status-sensitive:
  • pending_approval re-renders the waiting-for-approval panel
  • rejected renders the "This join request was not approved." error panel
  • approved only becomes a success path for human invites after membership is visible to the current session; otherwise the page falls through to the generic consumed/unavailable state
• GET /api/invites/:token/logo still rejects accepted invites, so accepted-invite reload states may fall back to the generated company icon even though the summary payload still carries companyLogoUrl.
• The only accepted-invite replay path in the current implementation is POST /api/invites/:token/accept for agent requests with adapterType=openclaw_gateway, and only when the existing join request is still pending_approval or already approved.
• bootstrap_ceo invites are one-time and do not create join requests.