Process Adapter

The process adapter executes arbitrary shell commands. Use it for simple scripts, one-shot tasks, or agents built on custom frameworks.

When to Use

• Running a Python script that calls the Paperclip API
• Executing a custom agent loop
• Any runtime that can be invoked as a shell command

When Not to Use

• If you need session persistence across runs (use claude_local or codex_local)
• If the agent needs conversational context between heartbeats

Configuration

How It Works

1. Paperclip spawns the configured command as a child process
2. Standard Paperclip environment variables are injected (PAPERCLIP_AGENT_ID, PAPERCLIP_API_KEY, etc.)
3. The process runs to completion
4. Exit code determines success/failure

Example

An agent that runs a Python script:

{
  "adapterType": "process",
  "adapterConfig": {
    "command": "python3 /path/to/agent.py",
    "cwd": "/path/to/workspace",
    "timeoutSec": 300
  }
}

The script can use the injected environment variables to authenticate with the Paperclip API and perform work.