paperclip/doc/DEVELOPING.md

Developing

This project can run fully in local dev without setting up PostgreSQL manually.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• pnpm 9+

Start Dev

From repo root:

pnpm install
pnpm dev

This starts:

• API server: http://localhost:3100
• UI: served by the API server in dev middleware mode (same origin as API)

One-Command Local Run

For a first-time local install, you can bootstrap and run in one command:

pnpm paperclip run

paperclip run does:

1. auto-onboard if config is missing
2. paperclip doctor with repair enabled
3. starts the server when checks pass

Database in Dev (Auto-Handled)

For local development, leave DATABASE_URL unset. The server will automatically use embedded PostgreSQL and persist data at:

• ~/.paperclip/instances/default/db

Override home and instance:

PAPERCLIP_HOME=/custom/path PAPERCLIP_INSTANCE_ID=dev pnpm paperclip run

No Docker or external database is required for this mode.

Storage in Dev (Auto-Handled)

For local development, the default storage provider is local_disk, which persists uploaded images/attachments at:

• ~/.paperclip/instances/default/data/storage

Configure storage provider/settings:

pnpm paperclip configure --section storage

Quick Health Checks

In another terminal:

curl http://localhost:3100/api/health
curl http://localhost:3100/api/companies

Expected:

• /api/health returns {"status":"ok"}
• /api/companies returns a JSON array

Reset Local Dev Database

To wipe local dev data and start fresh:

rm -rf ~/.paperclip/instances/default/db
pnpm dev

Optional: Use External Postgres

If you set DATABASE_URL, the server will use that instead of embedded PostgreSQL.

Secrets in Dev

Agent env vars now support secret references. By default, secret values are stored with local encryption and only secret refs are persisted in agent config.

• Default local key path: ~/.paperclip/instances/default/secrets/master.key
• Override key material directly: PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY
• Override key file path: PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY_FILE

Strict mode (recommended outside local trusted machines):

PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_STRICT_MODE=true

When strict mode is enabled, sensitive env keys (for example *_API_KEY, *_TOKEN, *_SECRET) must use secret references instead of inline plain values.

CLI configuration support:

• pnpm paperclip onboard writes a default secrets config section (local_encrypted, strict mode off, key file path set) and creates a local key file when needed.
• pnpm paperclip configure --section secrets lets you update provider/strict mode/key path and creates the local key file when needed.
• pnpm paperclip doctor validates secrets adapter configuration and can create a missing local key file with --repair.

Migration helper for existing inline env secrets:

pnpm secrets:migrate-inline-env         # dry run
pnpm secrets:migrate-inline-env --apply # apply migration

CLI Client Operations

Paperclip CLI now includes client-side control-plane commands in addition to setup commands.

Quick examples:

pnpm paperclip issue list --company-id <company-id>
pnpm paperclip issue create --company-id <company-id> --title "Investigate checkout conflict"
pnpm paperclip issue update <issue-id> --status in_progress --comment "Started triage"

Set defaults once with context profiles:

pnpm paperclip context set --api-base http://localhost:3100 --company-id <company-id>

Then run commands without repeating flags:

pnpm paperclip issue list
pnpm paperclip dashboard get

See full command reference in doc/CLI.md.