---
title: "Deploy Paperclip Claude Code"
description: "Hire Claude Code agents into your Paperclip company"
category: "AI/ML"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/deploy-paperclip-with-claude-code-agents
---

# Deploy Paperclip Claude Code

Hire Claude Code agents into your Paperclip company

**[Deploy Paperclip Claude Code on Railway](https://railway.com/template/deploy-paperclip-with-claude-code-agents)**

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

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

## Template content

### Postgres https://devicons.railway.app/i/postgresql.svg

- **Image:** ghcr.io/railwayapp-templates/postgres-ssl:18

### paperclip

- **Image:** ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip:2026.1012.0@sha256:1661b3dd3fdf7a9b59542d1ced464c3faf9dc8309798b4d15a9923ed32795307
- **Start command:** `/bin/sh -c "printenv PAPERCLIP_RAILWAY_BOOTSTRAP_JS > /tmp/railway-bootstrap.mjs || true; chmod 644 /tmp/railway-bootstrap.mjs; exec /usr/bin/tini -s -- docker-entrypoint.sh /bin/sh -c 'cd /app; if [ -s /tmp/railway-bootstrap.mjs ] && [ ${PAPERCLIP_RAILWAY_BOOTSTRAP_INVITE:-true} = true ]; then (node /tmp/railway-bootstrap.mjs &); fi; exec node --import ./server/node_modules/tsx/dist/loader.mjs server/dist/index.js'"`
- **Health check:** /api/health
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host self hosted Paperclip Claude Code (Open-Source Control Plane for Claude Code Agents) on Railway

This template deploys Paperclip, an MIT-licensed control plane where you hire Claude Code agents into an org chart, hand them issues, and cap their spend.

## About Hosting Paperclip Claude Code open-source software on Railway (self hosted Paperclip with Claude Code agents template)

This template runs the Paperclip control plane as one service and a Railway Postgres 18 database that holds your companies, issues, and run history.

## Why Deploy Paperclip Claude Code, the CrewAI alternative on Railway (Railway Free Trial)

CrewAI is a solid Python framework, but it's code-first, so you build the crew and watch runs in your own tooling.

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying Paperclip Claude Code on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.

### Railway vs Other Hosting Providers and VPS for Paperclip Claude Code self hosting

Paperclip Claude Code needs a Node.js server, a dashboard, Postgres, and a persistent volume, so here is how Railway compares with the usual options.

| Provider | What You Get with Railway | What You Get with the Other Provider |
| --- | --- | --- |
| DigitalOcean | Paperclip, Postgres 18, and the /paperclip volume deployed from one template with generated secrets. | A Droplet you set up yourself, with Docker, a reverse proxy, and backups handled by you. |
| AWS | The template wires the app to Postgres and the volume without you touching VPC or IAM settings. | Fine-grained networking and scaling control, but far more to build before the first agent runs. |
| Hetzner | Usage-based hosting with the same one-click template, so you skip writing a Dockerfile. | Low raw compute prices, with installs, updates, and security patches left on your side. |

## Common Use Cases for hosted Paperclip Claude Code

- **Claude Code engineer on an issue queue:** Create a Claude Code agent, give it a role in the org chart, and assign it issues. It checks out one issue at a time, works in its own workspace on the /paperclip volume, and posts results back to the issue for you to review.
- **Reviewer agent for pull requests:** Hire a second Claude Code agent whose job is to read the engineer's changes and leave review notes. An approval gate keeps the final merge decision with a human.
- **Per-agent budgets:** Set a spend limit on each agent. When one crosses its limit, Paperclip pauses that agent automatically, so a looping run can't drain your Anthropic account overnight.
- **Scheduled routines:** Use a routine with a heartbeat schedule for recurring chores like weekly dependency update checks. The agent wakes on the schedule, does the work, and logs what it changed.
- **Mixed agent teams:** Run Claude Code agents alongside Codex or OpenCode agents in the same company. Give each its own role and budget, and watch all their runs from one dashboard.

## Dependencies for Paperclip Claude Code Docker hosted on Railway

This template runs a Paperclip control plane backed by Postgres, with the Claude Code adapter ready once you add a key. Keep one replica so the volume and database stay in step.

### Deployment Dependencies for Managed Paperclip Claude Code Service (AI Agent Orchestration)

- **Railway Postgres 18:** supplies DATABASE_URL, and migrations run on first boot.
- **Persistent volume at /paperclip:** holds uploads, instance config, agent workspaces and the local secrets key.
- **Generated secrets:** BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, PAPERCLIP_AGENT_JWT_SECRET and PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY are 64 hex characters each. Guard the master key, since changing it makes stored secrets unreadable.
- **Optional provider keys:** ANTHROPIC_API_KEY ships empty, and you set it so Claude Code agents can run.

### Implementation Details for Paperclip Claude Code (Using Paperclip official docker image)

The service runs the official Paperclip image with HOST=0.0.0.0, PAPERCLIP_BIND=lan, PORT=3100 and SERVE_UI=true.

## How does Paperclip Claude Code compare against other ways to run teams of Claude Code agents

### Paperclip vs CrewAI (CrewAI Alternative)

- **Interface:** Paperclip is a control plane with an org chart and a web UI, so non-engineers can watch and approve work. CrewAI is a Python framework you drive from code, which wins if your team lives in the editor.
- **Guardrails:** Paperclip tracks spend per agent, pauses agents when a budget is crossed, and has approval gates. CrewAI leaves those for you to build.

### Paperclip vs Claude Code alone (Claude Code Alternative)

- **Scope:** Claude Code in your terminal is one agent working on what you type in front of it. Paperclip adds an issue queue and heartbeats that wake agents for assigned work or schedules.
- **Cost:** Running Claude Code yourself is simpler and cheaper to start, and it wins when you don't need a team.

### Paperclip vs LangGraph (LangGraph Alternative)

- **Abstraction:** LangGraph gives you a graph framework for agent workflows in code, with fine control over every node. Paperclip gives you roles, goals, and issues already in place.
- **Operations:** Paperclip includes a dashboard and scheduled routines out of the box. With LangGraph you build the surrounding ops yourself.

### Paperclip vs AutoGen (AutoGen Alternative)

- **Design:** AutoGen is a Microsoft multi-agent framework where agents converse to solve a task, mostly driven from code. Paperclip treats agents as employees with roles, budgets, and an issue queue.
- **Visibility:** Paperclip's web UI and run logs show what each agent did and let you approve results. AutoGen's conversations live in code and logs, with no org-level dashboard by default.

## How to use Paperclip Claude Code (the OSS AI agent orchestration platform)?

1. Deploy the template on Railway and wait for the paperclip service and Postgres to go green.
2. Open the deploy logs, find the [railway-bootstrap] block, and copy the one-time /invite/pcp_bootstrap_ URL. It's valid for 72 hours.
3. Open that invite in your browser, sign up, and you become the instance admin.
4. On the paperclip service, set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (it ships empty) and redeploy so the Claude Code adapter can run.

```
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key-here
```

5. Create a company and a goal that tells the org what it's trying to ship.
6. Hire an agent, pick the Claude Code adapter, and give it a role in the org chart.
7. Set the agent's budget and heartbeat schedule so it wakes for assigned work and stops before spend runs away.
8. Create an issue, assign it to the agent, and let it check the issue out.
9. Watch the run log, then approve the result before anything risky goes further.

## How to self host Paperclip Claude Code on other VPS Services (Paperclip self hosting guide)

You can run Paperclip on any VPS with Docker or from source. Use external Postgres for production.

### Clone the Repository

Clone the upstream project. The docs at docs.paperclip.ing cover Docker and VPS setups.

```bash
git clone https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip.git
cd paperclip
```

### Install Dependencies

Paperclip uses pnpm, so install Node.js and then the packages from the repo root.

```bash
pnpm install
```

### Configure Environment Variables

Set a Postgres connection string and your public URL. Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY so the Claude Code adapter can run.

```bash
export DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@your-db-host:5432/paperclip
export PAPERCLIP_PUBLIC_URL=https://your-domain
export PAPERCLIP_HOME=/var/lib/paperclip
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-anthropic-key
```

### Start the Paperclip Claude Code Application

Start the server, open your public URL, and claim the one-time bootstrap invite from the startup output. Railway handles the container, volume, and Postgres wiring for you.

## Official Pricing of Paperclip Claude Code (Paperclip pricing)

Paperclip is MIT-licensed open-source software, so there's no Paperclip license fee and no paid Paperclip cloud tier to compare against.

## Paperclip Claude Code cloud vs self hosted comparison (Pricing, features, costs, and more)

Paperclip is MIT licensed, so the software is free to run. Your real costs are the Railway service and Postgres, plus Claude Code spend against your Anthropic key.

### Monthly cost of self hosting Paperclip Claude Code on Railway

Expect roughly $10-20 a month for the app plus Postgres at light use. Railway's $5 trial covers early testing.

### System Requirements for Hosting Paperclip Claude Code on a VPS

Give the box enough memory for the Paperclip server, Postgres, and a Claude Code process running at once. Use external Postgres in production.

## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

### Does Paperclip use my Claude subscription or an API key?

The bundled Claude Code adapter authenticates with ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, which you set on the Paperclip service after deploy.

### Where do my agent files live?

Agent workspaces, uploads, and instance config live under PAPERCLIP_HOME, which is /paperclip on the mounted volume.

### How do budgets stop runaway spend?

Each agent can have a budget with spend tracking, and Paperclip pauses the agent automatically when spend crosses that limit.

### Can it push to GitHub?

Yes, if the agent's workspace has git credentials and a remote configured.

### Can I run several Claude Code agents at once?

Yes, you can hire several agents with the Claude Code adapter and give each its own role, issues, and budget.

### What if the API key is missing?

The Claude Code adapter can't start runs without ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, so agents will fail their heartbeats until you add it.


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