## Thinking Path
> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Routines let users templatize titles and instructions with
`{{name}}` placeholders that get prompted for at run time
> - A user reported that `{{pr_url}}` typed into a routine description
was never detected as a variable, while camelCase placeholders worked
> - Root cause: the routine description is edited via MDXEditor (WYSIWYG
markdown). On save its serializer (`mdast-util-to-markdown`) defensively
escapes intraword underscores, so a user-typed `{{pr_url}}` is stored as
`{{pr\_url}}`. The variable matcher only accepted `[A-Za-z0-9_]` inside
the placeholder, so the backslash broke the match and the variable was
silently dropped
> - This PR widens the matcher to tolerate `\_` and unescapes it back to
`_` on capture, in both extraction and interpolation, so a single name
is detected and resolved regardless of whether the source markdown was
hand-typed or round-tripped through a WYSIWYG editor
> - The benefit is that snake_case placeholders behave the same in the
routine UI and the executor, removing a silent failure mode
## Linked Issues or Issue Description
Refs PAPA-771 — "Fix example for variable_name". Initially scoped as a
docs-copy fix (change the example to camelCase), but investigation
showed the underlying bug was that the parser could not see the variable
when it was authored as `{{pr_url}}` in a WYSIWYG-edited description.
This PR addresses the bug directly so snake_case names work as users
expect. (Supersedes the now-closed PR #8054 — same commit, fresh branch
so the diff is visible.)
## What Changed
- `packages/shared/src/routine-variables.ts`:
- Widened the `ROUTINE_VARIABLE_MATCHER` regex to accept `\_` inside
placeholder names (in addition to `[A-Za-z0-9_]`)
- Added `unescapeRoutineVariableName` and applied it on capture in both
`extractRoutineVariableNames` and `interpolateRoutineTemplate`, so the
looked-up variable name is normalized regardless of the markdown escape
- `packages/shared/src/routine-variables.test.ts`:
- Added tests covering plain snake_case (`{{pr_url}}`), markdown-escaped
(`{{pr\_url}}`), multi-underscore (`{{pr\_url\_v2}}`),
sync-with-template, and interpolation
## Verification
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/shared exec vitest run routine-variables`
→ 13 passed (4 new), confirming both plain and escaped underscore
placeholders are detected and interpolated as the same variable name
- Reproduced the root cause out-of-band with `mdast-util-from-markdown`
+ `mdast-util-to-markdown` to confirm the editor's serializer is the
source of the `\_` escape
## Risks
- Low. Change is confined to `packages/shared/src/routine-variables.ts`;
the regex is strictly more permissive in a tightly bounded way (only
`\_` is newly allowed) and the captured name is normalized.
`isValidRoutineVariableName` is unchanged, so stored names are still
strict identifiers.
## Model Used
- Claude (Anthropic), `claude-opus-4-7` (Opus 4.7), via Claude Code
## Checklist
- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above — only my own closed#8054 supersedes/duplicates this one.
Open PRs touching `routine-variables.ts` (#7184, #7186, #6993, #7187)
are all for unrelated concerns (server-side PATCH persistence, GH#6525)
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have run tests locally and they pass — `routine-variables` suite
passes (13/13)
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable — 4 new tests
covering snake_case + escaped forms
- [ ] If this change affects the UI, I have included before/after
screenshots — no UI change in this PR
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green — pending CI re-run after the
push for the Greptile blank-line nit
- [x] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups —
initial review was 5/5; the one P2 (missing blank line) is addressed in
the latest push
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
Co-authored-by: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
Devin Foley
4c26b984a7