Open Cowork
A sandboxed desktop workspace for running multi-model AI tasks against files, documents, and desktop applications.
What does this agent do, and when should you use it?
Open Cowork is an open-source AI agent desktop application for Windows and macOS, available through prebuilt installers or from source. Its desktop interface combines an Electron main process, a React and Tailwind renderer, and IPC communication, with claude/agent-runner.ts handling agent execution. After a user selects a workspace and configures a model API, it can manage workspace files and use built-in Skills to generate or process PPTX, DOCX, XLSX, and PDF outputs. The project also documents MCP Connectors, GUI operation, remote control through Feishu (Lark) and Slack, and a Trace Panel for reasoning and tool execution. Its security model combines workspace path restrictions with optional WSL2 isolation on Windows and Lima isolation on macOS.
A user enters an API Key, Base URL, and model name in Settings, selects a permitted workspace, and submits a task in the desktop chat. claude/agent-runner.ts runs the agent; tools/tool-executor.ts handles tool calls; and sandbox/path-resolver.ts constrains file access, while config, session, memory, and db directories handle their respective application state. The app can read, write, and organize files in the workspace, then invoke the pptx, docx, pdf, xlsx, and skill-creator workflows under .claude/skills/ to produce office documents. MCP Connectors extend tasks to browsers, Notion, and custom apps, while TracePanel displays reasoning and tool activity. When available, WSL2 or Lima runs Bash commands in an isolated Linux VM.
- An operations specialist who needs a five-slide PowerPoint summary from financial_report.csv in a chosen folder can submit that request through the desktop chat.
- A Windows or macOS user who wants AI-assisted folder cleanup while limiting access to one workspace can use the path guard and optional VM isolation.
- A team member preparing Word, spreadsheet, PDF, or PowerPoint deliverables from local source material can use the bundled document Skills.
- A user with Anthropic, OpenRouter, GLM, MiniMax, or Kimi access can configure the relevant API Key, Base URL, and model to run desktop tasks.
- Someone whose local workflow must work with a browser, Notion, or another supported desktop service can configure MCP Connectors.
- A collaboration team receiving remote requests through Feishu (Lark) or Slack can use the documented remote-control integrations.
What are this agent's strengths and limitations?
- Offers prebuilt installers for Windows and macOS while retaining a documented source-build path.
- Supports Anthropic, OpenAI-compatible APIs, and documented GLM, MiniMax, and Kimi configurations instead of requiring one model provider.
- Combines workspace path restrictions with WSL2 or Lima VM execution for layered command isolation.
- Bundles Skills for PPTX, DOCX, XLSX, and PDF work and supports creating or deleting custom Skills.
- Documents MCP Connectors, GUI operation, and Feishu (Lark) and Slack integrations for workflows beyond local files.
- Prebuilt installers are documented only for Windows and Apple Silicon macOS; Linux users must build from source.
- Users must supply their own model-provider API key and pay the selected provider's API charges.
- VM isolation depends on WSL2 or Lima being installed; without either, the app falls back to native command execution with path-based restrictions.
- The documentation warns that authorized file modifications and deletions can still carry risk.
- The Notion connector requires both an integration token and connections added on a root page.
How do you install or deploy this agent?
On macOS, run:
brew tap OpenCoworkAI/tap
brew install --cask --no-quarantine open-cowork
Windows and Apple Silicon macOS installers are also available as .exe and .dmg files from Releases. To build from source, use Node.js 18+:
git clone https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-cowork.git
cd open-cowork
npm install
npm run rebuild
npm run dev
Run npm run build to build an installer locally.
How do you use this agent?
Open the app, select Settings in the lower-left corner, and enter the API Key, Base URL, and model name for your provider. The documentation lists Anthropic, OpenRouter, GLM, MiniMax, and Kimi; OpenRouter uses https://openrouter.ai/api as its Base URL. Select a workspace, then enter a task such as “Read the financial_report.csv in this folder and create a PowerPoint summary with 5 slides.” For stronger command isolation, install WSL2 on Windows or run brew install lima on macOS; the app detects an available VM and uses it.
How does this agent compare with similar options?
The README's feature table compares Open Cowork with Claude Cowork and OpenClaw: all three are marked for MCP and Skills; Open Cowork and OpenClaw are marked for remote control; and only Open Cowork is marked for GUI operation. The project describes itself as an open-source implementation of Claude Cowork and highlights multi-model support, remote control, and VM isolation.