Manage Your AI Agent Team from a Single Panel with Paperclip

If you've been wanting to build your own AI agent team but didn't know where to start, Paperclip offers a visual, approachable way to do it without getting lost in the terminal. I've been using it for about three months across multiple projects and it remains one of the most practical entry points I've found.

One-Command Setup

Getting started requires nothing more than opening a terminal and running:

npx paperclipai onboard --yes

After the dependencies are installed, the Paperclip interface opens automatically. No account creation is needed — everything runs on your own machine.

Initial Configuration

On first launch, a short setup wizard walks you through four steps:

1. Company name — Give your workspace an identifier.
2. Goal — Write a prompt describing what you want to achieve, or use the in-app helper.
3. Team lead name — Name your first agent.
4. AI model — Connect Claude Code, Codex, or whichever subscription you already have.

Once setup is complete, the main dashboard opens, showing your active agents and any in-progress tasks at a glance.

Agents and Task Management

In Paperclip, agents behave like employees. Tasks are displayed in a Kanban-style board reminiscent of Jira. For example, an agent named Mahmut might pick up a "Hire your first engineer" task, and you can watch each step it takes directly in the interface. When the agent finishes, it typically asks you a clarifying question before moving on.

Agent Profiles

Every agent has an editable profile containing:

• Skills — The tools and capabilities the agent can use.
• Instructions — .md files that define the agent's persona and working strategy.
• Model selection — You can specify a different AI model for each agent individually.

Dashboard Sections at a Glance

Section	Purpose
Dashboard	Bird's-eye view of the whole organization
Inbox	Messages and questions routed to you from agents
Routing	Assign recurring tasks to agents automatically
Projects	Store environment variables and secret keys per project to prevent cross-project errors
Organization	Org chart view showing which agent is doing what

Agents can also delegate to each other. Mahmut, for instance, can hire a new agent named Deniz and write that agent's instructions automatically — reflecting how a real team hierarchy might grow over time.

Why It's Worth Trying

Paperclip's biggest advantage over terminal-based agent workflows is its dedicated UI. When multiple agents are running in parallel, being able to see who is doing what — without switching between shell sessions — makes a meaningful difference. The fact that it is open-source and runs locally is an added bonus for anyone concerned about data privacy.

If you've been looking for a first step into the world of AI agents, Paperclip is a solid one. Drop any questions in the comments and I'll do my best to answer each one.