Eigent: Open-Source Multi-Agent Desktop Cowork

The powerful open-source alternative to Claude Cowork — now with strong Z.ai GLM integration

What is Eigent?

Eigent is an exciting open-source desktop application that serves as a strong alternative to Anthropic's Claude Cowork. It enables AI agents to control your desktop environment, handle files, browse the web, automate tasks, and much more — all while running locally on your machine.

Built with a multi-agent workforce architecture (powered by the CAMEL-AI framework), Eigent lets specialized agents collaborate like a real team of human coworkers. It shines in complex, decomposed workflows and offers full transparency, privacy, and customizability.

Official docs: https://docs.z.ai/devpack/tool/eigent
GitHub: github.com/eigent-ai/eigent

Key Features

  • Multi-agent collaboration — agents work in parallel on complex tasks
  • Browser automation & terminal/command-line control
  • File & multi-file project management
  • Code generation, refactoring, debugging, review & optimization
  • Technical documentation generation
  • MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools support — web browsing, integrations & custom tools
  • Human-in-the-loop when agents need guidance
  • Native optimization for Z.ai's GLM models (GLM-4.7, GLM-4.5-air, etc.)

How It Compares to Claude Cowork

Eigent takes the agentic desktop experience further with several advantages:

Multi-Agent Power

Parallel specialized agents vs single-threaded approach

Open-Source & Local-First

Full transparency, no subscription lock-in, data stays on your machine

Bring Your Own Model

Best with affordable GLM Coding Plan — but supports others too

Broader Platform Support

Windows, macOS, Linux (vs macOS-only for Cowork)

Quick Setup Overview

Eigent is self-hosted and developer-friendly:

  1. Clone the repo: git clone https://github.com/eigent-ai/eigent.git
  2. Start backend services with Docker Compose (requires Node.js, Python 3.12, Docker & PostgreSQL)
  3. Configure & run the frontend
  4. Add your Z.ai API key (Coding endpoint: https://api.z.ai/api/coding/paas/v4/)
  5. Select models and start assigning tasks!

Tip: Use the GLM Coding Plan for best performance & value (3× usage, 1/7 cost compared to some alternatives).

Visual Demo

Here are some real screenshots showing Eigent's multi-agent interface and automation in action: