# AXLR vs Paperclip (slim)

> AXLR scores 70.6 (BB) to Paperclip's 59 (C) for multi-agent orchestration. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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AXLR scores 70.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on transparency & trust. Both do multi-agent orchestration.

- AXLR: BB 70.6, rank #168 of 1253 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/axlr.min.md
- Paperclip: C 59, rank #665 of 1253 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip.min.md
- AXLR, good for A program or bot that needs one governed execution at a time, with a policy, a budget, a sandbox profile and correlation ids it sets itself and a result object it reads back, on a machine it controls, with the model on OpenRouter, a local server or a native Anthropic or OpenAI key. Ahead on Agent ergonomics, 83 against 70. Also Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better; No incidents deducted, where Paperclip loses 10 points for them.
- Paperclip, good for Someone running several coding or operations agents who wants one place for tasks, budgets, approvals and history across harnesses. Ahead on Transparency & trust, 66 against 55.

| Category | AXLR | Paperclip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 70 | 66 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 80 | 81 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 83 | 70 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 62 | 64 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 60 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 79 | 78 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 55 | 66 |

| Fact (where they differ) | AXLR | Paperclip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Underpass AI | Paperclip Labs, Inc. |
| Licence | Apache-2.0, with a NOTICE naming Tirso García Ibáñez as the copyright holder | MIT |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-25 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-07-23 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-07-23 |
| Customer content may train models | not read yet | yes, with an opt-out |
| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | yes |
| Popularity | 0 stars | 99k stars, 60k npm/wk |

Why the edge:
- Agent ergonomics, AXLR +13: AXLR 83 (Harness reading of the framework line, scored on what a program driving it has to supply. Six local tools plus the host's bookkeeping tools; work modes and an execution policy hide the tools a run may not use, `axlr_catalog` searches the catalog instead of loading it, forged tools keep the request prefix for the prompt cache, and a context cap of 75,000 prompt tokens opens a successor session (20). `local_read`, `local_search` and `local_list` page with `offset`, `next_offset` and `max_bytes`; `StreamEvents` takes `after`, `max_events` (1 to 256) and `wait_ms`; a budget per execution in seconds, requests, tool calls and dollars; 32 tool calls a turn and `max_session_usd` (20). The `--exec` run ends in one `result` line with a status, the pending call, every call's outcome and the usage, and exits 0, 3 or 1; service errors carry codes an agent can act on; a budget stop says which limit (`budget: requests 20 reached`) and leaves the session resumable (16). `Idempotency-Key` on every turn, approval and direct call with cross-transport replay, `expected_revision` on decisions, `expected_sha256` on worker writes, and an interrupted effectful call left `uncertain` for an operator rather than retried (19). One command runs a task, but the first launch needs an OpenRouter key or a local server, the service needs a CA, a principals file and remote KMP and MADE before a first session, and the only SDK is the Go library (8). 20+20+16+19+8 = 83.); Paperclip 70 (Harness reading of the framework line, scored on what an agent or pipeline driving it has to supply. The MCP server lists 44 tools with no toolsets or read-only subset found, offset by compact reads such as `paperclipInboxLite` and the heartbeat context (12). Budgets by company, agent and project with an automatic pause at 100 per cent, though the README says enforcement uses recorded spend and can lag work in flight (16). `onboard --yes`, CLI commands with `--json`, the REST API and routines started by cron, webhook or API (16). Atomic task checkout with a documented 409, `Idempotency-Key` on routine triggers, saved sessions and bounded recovery (17). One command starts a server with embedded PostgreSQL, but it needs Node.js 24.11 and each harness CLI installed and signed in on the host, and we found no client SDK beyond the TypeScript plugin SDK (9).)
- Transparency & trust, Paperclip +11: AXLR 55 (Apache-2.0 with a NOTICE (30). No privacy policy or terms on underpassai.com or axlr.underpassai.com; the docs' 'Where data goes' and 'Diagnostics and privacy' sections say that model requests go to OpenRouter, the local server or the native API, that Jev sends text to TypeSafe only when on, that sessions live under `$XDG_STATE_HOME/axlr`, that payload capture is off by default and redacted when on, and that traces are deleted after 30 days; nothing covers the engine downloads' or the catalog registry's handling of a client's requests (15). No deprecation policy; pre-1.0 changes are dated inline in the docs and the product contract records the 5 October 2026 retirement of the first skill catalogue after the fact (6). No telemetry to disclose, and the docs say in two places what leaves the machine and how to stop payload capture, though no single page says there is no telemetry (17). 30+15+6+17 = 68.); Paperclip 66 (MIT (30). The privacy policy of 23 July 2026 separates self-hosted use from the hosted services and names Paperclip Labs, Inc., but keeps data as long as reasonably necessary, lists no subprocessors, and the 90-day telemetry retention appears only in source. The terms grant a broad licence over content sent to the services and allow model training on opt-in detailed telemetry (16). Release notes carry dated Breaking Changes sections and upgrade guides, with no written deprecation policy or notice period (10). The README discloses telemetry, what it excludes and four opt-outs, and the event contract is public in the repository, but it is on by default (17).)