# What Data Is Included When Exporting a Paperclip Organization: Complete 2024 Guide

> Export your Paperclip organization to a portable Agent Company bundle. Learn what declarative data is included, from agents and projects to logs and monitors, for full fidelity restoration.

- Repository: [Paperclip/paperclip](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip)
- Tags: getting-started
- Published: 2026-08-14

---

**Exporting a Paperclip organization creates a portable "Agent Company" bundle containing all declarative data including agents, projects, skills, issues, labels, documents, attachments, approvals, cost events, activity logs, and monitors—enabling full fidelity restoration in another instance.**

Paperclip serves as the control-plane for AI-agent companies, and its export feature packages every structural and operational artifact into a self-contained zip folder. This article breaks down exactly what data gets exported, where the logic lives in the source code, and how to work with the resulting bundle.

## Core Entities Exported from a Paperclip Organization

### Agents and Organizational Structure

Every agent belonging to your company is exported with complete metadata. According to the `generateOrgChartMermaid` function in [`server/src/services/company-export-readme.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/server/src/services/company-export-readme.ts) (lines 22-44), each agent record includes:

- **Name** and **slug** (URL-friendly identifier)
- **Role** definition
- Hierarchical relationship via `reportsToSlug` (reporting structure)

The export preserves the complete organizational chart, enabling the Mermaid diagram generation in the bundled [`README.md`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/README.md).

### Projects, Skills, and Operational Definitions

The **manifest**—built in the shared portability package `@paperclipai/shared`—captures:

| Entity | Fields Exported |
|--------|---------------|
| **Projects** | name, description, custom fields |
| **Skills** | name, description, source locator, source type |

These definitions establish the operational blueprint your agents use to execute work.

### Issues (Tasks) and Their Complete State

Issues represent the core work items in Paperclip. The `collectExportFidelityCounts` function in [`server/src/services/export-fidelity.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/server/src/services/export-fidelity.ts) (lines 22-55) retrieves comprehensive issue data:

- Full issue objects and their labels
- Attachments and documents
- Work-product references
- Blocker relationships
- Monitoring settings

This ensures no task state is lost during migration.

### Relational Data and Advanced Entity Types

The same fidelity function captures interconnected data that preserves operational context:

- **Labels** — definitions and every `issueLabelReferences` mapping
- **Issue Relations** — "blocks" relationships between issues (`issueBlockerRelations`)
- **Documents & Attachments** — `issueDocuments` and `issueAttachmentCount`
- **Approvals** — `approvalCount` for gated workflows
- **Cost Events** — `costEventCount` for tracking compute and operational spend
- **Activity Log** — `activityLogEntries` for audit history
- **Issue Monitors** — `issueMonitors` with scheduled check configuration and `nextCheckAt` timestamps

## The Export Bundle Structure

When you trigger an export, Paperclip assembles a zip folder containing:

```

paperclip-export.zip
├── manifest.json           # CompanyPortabilityManifest (all entities as JSON)

├── README.md               # Human-readable overview with Mermaid org chart

├── images/
│   └── org-chart.png       # Rendered organization hierarchy

└── assets/                 # Optional folders

    ├── documents/          # Raw files referenced by issues

    └── attachments/        # Uploaded file attachments

```

The **fidelity report** (`ExportFidelityReport`) is embedded in the manifest, recording exact counts of each entity type and flagging any warnings about missing or inconsistent data. The report schema lives in `@paperclipai/shared/portability-fidelity` and is constructed by `buildExportFidelityReport` in [`server/src/services/export-fidelity.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/server/src/services/export-fidelity.ts) (lines 71-78).

## How to Export and Inspect Organization Data

### Trigger an Export via REST API

```bash
curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_AGENT_API_KEY>" \
  https://localhost:3100/api/companies/<COMPANY_ID>/export \
  -o paperclip-export.zip

```

Replace `<YOUR_AGENT_API_KEY>` and `<COMPANY_ID>` with your credentials. The endpoint streams the complete zip bundle.

### Inspect the Manifest Locally

```bash
unzip -p paperclip-export.zip manifest.json | jq .

```

The JSON structure follows this shape:

```json
{
  "companyId": "c_12345",
  "agents": [],
  "projects": [],
  "skills": [],
  "issues": [],
  "labels": [],
  "relations": [],
  "documents": [],
  "attachments": [],
  "approvals": [],
  "costEvents": [],
  "activityLog": [],
  "monitors": []
}

```

### Import into Another Paperclip Instance

```bash
pnpm exec paperclipai company import /path/to/paperclip-export.zip

```

The CLI command in [`cli/src/commands/company-import.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/cli/src/commands/company-import.ts) reads [`manifest.json`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/manifest.json), recreates all entities, and writes accompanying assets to the target database.

## Source Code Architecture for Exports

| File | Responsibility |
|------|---------------|
| [`server/src/services/export-fidelity.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/server/src/services/export-fidelity.ts) | `collectExportFidelityCounts` gathers entity counts; `buildExportFidelityReport` constructs the validation report |
| [`server/src/services/company-export-readme.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/server/src/services/company-export-readme.ts) | `generateOrgChartMermaid` builds hierarchy diagrams; `generateReadme` produces human-readable documentation (lines 71-72) |
| [`packages/shared/portability-fidelity.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/packages/shared/portability-fidelity.ts) | Schema definitions for `ExportFidelityReport` and warning logic |
| [`server/src/routes/company.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/server/src/routes/company.ts) | HTTP endpoint handling for the export stream |
| [`cli/src/commands/company-import.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/cli/src/commands/company-import.ts) | Consumes exported zips and restores organizations with full fidelity |

This architecture ensures **all relational data**—not just primary entities—is captured, allowing downstream Paperclip instances to recreate companies with preserved task state, permissions, and historical activity.

## Summary

- **Primary entities**: Agents, projects, skills, and issues form the structural core of every Paperclip export
- **Relational completeness**: Labels, blocker relations, monitors, and references maintain operational context
- **Audit and cost data**: Activity logs, approvals, and cost events preserve governance and spend tracking
- **Asset portability**: Documents and attachments are bundled for complete restoration
- **Validation built-in**: The `ExportFidelityReport` validates data completeness and flags inconsistencies
- **Full round-trip**: Exports from `server/src/services/` and imports via [`cli/src/commands/company-import.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/cli/src/commands/company-import.ts) enable zero-loss migration

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does a Paperclip export include private agent configurations?

Yes. The export captures all agent metadata including role definitions and reporting hierarchies as implemented in `generateOrgChartMermaid` at [`server/src/services/company-export-readme.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/server/src/services/company-export-readme.ts). However, external API keys or runtime secrets are typically excluded from declarative exports—check your specific deployment's secret management configuration.

### Can I export a single project instead of the entire organization?

The current export implementation targets full-company portability through the `/api/companies/<COMPANY_ID>/export` endpoint. For project-level extraction, you would need to filter the resulting [`manifest.json`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/manifest.json) manually or request a feature extension through the Paperclip maintainers.

### How does the fidelity report detect missing data?

The `buildExportFidelityReport` function in [`server/src/services/export-fidelity.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/server/src/services/export-fidelity.ts) (lines 71-78) compares actual counts against expected relationships—flagging, for example, issues referencing non-existent labels or agents with broken `reportsToSlug` links. Warnings are embedded in the `ExportFidelityReport` schema defined in `@paperclipai/shared/portability-fidelity`.

### What happens to issue monitors during import?

Issue monitors export with full configuration including scheduled check intervals and `nextCheckAt` timestamps. The [`cli/src/commands/company-import.ts`](https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/blob/main/cli/src/commands/company-import.ts) restoration process recreates these monitors in the target instance, preserving automated monitoring behavior.