OpenCowork

AI-Powered Collaborative Development Platform

A sophisticated Electron-based desktop application that combines AI agents with development tools for intelligent coding assistance and project collaboration.

✨ Features

🤖 AI Agent System

• Multi-Provider Support: Compatible with OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, and other LLM providers
• Agent Loop Architecture: Advanced agentic workflow with tool execution and approval system
• Sub-Agent Framework: Specialized agents for code review, search, and planning
• Real-time Streaming: Live response streaming with token usage tracking

💻 Development Tools

• File System Operations: Complete file and directory management
• Code Search: Advanced codebase search with ripgrep integration
• Bash Execution: Secure command execution with approval workflow
• Task Management: Built-in todo list and project tracking

🎨 Modern UI/UX

• Three Working Modes: Chat, Cowork, and Code modes for different workflows
• Responsive Layout: Adaptive sidebar and panel system
• Dark/Light Themes: Full theme support with system detection
• Keyboard Shortcuts: Comprehensive shortcut system for power users

🔧 Advanced Features

• Session Management: Multiple chat sessions with pinning and export
• Permission System: Tool approval workflow for security
• Context Awareness: Working folder and project context tracking
• Artifact Management: Generated code and file handling

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm, yarn, or bun

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/your-username/OpenCowork.git
cd OpenCowork

# Install dependencies
npm install
# or
yarn install
# or
bun install

Development

# Start development server with hot reload
npm run dev
# or
yarn dev

Building

# Type check and build for production
npm run build

# Platform-specific builds
npm run build:win    # Windows
npm run build:mac    # macOS  
npm run build:linux  # Linux

📁 Project Structure

OpenCowork/
├── src/
│   ├── main/                 # Electron main process
│   │   ├── ipc/             # IPC handlers
│   │   └── index.ts         # Main entry point
│   ├── preload/              # Preload scripts
│   └── renderer/             # React frontend
│       ├── src/
│       │   ├── components/   # UI components
│       │   ├── lib/         # Core libraries
│       │   │   ├── agent/   # AI agent system
│       │   │   ├── api/     # LLM providers
│       │   │   ├── tools/   # Development tools
│       │   │   └── ipc/     # IPC client
│       │   ├── stores/      # State management
│       │   └── hooks/       # React hooks
├── resources/               # App assets
├── build/                   # Build configuration
└── docs/                    # Documentation

🛠️ Technology Stack

Core Framework

• Electron - Cross-platform desktop application framework
• React 19 - Modern UI library with latest features
• TypeScript 5 - Type-safe development
• Vite - Fast build tool and dev server

UI & Styling

• Tailwind CSS 4 - Utility-first CSS framework
• Radix UI - Accessible component primitives
• Lucide React - Beautiful icon set
• Motion - Smooth animations and transitions

State Management

• Zustand - Lightweight state management
• Immer - Immutable state updates

Development Tools

• ESLint + Prettier - Code quality and formatting
• Electron Builder - Application packaging
• Electron Updater - Auto-update functionality

⚙️ Configuration

API Providers

Configure your preferred LLM provider in the settings:

1. Open the application
2. Press Ctrl+, to open settings
3. Enter your API key
4. Select your preferred provider

Working Directory

For file operations and code context:

• Use Ctrl+Shift+O to select a working folder
• Or use the folder selector in the interface

🎯 Usage Modes

💬 Chat Mode

• Conversational AI interaction
• Quick questions and answers
• General assistance

🤝 Cowork Mode

• Collaborative development
• File operations and project management
• Tool execution with approval workflow

💻 Code Mode

• Focused coding assistance
• Code review and analysis
• Advanced development tools

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+N	New session
Ctrl+Shift+N	New session in next mode
Ctrl+1/2/3	Switch to Chat/Cowork/Code mode
Ctrl+B	Toggle left sidebar
Ctrl+Shift+B	Toggle right panel
Ctrl+L	Clear current conversation
Ctrl+D	Duplicate current session
Ctrl+P	Pin/unpin current session
Ctrl+Shift+C	Copy conversation as markdown
Ctrl+Shift+E	Export current conversation
Ctrl+Shift+S	Backup all sessions
Ctrl+Shift+O	Import sessions from backup
Ctrl+Shift+A	Toggle auto-approve tools
Ctrl+Shift+D	Toggle dark/light theme
Ctrl+/	Show keyboard shortcuts
Escape	Stop streaming

🔒 Security

• Tool Approval System: All tool executions require explicit approval
• Secure API Storage: API keys stored in secure main process
• Sandboxed Execution: File operations limited to selected directories
• Permission Controls: Granular control over tool access

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

Development Setup

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests and linting
5. Submit a pull request

Code Style

• Follow the existing TypeScript and React patterns
• Use Prettier for formatting
• Ensure ESLint passes
• Add appropriate types for all code

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Electron - Cross-platform desktop framework
• React - UI library
• Tailwind CSS - CSS framework
• Radix UI - Component primitives
• All contributors and supporters

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Built with ❤️ for the developer community