Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the questions people most often ask about Open CoDesign. If your question isn't here, check the Quickstart or open a GitHub Discussion.

What is Open CoDesign?

Open CoDesign is an open-source desktop AI design tool. It turns natural-language prompts into HTML prototypes, React components, slide decks, PDFs, and marketing assets. It is the open-source alternative to Anthropic's Claude Design, Vercel's v0, StackBlitz's Bolt.new, and Lovable — but it runs entirely on your laptop with your own API key for any AI model provider.

Is Open CoDesign an open-source alternative to Claude Design?

Yes. Open CoDesign is the MIT-licensed, open-source alternative to Anthropic Claude Design. It runs entirely on your desktop, supports any AI model via BYOK (bring your own key), and requires no cloud account or subscription. The repository is at github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-codesign.

How does Open CoDesign compare to v0 by Vercel?

Open CoDesign generates React / JSX components and HTML prototypes from prompts — the same core capability as v0. The differences:

• Open source vs closed source. Open CoDesign is MIT-licensed. v0 is closed source.
• Your models vs their models. Open CoDesign works with Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Kimi, GLM, Qwen, Ollama, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. v0 uses Vercel-hosted OpenAI models only.
• Local vs cloud. Open CoDesign runs entirely on your desktop. v0 runs in Vercel's cloud.
• Files you own vs previews on their platform. Open CoDesign produces exportable HTML / React / PDF / PPTX / ZIP files. v0 produces previews tied to the Vercel platform.

How does Open CoDesign compare to Bolt.new?

Bolt.new is a browser-based full-stack app builder running on StackBlitz's WebContainer. Open CoDesign is a desktop app focused on design artifacts (prototypes, slide decks, marketing assets). The differences:

• Desktop app with persistent local storage (Open CoDesign) vs browser sandbox (Bolt.new).
• Any LLM via BYOK (Open CoDesign) vs Anthropic Claude only (Bolt.new).
• Design artifacts (Open CoDesign) vs full runnable apps (Bolt.new).
• Files on your disk (Open CoDesign) vs files inside the WebContainer (Bolt.new).

How does Open CoDesign compare to Lovable?

• Open source (Open CoDesign, MIT) vs closed source (Lovable).
• Local-first (Open CoDesign) vs cloud-hosted (Lovable).
• Token cost only (Open CoDesign) vs usage-priced subscription (Lovable).
• Design-first prototypes (Open CoDesign) vs end-to-end product creation with Supabase (Lovable).

How does Open CoDesign compare to Figma AI / Figma Make?

They serve different surfaces. Figma AI operates inside the Figma canvas and produces design frames. Open CoDesign produces code-native artifacts — HTML, React / JSX, PDF, PPTX — outside any proprietary design surface. They are complementary, not direct replacements. If you need designs that hand off cleanly to engineering, Open CoDesign's output is already code.

Is Open CoDesign free?

Yes. Open CoDesign is MIT licensed. The app itself is free to download, use, modify, and redistribute. You only pay the token cost to whichever model provider you bring your own API key for — there is no subscription and no per-token surcharge from us.

Can I use my Claude Code or Codex API key with Open CoDesign?

Yes. Open CoDesign reads your existing ~/.claude/settings.json and ~/.codex/config.toml and imports providers, models, and API keys in one click. The app uses your API key directly against the provider's endpoint — there is no proxy layer, no server-side storage, and no OAuth token hijacking.

Can I log in with my ChatGPT Plus or Codex subscription instead of an API key?

Yes. Open CoDesign supports ChatGPT Plus / Codex OAuth subscription login as of v0.1.4. One click, no API key required.

Does Open CoDesign send my prompts or designs to any third party?

No. Designs, prompts, and scans live on your machine. v0.1 uses SQLite for design history plus a TOML config at ~/.config/open-codesign/config.toml with file mode 0600; v0.2 migrates designs into JSONL sessions and workspace files. The only outbound network traffic is directly to the model provider you configure with your own API key. No telemetry by default.

Which AI models does Open CoDesign support?

• Anthropic Claude (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku — all versions)
• OpenAI GPT (GPT-5.4, GPT-4o, GPT-4 Turbo, O1, O3, O4)
• Google Gemini (including third-party relays with models/ prefix)
• DeepSeek (V3, R1)
• OpenRouter (every model on the platform)
• SiliconFlow (Chinese models like Qwen, Kimi, GLM)
• Kimi (Moonshot)
• GLM (Zhipu)
• Qwen (Alibaba)
• Ollama (any local model)
• Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint — covers internal proxies, gateway services, CLIProxyAPI, and self-hosted relays.

Keyless (IP-allowlisted) corporate proxies are also supported, as are ChatGPT Plus / Codex subscription logins.

Which platforms are supported?

• macOS — Apple Silicon (M1 / M2 / M3 / M4) and Intel
• Windows — x64 and ARM64
• Linux — AppImage, .deb (Debian / Ubuntu), .rpm (Fedora / RHEL)

Heavy features like PDF export (local Chrome) and PPTX generation are lazy-loaded on first use, so the base install stays small.

How do I install Open CoDesign?

Fastest: use a package manager.

# Windows
winget install OpenCoworkAI.OpenCoDesign

# macOS
brew install --cask opencoworkai/tap/open-codesign

# Windows (alternative)
scoop bucket add opencoworkai https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/scoop-bucket
scoop install open-codesign

Or download the installer directly from GitHub Releases. Every release ships SHA256SUMS.txt and a CycloneDX SBOM for verification.

Does Open CoDesign work offline?

Yes, when used with a local model runtime like Ollama. All generation flows through the same OpenAI-compatible endpoint abstraction, so local and hosted models behave identically from the app's perspective. The app itself requires no internet connection after install; only the model call requires whatever network the chosen provider needs.

What kind of output can Open CoDesign produce?

• HTML prototypes — sandboxed iframe, inlined CSS, no external runtime dependencies. Deploy as a single file.
• React / JSX components — vendored React 18 + Babel, rendered on-device. Copy-paste into your own project.
• Slide decks — PPTX via pptxgenjs, editable in PowerPoint / Keynote.
• PDF one-pagers — rendered via Puppeteer-core against your local Chrome install.
• ZIP asset bundles — HTML + CSS + JS + assets, deterministic layout. For handoff to engineering.
• Markdown exports — with embedded frontmatter for static-site ingestion.
• AI-generated bitmap assets — hero images, backgrounds, illustrations, logos, generated via gpt-image-2 or OpenRouter image models. Opt-in, off by default.

What's coming in v0.2?

v0.2 is the Agentic Design update, expected in about one week. It turns Open CoDesign from a one-shot prompt-to-artifact generator into a local design agent:

• Workspace-backed designs — every design is a pi session with JSONL history and real files on disk
• Permissioned local tools — read, write, edit, bash, grep, find, and ls flow through Open CoDesign's permission UI
• Design-specific tools — ask, scaffold, skill, preview, gen_image, tweaks, todos, and done
• Preview self-checks — the agent can render artifacts, inspect console and asset errors, and use screenshots when the model supports vision
• Progressive skill disclosure — design skills, scaffolds, and brand references lazy-load when the agent needs them
• DESIGN.md as design-system memory — brand values and tokens stay in editable files, not model memory
• v0.1 migration — existing SQLite designs migrate into workspaces and session history

See the roadmap for the milestone plan.

Is Open CoDesign secure?

The security model is:

• Local-first. Designs, prompts, and scans never leave your machine.
• Config on disk, 0600 permissions. API keys live in ~/.config/open-codesign/config.toml with the same permission posture as Claude Code / Codex / gh CLI.
• No proxy layer. Your API key hits the provider endpoint directly.
• No telemetry by default. No analytics, no auto-update tracking.
• Signed SBOM per release. CycloneDX supply-chain manifest attached to every GitHub Release.
• MIT license. Audit the source yourself.

Installers are unsigned as of v0.1.x. Apple Developer ID notarization and Windows Authenticode signing land in v0.5. Until then, the repo documents reliable manual-install instructions for each platform.

How can I contribute to Open CoDesign?

• Report bugs — open an issue with reproduction steps.
• Suggest features — use GitHub Discussions → Ideas.
• Send PRs — read CONTRIBUTING.md, run pnpm lint && pnpm typecheck && pnpm test, and add a changeset for user-visible changes.
• Share what you built — post in Show & Tell. Standout posts get featured in release notes.

Where can I get help?

• GitHub Discussions → Q&A for usage questions
• GitHub Issues for reproducible bugs
• LINUX DO (the primary Chinese-speaking community)
• WeChat group — QR code in the README