paperclipai/paperclip · warning · RunnerGoalActionError

goal_not_found

goal_not_found

Error message

goal_not_found: There is no current session goal.

What it means

Goal mutations edit/replace/pause/resume/clear require an existing current goal. When `storedGoal(session)` returns null (no goal was ever set, or it was cleared), `act` throws `goal_not_found`. Only 'create' is valid on a goalless session.

Source

Thrown at server/src/services/runner-goals.ts:440

            ? "clear"
            : "set";
      if (capability.availability !== "available" || !capability.actions.includes(requiredCapabilityAction)) {
        throw new RunnerGoalActionError(
          capability.reasonCode ?? "goal_action_unsupported",
          capability.reason ?? `${request.action} is unsupported by this agent session.`,
        );
      }
      if (request.tokenBudget != null && !capability.tokenBudgetControl) {
        throw new RunnerGoalActionError(
          "goal_token_budget_unsupported",
          "This agent session does not support goal token budgets.",
        );
      }
      if (request.action === "create" && currentGoal && currentGoal.status !== "complete") {
        throw new RunnerGoalConflictError("replacement_required", currentProjection);
      }
      if (["edit", "replace", "pause", "resume", "clear"].includes(request.action) && !currentGoal) {
        throw new RunnerGoalActionError("goal_not_found", "There is no current session goal.");
      }

      const nextRevision = session.goalRevision + 1;
      const desiredState = request.action === "pause"
        ? "paused"
        : request.action === "clear"
          ? null
          : "active";
      await tx.update(agentTaskSessions).set({
        goalDesiredState: desiredState,
        goalRevision: nextRevision,
        updatedAt: new Date(),
      }).where(eq(agentTaskSessions.id, session.id));
      const pendingProjection: RunnerGoalProjection = {
        ...currentProjection,
        pendingAction: pendingAction(request.action),
        revision: nextRevision,
      };

View on GitHub (pinned to 01ad858492)

Solutions

1. Check the projection's `currentGoal` before mutating; skip or create if null
2. Use action 'create' when no goal exists instead of edit/replace/pause/resume/clear
3. Refresh the projection after conflicts and adapt the action to the actual goal state
4. Make pause/resume automation idempotent: treat goal_not_found as a no-op

Example fix

// before
await act(companyId, issueId, { agentId, action: 'pause', ... });
// after
const proj = await projection(companyId, issueId, agentId);
if (!proj.currentGoal) return; // nothing to pause
await act(companyId, issueId, { agentId, action: 'pause', ... });

const proj = await runnerGoals.projection(companyId, issueId, agentId);
if (!proj.currentGoal) return { skipped: true, reason: 'no current goal' };

function hasActiveGoal(proj) {
  return proj?.currentGoal != null;
}

try {
  await runnerGoals.act(companyId, issueId, req);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof RunnerGoalActionError && e.code === 'goal_not_found') {
    // treat as no-op or create a goal first
    return await runnerGoals.act(companyId, issueId, { ...req, action: 'create', goal: defaultGoal });
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling pause/resume/clear/edit/replace when the session has no goal; pausing after the goal auto-completed and was cleared; scripts replaying pause/resume after a session restart that lost the goal.

Common situations: UI buttons enabled without checking currentGoal; race where another actor cleared the goal first; assuming the goal from a previous session persists; goal completed and pruned before a resume arrives.

Understand the failure class

Background: 'Could not be found', 'does not exist', 'not found in database': the resource-not-found family when an ID, slug, key, or URI lookup comes back empty — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• workflow eval run ${input.runId} is missing
• session_unavailable
• replacement_required
• Job not found
• Probe found no matching Anthropic Environment

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@01ad858492 (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/20fcfd21da2bfea4. Report an issue: GitHub.