<2-3 sentences summarising what the project addresses and solves, the target audience, and the benefit.> Open CoDesign provides an open-source, local-first alternative to proprietary AI design tools. It enables users to generate prototypes, slides, and PDFs from prompts directly on their laptops, using their own LLM API keys. This targets developers and designers seeking to avoid cloud dependencies, vendor lock-in, and privacy concerns, offering a flexible and cost-effective solution.

How It Works

This Electron desktop app integrates with numerous LLM providers (OpenAI, Gemini, Ollama, etc.) via a multi-model abstraction layer, requiring users' BYOK for local data processing. The AI agent plans, generates, and self-corrects artifacts like HTML/React components. Key features include "design skill modules" for guided aesthetics, "AI-tuned sliders" for refinement, and "comment mode" for targeted edits, enhancing output quality and controllability.

Quick Start & Requirements

Installation is via direct download (DMG, EXE, AppImage, DEB, RPM) or package managers (Homebrew Cask, Scoop). Windows winget is pending review; Flatpak is deferred to v0.2. Requires macOS 12+, Windows 10+, or Linux (glibc ≥ 2.31), plus a supported API key or local Ollama. First artifact generation takes ~3 minutes. Links to docs and quickstart guides are provided.

Highlighted Details

• Local-first, desktop-native app prioritizing data privacy with on-device state.
• Supports 20+ LLM providers (Claude, GPT, Gemini, Ollama, etc.) via Bring Your Own Key (BYOK).
• Exports to HTML, PDF, PPTX, ZIP, and Markdown.
• Features live agent visualization, interruptible generation, local version history, AI-tuned sliders, and element-specific editing.

Maintenance & Community

Actively maintained with frequent v0.1.x releases. Roadmap includes filesystem integration, cost transparency, code-signing, and auto-updates. Primary community is LINUX DO (Chinese-speaking), with GitHub Issues and a WeChat group also available. Built on Electron, React 19, Vite 6, Tailwind v4.

Licensing & Compatibility

Released under the permissive MIT license, allowing free use, modification, distribution, and sale, including within commercial or closed-source products.

Limitations & Caveats

Current v0.1.x installers are unsigned, requiring manual workarounds for macOS Gatekeeper and Windows SmartScreen; code-signing is planned for v0.5. Flatpak support is deferred, and Snap Store integration needs further development. Verified builds require compiling from source.