---
title: "Deploy Paperclip"
description: "Self-hosted AI agent orchestration: teams of agents, budgets, governance."
category: "AI/ML"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/paperclip-6
---

# Deploy Paperclip

Self-hosted AI agent orchestration: teams of agents, budgets, governance.

**[Deploy Paperclip on Railway](https://railway.com/template/paperclip-6)**

Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/paperclip-6/manifest.json

- **Creator:** wotonews
- **Category:** AI/ML

## Template content

### postgres

- **Image:** wotonews/postgres:v17.11-3

### paperclip

- **Image:** wotonews/paperclip:v2026.1005.0-3
- **Health check:** /
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host Paperclip with Railway

Paperclip is the app people use to manage AI agents for work: open-source orchestration for teams of AI agents, with org charts, budgets, governance, and a task manager UI. If your coding agent is an employee, Paperclip is the company.

## About Hosting Paperclip

This template deploys Paperclip in `authenticated` mode for internet-facing use, backed by a bundled PostgreSQL 17 database with persistent storage. The image (official upstream build, pinned, plus a thin Railway start wrapper) already ships the agent CLIs (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini) plus git, Python, and a Rust runner, so agents can execute inside the container. A volume at `/paperclip` keeps workspaces, secrets, and configuration across redeploys; the database lives on its own volume.

Wire-up is automatic: `DATABASE_URL` is composed from the database service over Railway's private network and `BETTER_AUTH_SECRET` is generated at deploy time. The image's start wrapper derives `PAPERCLIP_PUBLIC_URL` from the service's runtime public domain — regenerate or change the domain and it follows on the next deploy. On first boot Paperclip runs its schema migrations and prints a one-time **board-claim URL** in the deploy logs — open it to become the instance admin (see below).

## Why Deploy Paperclip on Railway?

- **One platform:** run the control plane, the database, and the agents it orchestrates in one project, connected over a private network.
- **Always on:** agents wake for assigned work, routines fire on schedule — no laptop to keep open.
- **Persistent workspaces:** volumes survive redeploys; sessions and skills carry over.
- **Scale on demand:** bump memory when your agent team grows; vertical scaling takes seconds.

## Common Use Cases

- Orchestrate a team of coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini) toward shared goals with budgets and approval gates.
- Run recurring routines (reports, triage, content) on cron with run history.
- Give a small team a shared, governed agent workspace with cost tracking and org-level permissions.
- Monitor autonomous agent work from the mobile-ready UI.

## Dependencies for Paperclip Hosting

- [PostgreSQL 17](https://www.postgresql.org/) (bundled service, extensions preinstalled)
- Docker image: upstream [`ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:2026.1005.0`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/pkgs/container/paperclip), published as `wotonews/paperclip:v2026.1005.0-3` with a Railway start wrapper
- Node.js 24 + pnpm, Rust runner, Python 3, git — all inside the image

### Deployment Dependencies

- Source: https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip (MIT)
- Docs: https://docs.paperclip.ing
- CLI: `npx paperclipai` for local management against the deployed instance

## First Boot: Claim Your Instance

1. Deploy the template (set the two secrets when prompted — both can be auto-generated — and the defaults work as-is).
2. Generate a **public domain** on the `paperclip` service if one was not created.
3. Open the deployment logs and find the line printing the board-claim URL: `/board-claim/?code=<code>`.
4. Visit that URL on your instance and sign in — you become the instance admin.
5. Add provider API keys (`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `GEMINI_API_KEY`, …) as service variables to enable the in-container agent CLIs, then redeploy.

## Environment Variables

| Service | Name | Required | Default | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :---: | :--- | :--- |
| postgres | `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` | **yes** | *generated* | Database superuser password. |
| paperclip | `BETTER_AUTH_SECRET` | **yes** | *generated* | Auth session signing secret. |
| paperclip | `DATABASE_URL` | no | *auto-composed* | Private-network Postgres URL — do not edit. |
| paperclip | `PAPERCLIP_PUBLIC_URL` | no | *runtime-derived* | Set automatically from `RAILWAY_PUBLIC_DOMAIN` by the image's start wrapper. |
| paperclip | `PAPERCLIP_DEPLOYMENT_EXPOSURE` | no | `public` (image default) | Set the variable to `private` to run behind a VPN. |
| paperclip | provider API keys | no | — | `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `GEMINI_API_KEY`, `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` enable agent CLIs. |

## Resource Notes

The image ships a full agent toolchain and sets a 4 GB Node heap ceiling. A **2 GB+ memory plan** is recommended once agents run in-container; idle control plane fits smaller plans. Telemetry is anonymous and can be disabled with `PAPERCLIP_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1`.

## Local Setup

```bash
docker run -d --name paperclip -p 3100:3100 \
  -e BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=dev-secret \
  ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:2026.1005.0
# UI + API on http://localhost:3100 (embedded Postgres for local use)
```


</code>

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