open-claude-cowork: Desktop Chat App with 500+ SaaS Integrations via Composio

What open-claude-cowork Is and Who It Targets

open-claude-cowork is an Electron desktop application that packages the Claude Agent SDK into a chat interface and extends it with Composio's Tool Router, which provides pre-built integrations for Gmail, Slack, GitHub, Google Drive, and 500+ other SaaS applications. The README describes it as a tool for automating work end-to-end across desktop and work apps in one place.

The target user is a developer or technical user who wants an AI work assistant that can actually reach their external tools through a connected account, rather than only answering questions. Because the tool integrates with real external services through Composio, it requires a Composio API key in addition to an Anthropic API key. Both must be present in the .env file before the application starts.

Two Tools in One Repository: Desktop App and Messaging Bot

The repository contains two distinct applications. Open Claude Cowork is a full desktop chat interface built with Electron, with persistent sessions, real-time token streaming via Server-Sent Events, and a sidebar that shows tool inputs and outputs. It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Secure Clawdbot (clawd/) is a separate Node.js CLI application that connects Claude to messaging platforms: WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and iMessage. It adds persistent memory for facts and preferences, browser automation for navigating and filling forms, scheduling with natural language reminders, and the same 500+ Composio integrations. The two tools share the same 500-integration catalog and the same Anthropic and Composio API key requirements, but they operate independently.

Setting Up and Running open-claude-cowork

Clone the repository and run the setup script:

git clone https://github.com/ComposioHQ/open-claude-cowork.git
cd open-claude-cowork
./setup.sh

Copy the environment example file and fill in your API keys:

cp .env.example .env

The .env.example file shows two required keys: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY and COMPOSIO_API_KEY. Anthropic keys start with sk-ant-. The Composio API key comes from app.composio.dev. An optional Opencode API key enables the multi-provider mode.

Then start the backend server in one terminal and the Electron frontend in a second:

# Terminal 1
cd server && npm start

# Terminal 2
npm start

The server runs on port 3001. If the application cannot connect to the backend, the troubleshooting table in the README points to ensuring the server process is running on that port. Sessions are tracked by ID; check server logs if context is not persisting across messages.

For Secure Clawdbot separately:

cd clawd
npm install
node cli.js

The CLI offers a Terminal chat option for testing without connecting a messaging platform.

Composio Tool Router and How Integrations Work

Composio Tool Router is the layer that translates Claude's tool calls into actions on external services. When Claude decides to search your Gmail or create a GitHub issue, the Tool Router handles authentication and API calls to the target service through the connected Composio account. The desktop app shows tool inputs and outputs in a sidebar so you can see what the integration is doing at each step.

The tech stack in the README shows that both Composio Tool Router and MCP (Model Context Protocol) are listed as tool sources. The server/ directory contains a providers/ subdirectory with separate implementations for the Claude Agent SDK and the Opencode SDK. Switching between providers changes the model backing the assistant.

The repository is version 1.0.0 with no GitHub releases. The Claude Agent SDK dependency is pinned to ^0.2.7 in package.json.

Extending Claude with Skills via SKILL.md Files

Both Open Claude Cowork and the underlying Claude Agent SDK support skills: Markdown files that instruct Claude how to handle specific topics. Skills live in .claude/skills/ inside the project directory. Each skill file uses YAML frontmatter to declare when it activates and Markdown for the instructions:

---
description: Use this skill when the user asks about [topic]
---

# My Skill

Instructions for Claude...

The README links to the Claude Agent SDK skills documentation on platform.claude.com for the full specification. This mechanism lets you add project-specific knowledge or behavior without modifying the application source code. The .claude/ directory in the repository root already contains a skills directory, so the skill loading path is pre-configured.

Limitations and When This Tool Does Not Fit

The application has a hard dependency on Composio. Without a Composio API key and a connected account, the 500+ integrations are unavailable and the tool functions only as a local Claude chat interface without external tool access. Teams who want only a local Claude UI without external service connections would need to modify the server-side code to remove the Composio dependency.

The README does not document offline mode or a local tool registry for environments where connecting to Composio is not possible. There is also no mention of rate limiting, token counting, or cost controls for the Claude API calls the application makes.

Secure Clawdbot's messaging platform connectors require separate setup for each platform. WhatsApp and iMessage in particular require specific phone or macOS configuration that varies by operating system. The README points to clawd/README.md for full setup details, which are separate from the desktop app instructions.

Maintenance, License, and the External Service Dependency

The last push to the repository was on 2026-05-23. The license is MIT, permitting commercial use and redistribution. The package.json lists Electron 39.2.7 and Express 5.2.1 as version-pinned dependencies. The Claude Agent SDK is at ^0.2.7, which allows patch and minor updates. Verify the current SDK release before building on this repository, since the SDK was in active development at the time of the last push.

The primary external dependency is the Composio platform. The README points to platform.composio.dev for the API key. Composio is a commercial service; its terms of service and availability affect any application built on this boilerplate. The README does not document a self-hosted alternative to the Composio Tool Router.

Editorial conclusion

open-claude-cowork is the right starting point for developers who want a local desktop interface for Claude that connects to real SaaS tools through Composio's Tool Router, and who are comfortable wiring up both an Anthropic API key and a Composio API key. It is not suitable as a standalone tool without a Composio account, since the integration layer depends on that service. The repository is version 1.0.0 and the last push was on 2026-05-23, so verify that the Claude Agent SDK version specified in package.json is still compatible with the current SDK before building on it. Read the clawd/README.md separately if you plan to use Secure Clawdbot, as that component has its own setup process and messaging platform dependencies.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. composio-community/open-claude-cowork on GitHub
2. Issues
3. License: MIT
4. README