docs: update PRODUCT.md and add 2026-03-13 features plan
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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@@ -94,3 +94,53 @@ Canonical mode design and command expectations live in `doc/DEPLOYMENT-MODES.md`
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## Further Detail
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See [SPEC.md](./SPEC.md) for the full technical specification and [TASKS.md](./TASKS.md) for the task management data model.
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---
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Paperclip’s core identity is a **control plane for autonomous AI companies**, centered on **companies, org charts, goals, issues/comments, heartbeats, budgets, approvals, and board governance**. The public docs are also explicit about the current boundaries: **tasks/comments are the built-in communication model**, Paperclip is **not a chatbot**, and it is **not a code review tool**. The roadmap already points toward **easier onboarding, cloud agents, easier agent configuration, plugins, better docs, and ClipMart/ClipHub-style reusable companies/templates**.
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## What Paperclip should do vs. not do
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**Do**
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- Stay **board-level and company-level**. Users should manage goals, orgs, budgets, approvals, and outputs.
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- Make the first five minutes feel magical: install, answer a few questions, see a CEO do something real.
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- Keep work anchored to **issues/comments/projects/goals**, even if the surface feels conversational.
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- Treat **agency / internal team / startup** as the same underlying abstraction with different templates and labels.
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- Make outputs first-class: files, docs, reports, previews, links, screenshots.
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- Provide **hooks into engineering workflows**: worktrees, preview servers, PR links, external review tools.
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- Use **plugins** for edge cases like rich chat, knowledge bases, doc editors, custom tracing.
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**Do not**
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- Do not make the core product a general chat app. The current product definition is explicitly task/comment-centric and “not a chatbot,” and that boundary is valuable.
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- Do not build a complete Jira/GitHub replacement. The repo/docs already position Paperclip as organization orchestration, not focused on pull-request review.
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- Do not build enterprise-grade RBAC first. The current V1 spec still treats multi-board governance and fine-grained human permissions as out of scope, so the first multi-user version should be coarse and company-scoped.
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- Do not lead with raw bash logs and transcripts. Default view should be human-readable intent/progress, with raw detail beneath.
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- Do not force users to understand provider/API-key plumbing unless absolutely necessary. There are active onboarding/auth issues already; friction here is clearly real.
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## Specific design goals
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1. **Time-to-first-success under 5 minutes**
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A fresh user should go from install to “my CEO completed a first task” in one sitting.
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2. **Board-level abstraction always wins**
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The default UI should answer: what is the company doing, who is doing it, why does it matter, what did it cost, and what needs my approval.
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3. **Conversation stays attached to work objects**
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“Chat with CEO” should still resolve to strategy threads, decisions, tasks, or approvals.
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4. **Progressive disclosure**
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Top layer: human-readable summary. Middle layer: checklist/steps/artifacts. Bottom layer: raw logs/tool calls/transcript.
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5. **Output-first**
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Work is not done until the user can see the result: file, document, preview link, screenshot, plan, or PR.
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6. **Local-first, cloud-ready**
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The mental model should not change between local solo use and shared/private or public/cloud deployment.
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7. **Safe autonomy**
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Auto mode is allowed; hidden token burn is not.
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8. **Thin core, rich edges**
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Put optional chat, knowledge, and special surfaces into plugins/extensions rather than bloating the control plane.
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