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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: Claude Design Alternative — Open-Source, Self-Hosted, BYOK |
| 3 | +description: Looking for a Claude Design alternative? Open CoDesign is the open-source Claude Design alternative — self-hosted, multi-model BYOK, local-first, Apache-2.0. Runs on macOS, Windows, Linux. |
| 4 | +head: |
| 5 | + - - meta |
| 6 | + - property: og:title |
| 7 | + content: Claude Design Alternative — Open CoDesign (Open Source) |
| 8 | + - - meta |
| 9 | + - property: og:description |
| 10 | + content: Open CoDesign is the open-source Claude Design alternative. Self-hosted, BYOK, local-first. Any model — Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek, Ollama. |
| 11 | +--- |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +# The Open-Source Claude Design Alternative |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +**Open CoDesign** is the open-source Claude Design alternative. A self-hosted desktop AI design tool that turns prompts into HTML prototypes, React components, slide decks, PDFs, and marketing assets — on your laptop, with any model you already pay for. Apache-2.0 licensed. |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +[Download for macOS / Windows / Linux →](https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-codesign/releases) · [Quickstart (90 s)](./quickstart) · [Star on GitHub](https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-codesign) |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +## Why a Claude Design alternative? |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +Anthropic's Claude Design is a great web app — but it forces three things that don't work for every team: |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +1. **Subscription lock-in.** Rate-limited at $200/month; no way to control cost on rough drafts. |
| 24 | +2. **Single-model ceiling.** Claude Opus only. No GPT, no Gemini, no local model. |
| 25 | +3. **Cloud processing.** Every prompt, every design goes to Anthropic's servers. No meaningful export, no version history, no codebase awareness. |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +Open CoDesign is the open-source Claude Design alternative for teams that need BYOK cost control, multi-model flexibility, or on-device privacy. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +## Open CoDesign vs Claude Design |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +| | Open CoDesign (open-source) | Claude Design | |
| 32 | +| --------------------- | :-------------------------: | :-----------: | |
| 33 | +| License | **Apache-2.0** | Closed | |
| 34 | +| Runs on | **Your laptop (macOS / Windows / Linux)** | Cloud (browser) | |
| 35 | +| Models | **Any — Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, SiliconFlow, Ollama, OpenAI-compatible** | Anthropic Opus only | |
| 36 | +| Keyless proxy support | **Yes (IP-allowlisted)** | No | |
| 37 | +| Config import | **Claude Code + Codex, one click** | No | |
| 38 | +| Built-in design skills | **12 modules (slide decks, dashboards, landing pages, …)** | None | |
| 39 | +| Demo prompts | **15 ready-to-edit** | Blank canvas | |
| 40 | +| Data location | **SQLite on your machine** | Anthropic servers | |
| 41 | +| Version history | **Local snapshots** | None | |
| 42 | +| Export | **HTML, PDF, PPTX, ZIP, Markdown** | HTML | |
| 43 | +| Inline element comments | **Yes (AI rewrites only the pinned region)** | No | |
| 44 | +| AI-tunable sliders | **Yes** | No | |
| 45 | +| Responsive frames | **Phone / tablet / desktop** | Limited | |
| 46 | +| Price | **Free (BYOK token cost)** | Subscription | |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | +## What you get |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +- **Bring any API key** — Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, SiliconFlow, local Ollama, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. |
| 51 | +- **Import your existing Claude Code or Codex config** in one click — providers, models, keys, all at once. |
| 52 | +- **Twelve built-in design skill modules** — slide decks, dashboards, landing pages, SVG charts, glassmorphism, editorial typography, heroes, pricing, footers, chat UIs, data tables, calendars. |
| 53 | +- **Fifteen demo prompts** in English and 简体中文 — landing page, dashboard, pitch slide, pricing page, mobile app, chat UI, event calendar, receipt/invoice, portfolio, settings panel, and more. |
| 54 | +- **Inline comment → AI patch loop** — click any element in the preview, leave a note, the model rewrites only that region. |
| 55 | +- **AI-generated tunable sliders** — the model exposes the parameters worth tuning (color, spacing, font); drag to refine without re-prompting. |
| 56 | +- **Phone / tablet / desktop responsive frames** — true responsive preview, switch with one click. |
| 57 | +- **Five export formats** — HTML (inlined CSS), PDF (via your local Chrome), PPTX, ZIP, Markdown. All on-device. |
| 58 | +- **Four-tab Settings** — Models, Appearance (light/dark, EN/ZH), Storage, Advanced. |
| 59 | +- **Local-first, zero telemetry by default.** SQLite for designs, encrypted TOML via Electron `safeStorage` for keys. |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +## Is this a fork of Claude Design? |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +No. Open CoDesign is an independent, clean-room open-source project inspired by what Claude Design proves is possible. We don't use any Anthropic proprietary code. The name "Claude Design" belongs to Anthropic; we are the open-source alternative, not an affiliate. |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +## Install |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +- [Download pre-built installer](https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-codesign/releases) — macOS DMG, Windows EXE, Linux AppImage |
| 68 | +- [90-second Quickstart](./quickstart) — first design from prompt to export |
| 69 | +- [Build from source](./quickstart#build-from-source) — Node 22 LTS + pnpm 9.15+ |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +## Questions |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +- **Is it really free?** Yes. You pay only the token cost to whichever model provider you bring. |
| 74 | +- **Does it send anything to the cloud?** Only the prompts you send to your own model provider. Nothing goes to OpenCoworkAI or a shared backend. |
| 75 | +- **Can I use it with Ollama?** Yes. Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint works, keyless proxies included. |
| 76 | +- **Can I self-host?** It's a desktop app — it already runs entirely on your machine. |
| 77 | +- **What license?** Apache-2.0. Fork it, ship it, sell it. Keep the NOTICE. |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +Ready to try the open-source Claude Design alternative? [Download Open CoDesign →](https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-codesign/releases) |
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