The Problem

Juggling multiple AI agents across different platforms is a nightmare. You end up with a dozen browser tabs, lost context, and zero accountability. Tracking goals, budgets, and progress feels like herding cats — especially when you want everything running 24/7 without babysitting.

What This Does

Paperclip acts as the central command for autonomous companies. You define goals, plug in your agents (Claude, Codex, OpenClaw, whatever), and Paperclip keeps everyone in line. The cli/ directory is the brains: commands for onboarding agents, setting goals, and approving strategies live in files like cli/src/commands/onboard.ts and cli/src/commands/approval.ts. Agent orchestration happens through adapters in cli/src/adapters/. Everything is tracked and audited — costs, activity, org charts — so you actually know what your bots are doing.

Setup is handled via Docker (docker-compose.yml, Dockerfile), and config is managed in files like .env.example and cli/src/config/env.ts. The React UI pulls it all together so you can monitor your "company" from your phone or browser. Documentation is everywhere (docs/, doc/), so you won't be lost.

Real-World Use

Say you want to build an AI startup. You set your goal in the dashboard ("Build the #1 AI note-taking app to $1M MRR"), hire agents (CEO, CTO, engineers), and assign tasks. Agents connect via HTTP or process adapters (cli/src/adapters/http/index.ts, cli/src/adapters/process/index.ts), send heartbeats, and report progress. You approve budgets, monitor activity logs, and jump in if things go off the rails. If you want to automate onboarding, you can use the CLI:

And watch your bots execute, audit logs in real time, and enforce cost controls.

The Bottom Line

Paperclip is serious orchestration for anyone sick of micromanaging AI agents. If you want real accountability, org charts, and budget enforcement, it’s worth a look. Not lightweight — this is overkill for a single bot, but if you’re wrangling a swarm, it’s exactly what you need. Just read the docs before you dive in, or you’ll drown in YAML.