Build an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork
Shipped I built an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and shared it as a Show HN.
Source
wayneshng on Hacker News · 2026-07-02 · Project link
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-16.
What they did
Shipped I built an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and shared it as a Show HN.
Result (as claimed)
Open-sourced on GitHub; shared on Show HN (39 points).
Tools they used
Cost: Claude Code: free plan, paid from $17/mo; Cursor: free plan, paid from $8/mo. Checked 2026-10-14.
Set it up
Pick a contained repo or task
Start on a branch or side project where mistakes are cheap.
Install and configure
Set up Claude Code, Cursor. Read what it can run on your machine and limit permissions where possible.
Run it on a real task
Give it a well-scoped issue and let it work. Review the diff like any pull request.
Add guardrails
Keep tests and CI in the loop, and never let an agent push to main or touch production secrets unattended.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Build an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork What the original author did: Shipped I built an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and shared it as a Show HN. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Open-sourced on GitHub; shared on Show HN (39 points). Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48761096 Tools they used: Claude Code, Cursor Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Build an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork What the original author did: Shipped I built an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and shared it as a Show HN. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Open-sourced on GitHub; shared on Show HN (39 points). Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48761096 Tools they used: Claude Code, Cursor Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Build an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork What the original author did: Shipped I built an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and shared it as a Show HN. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Open-sourced on GitHub; shared on Show HN (39 points). Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48761096 Tools they used: Claude Code, Cursor Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
The Daily 5
Get five new use cases tomorrow morning
Free. Real sources. Unsubscribe any time.
Related use cases
Carry shared memory across Claude, Codex and Cursor with thred
Shipped thred so Claude, Codex, Cursor and future agents share one MCP memory for decisions, revisions, evidence and unfinished work.
Paste spoken prompts with screenshots into Claude Code or Cursor
Built Tack, a free Mac app that combines talk + screenshots into one prompt and pastes it into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or any app with screenshots at the right spots.
Drive Claude Code, Codex or Cursor Agent from an Android SSH terminal
Built TermHub, an Android SSH terminal aimed at driving Claude Code, Codex or Cursor Agent on your own machine with one-tap Esc, Shift-Tab and Ctrl-C.
let Claude Code, Codex and Cursor talk to each other (Concord)
Built Concord, let Claude Code, Codex and Cursor talk to each other.