Deploy Paperclip

Last updated August 4, 2026

Paperclip 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
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To install Paperclip on a Hostman cloud server:

  1. Go to Cloud 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

  1. Select server configuration. You can leave the remaining settings at their defaults.
  2. 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
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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 or AI Gateway as your OpenAI-compatible API provider.

Before you start, make sure you already have an AI agent created, or an AI Gateway token issued.

To set up Paperclip automatically:

  1. Connect to your server over SSH.

  2. Run the setup script:

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

  1. Enter the OpenAI API URL:

    • If you're using AI Gateway, enter:
https://ai-api.hostman.com/v1
    • If you're using an AI agent, you can find its base URL on the agent’s Dashboard.

  1. Enter the token for your chosen connection method. The characters won't be displayed as you type.

  2. Specify the model in the following format:

vendor/model_name

For example:

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
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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
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  1. Connect to your server over SSH and create a dedicated user to run Paperclip under:

sudo adduser paperclip

  1. Add the user to the sudo group:

sudo usermod -aG sudo paperclip

  1. Switch to the newly created user:

su paperclip

Step 2. Run the Initial Paperclip Setup
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  1. Start the Paperclip setup:

paperclipai onboard

  1. Select Quickstart.

  2. When asked "Start Paperclip now?", answer No.

  3. Open the server configuration settings:

paperclipai configure --section server

  1. 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

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

paperclipai run
  1. 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.
  2. Go back to the terminal and stop the process with Ctrl+C.

Step 3. Set Up Autostart with systemd
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To have Paperclip start automatically after a server reboot, create a systemd service.

  1. Create a configuration file:

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

  1. Add the following content to it:

[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

  1. Save the file.

  2. Reload the systemd configuration to pick up the new service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

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

sudo systemctl enable paperclip

  1. Start Paperclip:

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

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:

http://server_IP:3100/invite/pcp_bootstrap_523d3256ea12afbb5e1f9d7f805233e9aecce5db58c85b17

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

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Paperclip authentication window

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

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

After setup is complete, the Paperclip dashboard opens.