# Paperclip vs Sculptor (slim)

> Sculptor and Paperclip score within a point of each other for multi-agent orchestration, 53.1 and 52.6 out of 100. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-sculptor.md (~5,600 tokens) · this version ~2,180 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-sculptor.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-sculptor
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-07
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

Sculptor and Paperclip score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 53.1 (D) and 52.6 (D). Paperclip leads on reliability, schema & documentation, agent ergonomics, security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do multi-agent orchestration.

- Paperclip: D 52.6, rank #982 of 1510 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip.min.md
- Sculptor: D 53.1, rank #966 of 1510 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sculptor.min.md
- Paperclip, good for Someone running several coding or operations agents who wants one place for tasks, budgets, approvals and history across harnesses. Ahead on Reliability, 59 against 43; Schema & documentation, 81 against 45; Agent ergonomics, 70 against 50; Security & auth, 64 against 57; Transparency & trust, 66 against 57. Also Free to start without a card.
- Sculptor, good for Developers who want parallel coding agents in isolated workspaces and are fine with a research preview. Also No key needed to call it; No incidents deducted, where Paperclip loses 15 points for them.

| Category | Paperclip | Sculptor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 59 | 43 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 81 | 45 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 70 | 50 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 64 | 57 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 60 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 78 | 75 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 66 | 57 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Paperclip | Sculptor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Paperclip Labs, Inc. | Imbue, Inc. |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-23 | 2026-11-06 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-07-23 | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-07-23 | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | not read yet |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not read yet |
| Popularity | 99k stars, 60k npm/wk | none |

Why the edge:
- Schema & documentation, Paperclip +36: Paperclip 81 (The running server publishes OpenAPI at `/api/openapi.json` and validates requests with Zod, and the MCP server's tools take Zod schemas. No copy of the spec is published on the docs site, and paperclip.ing/openapi.json describes only the website (22). llms.txt at paperclip.ing, and docs pages answer as Markdown at `.md` (10). An API reference page per resource and task guides, but the MCP tool descriptions are one line each, such as List agents in a company (13). Typed inputs throughout, apart from the `paperclipApiRequest` tool, which takes any path under `/api` and a JSON body (12). cURL, JavaScript and Python examples and a status-code table, with one `{error}` shape and an occasional `details` field (12). A changelog page for every stable release and release notes in the repository, but the API path carries no version (12).); Sculptor 45 (Harness reading. A README, specs and agent docs in the repository; no API reference (45).)
- Agent ergonomics, Paperclip +20: 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).); Sculptor 50 (Harness reading. Workspaces as isolated copies, review and merge back, and built-in skills (50).)
- Reliability, Paperclip +16: Paperclip 59 (Read as local software. Official npm package `paperclipai` (Node.js 24.11 or newer) and a Docker image on GHCR (20). Public CI that runs the tests (pr-trusted.yml selects and runs the test shards, and e2e.yml runs the end-to-end suite), with the pass state on master unreadable on 4 November 2026 because GitHub's pages answer 403 here (15). Per the 8 October check, not re-read on 4 November, 2,849 open issues, 125 labelled bug, 1,599 opened before 8 July, and 78 closed in the last 30 days against 686 opened (6). Calendar versions in semver syntax, with a Breaking Changes section and an upgrade guide in release notes, but breaking changes arrive in ordinary releases and 2026.916.0 carried five (10). No 1.0. The npm `latest` tag is called the stable channel and follows a beta soak of at least three days, while the roadmap says the product is still moving quickly, so half credit (8). 20 + 15 + 6 + 10 + 8 = 59.); Sculptor 43 (Local software. Desktop downloads for Mac (Apple Silicon), Linux and Linux ARM64 (20). checks.yml and a PR gate run on the repository; pass state not read (15). GitHub issues and pull requests weren't read (GitHub's pages refuse these sessions), so that line is scored absent (0). sculptor-v tags up to v0.49.0, no changelog file (8). 0.x and labelled a research preview (0). 20 + 15 + 0 + 8 + 0 = 43.)
- Transparency & trust, Paperclip +9: 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).); Sculptor 57 (MIT (30). Consent-based telemetry documented in the repository (18 of 30). The README warns of drastic changes during the research preview, with no deprecation policy (5). Opt-in telemetry (20). 30 + 18 + 5 + 20 = 73.)
- Security & auth, Paperclip +7: Paperclip 64 (Harness reading of the framework checklist, as used for the other harnesses. 30 for what leaves the machine by default, 20 for approvals and sandboxing, 15 for prompt-injection posture, 15 for audit and 20 for the security programme. Anonymous usage telemetry is on by default and goes to telemetry.paperclip.ing. The README lists what is excluded and four opt-outs, and Sentry and OpenTelemetry stay off until configured. We found no first-run notice in the CLI source (18). Board approvals for hires and strategy, execution policies and per-action connection permissions, but `claude_local` defaults `dangerouslySkipPermissions` to true, `codex_local` defaults to bypassing approvals and the sandbox, local agents run on the host, sandbox providers are optional plugins and the default `local_trusted` mode has no login (10). A documented `low_trust_review` preset contains agents that read untrusted pull requests or tickets. It is opt-in (10). An activity log of mutating actions, run logs, cost events and audited board API keys (14). SECURITY.md with GitHub private reporting and twelve advisories published per the 8 October check, three now with CVEs in OSV. No security.txt, bug bounty or SOC 2 report found (12).); Sculptor 57 (Harness reading. Product analytics, error reporting and session recording default to off in the user config, and the app asks for a telemetry level and privacy consent at first run; PostHog runs on the front end only for now (25 of 30). Each workspace is an isolated copy of the code (14 of 20). No prompt-injection guidance (5). No audit log (5). SECURITY.md (8). 25 + 14 + 5 + 5 + 8 = 57.)