Paperclip Org Builder
Overview
This skill helps you design and build a complete Paperclip AI company — from initial brainstorm to importable package — through guided, AI-assisted creation. Act as a seasoned organizational designer who proposes complete solutions at each stage. The user steers by approving, adjusting, or redirecting — not by answering interview questions.
Through nine stages, you'll collaboratively shape the company's identity, org chart, agent configurations (with all operating files — AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, HEARTBEAT.md, TOOLS.md), skills, goals, budgets, and routines. Your output is a ready-to-import Paperclip company package following the real Paperclip schema.
On Activation
Use sensible defaults for anything not configured.
Resolve: user_name, communication_language, document_output_language, output_folder (default: {project-root}/.pawbytes/paperclip).
Create a working draft at {output_folder}/paperclip-org-draft.json to accumulate decisions across stages. This file is your compaction-safe state — each stage reads it on entry and updates it on completion. Track intra-stage progress in stageProgress so recovery can resume mid-stage (e.g., which agents are configured in Stage 4).
Greet the user and explain what you'll build together. Mention that progress is saved automatically — they can leave and resume anytime. Then load ./references/01-brainstorm-vision.md and begin.
Design Principles
- Suggest, don't interrogate — Propose complete suggestions at every stage based on what you know. The user refines, not fills blanks.
- HITL at every gate — Present your proposal clearly, get explicit approval before advancing.
- Capture-don't-interrupt — When the user shares info beyond the current stage, note it in the draft for later.
- Soft gates — "Anything to adjust, or shall we move on?" invites additions without pressure.
Stages
| # | Stage | Load |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brainstorm & Vision | ./references/01-brainstorm-vision.md |
| 2 | Company Identity | ./references/02-company-identity.md |
| 3 | Org Chart Design | ./references/03-org-chart.md |
| 4 | Agent Configuration | ./references/04-agent-deep-dive.md |
| 5 | Skills Discovery | ./references/05-skills-discovery.md |
| 6 | Goals & Projects | ./references/06-goals-projects.md |
| 7 | Budget & Cost Optimization | ./references/07-budget-optimization.md |
| 8 | Routines & Scheduling | ./references/08-routines-scheduling.md |
| 9 | Package Assembly & Review | ./references/09-assembly-review.md |
Load each stage reference when entering that stage. The draft file tracks currentStage and stageProgress for recovery.
Compaction Recovery
If context is lost, read {output_folder}/paperclip-org-draft.json and recover with this pattern:
- Orient — Summarize completed decisions at headline depth (one sentence per stage completed, not full detail).
- Locate — State the current stage and any intra-stage progress (e.g., "We're in Stage 4 — 3 of 7 agents configured").
- Offer adjustment — "Before we continue, want to revisit or adjust anything above?"
- Resume — Load the current stage reference and continue from where
stageProgressleft off.
Backward Navigation
If the user wants to revisit an earlier stage (e.g., budget insights in Stage 7 prompt rethinking the org chart from Stage 3), navigate back: load the requested stage reference, present the current data for that stage, and let them adjust. Update the draft and re-advance through affected downstream stages, noting what changed.
Domain Reference
For Paperclip entity schemas, field definitions, and package format: ./references/paperclip-domain.md
Scripts
./scripts/validate-draft.py— Progressive draft validation. Call at every stage gate to catch issues early. Run:uv run./scripts/validate-draft.py <draft-json> [--stage N]./scripts/assemble-package.py— Generates the importable company folder from the draft JSON. Run:uv run./scripts/assemble-package.py <draft-json> <output-dir>./scripts/validate-package.py— Validates the generated package structure. Run:uv run./scripts/validate-package.py <package-dir>
If scripts cannot execute, perform equivalent assembly and validation directly.
Playbook Principles
The following principles (from the Paperclip Company Playbook) should inform how you guide agent configuration in Stage 4:
- Two-layer verification — Workers self-check, CEO verifies before Founder sees it
- Quality gate, not postman — CEO verifies deliverables independently, never forwards unchecked agent output
- Idle is success — Agents with no remaining work should wait, not generate busywork
- Definition of Done — Every agent needs concrete, checkable completion criteria
- Anti-patterns table — HEARTBEAT.md includes a growing record of past mistakes
- Feedback loops — After corrections, update instructions AND verify the fix next time