OpenWork vs Codex: a desktop app, a coding agent, and the open-source system a company owns
OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app where agents work on your own files. Codex is OpenAI's coding agent for your terminal, IDE or cloud. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own.
OpenWork vs Codex, row by row
A desktop app and a coding agent, next to the open-source system a company owns, compared on source, models, where work runs and what you control.
Open source
- KortixOur recommendationYesYes. Open source. Read it, fork it, audit it.
- PartlyDesktop app yes; org control plane paid past 5 people.
- PartlyPartly. The CLI is public; the agent is a hosted service.
What it is
- KortixOur recommendationAn AI Operating System a company owns.
- A desktop app for agents on your files.
- A coding agent in your terminal, IDE or cloud.
Where work runs
- KortixOur recommendationKortix Cloud, your VPC, or your own on-prem network.
- Locally, on your machine; cloud optional.
- Locally, or in OpenAI's cloud.
Who it fits
- KortixOur recommendationA whole company running agents as infrastructure.
- One person or a small team.
- Developers and coding work.
Models
- KortixOur recommendationAny model provider with your own keys.
- 50+ providers, your keys, or local models.
- OpenAI models only.
Where configuration lives
- KortixOur recommendationOne git repo you own, versioned and diffable.
- In the desktop app; shared per team.
- In your project files, or your OpenAI account.
What the company looks like as files
# kortix.yamlagents: support-triage: file: agents/support-triage.md connectors: alltriggers: - slug: daily-digest type: cron cron: '0 0 9 * * 1-5'Agents, connectors and triggers are text in one git repo you own, from the Kortix repository.
Three shapes of AI work
A coding agent, a desktop app for one machine, and an operating system a company owns solve different jobs, and the difference shows in where the work runs and who can review it.
Codex is OpenAI's coding agent. The Codex CLI installs on macOS, Windows and Linux, runs in your terminal and works against your local repository, and OpenAI ships the same agent as an IDE extension, a desktop app and a cloud agent (openai/codex, checked October 2026). You use it with a ChatGPT plan such as Plus, Pro, Business, Edu or Enterprise, or an API key. Its scope is code work for developers.
OpenWork is a free, open-source desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux where agents do real work on your own files. It is built on OpenCode, works with 50+ model providers or your own keys, keeps your files on your machine, and lets a team share skills and MCP servers (openworklabs.com, checked October 2026). The app and its core are open source; the team control plane, OpenWork Den, is a separate layer. It fits one person or a small team working from a laptop.
Kortix is where a company runs that work. It is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector live in one git repo you own, and each session runs on its own cloud computer. Session work reaches main through a change request, and you can run the whole system on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. A desktop holds one person's work and a coding agent finishes one repository task; Kortix holds the company. The OpenWork vs Kortix comparison takes the same field and compares it directly.
OpenWork vs Codex, answered
The questions a buyer asks before choosing a shape of AI work.
Is OpenWork open source?
Yes. OpenWork's desktop app and core are open source, and the app is free to use with your own keys; its team control plane, OpenWork Den, is a separate layer with its own terms (OpenWork, checked October 2026).
Is Codex open source?
The Codex CLI is installable and its code is public, but the agent is an OpenAI product that runs on OpenAI's models and is used with a ChatGPT plan or an API key (openai/codex, checked October 2026).
Which one runs a whole company?
Kortix. It keeps agents, skills, company memory and connectors in one git repo you own, runs every session on its own cloud computer, and lands session work through a change request.
Can Kortix use the same models as OpenWork and Codex?
Yes. It runs any model provider with your own keys, and you can self-host it for free or run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network.
Run the whole company from one repo you own.
Kortix is open source, runs any model with your keys, and self-hosts free.
Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem