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How It Works

Task In. Result Out.

Step	What happens
Create	Write a task, not a prompt. Describe the deliverable — a campaign, a report, a feature, an audit. OpenCow links full context: project files, prior work, related tasks.
Dispatch	One task, one agent. Each task gets a dedicated agent with full context — project knowledge, team playbooks, organizational standards. 15 tasks, 15 agents, in parallel.
Deliver	Agents research, draft, build, and publish — autonomously. Real-time progress, instant notifications, approval gates at every step. Review. Ship.

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The Platform

Everything to turn your task list into a parallel AI workforce.

Task-to-Agent Pipeline Built-in task tracker where every task becomes an agent. Break projects into sub-tasks, each with a dedicated agent. Your task list IS your delivery plan. 1 Task = 1 Agent · Sub-task hierarchy · Auto-linked context	Agent Intelligence Equip agents with your org's knowledge, standards, and tools. Skills, playbooks, integrations — every agent follows your processes. Custom skills · 6 capability types · Auto-sync standards
Agent Command Center Real-time dashboard. Track every agent's progress and actions. Approve deliverables. One screen, full visibility. Live monitoring · Task-linked status · Approval gates	Work from Anywhere Dispatch agents from Telegram, Discord, WeChat, or Lark. Schedule recurring workflows. Get notified via webhooks. 4 IM platforms · Natural language · 7 schedule types

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Everything. Built In.

No plugins. No integrations to configure. Every capability your AI workforce needs.

Task & Agent Core Task Tracker · Agent Dashboard Live Monitor · Multi-Project

Intelligence Intelligence Hub · Marketplace Built-in Browser · Artifacts

Automation Scheduling · Webhooks Notifications · Live Preview

Command & Control IM Command · Terminal Command Palette · Themes

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Built Different

The design decisions that define OpenCow.

	Principle	What it means
1:1	Task → Agent	One task, one agent. Full context. Full traceability. Zero ambiguity.
✅	Local & Private	Everything runs on your machine. Zero telemetry. Zero cloud. Your data never leaves.
15+	Parallel Agents	Deliver 15+ tasks simultaneously. Suspend and resume any agent without losing context.
4-Layer	Deep Context Engine	Every agent inherits organizational knowledge, project context, team standards, and task-specific instructions.

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Quick Start

From source (for contributors)

Prerequisites: Node.js >= 18 and pnpm >= 9

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/OpenCowAI/opencow.git
cd opencow

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Launch in development mode (HMR enabled)
pnpm dev

Download the app

Grab the latest release from opencow.ai/download — free, open source, ready in 60 seconds.

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Tech Stack

Layer	Choice	Why
Desktop	Electron 40	Cross-platform, native-grade experience
UI	React 19 + Tailwind CSS 4	Concurrent rendering, utility-first styling
Language	TypeScript (strict, zero any)	End-to-end type safety
State	Zustand	Lightweight reactive stores with row-level subscriptions
Build	electron-vite (Vite)	Sub-second HMR, triple-target build
Database	SQLite via Kysely	Local-first, type-safe schema with 35+ migrations
Terminal	xterm.js + WebGL	Hardware-accelerated terminal rendering
Editor	Monaco Editor	VS Code-grade editing experience
Testing	Vitest + React Testing Library	Fast, modern test runner
AI	Claude Agent SDK + Codex SDK + MCP	Multi-engine — choose Claude or Codex as your AI engine, with Model Context Protocol

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Architecture

OpenCow follows a hardened Electron architecture with strict process isolation:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Renderer Process                   │
│  ┌───────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐  │
│  │  React 19  │  │  Zustand  │  │  271 Components  │  │
│  │ Components │  │  Stores   │  │  68 Hooks        │  │
│  └─────┬─────┘  └────┬─────┘  └────────┬─────────┘  │
│        └──────────────┴─────────────────┘            │
│                        │ IPC (contextBridge)         │
├────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│                    Main Process                      │
│  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌───────────────────┐  │
│  │  DataBus  │  │ Services │  │  Native Modules   │  │
│  │  Events   │  │  (47+)   │  │  SQLite · PTY     │  │
│  └──────────┘  └──────────┘  └───────────────────┘  │
│  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌───────────────────┐  │
│  │  Claude   │  │  Bot     │  │  Capability       │  │
│  │  Agent SDK│  │  Gateway  │  │  Center           │  │
│  └──────────┘  └──────────┘  └───────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Security model:

• contextIsolation: true — renderer cannot access Node.js
• nodeIntegration: false — no direct module loading
• Type-safe IPC bridge via contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld
• Sandboxed file access with explicit path allowlists
• Separate data directories for dev (~/.opencow-dev) and production (~/.opencow)

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Project Structure

opencow/
├── electron/                  # Main process
│   ├── main.ts               # App entry point
│   ├── preload.ts            # Secure IPC bridge
│   ├── services/             # 47+ backend service modules
│   │   ├── capabilityCenter/ # AI capability management
│   │   ├── schedule/         # Cron automation engine
│   │   ├── messaging/        # Multi-channel messaging
│   │   ├── git/              # Git integration layer
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── database/             # SQLite schema & migrations
│   ├── sources/              # Hook, task, and stats data sources
│   └── ipc/                  # IPC channel handlers
├── src/
│   ├── renderer/             # React application
│   │   ├── components/       # 32 feature modules, 271 components
│   │   ├── hooks/            # 68 custom React hooks
│   │   ├── stores/           # 18 Zustand domain stores
│   │   ├── lib/              # Utilities & helpers
│   │   └── locales/          # i18n (en-US, zh-CN)
│   └── shared/               # Cross-process types & utilities
├── tests/                    # Vitest test suite
├── docs/                     # 520+ design docs & proposals
└── resources/                # App icons & tray assets

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Development

Scripts

Command	What it does
pnpm dev	Start with HMR
pnpm build	Compile all targets
pnpm preview	Build + launch in production mode
pnpm package	Build + package .app (fast, for testing)
pnpm package:dmg	Build + package .dmg installer
pnpm typecheck	TypeScript strict check
pnpm lint	ESLint
pnpm format	Prettier
pnpm test	Run all tests
pnpm test:watch	Watch mode

Build Targets

electron-vite compiles three independent TypeScript targets:

Target	Entry	Output
Main	electron/main.ts	out/main/
Preload	electron/preload.ts	out/preload/
Renderer	src/renderer/index.html	out/renderer/

Path Aliases

• @ → src/renderer (renderer only)
• @shared → src/shared (all targets)

Code Standards

• TypeScript strict mode, zero any usage
• Prettier — no semicolons, single quotes, 100 char width, 2-space indent
• ESLint — strict rules with React Hooks plugin
• Conventional Commits — feat:, fix:, perf:, refactor:, etc.

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Packaging

# macOS .app (for local testing, fast)
pnpm package
# Output: dist/mac-arm64/OpenCow.app

# macOS .dmg (for distribution)
pnpm package:dmg
# Output: dist/OpenCow-{version}.dmg

Cross-platform builds for Windows and Linux are supported via electron-builder configuration in package.json.

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Contributing

We welcome contributions of all kinds — bug fixes, features, docs, and ideas.

# 1. Fork & clone
git clone https://github.com/<you>/opencow.git
cd opencow

# 2. Install & run
pnpm install && pnpm dev

# 3. Create a branch, make changes, submit a PR
git checkout -b feat/my-feature

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide on code style, commit format, and review process.

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Community

• X (Twitter) — Follow us for updates
• Discord — Chat with the community
• GitHub Issues — Bug reports & feature requests
• GitHub Discussions — Questions & ideas
• Code of Conduct — Our community standards

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Star History

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License

Apache-2.0 — completely free and open source. No paid tiers, no usage limits, no subscriptions.

Third-party SDKs: OpenCow integrates with third-party AI SDKs (e.g. @opencow-ai/opencow-agent-sdk, @openai/codex-sdk) that are subject to their own license terms. Please review each SDK's license before use.