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1 | 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. |
| 2 | +title: Open CoDesign vs Claude Design |
| 3 | +description: Comparison of Open CoDesign — an open-source, self-hosted, BYOK desktop AI design tool — against Anthropic Claude Design. Feature matrix, tradeoffs, and when each is the right choice. |
4 | 4 | head: |
5 | 5 | - - meta |
6 | 6 | - property: og:title |
7 | | - content: Claude Design Alternative — Open CoDesign (Open Source) |
| 7 | + content: Open CoDesign vs Claude Design — Feature Comparison |
8 | 8 | - - meta |
9 | 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. |
| 10 | + content: Honest side-by-side of Open CoDesign (open-source, self-hosted, BYOK) and Anthropic Claude Design. When to pick each. |
11 | 11 | --- |
12 | 12 |
|
13 | | -# The Open-Source Claude Design Alternative |
| 13 | +# Open CoDesign vs Claude Design |
14 | 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. |
| 15 | +Both tools turn prompts into polished designs. They make different trade-offs. This page exists so you can decide quickly which one fits your workflow. |
16 | 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) |
| 17 | +[Download Open CoDesign →](https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-codesign/releases) · [Quickstart (90 s)](./quickstart) |
18 | 18 |
|
19 | | -## Why a Claude Design alternative? |
| 19 | +## At a glance |
20 | 20 |
|
21 | | -Anthropic's Claude Design is a great web app — but it forces three things that don't work for every team: |
| 21 | +Claude Design is a hosted web app by Anthropic that runs Claude Opus on their infrastructure. Open CoDesign is an Apache-2.0 desktop app you run on your own machine with whichever model provider you already use. |
22 | 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. |
| 23 | +Pick **Claude Design** if you want zero setup, are happy on an Anthropic subscription, and don't need model flexibility or offline use. |
26 | 24 |
|
27 | | -Open CoDesign is the open-source Claude Design alternative for teams that need BYOK cost control, multi-model flexibility, or on-device privacy. |
| 25 | +Pick **Open CoDesign** if you want BYOK cost control, any model beyond Claude, on-device privacy, local version history, or multiple export formats. |
28 | 26 |
|
29 | | -## Open CoDesign vs Claude Design |
| 27 | +## Feature matrix |
30 | 28 |
|
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 | |
| 29 | +| | Open CoDesign (open-source) | Claude Design | |
| 30 | +| ----------------------- | :-------------------------: | :-----------: | |
| 31 | +| License | **Apache-2.0** | Closed | |
| 32 | +| Runs on | **Your laptop (macOS / Windows / Linux)** | Cloud (browser) | |
| 33 | +| Models | **Any — Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, SiliconFlow, Ollama, OpenAI-compatible** | Claude Opus | |
| 34 | +| Keyless proxy support | **Yes (IP-allowlisted)** | No | |
| 35 | +| Config import | **Claude Code + Codex, one click** | No | |
| 36 | +| Built-in design skills | **12 modules** (slide decks, dashboards, landing pages, charts, pricing, data tables, …) | — | |
| 37 | +| Demo prompts | **15 ready-to-edit** | Blank canvas | |
| 38 | +| Data location | **SQLite on your machine** | Anthropic servers | |
| 39 | +| Version history | **Local snapshots** | — | |
| 40 | +| Export | **HTML · PDF · PPTX · ZIP · Markdown** | HTML | |
| 41 | +| Inline element comments | **Yes (AI rewrites only the pinned region)** | — | |
| 42 | +| AI-tunable sliders | **Yes** | — | |
| 43 | +| Responsive frames | **Phone · tablet · desktop** | Limited | |
| 44 | +| Price | **Free (BYOK token cost)** | Subscription | |
47 | 45 |
|
48 | | -## What you get |
| 46 | +## Why someone would choose Open CoDesign |
49 | 47 |
|
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. |
| 48 | +- **BYOK means cost control.** Ship drafts on a cheap model (DeepSeek, local Ollama, GPT-4o-mini), polish on Claude Opus only when it matters. |
| 49 | +- **Data stays on-device.** Your prompts, designs, and any codebase scans never leave your laptop unless you send them to a model provider yourself. |
| 50 | +- **Local version history.** Every iteration is a snapshot you can diff and roll back. |
| 51 | +- **Interactive surface.** Click an element, leave a note, watch the model rewrite only that region. Drag AI-generated sliders to tune color, spacing, and typography without re-prompting. |
| 52 | +- **Real exports.** PDF via your local Chrome, PPTX via `pptxgenjs`, ZIP asset bundle, Markdown with frontmatter — all lazy-loaded so the cold-start bundle stays lean. |
| 53 | +- **Import what you already have.** One click pulls every provider / model / key out of your Claude Code or Codex config. |
60 | 54 |
|
61 | | -## Is this a fork of Claude Design? |
| 55 | +## Why someone would stay on Claude Design |
62 | 56 |
|
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. |
| 57 | +- Zero install, nothing to configure. |
| 58 | +- Seamless integration with Anthropic's product surface. |
| 59 | +- You explicitly want Opus-only and don't care about multi-model. |
64 | 60 |
|
65 | | -## Install |
| 61 | +Both are reasonable answers. Use what fits. |
66 | 62 |
|
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 |
| 63 | +## Is Open CoDesign a fork of Claude Design? |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +No. Open CoDesign is an independent, clean-room open-source project built by OpenCoworkAI. It shares no code with Anthropic's Claude Design. The name "Claude Design" belongs to Anthropic; Open CoDesign is an independent alternative, not affiliated with Anthropic. |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +## Install Open CoDesign |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +- [Pre-built installer](https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-codesign/releases) — macOS DMG, Windows EXE, Linux AppImage |
| 70 | +- [90-second Quickstart](./quickstart) — from prompt to export |
69 | 71 | - [Build from source](./quickstart#build-from-source) — Node 22 LTS + pnpm 9.15+ |
70 | 72 |
|
71 | | -## Questions |
| 73 | +## FAQ |
72 | 74 |
|
73 | 75 | - **Is it really free?** Yes. You pay only the token cost to whichever model provider you bring. |
74 | 76 | - **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 | 77 | - **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 | +- **License?** Apache-2.0. Fork it, ship it, sell it. Keep the NOTICE. |
78 | 79 |
|
79 | | -Ready to try the open-source Claude Design alternative? [Download Open CoDesign →](https://github.com/OpenCoworkAI/open-codesign/releases) |
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