OpenHands vs Paperclip
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A self-hosted control panel that runs AI coding agents on your machine, in Docker, or in the cloud.
Open source · MIT
Open-source Node.js and React app for organizing teams of AI agents around goals, tasks, and budgets.
Our verdict
OpenHands is a self-hosted control panel for running coding agents, including its own agent and third-party ones like Claude Code, and it can be connected to Slack, GitHub, and Linear. Paperclip is a dashboard for organizing a team of agents around business goals, with budgets, approvals, org charts, and an audit trail of what each agent did. They overlap in coordinating several AI agents, but OpenHands focuses on running and automating agent work, while Paperclip focuses on managing and governing it. Setup is easier with OpenHands (Intermediate) than Paperclip (Advanced), which requires building from source.
Pick OpenHands if you want to run coding agents on a server or in Docker, automate tasks through Slack or GitHub, and pick your own LLM provider.
Pick Paperclip if you already run several AI agents and want to track their tasks, costs, and permissions with an audit trail and budget controls.
| Key difference | OpenHands | Paperclip |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Control panel for starting and automating coding agent work | Dashboard for organizing agent teams around goals and budgets |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate; installs with a package manager | Advanced; you clone and build from source |
| Where agents run | Your machine, Docker, VMs, or OpenHands Cloud/Enterprise | You bring your own agents; hosted Cloud is only a waitlist |
| Security default | Quickstart without a sandbox gives full filesystem access | Stresses permissions, budgets, and oversight of agent output |
| Cost and licence | Free and open source under MIT | Free and open source under MIT |
Written with AI from both products' catalogue entries · updated 2026-10-29
Who each one is for
Choose OpenHands if you need…
- Developers who want coding agents running on a server while their laptop is off
- Teams that want a shared agent server for tasks like code review or dependency updates
- People who want to connect agents to Slack, GitHub, or Linear through automations
- Users who want to choose their own LLM provider
Choose Paperclip if you need…
- Developers already running several AI coding agents who want one place to track them
- Small teams experimenting with autonomous agents that need budgets and approval steps
- People who want an audit trail of what each agent did and why
- Anyone comfortable self-hosting a Node.js app
Side-by-side
| OpenHands | Paperclip | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 92.5k | 110k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Advanced |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Clone and build from source |
| Main language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
OpenHands
Agent Canvas is a self-hosted control center for AI coding agents. You start conversations with agents and set up automations, such as generating reports that publish to Slack or breaking GitHub issues into tasks. It runs on your own machine by default and can also connect to agents running in Docker, on virtual machines, or on OpenHands Cloud or Enterprise infrastructure. It can run the open source OpenHands agent or third-party agents such as Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI.
Paperclip
Paperclip is a Node.js server with a React dashboard that coordinates a team of AI agents to work toward business goals. You bring your own agents, assign goals, and track work and costs in one place. The README says it looks like a task manager but adds org charts, budgets, governance, and agent coordination underneath.
Best for
OpenHands
- Developers who want coding agents running on a server while their laptop is off
- Teams that want a shared agent server for tasks like code review or dependency updates
- People who want to connect agents to Slack, GitHub, or Linear through automations
- Users who want to choose their own LLM provider
Paperclip
- Developers already running several AI coding agents who want one place to track them
- Small teams experimenting with autonomous agents that need budgets and approval steps
- People who want an audit trail of what each agent did and why
- Anyone comfortable self-hosting a Node.js app
Strengths
OpenHands
- Self-hosted, so you control where agents run and where your work is stored
- Supports several agents and backends from one frontend
- Released under the MIT license with a large public community (about 92,000 stars)
Paperclip
- Works with many agent runtimes named in the README, including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and Gemini CLI
- Tracks tasks, costs, permissions, and run history in one dashboard
- MIT licensed and actively maintained, with a recent push in the repository metadata
Not ideal for
OpenHands
- People who need strong isolation by default: the quickstart without a sandbox gives the agent full access to your filesystem
- Non-technical users who are not comfortable with Node.js, npm, Docker, or the command line
- Anyone who needs a fully hosted service with no setup, since the README centers on self-hosting
Paperclip
- People who want a finished hosted product with no setup; the README points to a Paperclip Cloud waitlist rather than a live service
- Users who need a simple single-agent chat tool, since this is built for coordinating multiple agents
- Teams without a plan for reviewing agent output, because the README stresses verification and oversight
Trade-offs
OpenHands
- Running without a sandbox gives the agent full access to your filesystem, so the Docker options need careful setup
- Multiple features depend on configuring backends, LLM keys, and integrations, which takes effort
- The README is truncated and does not fully document security hardening or every integration; see the linked docs
Paperclip
- The README is truncated and mostly marketing-oriented, so setup details are unclear from this text alone
- Many described features, like Cloud, SSO, and phone management, may depend on hosted or paid offerings not verified here
- Coordinating autonomous agents adds risk and requires careful permission and budget setup
Getting started
OpenHands
Install globally with npm (no sandbox)
npm install -g @openhands/agent-canvasStart the full local stack
agent-canvasPaperclip
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip.gitFrequently asked questions
Should I use OpenHands or Paperclip?
OpenHands is a self-hosted control panel for running coding agents, including its own agent and third-party ones like Claude Code, and it can be connected to Slack, GitHub, and Linear. Paperclip is a dashboard for organizing a team of agents around business goals, with budgets, approvals, org charts, and an audit trail of what each agent did. They overlap in coordinating several AI agents, but OpenHands focuses on running and automating agent work, while Paperclip focuses on managing and governing it. Setup is easier with OpenHands (Intermediate) than Paperclip (Advanced), which requires building from source. Pick OpenHands if you want to run coding agents on a server or in Docker, automate tasks through Slack or GitHub, and pick your own LLM provider. Pick Paperclip if you already run several AI agents and want to track their tasks, costs, and permissions with an audit trail and budget controls.
What is the difference between OpenHands and Paperclip?
OpenHands: A self-hosted control panel that runs AI coding agents on your machine, in Docker, or in the cloud. Paperclip: Open-source Node.js and React app for organizing teams of AI agents around goals, tasks, and budgets. OpenHands suits developers who want coding agents running on a server while their laptop is off, while Paperclip suits developers already running several ai coding agents who want one place to track them.
Are OpenHands and Paperclip free?
OpenHands: Free and open source. Paperclip: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, OpenHands or Paperclip?
OpenHands is easier to get started with (rated intermediate); Paperclip is rated advanced and usually needs more setup.
Is OpenHands or Paperclip more popular?
Paperclip has more GitHub stars (110k) than OpenHands (92.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to OpenHands and Paperclip?
Other options people compare them with include One API, LlamaGPT, codex-chatgpt-web, wechat-bot, GitDiagram.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.