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Local-first visual AI workflow builder
Build, run, and share AI-powered workflows — entirely on your machine.
Download · Workflow Exchange · YouTube · Website
Features • Quick Start • Examples • Build a Workflow • Contributing
Don't want to build from source? Download ContextUI for macOS, Windows, and Linux — free, no account required.
New to ContextUI? Check out our YouTube channel for tutorials, demos, and workflow showcases.
Want ready-made workflows? Browse the ContextUI Exchange — install community workflows with one click.
ContextUI is designed to be used by both humans and AI agents — and they can work together.
As a human, you get a visual desktop app with a workflow browser, drag-and-drop tabs, and a built-in Python environment. Open a workflow, click through the UI, and get things done.
As an AI agent, you get full programmatic control via MCP. List workflows, launch them, read their source, automate their UI, manage Python servers — all through tool calls. Agents can build, test, and ship workflows without a human touching the keyboard.
Together, a human can use a workflow visually while an agent manages the backend, or an agent can build a workflow and hand it to a human to use. The same app, the same workflows, two ways in.
- Visual workflow builder — Create AI workflows with React TSX components
- 25+ built-in workflows — TTS, image generation, RAG, video editing, 3D, music gen, and more
- Python backend support — Automatic venv management and server lifecycle
- MCP integration — Full agent access via Model Context Protocol (27 tools)
- Local-first — Your data never leaves your machine
- Workflow Exchange — Share and discover community workflows
- Extensible — Build anything with React + Python + AI
- Node.js 18+
- npm (comes with Node.js)
- Git
git clone https://github.com/contextui-desktop/contextui.git
cd contextui
npm install
npm run electron:devThat's it. ContextUI will open and you can start building workflows.
npm run electron:buildSee docs/INSTALLATION.md for platform-specific instructions.
ContextUI ships with 20+ example workflows to get you started:
| Workflow | Description |
|---|---|
| KokoroTTS | Text-to-speech with Kokoro voices |
| SDXLGenerator | Stable Diffusion XL image generation |
| RAG | Retrieval-augmented generation |
| MusicGen | AI music generation |
| VideoEditor | Video editing and processing |
| SolarSystem | Interactive 3D solar system |
| WordProcessor | Rich text document editor |
| Spreadsheet | Full spreadsheet application |
| Terminal | Integrated terminal emulator |
| STLViewer | 3D model viewer |
| PDFEditor | PDF viewing and editing |
| VoiceAgent | Voice-powered AI assistant |
| Localchat2 | Local LLM chat interface |
| Presentation | Slide deck builder |
| ImageToText | Image captioning / OCR |
| STT | Speech-to-text transcription |
| Teleprompter | Scrolling teleprompter |
| PeriodicTable | Interactive periodic table |
| AnimatedCharacter | Animated character chat |
| ScreenGridHarness | AI-driven native OS screen automation |
| ClaudeLauncher | Launch Claude from ContextUI |
Plus developer templates and examples: CowsayDemo, ExampleToolServer, ToolExampleWorkflow, WorkflowLauncher, and themed/multi-file templates.
Browse all examples in the example_modules/ directory.
Each workflow is a folder containing:
MyWorkflow/
MyWorkflow.tsx # React component (your UI)
MyWorkflow.meta.json # Icon, color, metadata
description.txt # Short description
The TSX component has access to React globals — no imports needed:
const MyWorkflow: React.FC = () => {
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
return (
<div style={{ padding: 20 }}>
<h1>Hello ContextUI!</h1>
<button onClick={() => setCount(c => c + 1)}>
Clicked {count} times
</button>
</div>
);
};For the full guide, see docs/BUILDING_WORKFLOWS.md.
contextui/
├── electron/ # Electron main process
│ ├── main.cjs # App lifecycle, window management, IPC
│ ├── preload.cjs # Context bridge for renderer
│ ├── python-manager.cjs # Python venv management
│ ├── module-bundler.cjs # TSX → component bundling (esbuild)
│ ├── mcp-server-standalone.cjs # MCP server (stdio transport)
│ └── tool-registry-server.cjs # Tool registry (port 8800)
├── src/ # React renderer (Vite + TypeScript)
│ ├── components/ # Shared UI components
│ ├── modules/ # Core app modules
│ ├── managers/ # State & lifecycle managers
│ └── utils/ # Helpers
├── example_modules/ # Built-in workflow examples
├── docs/ # Documentation
├── scripts/ # Build & publish scripts
└── package.json
For a deeper dive, see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.
ContextUI runs with nodeIntegration enabled and contextIsolation disabled. This is a deliberate architectural choice — workflows need direct access to Node.js and Electron APIs to provide features like file system access, Python server management, and MCP tool integration.
What this means:
- Workflows execute with full Node.js privileges (file system, network, child processes)
- This is equivalent to running any local application or script on your machine
- ContextUI is designed for local use with trusted workflows only
Recommendations:
- Only install workflows from sources you trust (the built-in examples, the official Workflow Exchange, or code you've reviewed yourself)
- Do not load untrusted remote content or paste workflow code from unknown sources without reviewing it first
- Python backend servers bind to
127.0.0.1(localhost only) and are not accessible from the network
If you discover a security issue, please report it to services@isd.ai rather than opening a public issue.
ContextUI's core is free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. Build and run workflows locally without restrictions.
Premium features (via contextui.ai):
- Workflow Exchange — Publish and monetize your workflows
- Cloud hosting — Run workflows without managing infrastructure
- Cloud hosted LLMs — Work with agents to build workflows
We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Apache License 2.0 — see LICENSE for details.
Copyright 2025 Intelligent System Design Pty Ltd
| Website | contextui.ai |
| Download | contextui.ai/download |
| Workflow Exchange | https://contextui.ai/exchange |
| YouTube | youtube.com/@contextui |
Built by ISD
ContextUI is backed by Intelligent System Design — an AI-first company building tools for the future of work.