NextCoWork

A desktop workspace for coding agents.

NextCoWork brings agent-driven development to the desktop: multiple workspaces side by side, a full workbench (editor, terminal, Git, browser), and an agent kernel with a permission model you can actually trust — all in one native app for macOS, Windows and Linux.

English | 简体中文

Features

• Workspaces & sessions — open multiple workspaces in tabs, run parallel agent sessions per workspace, and keep streaming state isolated per session.
• Agent kernel — streaming replies, tool calls with a per-call approval chain, plan mode, subagents, background tasks, todo reconciliation, and scheduled runs.
• Inline visualization — the agent can render live HTML/SVG widgets (charts, diagrams, interactive UI) directly inside the conversation, sandboxed in their own iframe and following the app theme.
• Built-in workbench — file explorer and editors (including plugin-provided custom editors), a real PTY terminal, and background command execution.
• Git integration — status, diff, log and branches; stage, commit, create and switch branches.
• Built-in browser — per-workspace browser partitions that share login state with your tabs.
• Skills & MCP — SKILL.md-based skill packages plus Model Context Protocol support.
• Plugins — a manifest-driven plugin system with per-call capability gates. Plugins can contribute commands, menus, keybindings, custom editors, views, web apps, agent tools and bundled skills.
• Native experience — light/dark themes, accent colors, motion-level control, auto-update, and full Simplified Chinese / English localization.

API Route setup

In the model settings provider catalog, add API Route, save your API key, then fetch and import models. The preset uses the OpenAI Chat Completions endpoint at https://global.api-route.com/v1. Available models depend on your key's group and permissions; use the exact IDs returned by the catalog (for example gpt-6.1-sol) without adding a vendor prefix. See the API Route quickstart for key setup.

Download

Installers are published for:

• macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel, .dmg)
• Windows (.exe NSIS installer)
• Linux (.AppImage)

Visit https://nextco.work for the latest stable release.

Development

Requirements: Node.js ^20.19.0 || >=22.12.0 and npm.

npm install        # also runs patch-package and electron-builder install-app-deps
npm run dev        # start the app with hot reload

Verification (the same suite CI runs):

npm run typecheck  # typecheck main + renderer + shared
npm test           # vitest
npm run lint       # eslint

Packaging:

npm run dist       # build installers for the current platform
npm run dist:dir   # unpacked build, for quick checks

Project structure

src/main        Electron main process — agent kernel, plugin host, IPC, storage, updater
src/preload     Context bridge between renderer and main
src/renderer    React UI — chat, workbench, terminal, Git, browser, settings
src/shared      Types and pure functions shared across processes
packages/       Plugin ecosystem — plugin-api (types), plugin-cli, create-nextcowork-plugin
examples/       Sample plugins (custom editors, web apps, …)
resources/      App icons, bundled skills, plugin runtime

Writing plugins

Scaffold a plugin that is ready to build and publish:

npm create nextcowork-plugin@latest

• Type definitions: @aidotnet/plugin-api
• Build / package / publish: @aidotnet/plugin-cli (binary nextcowork-plugin)
• Working examples live in examples/

A plugin is a package.json manifest plus optional code: declare what you contribute (commands, custom editors, views, agent tools, web apps, skills, …) and the capabilities you need; the host enforces per-call permission gates at runtime.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

The plugin ecosystem packages under packages/ (@aidotnet/plugin-api, @aidotnet/plugin-cli, create-nextcowork-plugin) are distributed under the MIT license — see each package's package.json.