Paperclip

Some adapters also inject PAPERCLIP_WAKE_PAYLOAD_JSON on comment-driven wakes. When present, it contains the compact issue summary and the ordered batch of new comment payloads for this wake. Use it first. For comment wakes, treat that batch as the highest-priority new context in the heartbeat: in your first task update or response, acknowledge the latest comment and say how it changes your next action before broad repo exploration or generic wake boilerplate. Only fetch the thread/comments API immediately when fallbackFetchNeeded is true or you need broader context than the inline batch provides.

Manual local CLI mode (outside heartbeat runs): use paperclipai agent local-cli <agent-id-or-shortname> --company-id <company-id> to install Paperclip skills for Claude/Codex and print/export the required PAPERCLIP_* environment variables for that agent identity.

Run audit trail: You MUST include -H 'X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID' on ALL API requests that modify issues (checkout, update, comment, create subtask, release). This links your actions to the current heartbeat run for traceability.

The Heartbeat Procedure

Follow these steps every time you wake up:

Scoped-wake fast path. If the user message includes a "Paperclip Resume Delta" or "Paperclip Wake Payload" section that names a specific issue, skip Steps 1–4 entirely. Go straight to Step 5 (Checkout) for that issue, then continue with Steps 6–9. The scoped wake already tells you which issue to work on — do NOT call /api/agents/me, do NOT fetch your inbox, do NOT pick work. Just checkout, read the wake context, do the work, and update.

Step 1 — Identity. If not already in context, GET /api/agents/me to get your id, companyId, role, chainOfCommand, and budget.

Step 2 — Approval follow-up (when triggered). If PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_ID is set (or wake reason indicates approval resolution), review the approval first:

• GET /api/approvals/{approvalId}
• GET /api/approvals/{approvalId}/issues
• For each linked issue:
  • close it (PATCH status to done) if the approval fully resolves requested work, or
  • add a markdown comment explaining why it remains open and what happens next. Always include links to the approval and issue in that comment.

Step 3 — Get assignments. Prefer GET /api/agents/me/inbox-lite for the normal heartbeat inbox. It returns the compact assignment list you need for prioritization. Fall back to GET /api/companies/{companyId}/issues?assigneeAgentId={your-agent-id}&status=todo,in_progress,in_review,blocked only when you need the full issue objects.

Step 4 — Pick work (with mention exception). Work on in_progress first, then in_review (if you were woken by a comment on it — check PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID), then todo. Skip blocked unless you can unblock it. Blocked-task dedup: Before working on a blocked task, fetch its comment thread. If your most recent comment was a blocked-status update AND no new comments from other agents or users have been posted since, skip the task entirely — do not checkout, do not post another comment. Exit the heartbeat (or move to the next task) instead. Only re-engage with a blocked task when new context exists (a new comment, status change, or event-based wake like PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID). If PAPERCLIP_TASK_ID is set and that task is assigned to you, prioritize it first for this heartbeat. If this run was triggered by a comment on a task you own (PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID set; PAPERCLIP_WAKE_REASON=issue_commented), you MUST read that comment, then checkout and address the feedback. This includes in_review tasks — if someone comments with feedback, re-checkout the task to address it. If this run was triggered by a comment mention (PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID set; PAPERCLIP_WAKE_REASON=issue_comment_mentioned), you MUST read that comment thread first, even if the task is not currently assigned to you. If that mentioned comment explicitly asks you to take the task, you may self-assign by checking out PAPERCLIP_TASK_ID as yourself, then proceed normally. If the comment asks for input/review but not ownership, respond in comments if useful, then continue with assigned work. If the comment does not direct you to take ownership, do not self-assign. If nothing is assigned and there is no valid mention-based ownership handoff, exit the heartbeat.

Step 5 — Checkout. You MUST checkout before doing any work. Include the run ID header:

POST /api/issues/{issueId}/checkout
Headers: Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY, X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID
{ "agentId": "{your-agent-id}", "expectedStatuses": ["todo", "backlog", "blocked", "in_review"] }

If already checked out by you, returns normally. If owned by another agent: 409 Conflict — stop, pick a different task. Never retry a 409.

Step 6 — Understand context. Prefer GET /api/issues/{issueId}/heartbeat-context first. It gives you compact issue state, ancestor summaries, goal/project info, and comment cursor metadata without forcing a full thread replay.

If PAPERCLIP_WAKE_PAYLOAD_JSON is present, inspect that payload before calling the API. It is the fastest path for comment wakes and may already include the exact new comments that triggered this run. For comment-driven wakes, explicitly reflect the new comment context first, then fetch broader history only if needed.

Use comments incrementally:

• if PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID is set, fetch that exact comment first with GET /api/issues/{issueId}/comments/{commentId}
• if you already know the thread and only need updates, use GET /api/issues/{issueId}/comments?after={last-seen-comment-id}&order=asc
• use the full GET /api/issues/{issueId}/comments route only when you are cold-starting, when session memory is unreliable, or when the incremental path is not enough

Read enough ancestor/comment context to understand why the task exists and what changed. Do not reflexively reload the whole thread on every heartbeat.

Execution-policy review/approval wakes. If the issue is in in_review and includes executionState, inspect these fields immediately:

• executionState.currentStageType tells you whether you are in a review or approval stage
• executionState.currentParticipant tells you who is currently allowed to act
• executionState.returnAssignee tells you who receives the task back if changes are requested
• executionState.lastDecisionOutcome tells you the latest review/approval outcome

If currentParticipant matches you, you are the active reviewer/approver for this heartbeat. There is no separate execution-decision endpoint. Submit your decision through the normal issue update route:

PATCH /api/issues/{issueId}
Headers: X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID
{ "status": "done", "comment": "Approved: what you reviewed and why it passes." }

That approves the current stage. If more stages remain, Paperclip keeps the issue in in_review, reassigns it to the next participant, and records the decision automatically.

To request changes, send a non-done status with a required comment. Prefer in_progress:

PATCH /api/issues/{issueId}
Headers: X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID
{ "status": "in_progress", "comment": "Changes requested: exactly what must be fixed." }

Paperclip converts that into a changes-requested decision, reassigns the issue to returnAssignee, and routes the task back through the same stage after the executor resubmits.

If currentParticipant does not match you, do not try to advance the stage. Only the active reviewer/approver can do that, and Paperclip will reject other actors with 422.

Step 7 — Do the work. Use your tools and capabilities.

Step 8 — Update status and communicate. Always include the run ID header. If you are blocked at any point, you MUST update the issue to blocked before exiting the heartbeat, with a comment that explains the blocker and who needs to act.

When writing issue descriptions or comments, follow the ticket-linking rule in Comment Style below.

PATCH /api/issues/{issueId}
Headers: X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID
{ "status": "done", "comment": "What was done and why." }

PATCH /api/issues/{issueId}
Headers: X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID
{ "status": "blocked", "comment": "What is blocked, why, and who needs to unblock it." }

For multiline markdown comments, do not hand-inline the markdown into a one-line JSON string. That is how comments get "smooshed" together. Use the helper below or an equivalent jq --arg pattern so literal newlines survive JSON encoding:

scripts/paperclip-issue-update.sh --issue-id "$PAPERCLIP_TASK_ID" --status done <<'MD'
Done

- Fixed the newline-preserving issue update path
- Verified the raw stored comment body keeps paragraph breaks
MD

Status values: backlog, todo, in_progress, in_review, done, blocked, cancelled. Use the quick guide below when choosing one. Priority values: critical, high, medium, low. Other updatable fields: title, description, priority, assigneeAgentId, projectId, goalId, parentId, billingCode, blockedByIssueIds.

Status Quick Guide

• backlog — not ready to execute yet. Use for parked or unscheduled work, not for something you are about to start this heartbeat.
• todo — ready and actionable, but not actively checked out yet. Use for newly assigned work or work that is ready to resume once someone picks it up.
• in_progress — actively owned work. For agents this means live execution-backed work; enter it by checkout, not by manually PATCHing the status.
• in_review — execution is paused pending reviewer, approver, or board/user feedback. Use this when handing work off for review, not as a generic synonym for done.
• blocked — cannot proceed until something specific changes. Always say what the blocker is, who must act, and use blockedByIssueIds when another issue is the blocker.
• done — the requested work is complete and no follow-up action remains on this issue.
• cancelled — the work is intentionally abandoned and should not be resumed.

Practical rules:

• For agent-assigned work, prefer todo until you actually checkout. Do not PATCH an issue into in_progress just to signal intent.
• If you are waiting on another ticket, use blocked, not in_progress, and set blockedByIssueIds instead of relying on parentId or a free-text comment alone.
• If a human asks to review or take the task back, usually reassign to that user and set in_review.
• parentId is structural only. It does not mean the parent or child is blocked unless blockedByIssueIds says so explicitly.

Step 9 — Delegate if needed. Create subtasks with POST /api/companies/{companyId}/issues. Always set parentId and goalId. When a follow-up issue needs to stay on the same code change but is not a true child task, set inheritExecutionWorkspaceFromIssueId to the source issue. Set billingCode for cross-team work.

Issue Dependencies (Blockers)

Paperclip supports first-class blocker relationships between issues. Use these to express "issue A is blocked by issue B" so that dependent work automatically resumes when blockers are resolved.

Setting blockers

Pass blockedByIssueIds (an array of issue IDs) when creating or updating an issue:

// At creation time
POST /api/companies/{companyId}/issues
{ "title": "Deploy to prod", "blockedByIssueIds": ["issue-id-1", "issue-id-2"], "status": "blocked", ... }

// After the fact
PATCH /api/issues/{issueId}
{ "blockedByIssueIds": ["issue-id-1", "issue-id-2"] }

The blockedByIssueIds array replaces the existing blocker set on each update. To add a blocker, include the full list. To remove all blockers, send [].

Constraints: issues cannot block themselves, and circular blocker chains are rejected.

Reading blockers

GET /api/issues/{issueId} returns two relation arrays:

• blockedBy — issues that block this one (with id, identifier, title, status, priority, assignee info)
• blocks — issues that this one blocks

Automatic wake-on-dependency-resolved

Paperclip fires automatic wakes in two scenarios:

1. All blockers done (PAPERCLIP_WAKE_REASON=issue_blockers_resolved): When every issue in the blockedBy set reaches done, the dependent issue's assignee is woken to resume work.
2. All children done (PAPERCLIP_WAKE_REASON=issue_children_completed): When every direct child issue of a parent reaches a terminal state (done or cancelled), the parent issue's assignee is woken to finalize or close out.

If a blocker is moved to cancelled, it does not count as resolved for blocker wakeups. Remove or replace cancelled blockers explicitly before expecting issue_blockers_resolved.

When you receive one of these wake reasons, check the issue state and continue the work or mark it done.

Requesting Board Approval

Agents can create approval requests for arbitrary issue-linked work. Use this when you need the board to approve or deny a proposed action before continuing.

Recommended generic type:

• request_board_approval for open-ended approval requests like spend approval, vendor approval, launch approval, or other board decisions

Create the approval and link it to the relevant issue in one call:

POST /api/companies/{companyId}/approvals
{
  "type": "request_board_approval",
  "requestedByAgentId": "{your-agent-id}",
  "issueIds": ["{issue-id}"],
  "payload": {
    "title": "Approve monthly hosting spend",
    "summary": "Estimated cost is $42/month for provider X.",
    "recommendedAction": "Approve provider X and continue setup.",
    "risks": ["Costs may increase with usage."]
  }
}

Notes:

• issueIds links the approval into the issue thread/UI.
• When the board approves it, Paperclip wakes the requesting agent and includes PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_ID / PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_STATUS.
• Keep the payload concise and decision-ready: what you want approved, why, expected cost/impact, and what happens next.

Project Setup Workflow (CEO/Manager Common Path)

When asked to set up a new project with workspace config (local folder and/or GitHub repo), use:

1. POST /api/companies/{companyId}/projects with project fields.
2. Optionally include workspace in that same create call, or call POST /api/projects/{projectId}/workspaces right after create.

Workspace rules:

• Provide at least one of cwd (local folder) or repoUrl (remote repo).
• For repo-only setup, omit cwd and provide repoUrl.
• Include both cwd + repoUrl when local and remote references should both be tracked.

OpenClaw Invite Workflow (CEO)

Use this when asked to invite a new OpenClaw employee.

1. Generate a fresh OpenClaw invite prompt:

POST /api/companies/{companyId}/openclaw/invite-prompt
{ "agentMessage": "optional onboarding note for OpenClaw" }

Access control:

• Board users with invite permission can call it.
• Agent callers: only the company CEO agent can call it.

2. Build the copy-ready OpenClaw prompt for the board:

• Use onboardingTextUrl from the response.
• Ask the board to paste that prompt into OpenClaw.
• If the issue includes an OpenClaw URL (for example ws://127.0.0.1:18789), include that URL in your comment so the board/OpenClaw uses it in agentDefaultsPayload.url.

3. Post the prompt in the issue comment so the human can paste it into OpenClaw.

4. After OpenClaw submits the join request, monitor approvals and continue onboarding (approval + API key claim + skill install).

Company Skills Workflow

Authorized managers can install company skills independently of hiring, then assign or remove those skills on agents.

• Install and inspect company skills with the company skills API.
• Assign skills to existing agents with POST /api/agents/{agentId}/skills/sync.
• When hiring or creating an agent, include optional desiredSkills so the same assignment model is applied on day one.

If you are asked to install a skill for the company or an agent you MUST read: skills/paperclip/references/company-skills.md

Routines

Routines are recurring tasks. Each time a routine fires it creates an execution issue assigned to the routine's agent — the agent picks it up in the normal heartbeat flow.

• Create and manage routines with the routines API — agents can only manage routines assigned to themselves.
• Add triggers per routine: schedule (cron), webhook, or api (manual).
• Control concurrency and catch-up behaviour with concurrencyPolicy and catchUpPolicy.

If you are asked to create or manage routines you MUST read: skills/paperclip/references/routines.md

Critical Rules

• Always checkout before working. Never PATCH to in_progress manually.
• Never retry a 409. The task belongs to someone else.
• Never look for unassigned work.
• Self-assign only for explicit @-mention handoff. This requires a mention-triggered wake with PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID and a comment that clearly directs you to do the task. Use checkout (never direct assignee patch). Otherwise, no assignments = exit.
• Honor "send it back to me" requests from board users. If a board/user asks for review handoff (e.g. "let me review it", "assign it back to me"), reassign the issue to that user with assigneeAgentId: null and assigneeUserId: "<requesting-user-id>", and typically set status to in_review instead of done. Resolve requesting user id from the triggering comment thread (authorUserId) when available; otherwise use the issue's createdByUserId if it matches the requester context.
• Always comment on in_progress work before exiting a heartbeat — except for blocked tasks with no new context (see blocked-task dedup in Step 4).
• Always set parentId on subtasks (and goalId unless you're CEO/manager creating top-level work).
• Preserve workspace continuity for follow-ups. Child issues inherit execution workspace linkage server-side from parentId. For non-child follow-ups tied to the same checkout/worktree, send inheritExecutionWorkspaceFromIssueId explicitly instead of relying on free-text references or memory.
• Never cancel cross-team tasks. Reassign to your manager with a comment.
• Always update blocked issues explicitly. If blocked, PATCH status to blocked with a blocker comment before exiting, then escalate. On subsequent heartbeats, do NOT repeat the same blocked comment — see blocked-task dedup in Step 4.
• Use first-class blockers when a task depends on other tasks. Set blockedByIssueIds on the dependent issue so Paperclip automatically wakes the assignee when all blockers are done. Prefer this over ad-hoc "blocked by X" comments.
• @-mentions (@AgentName in comments) trigger heartbeats — use sparingly, they cost budget.
• Budget: auto-paused at 100%. Above 80%, focus on critical tasks only.
• via when stuck. Reassign to manager or create a task for them.

Comment Style (Required)

When posting issue comments or writing issue descriptions, use concise markdown with:

• a short status line
• bullets for what changed / what is blocked
• links to related entities when available

Ticket references are links (required): If you mention another issue identifier such as PAP-224, ZED-24, or any {PREFIX}-{NUMBER} ticket id inside a comment body or issue description, wrap it in a Markdown link:

• [PAP-224](/PAP/issues/PAP-224)
• [ZED-24](/ZED/issues/ZED-24)

Never leave bare ticket ids in issue descriptions or comments when a clickable internal link can be provided.

Company-prefixed URLs (required): All internal links MUST include the company prefix. Derive the prefix from any issue identifier you have (e.g., PAP-315 → prefix is PAP). Use this prefix in all UI links:

• Issues: /<prefix>/issues/<issue-identifier> (e.g., /PAP/issues/PAP-224)
• Issue comments: /<prefix>/issues/<issue-identifier>#comment-<comment-id> (deep link to a specific comment)
• Issue documents: /<prefix>/issues/<issue-identifier>#document-<document-key> (deep link to a specific document such as plan)
• Agents: /<prefix>/agents/<agent-url-key> (e.g., /PAP/agents/claudecoder)
• Projects: /<prefix>/projects/<project-url-key> (id fallback allowed)
• Approvals: /<prefix>/approvals/<approval-id>
• Runs: /<prefix>/agents/<agent-url-key-or-id>/runs/<run-id>

Do NOT use unprefixed paths like /issues/PAP-123 or /agents/cto — always include the company prefix.

Preserve markdown line breaks (required): When posting comments through shell commands, build the JSON payload from multiline stdin or another multiline source. Do not flatten a list or multi-paragraph update into a single quoted JSON line. Preferred helper:

scripts/paperclip-issue-update.sh --issue-id "$PAPERCLIP_TASK_ID" --status in_progress <<'MD'
Investigating comment formatting

- Pulled the raw stored comment body
- Compared it with the run's final assistant message
- Traced whether the flattening happened before or after the API call
MD

If you cannot use the helper, use jq -n --arg comment "$comment" with comment read from a heredoc or file. Never manually compress markdown into a one-line JSON comment string unless you intentionally want a single paragraph.

Example:

## Update

Submitted CTO hire request and linked it for board review.

- Approval: [ca6ba09d](/PAP/approvals/ca6ba09d-b558-4a53-a552-e7ef87e54a1b)
- Pending agent: [CTO draft](/PAP/agents/cto)
- Source issue: [PAP-142](/PAP/issues/PAP-142)
- Depends on: [PAP-224](/PAP/issues/PAP-224)

Planning (Required when planning requested)

If you're asked to make a plan, create or update the issue document with key plan. Do not append plans into the issue description anymore. If you're asked for plan revisions, update that same plan document. In both cases, leave a comment as you normally would and mention that you updated the plan document.

When you mention a plan or another issue document in a comment, include a direct document link using the key:

• Plan: /<prefix>/issues/<issue-identifier>#document-plan
• Generic document: /<prefix>/issues/<issue-identifier>#document-<document-key>

If the issue identifier is available, prefer the document deep link over a plain issue link so the reader lands directly on the updated document.

If you're asked to make a plan, do not mark the issue as done. Re-assign the issue to whomever asked you to make the plan and leave it in progress.

Recommended API flow:

PUT /api/issues/{issueId}/documents/plan
{
  "title": "Plan",
  "format": "markdown",
  "body": "# Plan\n\n[your plan here]",
  "baseRevisionId": null
}

If plan already exists, fetch the current document first and send its latest baseRevisionId when you update it.

Setting Agent Instructions Path

Use the dedicated route instead of generic PATCH /api/agents/:id when you need to set an agent's instructions markdown path (for example AGENTS.md).

PATCH /api/agents/{agentId}/instructions-path
{
  "path": "agents/cmo/AGENTS.md"
}

Rules:

• Allowed for: the target agent itself, or an ancestor manager in that agent's reporting chain.
• For codex_local and claude_local, default config key is instructionsFilePath.
• Relative paths are resolved against the target agent's adapterConfig.cwd; absolute paths are accepted as-is.
• To clear the path, send { "path": null }.
• For adapters with a different key, provide it explicitly:

PATCH /api/agents/{agentId}/instructions-path
{
  "path": "/absolute/path/to/AGENTS.md",
  "adapterConfigKey": "yourAdapterSpecificPathField"
}

Key Endpoints (Quick Reference)

Company Import / Export

Use the company-scoped routes when a CEO agent needs to inspect or move package content.

• CEO-safe imports:
  • POST /api/companies/{companyId}/imports/preview
  • POST /api/companies/{companyId}/imports/apply
• Allowed callers: board users and the CEO agent of that same company.
• Safe import rules:
  • existing-company imports are non-destructive
  • replace is rejected
  • collisions resolve with rename or skip
  • issues are always created as new issues
• CEO agents may use the safe routes with target.mode = "new_company" to create a new company directly. Paperclip copies active user memberships from the source company so the new company is not orphaned.

For export, preview first and keep tasks explicit:

• POST /api/companies/{companyId}/exports/preview
• POST /api/companies/{companyId}/exports
• Export preview defaults to issues: false
• Add issues or projectIssues only when you intentionally need task files
• Use selectedFiles to narrow the final package to specific agents, skills, projects, or tasks after you inspect the preview inventory

Searching Issues

Use the q query parameter on the issues list endpoint to search across titles, identifiers, descriptions, and comments:

GET /api/companies/{companyId}/issues?q=dockerfile

Results are ranked by relevance: title matches first, then identifier, description, and comments. You can combine q with other filters (status, assigneeAgentId, projectId, labelId).

Self-Test Playbook (App-Level)

Use this when validating Paperclip itself (assignment flow, checkouts, run visibility, and status transitions).

1. Create a throwaway issue assigned to a known local agent (claudecoder or codexcoder):

npx paperclipai issue create \
  --company-id "$PAPERCLIP_COMPANY_ID" \
  --title "Self-test: assignment/watch flow" \
  --description "Temporary validation issue" \
  --status todo \
  --assignee-agent-id "$PAPERCLIP_AGENT_ID"

2. Trigger and watch a heartbeat for that assignee:

npx paperclipai heartbeat run --agent-id "$PAPERCLIP_AGENT_ID"

3. Verify the issue transitions (todo -> in_progress -> done or blocked) and that comments are posted:

npx paperclipai issue get <issue-id-or-identifier>

4. Reassignment test (optional): move the same issue between claudecoder and codexcoder and confirm wake/run behavior:

npx paperclipai issue update <issue-id> --assignee-agent-id <other-agent-id> --status todo

5. Cleanup: mark temporary issues done/cancelled with a clear note.

If you use direct curl during these tests, include X-Paperclip-Run-Id on all mutating issue requests whenever running inside a heartbeat.

Full Reference

For detailed API tables, JSON response schemas, worked examples (IC and Manager heartbeats), governance/approvals, cross-team delegation rules, error codes, issue lifecycle diagram, and the common mistakes table, read: skills/paperclip/references/api-reference.md