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Skillspaperclip-plugin-dev

paperclip-plugin-dev

Writing & research

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Updated 10-15 17:23

About this skill

Paperclip Plugin Development

Build Paperclip plugins based on the actual SDK source code, validator source code, and examples. Follows lessons learned from real publishing failures.

SDK Version

@paperclipai/plugin-sdk is published on npm under calver (YYYY.MDD.patch), with a canary dist-tag for prereleases. Before starting work, run npm view @paperclipai/plugin-sdk version dist-tags exports --json, inspect the installed package exports, and pin the selected release in the project. Do not copy a remembered SDK version or entry-point list.

Critical Lessons — Read First

These mistakes have cost real time. Do not repeat them.

1. files field in package.json is REQUIRED

npm uses .gitignore to exclude files. Since dist/ is gitignored, built output will be absent unless explicitly declared:

{ "files": ["dist", "package.json"] }

2. Capabilities must exactly match declared features

The server rejects manifests where features lack matching capabilities. Every UI slot type, tool, job, and webhook requires a specific capability. See references/manifest-reference.md for the full mapping table.

Example: declaring a dashboardWidget slot without ui.dashboardWidget.register in capabilities causes install failure.

3. First publish version: 0.0.1

The scaffold generates 0.1.0. Change to 0.0.1 before first publish.

4. Build before publish

paperclipPlugin fields point to ./dist/. Run bun run build before npm publish. Verify with npm pack --dry-run.

5. npm cache on the Paperclip server

When iterating, clear stale cache on the server: npm cache clean --force via SSH.

6. Adding capabilities triggers upgrade approval

Publishing a new version with additional capabilities puts the plugin in upgrade_pending state. Plan v1 capabilities carefully.

7. No arbitrary agents.create in SDK

The plugin SDK can read, pause, resume, invoke, and chat with agents — but cannot create or update arbitrary agents. Two newer, narrower paths exist: ctx.agents.managed (get/reconcile/reset of manifest-declared plugin-managed agents by stable key, requires agents.managed) and ctx.agents.sessions (create/message/close two-way chat sessions, requires agent.sessions.*). For anything else, present templates in the UI and let the operator create agents manually.

8. ConvexError stores messages in error.data, NOT error.message

When catching errors from Convex mutations in Next.js API routes, error.message is always the generic "[Request ID: xxx] Server Error". The actual user-facing message is in error.data. Use this pattern:

import { ConvexError } from "convex/values";

function extractConvexErrorMessage(error: unknown): string {
  if (error instanceof ConvexError) {
    const data = error.data;
    if (typeof data === "string") return data;
    if (data && typeof data === "object" && "message" in data) {
      return String((data as { message: unknown }).message);
    }
    return JSON.stringify(data);
  }
  if (error instanceof Error) return error.message;
  return String(error);
}

9. Depend on the npm SDK; tgz packing is only for unpublished upstream changes

The SDK is now published to npm — depend on @paperclipai/plugin-sdk directly and bump it like any dependency (calver; check the canary dist-tag for bleeding edge). The old local-tgz workflow is only needed when tracking upstream changes that haven't shipped yet:

cd ~/code/paperclip/packages/shared && pnpm run build && pnpm pack
cd ~/code/paperclip/packages/plugins/sdk && pnpm run build && pnpm pack
# Copy both .tgz files to plugin's .paperclip-sdk/ directory
# Delete pnpm-lock.yaml (integrity hashes are cached)
bun install

Local tgz files go stale the moment upstream changes shared types — prefer the published package.

10. Use typed SDK clients, not raw HTTP against the internal API

Never call the internal Paperclip API via ctx.http.fetch or raw fetch — use the typed clients: ctx.issues, ctx.agents, ctx.goals, ctx.projects, ctx.companies, ctx.executionWorkspaces, plus the managed-resource clients ctx.routines (requires routines.managed) and ctx.skills (requires skills.managed). The old "there is no ctx.routines client" limitation is gone. ctx.http.fetch (requires http.outbound) is for external services and exists for host-managed tracing/audit; requests need absolute URLs.

Scaffolding

node ~/code/paperclip/packages/plugins/create-paperclip-plugin/src/index.ts \
  <package-name> \
  --output <dir> \
  --display-name "<Name>" \
  --description "<text>" \
  --author "<name>" \
  --category connector|workspace|automation|ui \
  --sdk-path ~/code/paperclip/packages/plugins/sdk

Immediately after scaffolding:

  1. Add "files": ["dist", "package.json"] to package.json
  2. Change version to "0.0.1"
  3. Init git, commit

Worker — Quick Overview

import { definePlugin, runWorker } from "@paperclipai/plugin-sdk";

const plugin = definePlugin({
  async setup(ctx) {
    ctx.events.on("issue.created", async (event) => { ... });
    ctx.jobs.register("my-sync", async (job) => { ... });
    ctx.data.register("health", async (params) => ({ status: "ok" }));
    ctx.actions.register("resync", async (params) => { ... });
    ctx.tools.register("my-tool", { displayName: "...", description: "...", parametersSchema: { ... } },
      async (params, runCtx) => ({ content: "result" }));
  },
  async onHealth() { return { status: "ok" }; },
});

export default plugin;
runWorker(plugin, import.meta.url);

For the full PluginContext API: read references/worker-api-reference.md.

UI — Quick Overview

import { usePluginData, usePluginAction, useHostContext, usePluginStream } from "@paperclipai/plugin-sdk/ui";

export function DashboardWidget() {
  const { companyId } = useHostContext();
  const { data, loading, error, refresh } = usePluginData<T>("health", { companyId });
  const doAction = usePluginAction("resync");
  if (loading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  return <div>Status: {data?.status}</div>;
}

For all hooks, props, patterns, and styling: read references/ui-reference.md.

Publishing Checklist

[ ] bun run build
[ ] "files": ["dist", "package.json"] in package.json
[ ] Version is correct (0.0.1 for first publish)
[ ] Every declared slot type has matching capability
[ ] tools[] → "agent.tools.register", jobs[] → "jobs.schedule", webhooks[] → "webhooks.receive"
[ ] npm pack --dry-run — verify dist/ appears
[ ] bun run test passes
[ ] Use Skill(bopen-tools:npm-publish) for publishing

Installing in Paperclip

Enter the npm package name (e.g., @bopen-io/tortuga-plugin) in the "Install Plugin" dialog in Settings → Plugins. The server downloads from npm, validates the manifest, and starts the worker.

Naming Conventions

  • Slot IDs: "<plugin-slug>-<slot-type>" — e.g., "tortuga-dashboard-widget"
  • Export names: PascalCase — "DashboardWidget", "FleetPage"
  • Job/webhook/tool/data/action/stream keys: kebab-case — "clawnet-sync", "fleet-status"
  • Collect all strings in a constants.ts file

Worker Runtime Constraints

Plugin workers run as out-of-process child processes (node:child_process fork) speaking JSON-RPC to the host — no longer a vm.createContext() sandbox. Bundle as ESM via createPluginBundlerPresets from @paperclipai/plugin-sdk/bundlers (the old CJS-only requirement is gone). All Paperclip host interaction still goes through PluginContext methods, gated by declared capabilities.

Secrets

Declare format: "secret-ref" in instanceConfigSchema. Operator pastes a secret UUID. Resolve at runtime: await ctx.secrets.resolve(config.apiKey). Never cache resolved values.

Reference Files

For detailed API documentation, consult:

  • references/manifest-reference.md — Capabilities (73 as of SDK 2026.707.0 — verify against packages/shared/src/constants.ts PLUGIN_CAPABILITIES, the reference file predates the expansion from 37), slot types, validation rules, declaration examples
  • references/worker-api-reference.md — Full PluginContext API, lifecycle hooks, runtime constraints
  • references/ui-reference.md — UI hooks (now 7: usePluginData, usePluginAction, useHostContext, useHostNavigation, useHostLocation, usePluginStream, usePluginToast), component props, styling, streaming, navigation patterns

Source Code References

~/code/paperclip is a fork of paperclipai/paperclip — verify it is synced with upstream (git fetch upstream && git merge upstream/master) before treating it as source of truth, or consult github.com/paperclipai/paperclip directly.

  • Plugin SDK: ~/code/paperclip/packages/plugins/sdk/
  • Plugin spec: ~/code/paperclip/doc/plugins/PLUGIN_SPEC.md
  • Kitchen sink example: ~/code/paperclip/packages/plugins/examples/plugin-kitchen-sink-example/
  • Hello world example: ~/code/paperclip/packages/plugins/examples/plugin-hello-world-example/
  • File browser example: ~/code/paperclip/packages/plugins/examples/plugin-file-browser-example/
  • Scaffolding tool: ~/code/paperclip/packages/plugins/create-paperclip-plugin/
  • Capability validator: ~/code/paperclip/server/src/services/plugin-capability-validator.ts
  • Manifest validator: ~/code/paperclip/server/src/services/plugin-manifest-validator.ts
  • Tortuga plugin: ~/code/tortuga-plugin/
  • Tortuga architecture: ~/code/tortuga-plugin/ARCHITECTURE.md