Summarise a folder of made-up meeting notes. This example was not run for this review.
Input: six short text files with invented meeting notes, in a new folder called openwork-test.
Start OpenWork, click Use Without Cloud and choose openwork-test.
Pick a model under the message box.
Ask: "Read the notes in this folder and write overview.md with one line per meeting: date, topic, decisions. Don't change the notes."
When the prompt Modify files? appears, read which file it names, then click Allow once.
Open overview.md and check two lines against the notes.
Done when: the overview exists, your two checks match, and the six notes are unchanged.
Decision matrix
OpenWork app decision matrix
Overview
OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app in which an agent works on the files in one folder: it reads them, writes new ones and asks before it changes anything. It runs on OpenCode, so it takes almost any model, including one on your own computer. An optional cloud service shares skills and connections with a team.
Other good fits
Teams that must choose their own model, such as a local one or the one their organisation has approved.
Groups that already use OpenCode for code and want the same skills and settings for colleagues who don't use a terminal.
+ Pros
Read pros
OpenWork gives a person who has never opened a terminal an agent that works on real files. You pick a folder, describe the result you want, and the agent reads the files, plans its steps and writes the result into the same folder. Before it changes a file, runs a command or reaches outside the folder, a prompt asks you to allow or deny it.
It is built on OpenCode, the coding agent this curriculum teaches. Skills, settings and model connections are the same files in both, so a team's coders and non-coders can share them.
Pick it when…
You'd otherwise spend an afternoon copying values from many files into one table.
Your files may only go to a model you choose, including one that runs on your own computer through Ollama.
You repeat a task and want to save the way you do it as a skill a colleague can use.
− Cons
Read cons
The free desktop app works alone. Shared skills with access control, connectors for Gmail, Slack or Notion, and scheduled tasks need a sign-in to OpenWork Cloud or to a server your organisation runs. OpenWork Cloud is run by a company in the United States. Small local models often fail at multi-step tool use; the vendor recommends keeping a larger model at hand for long tasks. Undo takes back a message, but in a folder without Git it is safer to work on a copy.
You already pay for Claude and want the model included: Claude Cowork.
Avoid if
The work is code in a repository: use OpenCode (/tools/opencode), which shows and undoes changes through Git.
You want one subscription with the model included and no choices to make: Claude Cowork (/tools/cowork) is simpler.
Workflow
Choose a folder, which becomes the workspace. Pick a model. Describe the task and send it. Read each permission prompt and allow or deny it. Open the files the agent wrote and check them against the sources. When a task went well, ask OpenWork to turn it into a skill, a short instruction file it loads the next time a request matches.
$0. The desktop app, and the first 5 seats of an organisation
Team
$10 per seat per month
Enterprise
On request, billed annually
Add-ons
OpenWork models $10 per user per month; Cloud Computer $50 per member per month
The app is free, but the model is not always. You pay your model provider for what the agent reads and writes, or nothing if the model runs on your own computer. A free starting model called Auto is included, with a limited allowance. Agent tasks use more than a chat, because the agent reads files and tool results at every step. A new version appears about once a week.
Restrictions
Desktop builds exist for Windows, macOS and Linux. The built-in browser runs only in the desktop app. The part that manages organisations is published under a source-available licence: free for up to 5 users, a paid plan beyond that. Admin controls such as SCIM and desktop policies are Enterprise only.
Links & evidence
Documentation-based · not hands-on · Oct 12, 2026
Rests on the vendor's own pages and source code read on 2026-10-12: the website, the documentation (first task, local models, skills, sharing, pricing and licensing, outbound network access), the privacy policy, the GitHub repository and the interface text of release 0.18.57. Nothing was installed or run for this review. Not verified: the size of the free Auto allowance, where Auto's servers are, and how well any particular local model handles agent tasks.
OpenWork documentation: get started · Oct 12, 2026 — Desktop app, web app, AI Gateway and MCP Gateway; free locally with no sign-in; four first steps.
Pricing and licensing · Oct 12, 2026 — Free, Team at $10 per seat per month, Enterprise on request; add-ons; MIT outside ee/, OpenWork EE License inside; free for up to 5 users.
Why sign in? · Oct 12, 2026 — What works signed out (files, own models, local skills, custom MCP servers) and what needs OpenWork Cloud (shared connections, Library, automations).
Use local models (Ollama, LM Studio) · Oct 12, 2026 — Built-in Ollama setup; LM Studio through a settings file; small local models often struggle with tool calls.
OpenWork GitHub repository · Oct 12, 2026 — Built on OpenCode; platforms; licence split; release 0.18.57 of 7 October 2026 and its interface text.
OpenWork privacy policy · Oct 12, 2026 — Operated by Different AI, San Francisco; sub-processors; model providers you connect are contacted directly with your own credentials.
Further review notes & alternatives
Alternatives and trade-offs
Claude Cowork wins when you want one paid plan with model, app and connectors from the same company.
OpenCode wins for code: the same engine with Git, a review panel and a terminal.
n8n wins for fixed workflows that must run unattended and be audited.
OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux in which an AI agent works on the files in a folder you choose. It is built on OpenCode and adds a window for people who don't use a terminal: chats, approvals for each file change, reusable skills and a built-in browser. You bring your own model, including a local one. An optional cloud service shares skills, connections and models with a team.
Different AI · free-tier · desktop · cloud · self-host