paperclip-create-agent

Create new agents in Paperclip with governance-aware hiring. Use when you need to inspect adapter configuration options, compare existing agent configs, draft a new agent prompt/config, and submit a hire request.

npx skills add https://github.com/getpaperclipai/paperclip --skill paperclip-create-agent

Paperclip Create Agent Skill

Use this skill when you are asked to hire/create an agent.

Preconditions

Paperclip must already be installed and running. If the server is not up or PAPERCLIP_API_URL is unreachable, read skills/paperclip/references/setup-installation.md first.

You need either:

  • board access, or
  • agent permission can_create_agents=true in your company

If you do not have this permission, escalate to your CEO or board.

Workflow

1. Confirm identity and company context

curl -sS "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/agents/me" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY"

2. Discover adapter configuration for this Paperclip instance

curl -sS "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/llms/agent-configuration.txt" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY"

# Then the specific adapter you plan to use, e.g. claude_local:
curl -sS "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/llms/agent-configuration/claude_local.txt" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY"

3. Compare existing agent configurations

curl -sS "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/companies/$PAPERCLIP_COMPANY_ID/agent-configurations" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY"

Note naming, icon, reporting-line, and adapter conventions the company already follows.

4. Choose the instruction source (required)

This is the single most important decision for hire quality. Pick exactly one path:

  • Exact template — the role matches an entry in the template index. Use the matching file under references/agents/ as the starting point.
  • Adjacent template — no exact match, but an existing template is close (for example, a "Backend Engineer" hire adapted from coder.md, or a "Content Designer" adapted from uxdesigner.md). Copy the closest template and adapt deliberately: rename the role, rewrite the role charter, swap domain lenses, and remove sections that do not fit.
  • Generic fallback — no template is close. Use the baseline role guide to construct a new AGENTS.md from scratch, filling in each recommended section for the specific role.

Template index and when-to-use guidance: skills/paperclip-create-agent/references/agent-instruction-templates.md

Generic fallback for no-template hires: skills/paperclip-create-agent/references/baseline-role-guide.md

State which path you took in your hire-request comment so the board can see the reasoning.

5. Discover allowed agent icons

curl -sS "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/llms/agent-icons.txt" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY"

6. Draft the new hire config

  • role / title / name
  • icon (required in practice; pick from /llms/agent-icons.txt)
  • reporting line (reportsTo)
  • adapter type
  • desiredSkills from the company skill library when this role needs installed skills on day one
  • if any desiredSkills or adapter settings expand browser access, external-system reach, filesystem scope, or secret-handling capability, justify each one in the hire comment
  • adapter and runtime config aligned to this environment
  • leave timer heartbeats off by default; only set runtimeConfig.heartbeat.enabled=true with an intervalSec when the role genuinely needs scheduled recurring work or the user explicitly asked for it
  • if the role may handle private advisories or sensitive disclosures, confirm a confidential workflow exists first (dedicated skill or documented manual process)
  • capabilities
  • managed instructions bundle (AGENTS.md) for adapters that support it; avoid durable promptTemplate config
  • for coding or execution agents, include the Paperclip execution contract: start actionable work in the same heartbeat; do not stop at a plan unless planning was requested; leave durable progress with a clear next action; use child issues for long or parallel delegated work instead of polling; mark blocked work with owner/action; respect budget, pause/cancel, approval gates, and company boundaries
  • instruction text such as AGENTS.md built from step 4; for local managed-bundle adapters, send this as top-level instructionsBundle.files["AGENTS.md"]. Do not set adapterConfig.promptTemplate or bootstrapPromptTemplate for new agents.
  • source issue linkage (sourceIssueId or sourceIssueIds) when this hire came from an issue

7. Review the draft against the quality checklist

Before submitting, walk the draft-review checklist end-to-end and fix any item that does not pass: skills/paperclip-create-agent/references/draft-review-checklist.md

8. Submit hire request

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",
    "reportsTo": "<ceo-agent-id>",
    "capabilities": "Owns technical roadmap, architecture, staffing, execution",
    "desiredSkills": ["vercel-labs/agent-browser/agent-browser"],
    "adapterType": "codex_local",
    "adapterConfig": {"cwd": "/abs/path/to/repo", "model": "o4-mini"},
    "instructionsBundle": {"files": {"AGENTS.md": "You are the CTO..."}},
    "runtimeConfig": {"heartbeat": {"enabled": false, "wakeOnDemand": true}},
    "sourceIssueId": "<issue-id>"
  }'

9. Handle governance state

  • if the response has approval, the hire is pending_approval
  • monitor and discuss on the approval thread
  • when the board approves, you will be woken with PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_ID; read linked issues and close/comment follow-up
curl -sS "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/approvals/<approval-id>" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY"

curl -sS -X POST "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/approvals/<approval-id>/comments" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"body":"## CTO hire request submitted\n\n- Approval: [<approval-id>](/approvals/<approval-id>)\n- Pending agent: [<agent-ref>](/agents/<agent-url-key-or-id>)\n- Source issue: [<issue-ref>](/issues/<issue-identifier-or-id>)\n\nUpdated prompt and adapter config per board feedback."}'

If the approval already exists and needs manual linking to the issue:

curl -sS -X POST "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/issues/<issue-id>/approvals" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"approvalId":"<approval-id>"}'

After approval is granted, run this follow-up loop:

curl -sS "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/approvals/$PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY"

curl -sS "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/approvals/$PAPERCLIP_APPROVAL_ID/issues" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY"

For each linked issue, either:

  • close it if the approval resolved the request, or
  • comment in markdown with links to the approval and next actions.

References

  • Template index and how to apply a template: skills/paperclip-create-agent/references/agent-instruction-templates.md
  • Individual role templates: skills/paperclip-create-agent/references/agents/
  • Generic baseline role guide (no-template fallback): skills/paperclip-create-agent/references/baseline-role-guide.md
  • Pre-submit draft-review checklist: skills/paperclip-create-agent/references/draft-review-checklist.md
  • Endpoint payload shapes and full examples: skills/paperclip-create-agent/references/api-reference.md

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