How to build a company run entirely by AI agents (free, open source, 5-minute setup)

Nick Spisak highlighted a neat new project on X, see the thread here. The post showcases Paperclip, a free, open-source system that turns a pile of AI agents into an actual company you can manage.

Think about how messy multi-agent setups get. You have Claude Code in one window, Codex in another, and some Bash scripts doing the glue work. Paperclip gives each agent a role, a boss, and a budget. Tasks persist through reboots. You can check status from your phone. Simple, but powerful.

What stands out:
– Org charts, not just labels, so work flows like in a real org.
– Goal alignment, where every task ties back to a mission (so nobody works in a vacuum).
– Heartbeats, agents wake on a schedule, do work, then sleep (this keeps costs predictable).
– Budget controls, every agent stops when it hits its monthly limit. No surprise bills.
– Auditing and tickets, every decision is logged and traceable.
– Provider-agnostic, it works with Claude, Codex, Cursor, plain HTTP agents, whatever you already run.
– Multi-company support, one install, separate companies.
– Governance, you stay the board, you approve hires and roll back config changes.

It’s self-hosted, MIT licensed, and the install is ridiculous in its simplicity (it launches a dashboard at http://localhost:3100). The creator, known as @dotta, is already planning a ClipMart marketplace of pre-built companies for quick starts.

If you’re juggling multiple agents or have ever had an agent loop away your token budget, Paperclip deserves a look. For those curious about how to build systems like this from scratch, there’s a community and waitlist to follow: join here.

This feels like the kind of tooling that makes messy workflows manageable, and it’s exciting to see where it goes next.