What is Paperclip - ing
Paperclip is an open-source orchestration platform designed for managing teams of autonomous AI agents. It allows users to create and manage AI-driven businesses with features like organizational charts, budgets, governance, and goal setting, all within a single deployment.
How to use Paperclip - ing
To get started with Paperclip, you can use the command npx paperclipai onboard --yes. This command initiates an interactive setup that guides you through configuring the database, authentication, and setting up your first company. The platform is designed for self-hosting and does not require a Paperclip account.
Features of Paperclip - ing
- Bring Your Own Agent: Supports any agent, any runtime, integrated into a single organizational structure.
- Goal Alignment: Ensures all agent tasks are linked to the company's mission and goals.
- Heartbeats: Agents operate on a schedule, checking work and taking action, with delegation flowing through the org chart.
- Cost Control: Implements monthly budgets per agent, automatically pausing agents when limits are reached.
- Multi-Company Support: Allows a single deployment to manage multiple companies with complete data isolation.
- Ticket System: Provides a structured system for communication, with full tracing of tool calls and decisions.
- Governance: Enables users to act as a board, approving hires, strategies, and having the ability to override or terminate agents.
- Org Chart: Defines hierarchies, roles, and reporting lines for agents.
- Mobile Ready: Allows for monitoring and management of autonomous businesses from anywhere.
Use Cases of Paperclip - ing
Paperclip can be used to build and manage various autonomous businesses, including:
- Content Marketing Agencies
- Crypto Trading Desks
- E-commerce Operations
- YouTube Content Creation
- Software Development Agencies
- Real Estate Lead Management
FAQ
- How is Paperclip different from agents like OpenClaw or Claude Code? Paperclip orchestrates agents like OpenClaw or Claude Code into a company structure with org charts, budgets, goals, governance, and accountability.
- Can I use my existing agents? Yes, Paperclip supports various agent runtimes including Claude Code sessions, OpenClaw bots, Python scripts, shell commands, and HTTP webhooks.
- What happens when an agent hits its budget limit? Agents automatically pause at 100% budget utilization, blocking new tasks. Users receive warnings at 80% and can override limits.
- How do I keep agents from doing things I don’t want? Paperclip includes governance modules that gate actions like hiring new agents, requiring board approval. Users can also pause, resume, override, or terminate any agent.
- Do agents run continuously? Agents typically run on scheduled heartbeats or when assigned tasks. Continuous agents can also be integrated.
- What does a typical setup look like? Paperclip can be run locally or remotely. A local setup involves a single Node.js process with an embedded Postgres database. Users configure Projects and Agents, and Paperclip manages task execution.
- Can I run multiple companies? Yes, a single Paperclip deployment can manage multiple companies with complete data isolation.




