# OpenWork

OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app made for sharing AI workflows. It is an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and Codex for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Add one OpenWork MCP to Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, or another compatible agent and reuse the same skills, MCPs, and connected services across your tools, teammates, and machines. Create something once, share it with coworkers or friends, or keep it for yourself.

The desktop app is there when you want a dedicated workspace, but it is not required. You can use OpenWork from the agent you already have. For larger organizations, the admin interface lets you publish capabilities, manage access, and configure shared or per-user connections.

[**Download OpenWork**](https://openworklabs.com/download)

<img width="1481" height="842" alt="OpenWork desktop app" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/66a8dd9b-5260-488c-957d-e54331e78c1c" />

## Install with your AI agent

Already use an AI agent? Copy this prompt and paste it into Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, ChatGPT, or any agent that can run commands on your computer.

```text
Install OpenWork on my computer, set up my first workspace, and open it ready to use. Follow the steps in https://openworklabs.com/start.md?v=hero
```

1. Installs OpenWork
2. Creates your workspace
3. Opens it ready to run

## Use OpenWork from any agent

The OpenWork MCP brings your assigned skills, plugins, MCP connections, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365 capabilities into any compatible agent.

It exposes two tools: `search_capabilities` finds what you can use, and `execute_capability` runs it. After adding the MCP, your client opens a browser so you can sign in and choose your OpenWork organization.

### Codex

```bash
codex mcp add openwork --url https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent
```

### Claude Code

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http openwork https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent
```

### OpenCode

Add this to `opencode.json`:

```json
{
  "mcp": {
    "openwork": {
      "type": "remote",
      "enabled": true,
      "url": "https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent",
      "oauth": {}
    }
  }
}
```

### Any MCP client

Use this remote MCP server URL:

```text
https://api.openworklabs.com/mcp/agent
```

## OpenWork Den

OpenWork Den is the control plane for managing OpenWork across a team or organization.

- Provision inference at scale and control which members and teams can use each model provider.
- Invite teammates, create teams, and manage access from one place.
- Set desktop policies, restrict local model access, and control which app versions your organization can use.
- Publish skills and plugins through marketplaces, then assign them to the organization, a team, or specific people.
- Import Agent Plugins or Anthropic-compatible plugins and make their supported skills and remote MCPs available through the OpenWork MCP.

<img width="1546" height="915" alt="OpenWork Den organization control plane" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/033dbbfe-5661-4f7c-869c-46278406d6cc" />

## Licensing

This repository uses a directory-split license, similar to GitLab:

- **Everything outside `ee/` is MIT** — the desktop app and core platform are open source, free for any use.
- **Everything under `ee/` (OpenWork Den — the org control plane) is under the [OpenWork EE License](ee/LICENSE)**, a source-available license. The code is public so you can audit exactly what you deploy. Production use requires an [OpenWork subscription](https://openworklabs.com/pricing), except that it is **free for organizations with up to 5 users**, **free to evaluate for 30 days at any size**, and always free for development and testing. Each `ee/` release additionally converts to MIT two years after publication.

Versions released before this license was adopted remain under their original license (FSL-1.1-MIT). See [pricing](https://openworklabs.com/pricing) and the [subscription terms](https://openworklabs.com/terms/subscription).

## Documentation

[Read the OpenWork docs.](https://openworklabs.com/docs)

## Local development

For one checkout, keep using `pnpm dev`; with no extra environment variables it reuses the existing shared dev profile.

To run multiple git worktrees at once, use:

```bash
pnpm dev:worktree
```

That sets `OPENWORK_DEV_PROFILE=auto`, derives a stable profile name from the worktree path, lets Electron choose a free CDP port, and asks Vite for a free dev-server port. You can also choose a named profile, for example `OPENWORK_DEV_PROFILE=my-feature OPENWORK_ELECTRON_REMOTE_DEBUG_PORT=0 PORT=0 pnpm dev`.

`dev:worktree` also defaults `OPENWORK_ELECTRON_USE_MOCK_KEYCHAIN=1`. A brand-new profile has no stored credentials, so on macOS the real keychain prompts as soon as Chromium persists an authenticated cookie, and that modal blocks Electron's main loop until it is dismissed. Set `OPENWORK_ELECTRON_USE_MOCK_KEYCHAIN=0` if you specifically want the system keychain in an isolated profile.

Dev startup prints a banner like `[openwork] dev profile=... cdp=http://127.0.0.1:9223`; use it to find the profile directory and pass the CDP URL to local tooling.

If a second instance cannot get the profile lock it now says so and exits, instead of lingering with an open CDP port and no window.

### Headless web (no Electron)

To run the OpenWork UI in a browser against a local `openwork-server` (no desktop shell):

```bash
pnpm world up ./worlds/dev-headless.ts
```

`pnpm dev:headless-web` is a compatibility alias for the same world-managed
surface. The path-based command gets its `dev-headless` name and detached
lifecycle from the world file, so common usage needs no `--name` or `--detach`
flags. For compatibility, the alias remains foreground by default and accepts
`--detach`.

This is an isolated launcher:

- Writes `tmp/headless-server.json` and never reads `~/.config/openwork/server.json`
- Authorizes the chosen workspace root automatically, and merges (never rewrites) that config on relaunch, so workspaces you add through the UI survive `--replace`
- Starts Vite + `openwork-server` with a stable owner bearer forced into the UI. Crash-restarts reuse that bearer so open tabs keep working; `--replace` mints fresh tokens (pass `--keep-tokens` to preserve them). The privileged host token stays on the server process and is never inlined into the Vite bundle.
- Proxies Den Cloud calls same-origin: Vite serves `/api/den` (forwarded to the Den control plane) and the app pins its Den API there via `VITE_DEN_API_BASE_URL`, so Cloud calls are never CORS-blocked and stale `localStorage` base URLs are cleared on load
- Publishes agent-facing URLs/tokens at `tmp/dev-headless-web.json` (owner-only, `0600`), and allows browser calls to the local server only from the web app's own origins — not every site you visit
- Uses stable ports by default (web `5178`, server `8778`; falls back to free ports when taken, override with `OPENWORK_WEB_PORT` / `OPENWORK_PORT`)
- Is single-instance per world name: re-running the same name reuses its healthy instance, while `--name` can launch another isolated stack; stale instances are cleaned up automatically and `--replace` forces a restart
- Keeps Vite and the backend under a detached supervisor, so either sibling exiting stops the other instead of leaving an orphan
- Starts detached through `world up`, waits for health, prints the URLs, and exits; the compatibility alias preserves its previous foreground default

Open the printed Web URL. Cloud sign-in in headless web uses the **copy/paste** handoff (hosted Den cannot redirect session grants back to `http://127.0.0.1`):

1. Account → Sign in (opens Den; the paste field opens in Settings)
2. Sign in on Den
3. Copy the OpenWork link / one-time code Den shows
4. Paste it under **Paste sign-in code** → Finish sign-in

Point Den at a local stack with `OPENWORK_DEV_DEN_PROXY_TARGET=http://127.0.0.1:3005` while `pnpm dev:web-local` is running. Set `OPENWORK_DEV_HEADLESS_WEB_DEN_PROXY=0` to disable the Den wiring.

The other checked-in world files are `worlds/headless-prod-live.ts` and
`worlds/desktop-prod-live.ts`. Both intentionally share installed production
state and therefore require `--allow-shared-state` on every launch. List saved
worlds and auto-discovered definitions with `pnpm world list`. The headless
production world is hard-limited to loopback; remote-access/public-host settings
are refused because its browser session uses production credentials.