What causes "Steering is unavailable." in paperclipai/paperclip?

Pass the onSteerQueuedComment prop to TaskChatThread at the call site.

Steering is unavailable.

Error message

Steering is unavailable.

What it means

TaskChatThread's queued-message list renders an onSteer callback that forwards a steer request for a queued comment to the parent. When the parent did not supply the onSteerQueuedComment prop, the component throws "Steering is unavailable." instead of silently doing nothing. This is a guard ensuring steer actions are only offered/executed when the parent wiring supports them.

Source

Thrown at ui/src/components/TaskChatThread.tsx:2713

              <TaskChatTurnStatusIsland model={tailTurnStatus} />
            ) : null}
            <RunnerGoalWidget control={runnerGoal} />
            <div
              className="relative isolate flex flex-col"
              data-testid="task-chat-composer-stack"
            >
              {queuedMessageQueue ? (
                <TaskChatQueuedMessages
                  queue={queuedMessageQueue}
                  onEdit={beginQueuedEdit}
                  onReorder={async (orderedCommentIds, revision) => {
                    if (!onReorderQueuedComments)
                      throw new Error("Queue reordering is unavailable.");
                    await onReorderQueuedComments(orderedCommentIds, revision);
                  }}
                  onSteer={async (commentId, revision) => {
                    if (!onSteerQueuedComment)
                      throw new Error("Steering is unavailable.");
                    await onSteerQueuedComment(commentId, revision);
                  }}
                  onInterrupt={
                    onInterruptQueued && queuedMessageQueue.targetRunId
                      ? async () => {
                          await onInterruptQueued(
                            queuedMessageQueue.targetRunId!,
                          );
                        }
                      : undefined
                  }
                  onDiscard={async (commentId, revision) => {
                    if (commentId.startsWith("optimistic-")) {
                      if (!onCancelQueued)
                        throw new Error("Discard is unavailable.");
                      onCancelQueued(commentId);
                      return;
                    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 01ad858492)

Solutions

Pass the onSteerQueuedComment prop to TaskChatThread at the call site.
Check the embedding page: use the standard task page (which wires steering) or add the wiring yourself.
If steering is intentionally unsupported, hide/disable the steer action instead of rendering it.
Update the custom embed to the current TaskChatThread API, which expects queue mutation handlers.

Example fix

// before
<TaskChatThread issueId={id} onReorderQueuedComments={reorder} />

// after
<TaskChatThread
  issueId={id}
  onReorderQueuedComments={reorder}
  onSteerQueuedComment={async (commentId, revision) => {
    await api.steerQueuedComment(issueId, commentId, revision);
  }}
/>

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const canSteer = typeof onSteerQueuedComment === "function";
if (!canSteer) hideSteerActions(); // render the queue without steer affordances

Type guard

const hasSteer = (p: unknown): p is (id: string, rev: number) => Promise<void> =>
  typeof p === "function";

Try / catch

try {
  await onSteer(commentId, revision);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message === "Steering is unavailable.") {
    toast("Steering is not supported in this view.");
  } else throw e;
}

Prevention

Always pass queue mutation handlers when rendering TaskChatThread in editable contexts.
Render steer actions conditionally on the presence of the handler.
Keep custom embeds in sync with the current TaskChatThread prop contract.

When it happens

Trigger: User clicks the steer action on a queued comment in TaskChatThread while the onSteerQueuedComment prop is undefined (not passed by the page embedding TaskChatThread).

Common situations: Embedding TaskChatThread in a custom page or older call site that predates the steer feature; a feature flag or conditional render path where the parent omits queue-mutation handlers; UI rendered in a context (e.g. read-only or completed task) where steering handlers are intentionally not wired.

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@01ad858492 (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6e4040ff6616abe9. Report an issue: GitHub.