Files
paperclip/doc/CLI.md
Devin Foley e4995bbb1c Add SSH environment support (#4358)
## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip orchestrates AI agents for zero-human companies
> - The environments subsystem already models execution environments,
but before this branch there was no end-to-end SSH-backed runtime path
for agents to actually run work against a remote box
> - That meant agents could be configured around environment concepts
without a reliable way to execute adapter sessions remotely, sync
workspace state, and preserve run context across supported adapters
> - We also need environment selection to participate in normal
Paperclip control-plane behavior: agent defaults, project/issue
selection, route validation, and environment probing
> - Because this capability is still experimental, the UI surface should
be easy to hide and easy to remove later without undoing the underlying
implementation
> - This pull request adds SSH environment execution support across the
runtime, adapters, routes, schema, and tests, then puts the visible
environment-management UI behind an experimental flag
> - The benefit is that we can validate real SSH-backed agent execution
now while keeping the user-facing controls safely gated until the
feature is ready to come out of experimentation

## What Changed

- Added SSH-backed execution target support in the shared adapter
runtime, including remote workspace preparation, skill/runtime asset
sync, remote session handling, and workspace restore behavior after
runs.
- Added SSH execution coverage for supported local adapters, plus remote
execution tests across Claude, Codex, Cursor, Gemini, OpenCode, and Pi.
- Added environment selection and environment-management backend support
needed for SSH execution, including route/service work, validation,
probing, and agent default environment persistence.
- Added CLI support for SSH environment lab verification and updated
related docs/tests.
- Added the `enableEnvironments` experimental flag and gated the
environment UI behind it on company settings, agent configuration, and
project configuration surfaces.

## Verification

- `pnpm exec vitest run
packages/adapters/claude-local/src/server/execute.remote.test.ts
packages/adapters/cursor-local/src/server/execute.remote.test.ts
packages/adapters/gemini-local/src/server/execute.remote.test.ts
packages/adapters/opencode-local/src/server/execute.remote.test.ts
packages/adapters/pi-local/src/server/execute.remote.test.ts`
- `pnpm exec vitest run server/src/__tests__/environment-routes.test.ts`
- `pnpm exec vitest run
server/src/__tests__/instance-settings-routes.test.ts`
- `pnpm exec vitest run ui/src/lib/new-agent-hire-payload.test.ts
ui/src/lib/new-agent-runtime-config.test.ts`
- `pnpm -r typecheck`
- `pnpm build`
- Manual verification on a branch-local dev server:
  - enabled the experimental flag
  - created an SSH environment
  - created a Linux Claude agent using that environment
- confirmed a run executed on the Linux box and synced workspace changes
back

## Risks

- Medium: this touches runtime execution flow across multiple adapters,
so regressions would likely show up in remote session setup, workspace
sync, or environment selection precedence.
- The UI flag reduces exposure, but the underlying runtime and route
changes are still substantial and rely on migration correctness.
- The change set is broad across adapters, control-plane services,
migrations, and UI gating, so review should pay close attention to
environment-selection precedence and remote workspace lifecycle
behavior.

## Model Used

- OpenAI Codex via Paperclip's local Codex adapter, GPT-5-class coding
model with tool use and code execution in the local repo workspace. The
local adapter does not surface a more specific public model version
string in this branch workflow.

## 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
- [ ] 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
2026-04-23 19:15:22 -07:00

6.1 KiB

CLI Reference

Paperclip CLI now supports both:

  • instance setup/diagnostics (onboard, doctor, configure, env, allowed-hostname, env-lab)
  • control-plane client operations (issues, approvals, agents, activity, dashboard)

Base Usage

Use repo script in development:

pnpm paperclipai --help

First-time local bootstrap + run:

pnpm paperclipai run

Choose local instance:

pnpm paperclipai run --instance dev

Deployment Modes

Mode taxonomy and design intent are documented in doc/DEPLOYMENT-MODES.md.

Current CLI behavior:

  • paperclipai onboard and paperclipai configure --section server set deployment mode in config
  • server onboarding/configure ask for reachability intent and write server.bind
  • paperclipai run --bind <loopback|lan|tailnet> passes a quickstart bind preset into first-run onboarding when config is missing
  • runtime can override mode with PAPERCLIP_DEPLOYMENT_MODE
  • paperclipai run and paperclipai doctor still do not expose a direct low-level --mode flag

Canonical behavior is documented in doc/DEPLOYMENT-MODES.md.

Allow an authenticated/private hostname (for example custom Tailscale DNS):

pnpm paperclipai allowed-hostname dotta-macbook-pro

Bring up the default local SSH fixture for environment testing:

pnpm paperclipai env-lab up
pnpm paperclipai env-lab doctor
pnpm paperclipai env-lab status --json
pnpm paperclipai env-lab down

All client commands support:

  • --data-dir <path>
  • --api-base <url>
  • --api-key <token>
  • --context <path>
  • --profile <name>
  • --json

Company-scoped commands also support --company-id <id>.

Use --data-dir on any CLI command to isolate all default local state (config/context/db/logs/storage/secrets) away from ~/.paperclip:

pnpm paperclipai run --data-dir ./tmp/paperclip-dev
pnpm paperclipai issue list --data-dir ./tmp/paperclip-dev

Context Profiles

Store local defaults in ~/.paperclip/context.json:

pnpm paperclipai context set --api-base http://localhost:3100 --company-id <company-id>
pnpm paperclipai context show
pnpm paperclipai context list
pnpm paperclipai context use default

To avoid storing secrets in context, set apiKeyEnvVarName and keep the key in env:

pnpm paperclipai context set --api-key-env-var-name PAPERCLIP_API_KEY
export PAPERCLIP_API_KEY=...

Company Commands

pnpm paperclipai company list
pnpm paperclipai company get <company-id>
pnpm paperclipai company delete <company-id-or-prefix> --yes --confirm <same-id-or-prefix>

Examples:

pnpm paperclipai company delete PAP --yes --confirm PAP
pnpm paperclipai company delete 5cbe79ee-acb3-4597-896e-7662742593cd --yes --confirm 5cbe79ee-acb3-4597-896e-7662742593cd

Notes:

  • Deletion is server-gated by PAPERCLIP_ENABLE_COMPANY_DELETION.
  • With agent authentication, company deletion is company-scoped. Use the current company ID/prefix (for example via --company-id or PAPERCLIP_COMPANY_ID), not another company.

Issue Commands

pnpm paperclipai issue list --company-id <company-id> [--status todo,in_progress] [--assignee-agent-id <agent-id>] [--match text]
pnpm paperclipai issue get <issue-id-or-identifier>
pnpm paperclipai issue create --company-id <company-id> --title "..." [--description "..."] [--status todo] [--priority high]
pnpm paperclipai issue update <issue-id> [--status in_progress] [--comment "..."]
pnpm paperclipai issue comment <issue-id> --body "..." [--reopen]
pnpm paperclipai issue checkout <issue-id> --agent-id <agent-id> [--expected-statuses todo,backlog,blocked]
pnpm paperclipai issue release <issue-id>

Agent Commands

pnpm paperclipai agent list --company-id <company-id>
pnpm paperclipai agent get <agent-id>
pnpm paperclipai agent local-cli <agent-id-or-shortname> --company-id <company-id>

agent local-cli is the quickest way to run local Claude/Codex manually as a Paperclip agent:

  • creates a new long-lived agent API key
  • installs missing Paperclip skills into ~/.codex/skills and ~/.claude/skills
  • prints export ... lines for PAPERCLIP_API_URL, PAPERCLIP_COMPANY_ID, PAPERCLIP_AGENT_ID, and PAPERCLIP_API_KEY

Example for shortname-based local setup:

pnpm paperclipai agent local-cli codexcoder --company-id <company-id>
pnpm paperclipai agent local-cli claudecoder --company-id <company-id>

Approval Commands

pnpm paperclipai approval list --company-id <company-id> [--status pending]
pnpm paperclipai approval get <approval-id>
pnpm paperclipai approval create --company-id <company-id> --type hire_agent --payload '{"name":"..."}' [--issue-ids <id1,id2>]
pnpm paperclipai approval approve <approval-id> [--decision-note "..."]
pnpm paperclipai approval reject <approval-id> [--decision-note "..."]
pnpm paperclipai approval request-revision <approval-id> [--decision-note "..."]
pnpm paperclipai approval resubmit <approval-id> [--payload '{"...":"..."}']
pnpm paperclipai approval comment <approval-id> --body "..."

Activity Commands

pnpm paperclipai activity list --company-id <company-id> [--agent-id <agent-id>] [--entity-type issue] [--entity-id <id>]

Dashboard Commands

pnpm paperclipai dashboard get --company-id <company-id>

Heartbeat Command

heartbeat run now also supports context/api-key options and uses the shared client stack:

pnpm paperclipai heartbeat run --agent-id <agent-id> [--api-base http://localhost:3100] [--api-key <token>]

Local Storage Defaults

Default local instance root is ~/.paperclip/instances/default:

  • config: ~/.paperclip/instances/default/config.json
  • embedded db: ~/.paperclip/instances/default/db
  • logs: ~/.paperclip/instances/default/logs
  • storage: ~/.paperclip/instances/default/data/storage
  • secrets key: ~/.paperclip/instances/default/secrets/master.key

Override base home or instance with env vars:

PAPERCLIP_HOME=/custom/home PAPERCLIP_INSTANCE_ID=dev pnpm paperclipai run

Storage Configuration

Configure storage provider and settings:

pnpm paperclipai configure --section storage

Supported providers:

  • local_disk (default; local single-user installs)
  • s3 (S3-compatible object storage)