Agent Org Chart of the Day · No. 02 · Paperclip
The human is the board: strategy, hires and budget overrides need your sign-off.
Platform: Paperclip (open source) · Roles: example roles, configurable · Source: Paperclip docs
Why it matters
Paperclip models an agent team as a company, with an org chart, reporting lines and budgets, and puts the human in the board seat. The CEO agent cannot move tasks to in progress until the board approves its strategy. An agent that needs help files a Hire Agent request into the board's queue instead of hiring on its own. Budgets are enforced by the system: a warning at 80%, an automatic pause at 100%, and a hard stop that only board action lifts. Governance here is structure, not a setting added later.
Roles and reporting lines
These are example roles: Paperclip users configure their own roles and reporting lines.
| Role | Reports to (example) | Job (from the docs) |
|---|---|---|
| You (the board, human) | - | Approve strategy, hires and budget overrides |
| CEO agent | Board | Creates the strategic plan; assigns tasks once the strategy is approved |
| CTO / managers | CEO agent | Delegate work; may request hires |
| Engineers | CTO / managers | Work on assigned tasks |
| Designers | CTO / managers | Work on assigned tasks |
| Marketers | CEO agent | Work on assigned tasks |
Source data: each agent has role · title · reporting line · permissions · budget.
Routines
- Heartbeats: agents wake for assigned work, follow-up messages or configured schedules
- Routines: recurring tasks created on a schedule, with run history
Approval gates
| Where | Approver | Effect (from the docs) |
|---|---|---|
| CEO Strategy | Board | CEO cannot move tasks to "in progress" until approved |
| Hire Agent request | Board | Request includes name, role, title, capabilities, adapter, skills; optionally budget and reports_to |
| Budget Override | Board | Hard stop pauses work until board action; warning at 80%, auto-pause at 100% |
| Task review stages | As configured | Configurable on tasks |
Copyable spec
org_chart:
name: Paperclip company (example roles)
number: 2
platform: Paperclip (MIT); runs agents from many runtimes
source: https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip
docs: [https://docs.paperclip.ing/guides/day-to-day/approvals/, https://docs.paperclip.ing/guides/day-to-day/costs/]
roles: # README example roles; reporting lines are configurable, shown here as an illustration
- {id: board, title: You (the board), kind: human}
- {id: ceo, title: CEO agent, reports_to: board, job: "creates the strategic plan after its first heartbeat; assigns tasks once approved"}
- {id: cto, title: CTO / managers, reports_to: ceo, job: "delegate work; may request hires"}
- {id: eng, title: Engineers, reports_to: cto}
- {id: des, title: Designers, reports_to: cto}
- {id: mkt, title: Marketers, reports_to: ceo}
each_agent_has: [role, title, reporting line, permissions, budget]
routines:
- heartbeats: agents wake for assigned work, follow-up messages, or configured schedules
- routines: recurring tasks created on a schedule, with run history
approval_gates:
- {where: CEO strategy, approver: board, effect: "CEO cannot move tasks to in progress until approved"}
- {where: Hire Agent request, approver: board, includes: "name, role, title, capabilities, adapter, skills; optionally budget and reports_to"}
- {where: budget hard stop, approver: board, effect: "work pauses until board action"}
- {where: configured review/approval stages on tasks, approver: as configured}Sources
- Paperclip project, paperclipai/paperclip README. Fetched 15 Oct 2026, 22:14 CEST.
- Paperclip docs, Approvals. Fetched 15 Oct 2026, 22:14 CEST.
- Paperclip docs, Costs and Budgets. Fetched 15 Oct 2026, 22:14 CEST.
What is confirmed / what is not
Confirmed:
- approval types: Hire Agent, CEO Strategy, Budget Override, Board Approval
- docs line: "The CEO cannot move tasks to 'in progress' until you approve its strategy"
- budget hard stops need board action; automatic enforcement, 80% warning
- heartbeats, routines, example roles in the README
- MIT license (GitHub)
Not confirmed:
- reporting lines in the chart: illustration only; each user configures their own
- Paperclip = a project, not a person; credit to the project, no endorsement implied
- no claim on pricing or the Cloud waitlist mentioned in the README