Open Claude Cowork Developer Guide
Open Claude Cowork from Composio is an Electron desktop chat application powered by Claude Agent SDK and Composio Tool Router, with an optional messaging assistant surface bundled in the repo. This guide explains how the desktop app is structured, how setup works, and where to extend it.
This guide is based on the official composio-community/open-claude-cowork repository, checked on June 26, 2026.
In this section​
- Setup and first run
- Architecture and runtime
- Configuration and security
- Extending and contributing
- Simple user guide
1. What Open Claude Cowork is​
The shortest accurate description is:
Open Claude Cowork is a desktop AI chat workspace that combines Claude Agent SDK, Composio's tool-router ecosystem, and a packaged messaging assistant path in one repository.
The repo explicitly includes:
- the desktop chat UI,
- multi-provider support,
- skills,
- tool visualization,
- and a bundled messaging assistant called Secure Clawdbot.
2. The mental model​
Think of the project as five cooperating layers:
| Layer | What it does |
|---|---|
| Electron desktop shell | Main user-facing workspace |
| backend server | Streams model interaction and tool calls |
| provider layer | Claude Agent SDK or Opencode-backed paths |
| Composio Tool Router | Expands app integrations |
| messaging assistant subproject | Adds bot-style assistant workflows |
3. Why developers would choose it​
- It exposes desktop AI chat plus broad tool connectivity.
- It supports multiple providers instead of one locked engine.
- It makes tool activity visible in the UI.
- It packages a second assistant mode for messaging-based workflows.
4. What makes it distinctive​
The repo is not just a desktop chat UI. It is also a bridge between:
- agent SDKs,
- tool routers,
- desktop UX,
- and bot-style assistant workflows.
5. Recommended reading order​
- this overview,
- quick start,
- architecture and runtime,
- config and tool-router setup,
- contribution surfaces.