Open Claude Cowork: Desktop Agent Powered by Claude & Composio
Open Claude Cowork – Your One‑Stop Desktop Agent Powered by Claude & Composio
Open Claude Cowork is an open‑source, Electron‑based desktop application that lets you use Anthropic’s Claude agents and a full suite of SaaS tools in one place. It is built on top of the Claude Agent SDK, Opencode SDK, and the Composio Tool Router, giving you instant access to more than 500 external services—including Gmail, Slack, Google Drive, GitHub, and thousands of others.
Open Source – MIT licensed, public repo with over 1.8k ⭐ and 291 forks, actively maintained and constantly adding new features.
Why Use Open Claude Cowork?
| Feature | Why it matters | Implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Multi‑Provider | Switch between Claude, Opencode, and GPT‑style models without redownloading the app | Built‑in provider system that loads either the Claude Agent SDK or Opencode SDK based on environment variables |
| Composio Tool Router | 500+ SaaS tools exposed via a single MCP server | The app automatically writes the router configuration to server/opencode.json and loads authenticated tools for the current Composio session |
| Persistent & Multi‑Chat | Keeps context between conversations and allows branching into several tabs | Claude’s native session management is used to generate a session_id; the UI keeps a list of chat tabs tied to those IDs |
| Real‑Time Streaming | Token‑by‑token output that feels interactive | Server‑Sent Events (SSE) on both Claude and Opencode backends, parsed in the renderer and streamed into the chat window |
| Tool Call Visualization | See precisely what the agent is doing | UI shows live tool inputs/outputs in a sidebar, mirroring the raw JSON from the LLM’s tool calls |
| Skills System | Embed domain‑specific logic directly into Claude | Markdown SKILL.md files in .claude/skills/ that Claude automatically invokes based on their description |
| Extensible UI | Tiny, dark‑themed, built with vanilla CSS and Markdown rendering | Electron’s renderer uses Marked.js and Vanilla CSS for a lightweight, modern look |
Quick Start Guide
1. Clone the Repo
git clone https://github.com/ComposioHQ/open-claude-cowork.git
cd open-claude-cowork
2. Run the Automated Setup
./setup.sh
The script will: * Install the Composio CLI if needed * Prompt you for Composio login * Create a
.envwith your API keys * Install dependencies
3. Manually Set Up (Optional)
If you prefer more control, follow the manual instructions in the README:
- Install Node 18+ globally.
- Set
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,OPENCODE_API_KEY, andCOMPOSIO_API_KEYin.env. - Start the backend:
cd server && npm start. - Start Electron:
npm start.
4. Create Your First Agent Session
- Open the app; login with your Composio credentials in the top bar.
- Choose a provider (Claude, Opencode). The default is Claude Sonnet 4.5.
- Start chat – the first message automatically creates a session.
- The UI will show the conversation, streamed tokens, and live tool calls.
Extending with Custom Skills
The skills engine allows you to add domain‑specific logic that Claude will trigger automatically. To create a new skill:
- Create a directory inside
.claude/skills/. - Add a
SKILL.mdfile with YAML frontmatter:--- description: Use this skill when the user asks about building a Slack integration --- # Slack Integration Skill *Instruction text goes here…* - Restart the backend; the skill will be auto‑loaded.
- When a user asks a relevant question, Claude will automatically invoke the skill and use its instructions.
Architecture Deep Dive
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Electron │
├─────────────┬───────────────┤
│ Main │ Renderer │
│ (main.js) │ (renderer.js) │
└───────┬─────┬───────┘
│ IPC │ │
└─────┘ │
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Backend Server │
├─┬─────────┬───────────────┤
│ │ Express│ Claude/Opencode│
│ │ Server │ SDK │
│ └───────┘ ──┬─────────────┘
│ │ Composio MCP
│ └────────────────┘
└─────────────────────────────┘
- Electron bridges the front‑end and back‑end via IPC.
- The back‑end exposes a REST + SSE API that the renderer consumes.
- Composio’s MCP server handles authentication and tool listing.
- The skills folder is scanned at runtime, giving Claude a curated set of commands.
Use Cases & How to Get More From It
| Scenario | How to Leverage Cowork | Example Use‑Case |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow Automation | Build a multi‑step process that pulls data from GitHub, updates a Google Sheet, and posts a Slack reminder | “Create a release bot that tags PRs, notifies the team, and records metrics” |
| Rapid Prototyping | Let the agent code a script with tool calls to API endpoints and GitHub to push the commit | “Generate a Python CLI to fetch recent tweets and upload to S3” |
| Custom Skill Development | Write a skill that checks compliance policies before writing to docs | “Ensure any document written to Teams meets data‑residential constraints” |
Contribution & Community
- Fork the repo, create feature branches, and open PRs.
- Join the Discord for support and to share new skills.
- Follow the project on Twitter/X for quick updates.
Open Claude Cowork demonstrates how a lightweight Electron wrapper, combined with a robust LLM provider toolkit and a universal tool router, can create a flexible, production‑ready agent platform. Whether you’re automating daily tasks or prototyping new AI‑based workflows, this project gives you a solid foundation to start from.
Get Started Today – Grab your free API keys, clone the repo, and let your agent do the heavy lifting!