The open-source Claude Cowork alternative you can self-host

What you run

Self-hosted Kortix is one Docker Compose stack on a Linux box you control: the frontend, the API, the LLM gateway, and the Supabase distribution (read the docs). The stack has no Redis and no separate worker. Agent sessions run on a separate sandbox provider: Daytona is the default, and Platinum and E2B are also supported.

A one-shot script compresses the install to a single command on a bare Linux box: it installs Docker, installs the kortix CLI, and starts the stack. It runs on Linux only. The manual path runs through the same CLI, and the install guide on this site covers it step by step.

Either path needs a domain. Point A or AAAA records for your domain and for api.<domain> at the box's IP, and open ports 80 and 443 so the bundled Caddy proxy can issue a TLS certificate. For a fuller walkthrough of what a self-hosted AI workspace includes, read the Kortix guide.

Operations stay on your box, too. Every instance updates itself automatically; pin an exact version with kortix self-host update --tag <version>, or turn the updater off with --auto-update off. Backups are yours to make. Kortix has no separate backup system: data lives in two directories under ~/.config/kortix/self-host/<instance>/, volumes/db/data for the Postgres database and volumes/storage for file storage, and the instance's .env file holds every secret and signing key it uses. Back up all three before you run a destructive command.

What the first run asks

Once kortix self-host start brings the stack up, kortix self-host configure finishes the setup. The first run asks six things and no model key. The configure prompt asks for the sandbox provider key, and optionally a managed-git token.

The rest connects in the dashboard. Sign up, then connect your own LLM key in the model picker. Self-hosted instances use your own key by default. Models are BYOK in the app. GitHub connects in the dashboard (Settings → Git), and Pipedream is optional.

What it is not

A self-hosted instance is not an offline install. The stack pulls its images from docker.io, and the instance must be reachable so agent sessions on your sandbox provider can call back to it. Plan for a host with outbound internet and inbound reach from the provider.

For a first look without a domain, kortix self-host init --tunnel cloudflare serves the stack through a Cloudflare tunnel. The tunnel URL changes on every restart, so treat that mode as evaluation only. For stricter network requirements, Kortix also runs in your VPC or on your own on-prem network.

Versus Claude Cowork

Claude Cowork has no self-host option. It runs in Anthropic's cloud, or in a customer's own Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Foundry account, and its source is closed (the Kortix on GitHub comparison table, dated July 2026).

Kortix runs the same work on hardware you control: the stack on your box, agent sessions on the sandbox provider you configure, and your agents, skills, memory, and connectors in one git repo you own. Self-host is free, and you pay your own model and compute bills. Kortix is open source: read it, fork it, audit it.

If a self-hosted deployment is the requirement, Kortix is the pick: the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work, and the only one of the three that self-hosts. The cloud plans are a separate question; read the Kortix guide before you compare plans.