Deploy and Host Paperclip Org Chart (Open-Source AI Agent Company) on Railway

Paperclip Org Chart turns multi-agent orchestration into a company you run from the board seat. Create a company, hire a CEO agent, and assign roles with reporting lines.

About Hosting Paperclip Org Chart on Railway (self hosted Paperclip template)

The template runs the official Paperclip server with managed Postgres. Paperclip listens on port 3100, health-checks at /api/health, and stores state in /paperclip. That volume is PAPERCLIP_HOME and holds uploads, instance config, agent workspaces, and local secrets.

Railway generates three 64-character hex secrets: BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, PAPERCLIP_AGENT_JWT_SECRET, and PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY. The master key encrypts company secrets in Postgres; rotating it makes them unreadable.

Why Deploy Paperclip Org Chart on Railway (Railway Free Trial)

Railway gives a managed home for Paperclip without Docker on a VPS or manual Postgres backups. The trial covers early tests. Agents can run bundled CLIs like Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI inside the container, so watch RAM and CPU as you add active agents.

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 Org Chart 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 Org Chart self hosting

Provider	Hosting model	Paperclip fit
DigitalOcean	Droplet or App Platform, manual Docker and Postgres setup	Works, but you manage the container, volume, and database yourself
AWS	EC2 or ECS plus RDS, IAM, and networking	Full control, more setup overhead, easy to overprovision for a small org
Hetzner	Cheap dedicated VPS, manual Docker or systemd	Low cost, but no managed Postgres or one-click Paperclip template

Common Use Cases for hosted Paperclip Org Chart

Run a small company graph with a CEO, CTO, two engineers, and a marketer, each with a reporting line.
Give each role a budget and heartbeat so agents wake only for assigned work or scheduled routines.
Keep context scoped by role; a marketer does not see engineering issues unless assigned or escalated.
Assign adapters per role, such as Claude Code for the CTO, Codex for engineers, and an HTTP endpoint for reporting.
Use approval gates so the board reviews hiring, budget increases, or risky actions before they happen.
Export and import portable company templates with secrets scrubbed for repeatable client or project orgs.

Dependencies for Paperclip Org Chart Docker hosted on Railway

The template depends on two Railway services: the Paperclip container and Railway Postgres 18. Paperclip is a Node.js server with a React UI, and the official Docker image bundles the server plus agent runtime adapters.

Deployment Dependencies for Managed Paperclip Org Chart Service (Agent Orchestration)

Paperclip service: port 3100, health check /api/health, volume /paperclip, one replica.
Railway Postgres 18: provides DATABASE_URL; migrations run automatically on boot.
Generated secrets: BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, PAPERCLIP_AGENT_JWT_SECRET, PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY.
Optional provider keys: OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY.
Fixed env: HOST=0.0.0.0, PAPERCLIP_BIND=lan, PORT=3100, SERVE_UI=true, PAPERCLIP_DEPLOYMENT_MODE=authenticated, PAPERCLIP_DEPLOYMENT_EXPOSURE=public.
Public URLs from the Railway public domain for PAPERCLIP_PUBLIC_URL and PAPERCLIP_API_URL.
Bootstrap: PAPERCLIP_RAILWAY_BOOTSTRAP_INVITE=true and PAPERCLIP_RAILWAY_BOOTSTRAP_JS for the one-time invite helper.

Implementation Details for Paperclip Org Chart (Using Paperclip official docker image)

The start command runs upstream tini plus docker-entrypoint.sh. Railway replaces ENTRYPOINT when a start command is set, so the entrypoint still chowns the volume, drops to the node user, runs the invite helper, then starts Paperclip.

How does Paperclip Org Chart compare against other AI agent orchestration platforms

Paperclip Org Chart at a glance

Model: MIT-licensed Node.js server and React UI; org chart, goals, issues, budgets, heartbeats, governance.
Adapters: Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, OpenClaw, HTTP endpoints, custom processes.
Hosting: Official Docker image or repo; managed Postgres recommended; Railway template automates.
Fit: Board-level control over a persistent AI company with reporting lines.

vs LangGraph

Model: LangGraph is a LangChain library for stateful agent graphs; LangGraph Platform is commercial hosting.
Company metaphor: LangGraph gives graph control; Paperclip gives org chart, budgets, and approval gates.
Hosting: LangGraph Platform is managed; Paperclip is MIT and self-hostable on Railway.
Context: LangGraph uses graph state and checkpoints; Paperclip uses reporting lines and atomic checkout.

vs n8n

Model: n8n is fair-code workflow automation with AI agent nodes.
Company metaphor: n8n automates workflows; Paperclip runs a company with roles and budgets.
Hosting: n8n self-hosted or cloud; Paperclip self-hosted Docker or VPS.
Context: n8n scopes by workflow data; Paperclip scopes by org role and issue assignment.

vs OpenClaw

Model: OpenClaw is a single personal agent; Paperclip can manage OpenClaw as an employee.
Company metaphor: If OpenClaw is an employee, Paperclip is the company.
Hosting: Both self-hostable; Paperclip adds org chart and budgets.
Context: OpenClaw handles personal tasks; Paperclip scopes across hired roles and reporting lines.

How to use Paperclip Org Chart (the OSS agent orchestration platform)?

After deploy, open logs and find [railway-bootstrap]. Copy the one-time /invite/pcp_bootstrap_ URL, open it in the same browser where you will sign up, claim the invite, and become instance admin.

In the UI, create a company, hire a CEO agent, and define roles like CTO, engineer, and marketer. Assign reporting lines, budgets, and heartbeats. Create issues and let the CEO delegate down the chart.

How to self host Paperclip Org Chart on other VPS Services (Paperclip self hosting guide)

Paperclip is MIT-licensed Node.js with a React UI. Self-host from the official Docker image or from github.com/paperclipai/paperclip. Docs at docs.paperclip.ing include Docker and VPS guides. Production should use external Postgres.

Clone the Repository

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

Install Dependencies

Install Node.js and pnpm, then run:

pnpm install

Configure Environment Variables

Create an env file with your Postgres URL and strong random values for BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, PAPERCLIP_AGENT_JWT_SECRET, and PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY. Set PAPERCLIP_PUBLIC_URL and PAPERCLIP_API_URL to your public domain, and PAPERCLIP_DEPLOYMENT_MODE to authenticated.

Start the Paperclip Org Chart Application

Run the production server:

pnpm start

After first boot, use the bootstrap invite to claim the admin account, disable public sign-up, and add LLM provider keys.

Official Pricing of Paperclip Org Chart (Paperclip pricing)

Paperclip is MIT-licensed and free to self-host. No Paperclip cloud subscription is required. You pay only for model provider usage and hosting. The Railway template uses the standard Railway free trial and then normal usage costs for Paperclip and Postgres.

Paperclip Org Chart cloud vs self hosted comparison (Pricing, features, costs, and more)

Self-hosting on Railway gives the full org chart, budgets, heartbeats, governance, multi-organization support, scheduled routines, skills, Skill Studio, and portable company templates. You control Postgres data, the /paperclip volume, and LLM keys.

Monthly cost of self hosting Paperclip Org Chart on Railway

At light use, expect about $10 to $20 per month for the Paperclip app plus Postgres on Railway. If multiple agents run coding CLIs like Claude Code or Codex, RAM and CPU use rises and Railway scales accordingly. The $5 Railway trial covers early testing.

System Requirements for Hosting Paperclip Org Chart on a VPS

A minimal deployment runs on 1 vCPU, 1 to 2 GB of RAM, and a small Postgres database. Idle use is light, but active coding agents need more. For several parallel agents with Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI, start with 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do I claim the admin account after deploying Paperclip on Railway?

Open deploy logs, find [railway-bootstrap], copy the one-time /invite/pcp_bootstrap_ URL, and sign up. It is valid for 72 hours and reprinted until claimed.

Can I run Paperclip without an LLM key?

Yes. The server starts without provider keys. You can create the org, manage issues, and configure roles. Agents need at least one key to run tasks.

What happens if I rotate PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY?

Existing encrypted company secrets become unreadable. Rotate only when you can re-enter those secrets or start fresh.

Which agent runtimes does Paperclip support?

Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, OpenClaw, HTTP endpoints, and custom processes. You can assign a different adapter per role.

How does Paperclip keep agent context scoped?

Issues flow through reporting lines; managers delegate down, reports escalate up, and agents use atomic checkout plus separate workspaces. The org chart prevents one role from seeing every issue.

Is Paperclip free to self-host?

Yes. Paperclip is MIT-licensed and free. You pay hosting and model provider costs, not Paperclip itself.