readme.md

May 10, 2026 · View on GitHub

🚀 Open Cowork: Your Personal AI Agent Desktop App

• Open Source Claude Cowork • One-Click Install

中文文档 • Features • Demo • Downloads • Quick Start • Skills Library

Open Cowork is a free, open-source AI agent desktop application for Windows and macOS. It wraps Claude Code, OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek, and other AI models into a user-friendly GUI with one-click installation — no coding required. Key capabilities include VM-level sandbox isolation (WSL2 on Windows, Lima on macOS), a built-in Skills system for generating PPTX, DOCX, XLSX, and PDF documents, MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration for connecting to browsers, Notion, and other desktop apps, GUI automation via computer use, and remote control through Feishu (Lark) and Slack. Open Cowork is the open-source implementation of Claude Cowork, designed to make AI-powered desktop automation accessible to everyone.

📖 Introduction

Open Cowork is an open-source implementation of Claude Cowork, with one-click installers for Windows and macOS—no coding required.

It provides a sandboxed workspace where AI can manage files, generate professional outputs (PPTX, DOCX, XLSX, etc.) through our built-in Skills system, and connect to desktop apps via MCP (browser, Notion, etc.) for better collaboration.

Warning

Disclaimer: Open Cowork is an AI collaboration tool. Please exercise caution with its operations, especially when authorizing file modifications or deletions. We support VM-based sandbox isolation, but some operations may still carry risks.

✨ Key Features

	MCP & Skills	Remote Control	GUI Operation
Claude Cowork	✓	✗	✗
OpenClaw	✓	✓	✗
OpenCowork	✓	✓	✓

One-Click Install, Ready to Use: Pre-built installers for Windows and macOS, no environment setup needed—just download and start using.
Flexible Model Support: Supports Claude, OpenAI-compatible APIs, and Chinese models like GLM, MiniMax, Kimi. Use your OpenRouter, Anthropic, or other API keys with flexible configuration. More models coming soon!
Remote Control: Connect to collaboration platforms like Feishu (Lark) and other remote services to automate workflows and cross-platform operations.
GUI Operation: Control and interact with various desktop GUI applications on your computer. Recommended model: Gemini-3-Pro for optimal GUI understanding and control.
Smart File Management: Read, write, and organize files within your workspace.
Skills System: Built-in workflows for PPTX, DOCX, PDF, XLSX generation and processing. Supports custom skill creation and deletion.
MCP External Service Support: Integrate browser, Notion, custom apps and more through MCP Connectors to extend AI capabilities.
Multimodal Input: Drag & drop files and images directly into the chat input for seamless multimodal interaction.
Real-time Trace: Watch AI reasoning and tool execution in the Trace Panel.
Secure Workspace: All operations confined to your chosen workspace folder.
VM-Level Isolation: WSL2 (Windows) and Lima (macOS) VM isolation—all commands execute in an isolated VM to protect your host system.
UI Enhancements: Beautiful and flexible UI design, system language switching, comprehensive MCP/Skills/Tools call display.

🎬 Demo

See Open Cowork in action:

📦 Installation

Option 1: Homebrew (macOS, Recommended)

brew tap OpenCoworkAI/tap
brew install --cask --no-quarantine open-cowork

The --no-quarantine flag bypasses macOS Gatekeeper, so you won't see the "Apple cannot verify this app" warning.

Option 2: Download Installer

Get the latest version from our Releases Page.

Platform	File Type
Windows	`.exe`
macOS (Apple Silicon)	`.dmg`

Option 3: Build from Source

For developers who want to contribute or modify the codebase:

git clone https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-cowork.git
cd open-cowork
npm install
npm run rebuild
npm run dev

To build the installer locally: npm run build

Security Configuration: 🔒 Sandbox Support

Open Cowork provides multi-level sandbox protection to keep your system safe:

Level	Platform	Technology	Description
Basic	All	Path Guard	File operations restricted to workspace folder
Enhanced	Windows	WSL2	Commands execute in isolated Linux VM
Enhanced	macOS	Lima	Commands execute in isolated Linux VM

Windows (WSL2): When WSL2 is detected, all Bash commands are automatically routed to a Linux VM. The workspace is synced bidirectionally.
macOS (Lima): When Lima is installed (brew install lima), commands run in an Ubuntu VM with /Users mounted.
Fallback: If no VM is available, commands run natively with path-based restrictions.

Setup (Optional, Recommended)

Windows: WSL2 is auto-detected if installed. Install WSL2
macOS: Lima is auto-detected if installed. Install command:

brew install lima
# Open Cowork will automatically create and manage a Lima VM (internal Lima name: 'claude-sandbox')

🚀 Quick Start Guide

1. Get an API Key

You need an API key to power the agent. We support OpenRouter, Anthropic, and various cost-effective Chinese Models.

Provider	Get Key / Coding Plan	Base URL (Required)	Recommended Model
OpenRouter	OpenRouter	`https://openrouter.ai/api`	`claude-4-5-sonnet`
Anthropic	Anthropic Console	(Default)	`claude-4-5-sonnet`
Zhipu AI (GLM)	GLM Coding Plan (⚡️Chinese Deal)	`https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/anthropic`	`glm-4.7`, `glm-4.6`
MiniMax	MiniMax Coding Plan	`https://api.minimaxi.com/anthropic`	`minimax-m2`
Kimi	Kimi Coding Plan	`https://api.kimi.com/coding/`	`kimi-k2`

2. Configure

Open the app and click the ⚙️ Settings icon in the bottom left.
Paste your API Key.
Crucial: Set the Base URL according to the table above (especially for Zhipu/MiniMax, etc.).
Enter the Model name you want to use.

3. Start Coworking

Select a Workspace: Choose a folder where Claude is allowed to work.
Enter a Prompt:

"Read the financial_report.csv in this folder and create a PowerPoint summary with 5 slides."

📝 Important Notes

macOS Installation: If you downloaded the DMG directly (not via Homebrew) and see a security warning, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. Or install via Homebrew to avoid this entirely:
```
brew tap OpenCoworkAI/tap && brew install --cask --no-quarantine open-cowork
```
Network Access: For tools like WebSearch, you may need to enable "Virtual Network Interface" (TUN Mode) in your proxy settings to ensure connectivity.
Notion Connector: Besides setting the integration token, you also need to add connections in a root page. See https://www.notion.com/help/add-and-manage-connections-with-the-api for more details.

🧰 Skills Library

Open Cowork ships with built-in skills under .claude/skills/, and supports user-added or custom skills, including:

pptx for PowerPoint generation
docx for Word document processing
pdf for PDF handling and forms
xlsx for Excel spreadsheet support
skill-creator for creating custom skills

🏗️ Architecture

open-cowork/
├── src/
│   ├── main/                    # Electron Main Process (Node.js)
│   │   ├── index.ts             # Main entry point
│   │   ├── claude/              # Agent SDK & Runner
│   │   │   └── agent-runner.ts  # AI agent execution logic
│   │   ├── config/              # Configuration management
│   │   │   └── config-store.ts  # Persistent settings storage
│   │   ├── db/                  # Database layer
│   │   │   └── database.ts      # SQLite/data persistence
│   │   ├── ipc/                 # IPC handlers
│   │   ├── memory/              # Memory management
│   │   │   └── memory-manager.ts
│   │   ├── sandbox/             # Security & Path Resolution
│   │   │   └── path-resolver.ts # Sandboxed file access
│   │   ├── session/             # Session management
│   │   │   └── session-manager.ts
│   │   ├── skills/              # Skill Loader & Manager
│   │   │   └── skills-manager.ts
│   │   └── tools/               # Tool execution
│   │       └── tool-executor.ts # Tool call handling
│   ├── preload/                 # Electron preload scripts
│   │   └── index.ts             # Context bridge setup
│   └── renderer/                # Frontend UI (React + Tailwind)
│       ├── App.tsx              # Root component
│       ├── main.tsx             # React entry point
│       ├── components/          # UI Components
│       │   ├── ChatView.tsx     # Main chat interface
│       │   ├── ConfigModal.tsx  # Settings dialog
│       │   ├── ContextPanel.tsx # File context display
│       │   ├── MessageCard.tsx  # Chat message component
│       │   ├── PermissionDialog.tsx
│       │   ├── Sidebar.tsx      # Navigation sidebar
│       │   ├── Titlebar.tsx     # Custom window titlebar
│       │   ├── TracePanel.tsx   # AI reasoning trace
│       │   └── WelcomeView.tsx  # Onboarding screen
│       ├── hooks/               # Custom React hooks
│       │   └── useIPC.ts        # IPC communication hook
│       ├── store/               # State management
│       │   └── index.ts
│       ├── styles/              # CSS styles
│       │   └── globals.css
│       ├── types/               # TypeScript types
│       │   └── index.ts
│       └── utils/               # Utility functions
├── .claude/
│   └── skills/                  # Default Skill Definitions
│       ├── pptx/                # PowerPoint generation
│       ├── docx/                # Word document processing
│       ├── pdf/                 # PDF handling & forms
│       ├── xlsx/                # Excel spreadsheet support
│       └── skill-creator/       # Skill development toolkit
├── resources/                   # Static Assets (icons, images)
├── electron-builder.yml         # Build configuration
├── vite.config.ts               # Vite bundler config
└── package.json                 # Dependencies & scripts

🗺️ Roadmap

See our full ROADMAP.md for detailed plans.

Completed: Core installers · Filesystem sandboxing · VM isolation (WSL2/Lima) · Skills (PPTX/DOCX/PDF/XLSX) · MCP connectors · Multi-model support · Rich input · i18n

Coming next: Memory optimization · Linux support · Plugin system · Computer use · Stable release

❓ FAQ

What is Open Cowork? Open Cowork is a free, open-source desktop application that provides a local AI agent workspace. It wraps AI models (Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, etc.) into a GUI with one-click installers for Windows and macOS — no terminal or coding knowledge required.

How is Open Cowork different from Claude Cowork? Open Cowork is the open-source implementation of Claude Cowork. It adds multi-model support (not just Claude), GUI automation via computer use, remote control through Feishu/Slack, and VM-level sandbox isolation. See the feature comparison table for details.

What AI models does Open Cowork support? Claude (via Anthropic or OpenRouter), OpenAI-compatible APIs, and Chinese models including GLM (Zhipu AI), MiniMax, and Kimi. Any provider offering an OpenAI-compatible API endpoint can be configured.

Is Open Cowork free? Yes. Open Cowork itself is completely free and open-source under the MIT license. You only need to pay for the AI model API usage from your chosen provider.

Does Open Cowork work on Linux? Currently, Open Cowork provides pre-built installers for Windows and macOS only. Linux users can build from source — see the Build from Source section.

How does sandbox isolation work? Open Cowork offers multi-level protection: basic path-based restrictions on all platforms, and enhanced VM-level isolation using WSL2 (Windows) or Lima (macOS). When a VM is available, all commands execute inside an isolated Linux environment, protecting your host system.

What are Skills and how do I create custom ones? Skills are built-in workflows for specific tasks like generating PPTX, DOCX, PDF, or XLSX files. Open Cowork ships with default skills under .claude/skills/ and includes a skill-creator tool to help you build your own custom skills.

What is MCP and how does it work? MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets AI connect to external tools and services. Open Cowork supports MCP connectors for browsers, Notion, and other desktop apps — extending the AI's capabilities beyond just file management and code.

How do I set up remote control via Feishu or Slack? Open Cowork supports remote control through Feishu (Lark) and Slack integration, allowing you to send commands and receive results from collaboration platforms. Check the app settings for remote control configuration.

Is my data safe? Does Open Cowork send data to external servers? Open Cowork runs locally on your machine. Your files stay in your workspace. The only external communication is with the AI model API you configure (e.g., Anthropic, OpenRouter). No data is sent to Open Cowork servers.

🛠️ Contributing

We welcome contributions! Whether it's a new Skill, a UI fix, or a security improvement:

Fork the repo.
Create a branch (git checkout -b feature/NewSkill).
Submit a PR.

💬 Community

Join our community for support and discussion:

Discord: Join our Discord server — for real-time chat, support, and development discussion.
WeChat: Scan the QR code below to join our WeChat group (Chinese community).

WeChat Group

📄 License

Made with ❤️ by the Open Cowork Team with the help of opus4.5