How to Connect Bluehost AI Credits to Paperclip

Power your Paperclip agents with the AI Credits balance tied to your Bluehost account. AI Credits route through the Bluehost AI Gateway, a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint. This lets you run GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and other supported models without signing up with each provider separately.

Point Paperclip at the Bluehost Gateway

Paperclip delegates task execution to claude-code. You need to point Paperclip's OpenAI-compatible client environment variables to the Bluehost AI Gateway.

1. Connect to your server via SSH.

   Important: Replace your_server_ip with your actual server IP address.

   ssh root@your_server_ip

2. Open the service editor:

   Copy

   systemctl edit paperclip

3. Paste this under [Service], replacing the key with your Bluehost AI Gateway key:

   Important: Replace your_bluehost_ai_gateway_key with your actual API Key.

   [Service]
   Environment="PAPERCLIP_CODEX_PROVIDERS={\"providers\":{\"bluehost\":{\"name\":\"Bluehost AI Gateway\",\"base_url\":\"https://gateway.ai.bluehost.com/v1\",\"env_key\":\"OPENAI_API_KEY\",\"wire_api\":\"responses\"}},\"model_provider\":\"bluehost\"}"
   Environment="OPENAI_API_KEY=your_bluehost_ai_gateway_key"

   Example Output

   ### Editing /etc/systemd/system/paperclip.service.d/override.conf
   ### Anything between here and the comment below will become the contents of the drop-in file
   
   [Service]
   Environment=BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=test123a1abce4783bcee11950e30d48544961779a
   Environment=BETTER_AUTH_BASE_URL=http://12.3.3.123:3100
   Environment=HOST=12.3.3.123
   Environment=PAPERCLIP_PUBLIC_URL=http://12.3.3.123:3100
   Environment=PAPERCLIP_DEPLOYMENT_MODE=authenticated
   Environment="PAPERCLIP_CODEX_PROVIDERS={\"providers\":{\"bluehost\":{\"name\":\"Bluehost AI Gateway\",\"base_url\":\"https://gateway.ai.bluehost.com\",\"env_key\":\"OPENAI_API_KEY\",\"wire_api\":\"responses\"}},\"model_provider\":\"bluehost\"}"
   Environment="OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-abctest123LidI6612"
   
   ### Edits below this comment will be discarded
   
   
   ### /etc/systemd/system/paperclip.service
   # [Unit]
   # Description=Paperclip
   # Documentation=https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip
   # After=network.target
   #
   # [Service]
   # Type=simple
   # User=paperclip
   # WorkingDirectory=/opt/paperclip/app
   # ExecStart=/bin/bash -c 'pnpm dev --tailscale-auth'
   # Restart=always
   # RestartSec=5
   # StartLimitIntervalSec=60
   # StartLimitBurst=3
   # Environment=NODE_ENV=production
   # Environment=PORT=3100
   # Environment=HOME=/opt/paperclip
   # StandardOutput=append:/var/log/paperclip/paperclip.log
   # StandardError=append:/var/log/paperclip/paperclip.log

4. Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X).

5. Restart the Paperclip service:

   Copy

   systemctl daemon-reload && systemctl restart paperclip

   Then confirm it started successfully:

   Copy

   systemctl status paperclip

   Example Output

   ● paperclip.service - Paperclip
        Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/paperclip.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
       Drop-In: /etc/systemd/system/paperclip.service.d
                └─override.conf
        Active: active (running) since Mon 2026-09-21 22:54:04 UTC; 9s ago
          Docs: https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip
      Main PID: 19112 (node)
         Tasks: 169 (limit: 9500)
        Memory: 555.2M (peak: 745.9M)
           CPU: 19.092s
        CGroup: /system.slice/paperclip.service

Configure Models inside Paperclip UI

Once your environment variables are configured, finalize the integration by setting up your preferred default model within the Paperclip dashboard.

1. Open your Paperclip dashboard at http://your_server_ip:3100.
   Replace your_server_ip with your actual server IP address.

2. Navigate to Agents → CEO → Configurations.

   
    

3. Set the default agent model, depending on what your Bluehost Gateway route supports.

   Tip: Check AI Models and Credit Pricing for more information about the models supported.

4. Ensure your desired Adapter type is selected.

Test the Connection

Validate your gateway configuration by testing the connection directly inside your Paperclip dashboard.

1. Send a test prompt such as "reply with the word ready", or click Test Environment (or Run Heartbeat) to trigger a diagnostic run.

2. Navigate to the Runs tab to review the live execution status and output.

   Important: How to verify success

   • Success: Your agent responds with "ready", and the run log confirms requests pass through your configured Bluehost Gateway URL.
   • Failure: If you receive a 401 Unauthorized error pointing to api.openai.com, verify that OPENAI_API_KEY is set correctly in your server's service environment and restart Paperclip using systemctl daemon-reload && systemctl restart paperclip.
3. No reply? See Troubleshooting below.

Troubleshooting Quick Reference

If you encounter issues connecting Paperclip to the Bluehost AI Gateway, refer to the common problems and solutions below to quickly resolve setup errors.

401 Unauthorized / "Invalid API key"

• Cause: Invalid, expired, mistyped, or deleted AI Credit key.
• Fix: Check key status in Bluehost Portal → AI Tooling, copy the key, and replace OPENAI_API_KEY.

402 Payment Required / "Insufficient credits"

• Cause: AI Credit balance is depleted.
• Fix: Top up your credit balance in Bluehost Portal → AI Tooling.

Connection Refused / 404

• Cause: Incorrect base_url value inside your PAPERCLIP_CODEX_PROVIDERS environment variable.
• Fix: Ensure the base_url is set to https://gateway.ai.bluehost.com/v1 (without a trailing slash).

Agent Bypasses Gateway or Chat Sends Nothing

• Cause: Service wasn't restarted, or the agent is not using the correct adapter (codex_local).
• Fix: Run systemctl daemon-reload && systemctl restart paperclip after updating environment variables, and confirm the agent runs on the Codex adapter rather than another runtime.

Model Rejected

• Cause: Model ID isn't supported by your AI Credits plan.
• Fix: Verify the supported model list in Bluehost Portal → AI Tooling.

Summary

Connecting Bluehost AI Credits to Paperclip allows you to route agent requests through the Bluehost AI Gateway using your existing credit balance. The process involves generating an API key in your Bluehost dashboard, setting the appropriate environment variables on your server, and selecting the correct model and adapter inside the Paperclip Web UI. Once configured and restarted, your multi-agent workflows will automatically execute using your unified AI credits across supported models.