Paperclip: run a company of AI agents

The free, open-source app from the reel. Set a goal, hire a team of AI agents (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and more), approve the plan and give every agent a budget.

CostFree and open source (MIT). You pay for the AI usage.

Works withClaude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode and more

Runs onYour own computer (self-hosted)

Proof104k stars on GitHub

Checked on 19 Oct 2026. Tools change fast, so the official page always wins if it says something different.

What you need first

1Node.js 24.11 or newerFree from nodejs.org.

2An AI agent you already useFor example Claude Code or Codex, with its own plan or API key.

Step by step

Install Node.js

Download Node.js 24.11 or newer from nodejs.org and install it. Check it in Terminal with node -v.

Run the one-line setup

Open Terminal and paste this. It sets up Paperclip on your computer, no Paperclip account needed.

Paste into Terminal

npx paperclipai@latest onboard --yes

Tip: Prefer not to use Terminal yourself? The README says you can share the official installation guide with your agent and let it install Paperclip.

Set a goal and hire your team

Write the company goal, then add agents with roles (CEO, engineers, marketers). Each one can be a different agent or model.

Give every agent a small budget

Set a spend limit per agent. Paperclip tracks spend, warns you, and pauses agents that go over. Start with one agent and a small budget while you learn it.

Approve the plan and watch the board

Agents pick up tickets like in a task manager. You review their plan and their work before it counts as done.

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The catch

The app is free, the AI isn't. Every agent uses your Claude, OpenAI or other plan or API credits.
Budgets can lag a little. The README says stops use recorded spend, so an agent can go slightly over before it pauses.
Setup is a terminal job. It's beginner-friendly with the one-line install, but it isn't a phone app.
The hosted cloud version is waitlist only. For now you run it on your own computer.

Official links

Paperclip on GitHub ↗Docs: five-minute quickstart ↗Website ↗

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