# OpenHands vs Paperclip

> OpenHands scores 70.8 (BB) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent multi agent. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip.md (~2,300 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

OpenHands scores 70.8 (BB) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent multi agent.

- OpenHands: grade BB, 70.8/100, rank #126 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openhands.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openhands.json
- Paperclip: grade C, 59/100, rank #441 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paperclip.json

## Which one, for what

### OpenHands (BB)

Good for: Teams that want to self-host a coding agent with a web UI, per-conversation Docker sandboxes and scheduled or webhook automations, or embed the agent through a Python SDK and REST API.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 83 against 66
- Schema & documentation, 87 against 81
- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 70
- Maintenance & community, 85 against 78

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

Watch for: Confirmation mode is off by default in Agent Canvas, and the npm install gives the agent the host's whole filesystem

### Paperclip (C)

Good for: Someone running several coding or operations agents who wants one place for tasks, budgets, approvals and history across harnesses.

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: `claude_local` defaults `dangerouslySkipPermissions` to true and `codex_local` defaults to bypassing approvals and the sandbox, with agents running on the host


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | OpenHands | Paperclip | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 83 | 66 | OpenHands +17 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 81 | OpenHands +6 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 70 | OpenHands +8 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 64 | OpenHands +2 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 78 | OpenHands +7 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 65 | OpenHands +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | -10 | |
| **Total** | | **70.8 · BB** | **59 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | OpenHands | Paperclip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | All Hands AI | Paperclip Labs, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT (Agent Canvas, SDK, tools and Agent Server). OpenHands Cloud is a hosted service | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-07-23 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-03 | 2026-07-23 |
| Customer content may train models | yes | yes, with an opt-out |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | 90k stars | 99k stars, 60k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**OpenHands.** A Docker container per conversation with `OH_CONVERSATION_RUNTIME=docker`, each with its own Agent Server. Confirmation mode is off by default in Agent Canvas, and the npm install gives the agent the host's whole filesystem.

**Paperclip.** Board approvals, budgets with a hard stop and an activity log sit above whichever harnesses do the work, and eleven stable versions shipped in 90 days. The Claude Code and Codex adapters skip permission prompts and the sandbox by default, and twelve security advisories, five of them critical, have been published since April 2026.

## Before you call either

### OpenHands

1. Set `AGENT_CANVAS_DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1` and `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before the first start
2. Start Canvas with `OH_CONVERSATION_RUNTIME=docker` or use the Docker image. The npm install runs the agent on the host
3. Turn on confirmation mode with a risk threshold. Canvas starts with it off
4. Use the SDK or the Agent Server API for headless runs. The `openhands --headless` CLI is no longer maintained
5. Set `filter_tools_regex` on the agent to keep unneeded MCP tool definitions out of the context

### Paperclip

1. Set `PAPERCLIP_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before the first start. Telemetry is on by default
2. Set `dangerouslySkipPermissions` and `dangerouslyBypassApprovalsAndSandbox` to false on agents that read untrusted input, or run them in a sandbox provider
3. Install with Node.js 24.11 or newer, and install and sign in to each harness CLI on the host first. Paperclip assumes they are there
4. Use `--bind lan` or `--bind tailnet` at onboarding for anything beyond one machine. The default `local_trusted` mode treats every request as the board admin
5. Treat 409 on task checkout as owned by another agent and pick different work. The API docs say not to retry

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, OpenHands or Paperclip?

OpenHands scores 70.8 (BB) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Are OpenHands and Paperclip open source?

Yes. OpenHands is open source (MIT (Agent Canvas, SDK, tools and Agent Server). OpenHands Cloud is a hosted service). Paperclip is open source (MIT).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "openhands", "b": "paperclip"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare openhands paperclip`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openhands.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paperclip.json

## Other comparisons with OpenHands or Paperclip

- [Aider vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-openhands.md)
- [Amp vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-openhands.md)
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- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-openhands.md)
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- [OpenAI Codex vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-openhands.md)
- [OpenCode vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-openhands.md)
- [OpenHands vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-prime-agent.md)
- [OpenHands vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-qwen-code.md)
- [Amp vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Claude Code vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Cline vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Devin vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Gemini CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
- [goose vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Kiro CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
- [OpenCode vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Paperclip vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-prime-agent.md)
- [Paperclip vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-qwen-code.md)