DEMO

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/a744dd83-0689-4fbe-8638-be0fe5e32935

Why This Project?

On January 13, 2026, Anthropic released Claude Cowork:

"Introducing Cowork: Claude Code for the rest of your work."

Great product, but:

| | Claude Cowork | DeepSeek Cowork | |--|---------------|-----------------| | Price | 💰 Expensive | ✅ Ultra-low cost | | Accessibility | 🔒 Complex setup, regional restrictions | ✅ Ready to use | | Open Source | ❌ Proprietary | ✅ Fully open source | | Self-hosting | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Supports private deployment |

We want everyone to have access to a great AI assistant — so we built this.

Why DeepSeek?

| Solid Baseline | Ultra Affordable | Fully Open | |----------------|------------------|------------| | Reliable performance among open-source LLMs | Most competitive API pricing | Supports local deployment & customization |

Core Philosophy

Open-source models will eventually catch up with closed-source.

We believe it's only a matter of time. Rather than wait, we're building the infrastructure now.

When open-source models reach parity, DeepSeek Cowork will be ready.

Why Now?

This would have been impossible before. But two things changed:

1. AI Coding explosion - Dramatically reduced development costs, enabling individuals to build complex applications
2. Engineering bridges the gap - Prompt engineering, skill systems, and context management can enhance the experience on existing models

What Can It Do?

Use natural language to have AI help you with:

• 🤖 Task Coordination - Turn natural language requests into multi-step AI workflows
• 📁 File Management - Browse, organize, and preview your workspace files
• 🧠 Persistent Memory - AI remembers conversation context, understands your habits

Typical Scenarios

| Scenario | Example | |----------|---------| | Task Delegation | "Review this module, summarize the risks, and suggest a safe refactor plan" | | Project Setup | "Create the project structure and prepare the initial configuration files" | | Content Organization | "Sort files in my downloads folder by type" | | Session Follow-up | "Summarize what changed today and remind me what to do next" |

💡 Like having a 24/7 digital assistant at your command

Technical Documentation

Architecture Highlights

DeepSeek Cowork adopts a unique Hybrid SaaS architecture, combining the best of cloud-based SaaS and local desktop applications:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        User's Computer                          │
│  ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐  │
│  │   Electron   │    │  Web Browser │    │   CLI Tool       │  │
│  │   Desktop    │    │  (Chrome,    │    │ deepseek-cowork  │  │
│  │     App      │    │   Edge...)   │    │                  │  │
│  └──────┬───────┘    └──────┬───────┘    └────────┬─────────┘  │
│         │ IPC               │ HTTP/WS             │ manage     │
│         └───────────────────┼─────────────────────┘            │
│                             ▼                                   │
│                    ┌────────────────┐                          │
│                    │  LocalService  │◄── All data stays local  │
│                    │  (Node.js)     │                          │
│                    └────────┬───────┘                          │
└─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────┘
                              │ Encrypted
                              ▼
                    ┌────────────────┐
                    │   Happy AI     │
                    │   (Cloud)      │
                    └────────────────┘

| Feature | Benefit | |---------|---------| | Zero Server Cost | Static frontend hosted on GitHub Pages, no backend infrastructure needed | | Data Privacy | All user data, settings, and files remain on your local machine | | Unified Experience | Same UI/UX whether using Desktop app or Web browser |

How It Works

1. Desktop Mode: Electron app communicates with LocalService via IPC
2. Web Mode: Browser connects to LocalService via HTTP/WebSocket on localhost:3333
3. CLI Mode: Manage LocalService directly from terminal

The ApiAdapter layer automatically detects the environment and routes API calls appropriately.

Happy Integration

DeepSeek Cowork integrates with Happy, an open-source mobile and web client for AI coding agents.

| Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | End-to-End Encryption | All messages are encrypted locally before transmission - your data never leaves your device unencrypted | | Mobile Access | Use the Happy App (iOS / Android) to monitor and control AI tasks on the go | | Push Notifications | Get alerted when AI needs permission or encounters errors | | Open Source | Fully auditable code with no telemetry or tracking |

DeepSeek Cowork uses Happy's account server for session management and encrypted sync across devices.

Core Components

| Component | Description | |-----------|-------------| | Claude Code | Original Claude Code integrated as Agent kernel with all features and capabilities | | Happy | Open-source AI session management (npm [email protected]), integrated via lib/happy/ AgentRuntime | | LocalService | Local runtime that powers the desktop app, web UI, and CLI workflows | | Electron App | Cross-platform desktop interface integrating all components |

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/imjszhang/Deepseek-Cowork.git
cd deepseek-cowork
npm install
cd packages/cli && npm install && cd ../..
npm start

Development mode: npm run dev

Runtime Entry Points

• npm start launches the Electron desktop app.
• npm run local-service starts the supported LocalService runtime directly.
• npm run server is kept as a compatibility alias for npm run local-service.
• server/index.js is deprecated and is no longer a supported standalone entry point.

Web Version (Hybrid SaaS)

Use DeepSeek Cowork directly in your browser without installing the desktop app.

Online Demo

Visit deepseek-cowork.com to try the web interface.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm or yarn

Setup Local Service

# Install CLI tool globally (latest version: 0.4.0)
npm install -g [email protected]

# Or start the same LocalService from the repository
npm run local-service

# Start local service (background mode)
deepseek-cowork start --daemon

# Open web interface in browser
deepseek-cowork open

CLI Commands Reference

CLI Version: [email protected]

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | deepseek-cowork start | Start local service (foreground) | | deepseek-cowork start --daemon | Start local service (background) | | deepseek-cowork stop | Stop local service | | deepseek-cowork status | Check service status | | deepseek-cowork open | Open web interface in browser | | deepseek-cowork config | View/edit configuration | | deepseek-cowork deploy | Deploy skills to work directories | | deepseek-cowork module | Manage server modules |

Deploy Skills

# Deploy built-in skills to work directories
deepseek-cowork deploy

# Deploy with Chinese templates
deepseek-cowork deploy --lang zh

# Deploy custom skill from any path
deepseek-cowork deploy --from ./my-skill --target my-project

# Check deployment status
deepseek-cowork deploy status

Manage Server Modules

# List available modules
deepseek-cowork module list

# Deploy a module
deepseek-cowork module deploy demo-module

# Deploy custom module from any path
deepseek-cowork module deploy my-module --from ./my-module-source

# Check deployed modules status
deepseek-cowork module status

Build Web Version

# Build static files for web deployment
npm run build:web

# Verify docs/app is still in sync with renderer sources
npm run check:web-sync

# Output: docs/app/

The web frontend is deployed to GitHub Pages automatically.

Building Desktop Clients

Build standalone installers for Windows, macOS, and Linux:

# Build for current platform
npm run build

# Build for specific platform
npm run build:win    # Windows (NSIS installer + portable)
npm run build:mac    # macOS (DMG, Intel + Apple Silicon)
npm run build:linux  # Linux (AppImage, deb, rpm)

# Build for all platforms
npm run build:all

Built packages will be output to the dist/ directory.

Version Management

The project uses semantic versioning (SemVer). Current version: V0.4.0

Update version numbers:

npm run version:patch   # 0.1.0 → 0.1.1 (bug fixes)
npm run version:minor   # 0.1.0 → 0.2.0 (new features)
npm run version:major   # 0.1.0 → 1.0.0 (breaking changes)

The version number is automatically synchronized to:

• package.json - Source of truth
• renderer/index.html - UI display (auto-updated during build)
• Application runtime - Dynamically loaded from package.json

Contributing

PRs welcome! Fork → Change → Submit.

License

MIT

Acknowledgments

This project is built upon:

• Happy - AI session management client
• Electron - Cross-platform desktop framework
• DeepSeek - Open-source LLM

Making great AI assistants accessible to everyone

Current version: V0.4.0 | Last updated: 2026-05-22