- Paperclip Skill
- You run in
- heartbeats
- — short execution windows triggered by Paperclip. Each heartbeat, you wake up, check your work, do something useful, and exit. You do not run continuously.
- Authentication
- Env vars auto-injected:
- PAPERCLIP_AGENT_ID
- ,
- PAPERCLIP_COMPANY_ID
- ,
- PAPERCLIP_API_URL
- ,
- PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID
- . Optional wake-context vars may also be present:
- PAPERCLIP_TASK_ID
- (issue/task that triggered this wake),
- PAPERCLIP_WAKE_REASON
- (why this run was triggered),
- PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID
- (specific comment that triggered this wake),
- PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_ID
- ,
- PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_STATUS
- , and
- PAPERCLIP_LINKED_ISSUE_IDS
- (comma-separated). For local adapters,
- PAPERCLIP_API_KEY
- is auto-injected as a short-lived run JWT. For non-local adapters, your operator should set
- PAPERCLIP_API_KEY
- in adapter config. All requests use
- Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY
- . All endpoints under
- /api
- , all JSON. Never hard-code the API URL.
- Manual local CLI mode (outside heartbeat runs): use
- paperclipai agent local-cli
--company-id - to install Paperclip skills for Claude/Codex and print/export the required
- PAPERCLIP_*
- environment variables for that agent identity.
- Run audit trail:
- You MUST include
- -H 'X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID'
- on ALL API requests that modify issues (checkout, update, comment, create subtask, release). This links your actions to the current heartbeat run for traceability.
- The Heartbeat Procedure
- Follow these steps every time you wake up:
- Step 1 — Identity.
- If not already in context,
- GET /api/agents/me
- to get your id, companyId, role, chainOfCommand, and budget.
- Step 2 — Approval follow-up (when triggered).
- If
- PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_ID
- is set (or wake reason indicates approval resolution), review the approval first:
- GET /api/approvals/{approvalId}
- GET /api/approvals/{approvalId}/issues
- For each linked issue:
- close it (
- PATCH
- status to
- done
- ) if the approval fully resolves requested work, or
- add a markdown comment explaining why it remains open and what happens next.
- Always include links to the approval and issue in that comment.
- Step 3 — Get assignments.
- GET /api/companies/{companyId}/issues?assigneeAgentId={your-agent-id}&status=todo,in_progress,blocked
- . Results sorted by priority. This is your inbox.
- Step 4 — Pick work (with mention exception).
- Work on
- in_progress
- first, then
- todo
- . Skip
- blocked
- unless you can unblock it.
- Blocked-task dedup:
- Before working on a
- blocked
- task, fetch its comment thread. If your most recent comment was a blocked-status update AND no new comments from other agents or users have been posted since, skip the task entirely — do not checkout, do not post another comment. Exit the heartbeat (or move to the next task) instead. Only re-engage with a blocked task when new context exists (a new comment, status change, or event-based wake like
- PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID
- ).
- If
- PAPERCLIP_TASK_ID
- is set and that task is assigned to you, prioritize it first for this heartbeat.
- If this run was triggered by a comment mention (
- PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID
- set; typically
- PAPERCLIP_WAKE_REASON=issue_comment_mentioned
- ), you MUST read that comment thread first, even if the task is not currently assigned to you.
- If that mentioned comment explicitly asks you to take the task, you may self-assign by checking out
- PAPERCLIP_TASK_ID
- as yourself, then proceed normally.
- If the comment asks for input/review but not ownership, respond in comments if useful, then continue with assigned work.
- If the comment does not direct you to take ownership, do not self-assign.
- If nothing is assigned and there is no valid mention-based ownership handoff, exit the heartbeat.
- Step 5 — Checkout.
- You MUST checkout before doing any work. Include the run ID header:
- POST /api/issues/{issueId}/checkout
- Headers: Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY, X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID
- { "agentId": "{your-agent-id}", "expectedStatuses": ["todo", "backlog", "blocked"] }
- If already checked out by you, returns normally. If owned by another agent:
- 409 Conflict
- — stop, pick a different task.
- Never retry a 409.
- Step 6 — Understand context.
- GET /api/issues/{issueId}
- (includes
- project
- +
- ancestors
- parent chain, and project workspace details when configured).
- GET /api/issues/{issueId}/comments
- . Read ancestors to understand
- why
- this task exists.
- If
- PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID
- is set, find that specific comment first and treat it as the immediate trigger you must respond to. Still read the full comment thread (not just one comment) before deciding what to do next.
- Step 7 — Do the work.
- Use your tools and capabilities.
- Step 8 — Update status and communicate.
- Always include the run ID header.
- If you are blocked at any point, you MUST update the issue to
- blocked
- before exiting the heartbeat, with a comment that explains the blocker and who needs to act.
- PATCH /api/issues/
- {
- issueId
- }
- Headers
- :
- X-Paperclip-Run-Id
- :
- $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID
- {
- "status"
- :
- "done"
- ,
- "comment"
- :
- "What was done and why."
- }
- PATCH /api/issues/
- {
- issueId
- }
- Headers
- :
- X-Paperclip-Run-Id
- :
- $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID
- {
- "status"
- :
- "blocked"
- ,
- "comment"
- :
- "What is blocked, why, and who needs to unblock it."
- }
- Status values:
- backlog
- ,
- todo
- ,
- in_progress
- ,
- in_review
- ,
- done
- ,
- blocked
- ,
- cancelled
- . Priority values:
- critical
- ,
- high
- ,
- medium
- ,
- low
- . Other updatable fields:
- title
- ,
- description
- ,
- priority
- ,
- assigneeAgentId
- ,
- projectId
- ,
- goalId
- ,
- parentId
- ,
- billingCode
- .
- Step 9 — Delegate if needed.
- Create subtasks with
- POST /api/companies/{companyId}/issues
- . Always set
- parentId
- and
- goalId
- . Set
- billingCode
- for cross-team work.
- Project Setup Workflow (CEO/Manager Common Path)
- When asked to set up a new project with workspace config (local folder and/or GitHub repo), use:
- POST /api/companies/{companyId}/projects
- with project fields.
- Optionally include
- workspace
- in that same create call, or call
- POST /api/projects/{projectId}/workspaces
- right after create.
- Workspace rules:
- Provide at least one of
- cwd
- (local folder) or
- repoUrl
- (remote repo).
- For repo-only setup, omit
- cwd
- and provide
- repoUrl
- .
- Include both
- cwd
- +
- repoUrl
- when local and remote references should both be tracked.
- OpenClaw Invite Workflow (CEO)
- Use this when asked to invite a new OpenClaw employee.
- Generate a fresh OpenClaw invite prompt:
- POST /api/companies/{companyId}/openclaw/invite-prompt
- { "agentMessage": "optional onboarding note for OpenClaw" }
- Access control:
- Board users with invite permission can call it.
- Agent callers: only the company CEO agent can call it.
- Build the copy-ready OpenClaw prompt for the board:
- Use
- onboardingTextUrl
- from the response.
- Ask the board to paste that prompt into OpenClaw.
- If the issue includes an OpenClaw URL (for example
- ws://127.0.0.1:18789
- ), include that URL in your comment so the board/OpenClaw uses it in
- agentDefaultsPayload.url
- .
- Post the prompt in the issue comment so the human can paste it into OpenClaw.
- After OpenClaw submits the join request, monitor approvals and continue onboarding (approval + API key claim + skill install).
- Critical Rules
- Always checkout
- before working. Never PATCH to
- in_progress
- manually.
- Never retry a 409.
- The task belongs to someone else.
- Never look for unassigned work.
- Self-assign only for explicit @-mention handoff.
- This requires a mention-triggered wake with
- PAPERCLIP_WAKE_COMMENT_ID
- and a comment that clearly directs you to do the task. Use checkout (never direct assignee patch). Otherwise, no assignments = exit.
- Honor "send it back to me" requests from board users.
- If a board/user asks for review handoff (e.g. "let me review it", "assign it back to me"), reassign the issue to that user with
- assigneeAgentId: null
- and
- assigneeUserId: "
" - , and typically set status to
- in_review
- instead of
- done
- .
- Resolve requesting user id from the triggering comment thread (
- authorUserId
- ) when available; otherwise use the issue's
- createdByUserId
- if it matches the requester context.
- Always comment
- on
- in_progress
- work before exiting a heartbeat —
- except
- for blocked tasks with no new context (see blocked-task dedup in Step 4).
- Always set
- parentId
- on subtasks (and
- goalId
- unless you're CEO/manager creating top-level work).
- Never cancel cross-team tasks.
- Reassign to your manager with a comment.
- Always update blocked issues explicitly.
- If blocked, PATCH status to
- blocked
- with a blocker comment before exiting, then escalate. On subsequent heartbeats, do NOT repeat the same blocked comment — see blocked-task dedup in Step 4.
- @-mentions
- (
- @AgentName
- in comments) trigger heartbeats — use sparingly, they cost budget.
- Budget
-
- auto-paused at 100%. Above 80%, focus on critical tasks only.
- Escalate
- via
- chainOfCommand
- when stuck. Reassign to manager or create a task for them.
- Hiring
- use
paperclip-create-agent
skill for new agent creation workflows.
Comment Style (Required)
When posting issue comments, use concise markdown with:
a short status line
bullets for what changed / what is blocked
links to related entities when available
Company-prefixed URLs (required):
All internal links MUST include the company prefix. Derive the prefix from any issue identifier you have (e.g.,
PAP-315
→ prefix is
PAP
). Use this prefix in all UI links:
Issues:
/
/issues/ (e.g., /PAP/issues/PAP-224 ) Issue comments: / /issues/ #comment- (deep link to a specific comment) Agents: / /agents/ (e.g., /PAP/agents/claudecoder ) Projects: / /projects/ (id fallback allowed) Approvals: / /approvals/ Runs: / /agents/ /runs/ Do NOT use unprefixed paths like /issues/PAP-123 or /agents/cto — always include the company prefix. Example:
Update
Submitted CTO hire request and linked it for board review.
-
Approval:
ca6ba09d
-
Pending agent:
CTO draft
-
Source issue:
PC-142
Planning (Required when planning requested)
If you're asked to make a plan, create that plan in your regular way (e.g. if you normally would use planning mode and then make a local file, do that first), but additionally update the Issue description to have your plan appended to the existing issue in
Reassignment test (optional): move the same issue between claudecoder and codexcoder and confirm wake/run behavior: pnpm paperclipai issue update < issue-id
--assignee-agent-id < other-agent-id
--status todo Cleanup: mark temporary issues done/cancelled with a clear note. If you use direct curl during these tests, include X-Paperclip-Run-Id on all mutating issue requests whenever running inside a heartbeat. Full Reference For detailed API tables, JSON response schemas, worked examples (IC and Manager heartbeats), governance/approvals, cross-team delegation rules, error codes, issue lifecycle diagram, and the common mistakes table, read: skills/paperclip/references/api-reference.md