---
title: "Installing and Configuring Paperclip on a Cloud Server | Hostman Docs"
description: "Learn how to deploy Paperclip, an open-source platform for managing AI agent teams, on Hostman with both automatic and manual setup, including systemd autostart and administrator account creation."
---

> For the complete documentation index for AI agents, see [llms.txt](https://hostman.com/llms.txt).

[Paperclip](https://paperclip.ing/) is an open-source platform for managing a team of AI agents. It lets you bring agents and models together into a single system, assign them roles and tasks, track work progress and costs, and manage the whole process through a web interface. It's a good fit for scenarios where you need to coordinate several AI tools within one workflow.

## Installing Paperclip

To install Paperclip on a Hostman cloud server:

1.  Go to **[Cloud Servers](https://hostman.com/my/servers)** and click **Create Server**.
2.  Choose the region where the server will be deployed.
3.  In the **Image** step, open the **Marketplace** tab.
4.  Select the **AI** section and choose the **Paperclip** build.

![Create Server 2026 08 04 12 11](https://content.hostman.com/assets/b987765c-42c0-43f7-b11d-8e0c7e82d458.png?width=759&height=736)

5.  Select server configuration. You can leave the remaining settings at their defaults.
6.  Click **Create**.

Once the server is ready, you'll receive an email with a link to the automatic server setup script.

You can set up Paperclip in one of two ways:

-   Automatic setup
-   Manual setup

## Automatic Setup

Automatic setup is done using a ready-made script. It installs and configures Paperclip, along with OpenCode for working with AI models.

This method assumes you'll use [Hostman's AI agents](https://hostman.com/docs/ai-agents/) or [AI Gateway](https://hostman.com/docs/ai-agents/ai-gateway/) as your OpenAI-compatible API provider.

Before you start, make sure you already have [an AI agent created](https://hostman.com/docs/ai-agents/manage-agents/create/), or an [AI Gateway token issued](https://hostman.com/docs/ai-agents/ai-gateway/connection/#creating-an-api-key).

To set up Paperclip automatically:

1.  [Connect to your server over SSH](https://hostman.com/docs/cloud-servers/connect-to-server/).
    
2.  Run the setup script:
    

```shell
curl -fsSL "https://st.hostman.com/cloud-static/hostman-paperclip-autoinstall.sh" -o /tmp/hostman-paperclip-autoinstall.sh && chmod +x /tmp/hostman-paperclip-autoinstall.sh && sudo /tmp/hostman-paperclip-autoinstall.sh
```

3.  Enter the OpenAI API URL:
    

-   -   If you're using AI Gateway, enter:

```shell
https://ai-api.hostman.com/v1
```

-   -   If you're using an AI agent, you can find its [base URL](https://hostman.com/docs/ai-agents/api-usage/openai-compatible-api/#base-url) on the agent’s **Dashboard**.

4.  Enter the token for your chosen connection method. The characters won't be displayed as you type.
    
5.  Specify the model in the following format:
    

```shell
vendor/model_name
```

For example:

```shell
openai/gpt-5-mini
```

Once you've entered these parameters, the script will:

-   check and install dependencies
-   create a dedicated system user
-   configure OpenCode
-   create an administrator account
-   create a project in Paperclip

When the installation finishes, it displays a link to the Paperclip web interface along with the login details for the administrator account.

## Manual Setup

You can also set up Paperclip manually by creating a dedicated user, configuring server settings, setting up the service to start automatically, and creating an administrator account.

### Step 1. Create a User

1.  [Connect to your server over SSH](https://hostman.com/docs/cloud-servers/connect-to-server/) and create a dedicated user to run Paperclip under:
    

```shell
sudo adduser paperclip
```

2.  Add the user to the `sudo` group:
    

```shell
sudo usermod -aG sudo paperclip
```

3.  Switch to the newly created user:
    

```shell
su paperclip
```

### Step 2. Run the Initial Paperclip Setup

1.  Start the Paperclip setup:
    

```shell
paperclipai onboard
```

2.  Select **Quickstart**.
    
3.  When asked "Start Paperclip now?", answer **No**.
    
4.  Open the server configuration settings:
    

```shell
paperclipai configure --section server
```

5.  Set the following values:
    

-   -   **Reachability**: Custom
    -   **Server port**: 3100 (default value)
    -   **Auth mode**: Authenticated
    -   **Exposure profile**: Public internet
    -   **Bind host**: `0.0.0.0`
    -   **Public base URL**: the domain you'll use to access the service, or `http://server_IP` if you don't need a domain

6.  Once configuration is complete, check that Paperclip starts correctly. Run:
    

```shell
paperclipai run
```

7.  Open `http://server_IP:3100/` in your browser. If you see a message prompting you to create an administrator account, the service is working correctly.
8.  Go back to the terminal and stop the process with **Ctrl+C**.

### Step 3. Set Up Autostart with systemd

To have Paperclip start automatically after a server reboot, create a `systemd` service.

1.  Create a configuration file:
    

```shell
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/paperclip.service
```

2.  Add the following content to it:
    

```shell
[Unit]
Description=Paperclip
After=network.target

[Service]
User=paperclip
WorkingDirectory=/home/paperclip
ExecStart=/usr/bin/paperclipai run
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

3.  Save the file.
    
4.  Reload the `systemd` configuration to pick up the new service:
    

```shell
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
```

5.  Enable the service so it starts automatically after a server reboot:
    

```shell
sudo systemctl enable paperclip
```

6.  Start Paperclip:
    

```shell
sudo systemctl start paperclip
```

Open `http://server_IP:3100` in your browser again. You should see the same prompt to create an administrator account.

### Step 4. Create an Administrator

1.  Run this command to create the first administrator account:
    

```shell
paperclipai auth bootstrap-ceo --force --base-url http://server_IP:3100
```

This command generates a one-time invitation link for registering an administrator. Example link:

```shell
http://server_IP:3100/invite/pcp_bootstrap_523d3256ea12afbb5e1f9d7f805233e9aecce5db58c85b17
```

2.  Open the link you received and click **Sign in / Create account**.
    

![14bbcf4b 236a 403d 9adb 829881b83b43.png](https://content.hostman.com/assets/ee9b99cd-5639-47a5-a07f-7c0fef15e5dd.png?width=1856&height=1014)

_[Paperclip](https://paperclip.ing/) authentication window_

3.  On the next screen, click **Create one** to create a new user. The email address is only used as a login—no emails will actually be sent to it.
    

4.  Fill in the form fields and click **Create account**.   
    If you're redirected back to the invitation page after creating your account, manually open `http://server_IP:3100`.
    

5.  Complete the initial setup and specify the connection details for your chosen agent provider.
    

After setup is complete, the Paperclip dashboard opens.