AionUi: The Free, Open Source Claude Cowork Alternative That Unifies All Your AI Coding Agents (2026 Setup Guide)
AionUi is a free, open source desktop app that wraps Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, and 20+ other AI agents in a single graphical workspace, with local SQLite storage, MCP sharing, offline Ollama support, and scheduled automation.
Command-line AI coding agents like Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and OpenCode are powerful, but they each live in their own isolated, text-only terminal window. Managing separate context histories, API keys, and MCP configurations across all of them is tedious, and enterprise platforms that bundle everything into one graphical workspace, like Claude Cowork, come with a monthly subscription and lock you into a single model provider.
AionUi is a free, open source desktop application that acts as a unified graphical workspace, or "Cowork platform," for every AI agent you use. It automatically detects the CLI tools installed on your machine and brings them into one dashboard where you can run multiple agents in parallel, preview their output live, and share MCP tool configurations across all of them. It is widely considered the best free alternative to proprietary platforms like Claude Cowork.
In this guide, you'll learn what AionUi is, who it's for, and how to install it and run your first Cowork session.
What is AionUi?
AionUi is a large open source desktop app that provides a single graphical home for all of your AI agents. Historically, using advanced coding agents like Claude Code, OpenCode, or Gemini CLI meant running each one in its own isolated terminal. AionUi wraps them in a cross-platform Electron and React interface, automatically detecting over 20 different CLI tools already installed on your machine and pulling them into one dashboard.
Inside that dashboard you can run multiple agents in parallel, preview the files they generate in real time, and seamlessly share Model Context Protocol (MCP) tool configurations across every agent. You configure your API keys and MCP servers once, and all of the underlying agents instantly inherit them, which removes the constant reconfiguration that comes with juggling separate terminal tools.
If you do not have any terminal agents installed, AionUi still works out of the box. It ships with its own built-in agent that can securely connect to any major API, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Qwen, or run entirely offline using local models through Ollama. All context is stored locally in an SQLite database, so nothing about your work has to leave your machine.
Who is it for?
- Developers juggling multiple CLI assistants: People running several command-line AI coding agents who want one dashboard to manage their environments, context histories, and API keys.
- Business professionals: Users who want to automate tedious workflows like formatting messy Excel files or generating weekly PowerPoint reports through natural language, without learning a terminal.
- Privacy-conscious teams: Teams that require fully local, on-device AI so proprietary codebase data never leaks to cloud providers.
- Automation enthusiasts: People who want to schedule autonomous background tasks, such as scraping a website every morning and summarizing the results.
What makes AionUi different from Claude Cowork and other agent platforms?
- 24/7 scheduled automation: AionUi translates natural language into Cron expressions, so you can tell an agent to run data-pulling tasks on a strict schedule, completely unattended in the background.
- Rich file preview panel: When an agent generates code, a Markdown file, or a spreadsheet, you never leave the app. The built-in previewer renders over 30 coding languages plus PDFs, HTML, and images instantly.
- Built-in native Office editing: Powered by the OfficeCLI engine, AionUi's assistants can autonomously generate and modify native .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files, including complex Morph transition animations in PowerPoint.
- Remote WebUI access: AionUi can serve a secure local WebUI so you can trigger automations from your phone, with native push notifications to Telegram, Lark, or DingTalk.
- Model agnostic and local-first: Use OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or Qwen through your own keys, or run fully offline with Ollama. Context lives in a local SQLite database, not a vendor cloud.
- Free and open source: AionUi is released under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can run, self-host, and modify the entire app with no subscription.
What you need before you start
AionUi is lightweight and stores all of its context locally in SQLite. You only need:
- A supported operating system: A modern Windows, macOS (Intel or Apple Silicon), or Linux machine.
- API keys or a local model: An API key from an LLM provider such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini, or a local Ollama installation for offline generation.
- Optional CLI agents: If tools like Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode are already installed via npm, AionUi will detect and integrate them automatically.
- Disk space for context: Enough local storage for the SQLite database that holds your session and context history.
Step-by-step installation
Step 1: Download the application
The easiest way to install AionUi is with the pre-compiled desktop binaries. Go to the official GitHub Releases page and download the installer that matches your operating system, such as the .dmg for macOS or the .exe for Windows.
Note: macOS users can alternatively install AionUi through Homebrew if they prefer a terminal-based install.
Step 2: Configure your AI models
Launch the AionUi desktop app. On first boot, open the Settings panel and go to Models.
Paste in your API keys for the providers you want to use. If you are using a local model, select the Ollama tab and confirm your local port is mapped correctly, which is usually http://localhost:11434. Because AionUi synchronizes these settings, you configure your keys and MCP servers once and every underlying agent gains access to them immediately.
Step 3: Launch a Cowork session
Click New Cowork Session. If you have external agents installed, such as Claude Code, they appear in the dropdown menu. If not, select the Built-in Agent.
Type a natural language command, for example:
Read the messy CSV file in my Downloads folder, clean up the duplicate rows, and generate a formatted Excel spreadsheet with a summary chart.
Watch the preview panel as the agent executes the file operations directly on your hard drive.
Common errors and how to fix them
| Error | What it means | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| AionUi cannot find my globally installed Claude Code or OpenCode agents | The Electron app is not inheriting your terminal's custom PATH, so it cannot see where npm installed your CLI tools. | Open AionUi's settings and go to the Environment PATH section. Manually paste the path to your global npm or Python bin directories so AionUi knows where to look. |
| Scheduled Cron tasks fail to run overnight | Your operating system put the computer or drive to sleep, suspending the AionUi background process. | For true 24/7 automation, adjust your OS power settings to prevent sleep, or run AionUi on an always-on home server or mini-PC. |
| Cannot access the WebUI from my phone | Your computer's firewall is blocking inbound requests to the port AionUi uses for its local server. | Make sure your phone and computer are on the same Wi-Fi network, then allow inbound connections for AionUi in Windows Defender or the macOS Firewall settings. |
| Local model requests fail with a connection error | AionUi cannot reach your Ollama instance, usually because it is not running or the port is wrong. | Start Ollama and confirm it is listening on http://localhost:11434, then re-enter that address in the Ollama tab under Settings. |
AionUi vs paid Cowork platforms
| Feature | AionUi (open source) | Claude Cowork (enterprise SaaS) |
|---|---|---|
| Software cost | $0, free forever | Premium monthly subscription |
| Model flexibility | Agnostic: use OpenAI, Gemini, Qwen, or local LLMs | Locked to Anthropic's Claude models |
| Data privacy | Fully local SQLite storage | Centralized cloud storage |
| Automated scheduling | Native Cron background tasks | No native unattended scheduling |
| CLI agent integration | Auto-detects 20+ installed CLI tools | Tied to the vendor's own agent |
| Best for | Builders who want one free, private hub for every agent | Teams who want a managed, zero-setup cloud service |
Bottom line: AionUi democratizes the idea of an AI workforce. It combines the raw power of command-line autonomous agents with an accessible, cross-platform graphical interface, bridging the gap between software engineers and everyday business users. A paid platform like Claude Cowork charges a monthly subscription, keeps your data in its cloud, and locks you to one model provider. AionUi costs nothing, keeps context in a local SQLite database, lets you bring your own keys or run fully offline through Ollama, and adds scheduled Cron automation on top. For anyone who wants a single hub for every AI agent without a subscription, it is arguably the most powerful free automation desktop tool of 2026.
3 alternatives worth checking out
- Eigent AI (eigent.ai): A fast-growing open source Cowork desktop platform with a similar philosophy to AionUi. Eigent leans hard into multi-agent orchestration, letting you spawn a Browser Agent and a Document Agent that talk to each other to finish a larger task. It offers a premium SaaS tier, but its open source core is excellent.
- n8n (n8n.io): The tool to reach for if you prefer building automations as a visual node-based flowchart rather than letting an AI agent figure out the steps on its own. It is robust for wiring hundreds of APIs and SaaS platforms together, while AionUi is better at operating directly on local files and documents.
- Claude Code and OpenCode (github.com/anthropics/claude-code): If you avoid the mouse entirely, you can skip the AionUi GUI and run agentic file operations straight from your terminal with Anthropic's Claude Code or the open source OpenCode CLI. AionUi actually uses these exact tools under the hood.
Found this guide useful? Check out more AI tools and free alternatives on Sudo Scout.
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