Paperclip: شغّل فريق agents كأنه شركة، بميزانية وموافقات ومدير لكل واحدPaperclip: Run Your AI Agents Like a Company, with Budgets, Approvals and a Manager for Each

Key terms

Paperclip

An open source app under the MIT license that runs a team of agents like a company: an org chart, tasks, budgets and approvals. It runs on your machine, and the software itself is free.

Agent

An AI program that works on a task on its own, such as Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI. In Paperclip each agent is an employee with a role.

Org chart

Who reports to whom. Every agent has one manager and the CEO sits on top, so work flows down and blockers flow up.

Heartbeat

The signal that wakes an agent when it gets work, a message or a scheduled check. If it can receive a heartbeat, it can join the team.

Budget

A spending cap for the company, an agent or a project. When spend hits the cap, the work pauses on its own.

The steps

1. 1

   Step 1

   Know what you are installing

   Paperclip is not another agent. It is the office your agents work in: you set a goal, hire a team, and track work and cost from one dashboard.

   The software is free and open source. The models behind it are not: every agent runs on your own API key or subscription, and that cost goes straight to the model provider.

   github.com

   

2. 2

   Step 2

   Install it with one command

   You need Node.js 24.11 or newer. Check your version first, then run the install command in your terminal.

   The command sets up a local instance with an embedded Postgres database, so there is no database to set up yourself. Then open the link it prints in the terminal.

   

   PromptInstall commands

   Copy

   node -v
   npx paperclipai@latest onboard --yes

   Tip: If you get an E404 error and use a private npm registry, add --registry https://registry.npmjs.org to the command.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Write the company goal

   Everything in Paperclip starts from a clear goal. The CEO breaks it into tasks and hands them to the team, so the clearer the goal, the better the split.

   Write it as a result you can measure with a deadline, not a vague wish.

   PromptGoal prompt

   Copy

   Help me write a company goal for an agent team in Paperclip.
   The project: [two line description]
   The result I want: [for example: a working landing page and a weekly newsletter]
   The timeline: [two weeks]
   Write the goal in three sentences: the result, how I know it is done, and the limits the team must not cross.

4. 4

   Step 4

   Hire the team and pick what each one runs on

   The company starts with one agent, the CEO. Then add the roles you need: an engineer, a designer, a marketer, each reporting to a manager.

   For each agent you pick what it runs on: Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor and more. Start small with three or four, and grow once the work flows.

   docs.paperclip.ing

   

   PromptJob description prompt

   Copy

   Write a short job description for an agent on my Paperclip team.
   Role: [for example: content marketer]
   Reports to: [for example: CEO]
   Tasks: [three tasks]
   Allowed tools: [for example: write files in the content folder only]
   Never does: [for example: publish without my approval]
   Keep it to six lines.

5. 5

   Step 5

   Cap the spend before you run anything

   This is the step that matters most. Every time an agent works, it costs money at the model provider. Set a budget for the whole company, a smaller one per agent, and turn on alerts before the cap.

   When spend hits the cap, work pauses. Note that the stop runs on recorded spend, so work already in flight can run a little past it. Set the cap below the amount that would hurt.

   docs.paperclip.ing

   

   Tip: Start with a small budget in week one and check the costs page daily before you raise it.

6. 6

   Step 6

   Make big decisions wait for your approval

   Approvals keep you the real boss. Before any agent hires a new one or changes the strategy, Paperclip pauses and asks for your sign off.

   Check the approvals page once or twice a day: approve, reject, or pause any agent that looks off.

   docs.paperclip.ing

   

7. 7

   Step 7

   Decide where it runs: your machine or a server

   On your laptop, Paperclip only works while the laptop is on. If you want the team working around the clock, you need a server or a machine that stays on. The official docs cover deploying with Docker and private remote access over a network like Tailscale.

   Never expose the dashboard to the internet without sign in. Your keys and spend live there.

   PromptAlways on plan prompt

   Copy

   I run Paperclip on my laptop and want to move it to a server that runs around the clock.
   The server: [for example: an Ubuntu VPS]
   My agents: [the list]
   Write me a step by step plan based on the official Paperclip Docker deployment docs, with a safe way to reach the dashboard and where to keep my keys so they never leak.

Ready prompts to copy

Here is this week's Paperclip summary: [paste completed tasks, spend per agent, and stuck tasks]
Tell me which agent spent more than it delivered, which task repeated with no result, and what I should change in roles or budgets next week.

This is my Paperclip company goal: [goal]
Split it into five big tasks and match each one to a role on my team: [roles], with a rough difficulty for each. I want to review the split before I run the team.