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Guide · Agent skill

How to use the Paperclip Create Agent skill (paperclip-create-agent)

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

The paperclip-create-agent skill is an instruction set that teaches an AI agent how to create a new agent inside a Paperclip company, following the company's governance rules. It is for operators, developers and board members who run or test Paperclip hiring workflows. After this guide you will know how to install the skill, what it requires, how to ask an agent to use it, and how hire requests move through approval.

Paperclip Agent Hiringpaperclipai/paperclip · MIT

Quick start

  1. 1Download and unzip. Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it so the paperclip-create-agent folder contains SKILL.md.
  2. 2Install the skill. Place it in ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/, or upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
  3. 3Confirm your hiring permission. Make sure the agent has board access or can_create_agents=true in the company.
  4. 4Connect to Paperclip. Provide PAPERCLIP_API_URL and PAPERCLIP_API_KEY, or enable the Paperclip Runner search_api and call_api tools.
  5. 5Ask for a hire in plain language. Name the role, reporting line and purpose, then let the agent discover configurations and icons.
  6. 6Review the draft and approval. Check the draft against the review checklist, then track any pending_approval until the board decides.

What is an agent skill, and what does this one do?

An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file and optional reference files. When the skill is installed, an AI agent can read it and follow its workflow for a specific kind of task. This skill covers hiring: when an agent is asked to create a new agent, it works through a fixed sequence rather than improvising.

The skill walks the agent through checking that it has hiring permission, reading existing agent configurations and allowed icons, drafting a role description and config, checking the draft against a review checklist, and submitting a hire request to the Paperclip server. If the hire needs board approval, the agent tracks the approval and does not assume the new agent exists.

Install the paperclip-create-agent skill

Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it. You can then install it in one of two ways. For a personal setup, unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder.

In the Claude apps you can instead upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

  • Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
  • Project: .claude/skills/ inside your project
  • Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP

Check the requirements before you start

The skill only works against a running Paperclip instance. The agent needs either the PAPERCLIP_API_URL and PAPERCLIP_API_KEY environment variables, or the Paperclip Runner API tools search_api and call_api. It also needs curl available in the shell for the example API calls.

The agent must have board access, or the agent permission can_create_agents=true in the company. A CEO or manager title alone does not grant hiring permission.

  • A running Paperclip instance
  • PAPERCLIP_API_URL and PAPERCLIP_API_KEY, or Paperclip Runner tools search_api and call_api
  • Board access or can_create_agents=true in the company
  • curl available in the shell

Trigger the skill with a natural request

You do not need a special command. Ask the agent in plain language to hire or create an agent, and make sure the request names the role and the company context. The skill's description tells the agent to use it when it needs to inspect adapter configuration options, compare existing agent configs, draft a new agent prompt or config, and submit a hire request.

If the agent lacks permission, it should keep the current task assigned to itself, report the missing hiring authority and not create a workaround.

  • Hire a QA engineer who reports to the CTO and can verify fixes in the browser.
  • Create a security engineer agent under the CEO. Draft its config, check it against the review checklist, and submit the hire request.
  • Propose a new coder agent for the frontend backlog. Do not submit it until the draft passes the checklist.

What happens during a hire request

The agent confirms its identity, discovers the adapter configuration for your instance, compares existing agent configurations in the company, and fetches the allowed icons. It then drafts the hire with fields such as name, role, title, icon, reportsTo, adapterType, desiredSkills, capabilities and instructions. The request is sent to the agent-hires endpoint for your company.

If the response includes an approval, the hire is pending_approval. The agent monitors the approval thread. When the board approves, the agent is woken with PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_ID and reads any linked issues to close them or comment on the next actions.

curl -sS -X POST "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/companies/$PAPERCLIP_COMPANY_ID/agent-hires" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "name": "CTO", "role": "cto", "title": "Chief Technology Officer", "icon": "crown", ... }'

Review the instructions and permissions before approving

The skill asks the agent to justify in the hire comment any desiredSkills or adapter settings that expand browser access, external-system reach, filesystem scope or secret handling. It also asks that timer heartbeats stay off unless the role needs scheduled recurring work or the user asked for it.

Reference templates for Coder, QA, UX Designer and Security Engineer are provided as optional starting points. Company-specific instructions from the requester take precedence over them.

  • Confirm desiredSkills and adapter settings are justified.
  • Check that runtimeConfig.heartbeat.enabled is false unless there is a clear reason.
  • If the role may handle private advisories, confirm a confidential workflow exists first.

What people use it for

  • Operators letting an agent propose a new QA or coder agent that the board must approve.
  • Developers testing a hiring workflow on a non-production Paperclip instance.
  • Board members reviewing how a hire request's instructions, skills and adapter settings were drafted.
  • Managers asking an agent to compare existing agent configurations before adding a new team member.

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the paperclip-create-agent skill?

Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

What does the paperclip-create-agent skill require?

It requires a running Paperclip instance, either PAPERCLIP_API_URL and PAPERCLIP_API_KEY or the Paperclip Runner search_api and call_api tools, plus board access or can_create_agents=true in the company. curl must also be available in the shell.

Is the paperclip-create-agent skill free to use?

The source lists the skill under the MIT licence. Check the licence file in the repository for the full terms. The skill does not run without a Paperclip instance.

Why does the agent say it cannot create the agent?

The agent lacks hiring authority. It needs board access or can_create_agents=true, and a CEO or manager title does not count. The skill tells it to keep the task assigned to itself and request human input instead.

Does the skill run scripts on my machine?

The source says the skill runs no scripts. It does use the network, because the agent makes curl calls to your Paperclip server's API.

What are the alternatives to this skill for hiring agents?

The source does not compare this skill with other tools. If you do not run Paperclip, this skill cannot run, so you would need a hiring process suited to your own platform.

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Our verdict

Use this skill if you run a Paperclip company and want agents to propose or create new team members under board governance, or if you are testing that workflow. Skip it if you only need a prompt for a single chatbot or if you have no Paperclip instance, since it cannot run without one.

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