Paperclip is an open-source AI coding agent platform that lets you run Claude-powered coding agents on your own server. This image is maintained by BitCryptic and built from the official Paperclip source with Unraid compatibility in mind.

Features

• Claude-powered coding agents via Anthropic API

• Web UI served from the same container

• Authenticated or public deployment modes

• Tailscale support for private access

Requirements

• PostgreSQL database — a separate Postgres container (e.g. postgres:16) on the same Docker network

• Anthropic API key from console.anthropic.com (required for Claude-based agents)

• A securely generated BETTER_AUTH_SECRET (openssl rand -base64 32)

Installation

Install via Community Applications and search for Paperclip, or drop the template XML directly into /boot/config/plugins/dockerMan/templates-user/ on your Unraid server.

You'll need a PostgreSQL container running before starting Paperclip. The default DATABASE_URL assumes a container named postgres-paperclip on the same Docker network — adjust to match your setup.

Required fields:

• DATABASE_URL — PostgreSQL connection string (default: postgres://paperclip:password@postgres-paperclip:5432/paperclip)

• BETTER_AUTH_SECRET — random secret for session signing, generate with openssl rand -base64 32

• PAPERCLIP_PUBLIC_URL — the URL users will access Paperclip from (e.g. http://your-server-ip:3100 or your Tailscale hostname)

• PAPERCLIP_DEPLOYMENT_MODE — authenticated for private use, public for open access (default: authenticated)

• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY — required for Claude-based agents

After starting the container, access the web UI at http://your-server-ip:3100.

Notes

Paperclip requires a PostgreSQL database — it will not start without a valid DATABASE_URL. If you don't already have a Postgres container, add one first and put both on the same Docker network.

PAPERCLIP_PUBLIC_URL must match the URL you actually use to access Paperclip — if this is wrong, auth callbacks will fail. If accessing from multiple URLs (e.g. local IP and Tailscale hostname), set BETTER_AUTH_TRUSTED_ORIGINS to a comma-separated list of all valid origins.

For private access, Tailscale is supported — enable it in the template and set PAPERCLIP_PUBLIC_URL to your Tailscale hostname.

Links

• Template repository: https://github.com/bitcryptic-gw/unraid-templates

• Paperclip project: https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip

• Docker Hub image: https://hub.docker.com/r/bitcryptic/paperclip

Post any issues or questions here and I'll do my best to help.

please move to docker container area

Update — 2026-05-31

The image has been updated to track upstream v2026.529.0 (released 2026-05-29). If you're running the CA template, it already uses :latest so just stop the container, remove the image, and recreate — it will pull the updated image automatically.

Notable upstream changes since the original post:

- v2026.517.0 — Grok Build is now a first-class local runtime (adapter registry, UI, CLI, session handling)

- v2026.529.0 — Inline document annotations and comments on issues, with revision-aware anchor snapshots

No template changes required. Post any issues here and I'll do my best to help.