## 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
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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 onboardandpaperclipai configure --section serverset 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 runandpaperclipai doctorstill do not expose a direct low-level--modeflag
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-idorPAPERCLIP_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/skillsand~/.claude/skills - prints
export ...lines forPAPERCLIP_API_URL,PAPERCLIP_COMPANY_ID,PAPERCLIP_AGENT_ID, andPAPERCLIP_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)