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Quick answer

| Use case | RAM | CPU | Disk | |---|---|---|---| | Personal / testing | 512 MB | 1 shared vCPU | 10 GB | | Solo with 2–3 agents | 1 GB | 1 shared vCPU | 20 GB | | Small team (5–10 agents) | 2 GB | 2 vCPU | 40 GB | | Active team (10+ agents) | 4 GB | 2–4 vCPU | 80 GB+ |

RAM requirements

512 MB is the bare minimum — Paperclip will start and run, but you'll see memory pressure if agents are running concurrently. Node.js alone uses 50–100 MB; Paperclip's server process adds another 100–200 MB. Database operations can spike usage.

1 GB is the practical minimum for a single-user instance with a few agents. This is the $5–6/month Linode Nanode or Hetzner CX11 tier.

2 GB is recommended for any serious use. With 2 GB you can run 5–10 agents concurrently, handle webhook-triggered runs, and keep the server stable under load.

4 GB+ for teams with many agents running frequently, or if you're running Claude/GPT models locally alongside Paperclip (though this is unusual).

CPU requirements

CPU matters less than RAM for Paperclip. The server is I/O-bound — it spends most of its time waiting on API calls and database reads, not doing computation.

• 1 shared vCPU works fine for personal use
• 2 vCPU provides headroom for concurrent agent runs and database operations
• Dedicated CPU is overkill unless you're running very high heartbeat frequencies

Disk requirements

Paperclip stores its data in SQLite (or Postgres) and writes agent workspace files. Disk usage is typically modest:

• Base Paperclip installation: ~300 MB
• SQLite database: Starts small, grows with task history. 100 MB for most active users after a year.
• Agent workspaces: Depends on what your agents do. Code-writing agents can generate many files. Budget 5–10 GB if agents work with large repos.
• Upload attachments: Add capacity if agents upload large files.

10 GB covers personal use comfortably. 20–40 GB gives you room for agent workspace data and growth.

OS requirements

Paperclip runs on any modern Linux. Tested and recommended:

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS — best documentation coverage, most common in guides
• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS — works, slightly newer kernel
• Debian 12 — lightweight, stable
• Alpine Linux — works in Docker containers

macOS and Windows work for local development but aren't recommended for production VPS deployments.

Node.js requirements

Paperclip requires Node.js 18 or later. Node 20 LTS is the recommended version as of 2025.

node --version  # Should be v18.x or v20.x

Network requirements

• Outbound internet access — required for agents to call AI APIs (Anthropic, OpenAI) and use tools
• Inbound HTTP/HTTPS — for the web UI and API
• Bandwidth — Paperclip has minimal bandwidth requirements. Most traffic is small JSON API calls. Even the cheapest VPS plans include far more than you'll use.

Minimum VPS recommendations by provider

| Provider | Plan | Specs | Price | |---|---|---|---| | Hetzner | CX22 | 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 40 GB | €4.51/mo | | Linode | Nanode 1GB | 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB | $5/mo | | DigitalOcean | Basic Droplet | 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB | $6/mo | | Vultr | Cloud Compute | 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB | $6/mo | | Contabo | VPS S | 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 100 GB | $6.99/mo |

Hetzner's CX22 gives the best specs-per-dollar for European users. Contabo's VPS S is notable for 8 GB RAM at $6.99/month.

What happens if your VPS is undersized?

Too little RAM: Paperclip processes get OOM-killed. You'll see the service restart unexpectedly, especially during concurrent agent runs. The fix: upgrade your plan or reduce maxConcurrentRuns per agent.

Too little disk: Database writes fail, agents can't write workspace files, logs fill up. Monitor disk usage: df -h.

Slow CPU: Slower database queries and longer agent response times, but Paperclip won't crash. Less critical than RAM.

Can I run Paperclip on a $3–4/month VPS?

Yes, with caveats. Providers like Contabo and Hetzner CX11 (512 MB RAM, €3.29/month) will run Paperclip for personal use. Limit agents to running one at a time (maxConcurrentRuns: 1) and avoid memory-intensive agent tasks.

Managed alternative

If you don't want to manage a VPS at all, Railway handles all of this for you. Start with their $20 free credit and scale as needed with zero server maintenance.

This is an independent guide. Paperclip Hosting is not affiliated with the official Paperclip project. Guide steps are based on real deployments and are subject to change as the software evolves.