Preferred setup
Grant · 2026-05-19
I've run a couple of instances of Paperclip so far - one local and one on Hostinger (they had an easy 1-click install).\ \ It seems like local is easier for setting it up, initially, but then the web version may be better long term to access from anywhere, to setup external sites, code bases, etc.\ \ What is your preferred setup for paperclip?
Answers
Grant · 2026-05-20
Wow thanks @aronprins! That is very helpful. I think the hybrid approach will always work best for me as I want to be able to connect to it anywhere and any time. Reminds me of some limitations to cowork in that my desktop has different details than my laptop, etc.\ \ What do you use to spin up websites or web tools that Paperclip creates? My initial company was going to create a lead generation tool but it was a pain in the butt to try to even get it so I could view it.
Aron Prins · 2026-05-20
The honest answer is "it depends on what the agents need to touch" — and that question splits the room more cleanly than local-vs-cloud does.
Local wins when:
Your agents work primarily against files on your machine — a local code repo, an Obsidian vault, a folder of client deliverables. You want the cheapest possible iteration: no SSH, no deploys, just paperclip running in a terminal. You're using local-runtime adapters (claudelocal, codexlocal, Gemini CLI) that need the CLI binaries installed somewhere with access to your work.
Cloud (or VPS) wins when:
You want the company running 24/7 without your laptop being awake. The work is API-shaped — calling SaaS APIs, scraping, sending email, hitting a remote repo via GitHub — so being on a server costs you nothing in access. You want to check in from a phone or a borrowed laptop without re-syncing state.
A common hybrid worth knowing: run the Paperclip server on a small VPS for uptime, but mount a local folder into a specific company's workspace via git or a sync tool when an agent genuinely needs to touch files on your machine. That gets you "anywhere access" without forcing agents to roundtrip to your laptop for everything. For dev-tooling companies the value of being in the same filesystem as your code usually wins; for always-on output (newsletters, monitoring, content workflows) cloud wins on uptime alone.
One thing to watch on the Hostinger 1-click path: any 1-click installer pins a version, and Paperclip iterates fast right now. Make sure you have a path to upgrade (or that the 1-click image refreshes), otherwise you'll diverge from the docs within a few releases.