paperclipai/paperclip · error

Process adapter missing command

Error message

Process adapter missing command

What it means

Config guard in the process adapter's execute: asString(config.command, "") returned an empty string, i.e. the adapter config declares no command to spawn. Fails before any child process, env, or workspace setup is attempted.

Solutions

1. Set the command in the process adapter configuration before executing.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at server/src/adapters/process/execute.ts:19 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@120ae5428f (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5f252dc675d4f35d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at server/src/adapters/process/execute.ts:19

import type { AdapterExecutionContext, AdapterExecutionResult } from "../types.js";
import {
  asString,
  asNumber,
  asStringArray,
  parseObject,
  buildPaperclipEnv,
  isForbiddenConfigEnvKey,
  isPaperclipRuntimeEnvKey,
  buildInvocationEnvForLogs,
  ensurePathInEnv,
  resolveCommandForLogs,
  runChildProcess,
} from "../utils.js";

export async function execute(ctx: AdapterExecutionContext): Promise<AdapterExecutionResult> {
  const { runId, agent, config, onLog, onMeta, authToken } = ctx;
  const command = asString(config.command, "");
  if (!command) throw new Error("Process adapter missing command");

  const args = asStringArray(config.args);
  const cwd = asString(config.cwd, process.cwd());
  const envConfig = parseObject(config.env);
  const env: Record<string, string> = {
    ...buildPaperclipEnv(agent),
  };
  for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(envConfig)) {
    if (typeof v !== "string") continue;
    // Runtime PAPERCLIP_* always wins over config, and PAPERCLIP_API_KEY is
    // never accepted from config — the harness-minted run token is the only
    // source. Other PAPERCLIP_* keys Paperclip did not assign flow through.
    if (isForbiddenConfigEnvKey(k)) continue;
    if (isPaperclipRuntimeEnvKey(k) && k in env) continue;
    env[k] = v;
  }
  env.PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID = runId;
  if (authToken) env.PAPERCLIP_API_KEY = authToken;

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