paperclipai/paperclip · error · Error

Managed install metadata is missing.

Error message

Managed install metadata is missing.

What it means

updateCommand is in managed mode but readInstallManifest returned null, so the managed install's metadata is absent and no update can be planned.

Solutions

1. Reinstall the managed payload to regenerate install metadata.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/src/commands/update.ts:244 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@01ad858492 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2c77a31a36ae117d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cli/src/commands/update.ts:247

      try {
        fs.writeFileSync(npmUserConfigPath, `registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}\n@paperclipai:registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}\n`, { mode: 0o600 });
        await runCommand("npm", args, {
          env: {
            ...process.env,
            npm_config_registry: PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY,
            NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY: PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY,
            npm_config_userconfig: npmUserConfigPath,
            NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG: npmUserConfigPath,
          },
          maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024,
        });
      } finally {
        fs.rmSync(npmConfigDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
      }
    }
    emit(options, { mode, action: "update", targetVersion, dryRun: Boolean(options.dryRun), command: ["npm", ...args] }, options.dryRun ? "Dry run complete." : pc.green(`Updated global npm install to ${targetVersion}.`)); return;
  }
  if (!manifest) throw new Error("Managed install metadata is missing.");
  if (comparison === 0) { emit(options, { mode, currentVersion, targetVersion, changed: false }, `paperclipai ${targetVersion} is already active.`); return; }
  if (comparison < 0 && options.yes !== true) { const confirmed = await (overrides.confirm ?? defaultConfirm)(`Downgrade paperclipai from ${currentVersion} to ${targetVersion}?`); if (!confirmed) throw new Error("Downgrade cancelled. Re-run with --yes to confirm explicitly."); }
  if (options.dryRun) { emit(options, { mode, currentVersion, targetVersion, action: comparison < 0 ? "downgrade" : "update", backup: options.backup !== false, dryRun: true }, `Would ${comparison < 0 ? "downgrade" : "update"} paperclipai ${currentVersion} → ${targetVersion}${options.backup === false ? " without a backup" : " after a database backup"}.`); return; }
  if (options.backup !== false) await runPreUpdateBackup(options, overrides.backup ?? (() => dbBackupCommand({})), overrides.hasInstanceData);
  const installed = await withInstallStoreLock(async () => {
    assertManagedShimWritable(paths);
    const payload = await installNpmPayload(targetVersion, runCommand, paths);
    writeManagedShim(paths);
    const record: InstallRecord = { source: "npm", version: targetVersion, channel: request.channel, payloadPath: payload.payloadPath, installedAt: (overrides.now?.() ?? new Date()).toISOString() };
    const next = buildNextManifest(record, manifest); const oldTarget = fs.readlinkSync(paths.currentPath); flipCurrentAtomic(payload.payloadPath, paths);
    try { writeInstallManifestAtomic(next, paths); } catch (error) { flipCurrentAtomic(path.resolve(paths.cliRoot, oldTarget), paths); throw error; }
    pruneInstallPayloads(next, paths); return payload;
  }, paths);
  let restarted: boolean;
  try {
    restarted = await (overrides.restartActiveService ?? restartActiveManagedService)(targetVersion);
  } catch (error) {
    return rollbackAfterServiceValidationFailure(

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