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Workshop Desktop is a native application for macOS, Windows, and Linux. It gives you full access to your local file system, any programming language or framework, and your existing tools — with no constraints on what you can build or how you ship it.

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Step-by-Step

1

Download and install

Go to workshop.ai and download the installer for your platform:
  • macOS — .dmg installer (Apple Silicon and Intel)
  • Windows — .exe installer
  • Linux — .AppImage or .deb package
Run the installer and launch Workshop Desktop. Sign in with your account or create one.
2

Choose how to power the agent

Something that sets Desktop apart: you can choose to power the Workshop agent with a local model running on your machine via Ollama or llama.cpp — at zero API cost, fully private, and available offline.Click the model selector in the toolbar to choose between a frontier model (Claude) or a local model you have running. See Local Models for setup instructions.
3

Create a new project

Click New Project and give it a name. You can start from a template or from scratch:
  • Web App / Website — Fullstack app with a Python backend and modern web frontend. Supports one-click publish.
  • Streamlit — Python-native data apps. Supports one-click publish.
  • Anything — The most flexible option. Any framework, any language, any stack.
  • Import from GitHub — Clone an existing repository into a new project.
Workshop creates a project directory on your local file system. You can open this folder in any editor at any time.
4

Describe what you want to build

This is where the magic starts. Describe your project in plain language:
I want to build a React app with a Node.js backend that manages
a task list with due dates, priorities, and categories.
If you want to scope and clarify before writing any code, use Plan Mode — Workshop will ask about requirements, design decisions, and technical preferences, then create a structured plan. When it looks right, switch to Build Mode.If you already know what you want, skip straight to Build Mode and Workshop will start immediately. You don’t need to specify a tech stack upfront — Workshop will recommend one based on your description.
5

Build and iterate

In Build Mode, Workshop writes code, installs packages, creates files, and runs your application — all on your local machine. For web projects, a live preview pane shows your app as it’s being built. Watch the progress in the chat and iterate naturally:
Add a dark mode toggle to the settings page.
The task list should sort by due date by default.
Workshop has full access to your project files and terminal. It can run dev servers, install dependencies, execute scripts, and debug issues directly.
6

Deploy anywhere

When your project is ready, click Publish to deploy it to Workshop’s infrastructure — Workshop handles hosting and compute, just like in Cloud. You can make it public or limit access to specific people or teams.For projects that need to live somewhere else, you have full flexibility:
  • Push to GitHub and deploy with Vercel, Netlify, Railway, or any CI/CD pipeline
  • Build Docker containers and deploy to any cloud
  • Use platform CLIs (AWS, GCP, Azure, Fly.io) directly
  • Run locally for personal tools and internal utilities
You can also ask Workshop to help:
Help me deploy this to Vercel. Set up the configuration and walk me through it.

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Desktop-Only Features

Local Apps

Workshop Desktop is the only place to build local apps — native utilities and tools that run directly on your machine. From keyboard tools and transcription to file organization and ad hoc data tasks, these run immediately without any deployment step.

Terminal Access

Workshop runs commands in integrated terminals on your local machine. You see exactly what it’s doing and can interact with the terminal yourself at any time.

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Tips for Better Results

Workshop can read files you drag into the conversation — PDFs, images, data files, design mockups. Use this to give it reference material, existing specs, or visual inspiration.
Start with core functionality, verify it works, then add features:
  1. “Set up the project with React and Express”
  2. “Create the task list with add/edit/delete”
  3. “Add categories and filtering”
  4. “Add the dark mode toggle”
Ask Workshop to initialize Git and commit at logical milestones. This gives you safety nets to roll back if needed:
Initialize git for this project and commit our current progress.
Tell Workshop upfront what system resources your app needs — files, keyboard, microphone, camera. This lets it make the right architecture decisions from the start rather than retrofitting permissions later.

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Next Steps