Andrew Ng releases OpenWorker, an open-source AI agent for desktop tasks

Andrew Ng on Wednesday announced OpenWorker, an open-source desktop AI agent designed to produce completed deliverables — polished documents, Slack replies, calendar updates — rather than conversational responses. The tool, released under an MIT license, runs locally on Mac with Windows support planned.facebook+1

A Local-First Agent Built on aisuite

OpenWorker is built on Ng's aisuite library, a provider-agnostic Python framework for working with multiple large language models through a unified API. The application's architecture consists of a Tauri 2 native desktop shell wrapping a React interface, a local Python FastAPI server, a capability layer for file and app integrations, and a model router that connects to the user's chosen AI provider.infoworld+1

The agent supports 30 curated models across native providers including OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol, Anthropic's Claude Fable 5, and Google Alphabet Inc. ↗ 0.87% Gemini 3.6 Flash, along with open-weight options like DeepSeek V4 and GLM-5.2. Users can also run models entirely locally through Ollama, keeping all data on their machine.facebook

"An open-source agent that doesn't just chat with you, but delivers finished work — like hand you a polished document, send a Slack message, or update a calendar entry," Ng wrote in his announcement.linkedin+1

Permission Engine and Privacy by Design

OpenWorker's permission system classifies every tool call into four risk levels — read, write-local, exec, and external — and offers five permission modes ranging from read-only to fully automatic. In its default interactive mode, the agent asks for confirmation before performing writes, executing commands, or taking external actions. The system also includes an explicit prompt-injection defense posture, instructing models to treat all external content as untrusted data.

Data privacy is central to the design. Model calls route directly from the user's machine to their chosen provider, with conversations, connector tokens, and API keys stored locally. The only optional cloud component handles OAuth handshakes for one-click app connectors, and the tool is fully functional without any cloud connection.linkedin

Positioning in the AI Agent Landscape

The release follows Ng's broader push toward practical AI tools for everyday work. At recent conferences, he has emphasized that AI's near-term value lies in automating repetitive tasks and accelerating prototyping rather than replacing workers entirely. OpenWorker represents that philosophy in product form — a tool that takes a desired outcome and breaks it into steps across local files and connected applications, confirming actions along the way.youtube+1

The source code is available on GitHub under Ng's account, and the application requires users to bring their own API keys.facebook+1