paperclipai/paperclip · error

npm installs are disabled on cloud-managed instances; only p

Error message

npm installs are disabled on cloud-managed instances; only plugins bundled with the application may be installed

What it means

403 policy guard on POST /plugins/install. Fires on cloud-managed instances when the requested install source is not a local path (i.e. an npm/registry install); only plugins bundled with the application may be installed there, regardless of privileges.

Source

Thrown at server/src/routes/plugins.ts:1179

    // Validate package name format
    const trimmedPackage = packageName.trim();
    if (trimmedPackage.length === 0) {
      res.status(400).json({ error: "packageName cannot be empty" });
      return;
    }

    // Basic security check for package name (prevent injection)
    if (!isLocalPath && /[<>:"|?*]/.test(trimmedPackage)) {
      res.status(400).json({ error: "packageName contains invalid characters" });
      return;
    }

    // Cloud install floor: on harness-managed instances only bundled-catalog
    // sources are installable, regardless of actor privileges or flag state.
    const cloudManaged = isCloudManagedInstance();
    if (cloudManaged && !isLocalPath) {
      res.status(403).json({
        error:
          "npm installs are disabled on cloud-managed instances; only plugins bundled with the application may be installed",
      });
      return;
    }

    // Canonicalize local install paths on every instance so traversal
    // segments and symlinks cannot smuggle an aliased path past validation.
    let canonicalLocalPath: string | undefined;
    if (isLocalPath) {
      const validated = await canonicalizeLocalPluginPath(trimmedPackage);
      if (!validated.ok) {
        res.status(400).json({ error: `Invalid localPath: ${validated.reason}` });
        return;
      }
      if (cloudManaged && !(await isWithinBundledPluginRoot(validated.canonicalPath))) {
        res.status(403).json({
          error:

View on GitHub (pinned to a7e689b3c3)

Solutions

1. This is an authorization rule, not a bug: perform the action with an actor that satisfies the stated constraint (board user, the owning agent, or an in-scope resource).
2. If access should be allowed, verify the actor's credentials/company scope and the resource's ownership before retrying.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at server/src/routes/plugins.ts:1163 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@a7e689b3c3 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1b36d4d1b148a490. Report an issue: GitHub.