Is Paperclip really free?

Yes. Paperclip is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Lindy, on the other hand, costs €26 a month. One nuance for Paperclip: the software is free and complete, but it provides no AI. Each agent runs on your Claude subscription (Pro at €18 a month, quickly maxed out with several agents, Max from €90), your ChatGPT subscription (€23) or an API key paid as you go. The official documentation plans €4 to €17 to try it and €17 to €86 a month for an active team. In June, Anthropic announced, then paused, a change that would bill automated Claude usage separately. A local model goes through OpenCode or Hermes, with no official support. And for your agents to work at night, your Mac stays on, or you rent a small server.

Do I need to code to install Paperclip?

No. The level is intermediate and the install takes about 20 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.

How is it different from Lindy?

Paperclip does most of what Lindy does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.

Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.

Free alternative

Free alternative to Lindy

Lindy costs €26 a month. Paperclip does the same job for free, in open source: you install it on your machine or a small server, and you stop paying.

Public entry price, taken from Lindy’s website (lindy.ai). Over a year, that is €312 that stays in your pocket.

What replaces Lindy

The main alternative

Paperclip

🟡 Intermediate⏱️ ~20 min to installSave €26/mo

Paperclip is the open source alternative to Lindy: a team of AI agents that takes on tasks and moves forward on its own. You create your organization, set a goal and 'hire' agents (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Hermes…), each with a role and a manager. You hand them tasks as in a project manager, schedule routines (Monday research, Thursday newsletter), approve their plans and see what each one uses. It runs on your Mac or your server, no account, MIT licence; the cloud version is still only a waitlist. The limit: Paperclip brings no AI. Each agent draws on your subscription or your API key, and by default a Claude agent acts on your machine without asking permission.

Loucash’s verdict on Paperclip

7/10

Paperclip is the dashboard Claude Code was missing: instead of juggling ten terminal windows, you see your team of agents on one screen, who is working on what, what is blocked and what each one uses. The software is MIT licensed, with no account, and nothing is held back. What I like: you hand out tasks like to colleagues, you schedule routines (your Monday research, your newsletter draft) and you approve their plans before they act. And it puts the agents you already have to work: Claude Code, Codex or Hermes. Why 7 and not more: it provides no AI, so your Claude or ChatGPT subscription pays for every task, and a Pro plan runs out fast with several agents. The project is seven months old and changes very fast, sometimes breaking things, and the interface is in English. Above all, by default a Claude agent acts on your machine without asking for permission: run it on a separate account.

Who it is for: You already use Claude Code or Codex and want to hand them recurring tasks without sitting in front of your terminal. If you want a ready to use assistant, connected to your apps with nothing to install or watch over, Lindy is still simpler.

See the full page →See the tool ↗

Paperclip versus Lindy: the match

Price
Paperclip
€0, plus your agents' subscription or API key
Lindy
€26/month per user, AI included in the credits
The AI
Paperclip
Your agents: Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Hermes, Cursor…
Lindy
Included, model of your choice for each task
The team
Paperclip
Several agents, with roles, an org chart and delegation
Lindy
One assistant in Slack, with over 40 skills

Lindy ↗

VS	Paperclip	Lindy ↗
Price	€0, plus your agents' subscription or API key	€26/month per user, AI included in the credits
The AI	Your agents: Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Hermes, Cursor…	Included, model of your choice for each task
The team	Several agents, with roles, an org chart and delegation	One assistant in Slack, with over 40 skills
Recurring tasks	Scheduled routines, each one leaves a task and its history	Scheduled routines
Your go-ahead	Plan approvals, and hire approvals if you turn them on	Built-in approvals
Apps	Gmail, Drive, Notion, Slack, Shopify, Zapier and any MCP server	Over 1,500 integrations
Where it runs	On your Mac or your server, only calls to the AI and to connected apps leave it	In Lindy's cloud
Code	Open, MIT licence	Closed

The prompt that installs Paperclip

Paste this prompt into Claude: it checks the repository, asks you its questions and installs the tool step by step.

Je veux installer Paperclip (l'application open source pour diriger une équipe d'agents IA, dépôt GitHub officiel paperclipai/paperclip, site paperclip.ing) sur mon ordinateur, en local seulement, à la place d'un service payant comme Lindy. Guide-moi pas à pas en me posant des questions et suis le guide d'installation du dépôt (doc/INSTALLING.md). Pars de zéro : vérifie que Node.js 24.11 ou plus récent est installé (node --version). Sinon, installe Node.js 24 LTS ; si j'utilise déjà une autre version de Node pour d'autres projets, installe la 24 à côté (avec nvm ou node@24 de Homebrew) sans remplacer la mienne, l'installation gérée de Paperclip retient le bon Node. Vérifie aussi que python3 répond et que Claude Code est connecté à mon abonnement Claude (ou Codex à mon abonnement ChatGPT, si je préfère). Installe ensuite Paperclip avec le paquet npm officiel publié par ce dépôt, télémétrie coupée dès le départ : DO_NOT_TRACK=1 npx paperclipai install --yes, puis DO_NOT_TRACK=1 paperclipai onboard --yes --install-service. Ce mode garde le tableau de bord sur mon ordinateur seulement, à l'adresse qu'il affiche (en général http://localhost:3100), et le relance à chaque démarrage. Coupe la télémétrie pour de bon : mets telemetry.enabled à false dans ~/.paperclip/instances/default/config.json, puis lance paperclipai service restart. Ouvre le tableau de bord, crée mon organisation et choisis mon abonnement comme source du modèle, pas une clé d'API ; si une variable ANTHROPIC_API_KEY existe sur ma machine, préviens-moi, car elle passerait devant mon abonnement et je paierais à l'usage. Avant la première tâche, pose les garde-fous : dans les réglages de l'organisation, active Require board approval for new hires (sinon un agent peut en embaucher d'autres sans moi). Explique-moi aussi que le dossier de travail de chaque agent n'est pas une cage : un agent Claude agit sans demander la permission, avec les mêmes droits que moi, donc propose-moi de faire tourner Paperclip sur un compte Mac à part si je veux l'isoler. Lance enfin la première tâche avec le Chief of staff : je lui décris mon activité, il me propose une équipe, je valide. Termine en me montrant comment mettre un agent en pause, arrêter le service (paperclipai service stop) et mettre Paperclip à jour (paperclipai update). Explique chaque étape simplement, je débute.

Review the GitHub repository and check whether it is safe to install given my machine and my infrastructure. Ask me as many questions as possible, using widgets, to clarify my request and be as precise as you can.

Frequently asked questions

Is Paperclip really free?: Yes. Paperclip is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. Lindy, on the other hand, costs €26 a month. One nuance for Paperclip: the software is free and complete, but it provides no AI. Each agent runs on your Claude subscription (Pro at €18 a month, quickly maxed out with several agents, Max from €90), your ChatGPT subscription (€23) or an API key paid as you go. The official documentation plans €4 to €17 to try it and €17 to €86 a month for an active team. In June, Anthropic announced, then paused, a change that would bill automated Claude usage separately. A local model goes through OpenCode or Hermes, with no official support. And for your agents to work at night, your Mac stays on, or you rent a small server.
Do I need to code to install Paperclip?: No. The level is intermediate and the install takes about 20 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.
How is it different from Lindy?: Paperclip does most of what Lindy does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.
Do I own my data?: Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.

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