paperclipai/paperclip · error · Error

Could not locate a Paperclip server entrypoint. Tried: ${dev

Error message

Could not locate a Paperclip server entrypoint.
Tried: ${devEntry}, @paperclipai/server
${formatError(err)}

What it means

importServerEntry tried both the local dev entrypoint and the published @paperclipai/server package and both imports failed; the wrapped error lists what was attempted and the underlying failure.

Source

Thrown at cli/src/commands/run.ts:230

    );
  }

  if ((result.status ?? 1) !== 0) {
    throw new Error(
      "Failed to prepare workspace build artifacts before starting the Paperclip dev server.",
    );
  }
}

async function importServerEntry(): Promise<StartedServer> {
  // Dev mode: try local workspace path (monorepo with tsx)
  const projectRoot = path.resolve(path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), "../../..");
  const devEntry = path.resolve(projectRoot, "server/src/index.ts");
  if (fs.existsSync(devEntry)) {
    ensureDevWorkspaceBuildDeps(projectRoot);
    maybeEnableUiDevMiddleware(devEntry);
    const mod = await import(pathToFileURL(devEntry).href);
    return await startServerFromModule(mod, devEntry);
  }

  // Production mode: import the published @paperclipai/server package
  try {
    const mod = await import("@paperclipai/server");
    return await startServerFromModule(mod, "@paperclipai/server");
  } catch (err) {
    const missingSpecifier = getMissingModuleSpecifier(err);
    const missingServerEntrypoint = !missingSpecifier || missingSpecifier === "@paperclipai/server";
    if (isModuleNotFoundError(err) && missingServerEntrypoint) {
      throw new Error(
        `Could not locate a Paperclip server entrypoint.\n` +
          `Tried: ${devEntry}, @paperclipai/server\n` +
          `${formatError(err)}`,
      );
    }
    throw new Error(
      `Paperclip server failed to start.\n` +

View on GitHub (pinned to 01ad858492)

Solutions

1. Run from a Paperclip repo checkout or install @paperclipai/server so a server entrypoint is resolvable.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/src/commands/run.ts:204 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@01ad858492 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/195bc96451c4b452. Report an issue: GitHub.