# Show HN: A possible open-source desktop alternative to OpenAI Codex

> Source: <https://github.com/ai4s-research/open-science>
> Published: 2026-07-10 10:30:48+00:00

**Local-first, model-agnostic AI research workbench for macOS, Windows & Linux.**

Formerly Open Science. An open-source desktop alternative to Claude Science and similar AI-for-science workbenches — built with Tauri, MCP, agent skills, and reproducible artifacts. It connects agents, notebooks, files, figures, reports, runs, and review into one auditable desktop workflow.

🎉 **Recognition:** Open Science Desktop ranks #1 by scored-task average on [ResearchClawBench](https://internscience.github.io/ResearchClawBench-Home/), an end-to-end benchmark for autonomous scientific research agents (Pass@1 leaderboard, July 9, 2026).

[✨ What it does](#what-it-does)[🎬 See it in action](#see-it-in-action)[🧪 Current capabilities](#current-capabilities)[🔌 Skills and connectors](#skills-and-connectors)[📦 Install](#install)[🚀 Build from source](#build-from-source)[🔒 Safety and privacy](#safety-and-privacy)[🗂️ Repository layout](#repository-layout)[📌 Status](#status)[🤝 Contributing](#contributing)[⚖️ License](#license)

**Runs the whole research loop** — from a broad direction to a finished paper:
exploration, literature survey, hypothesis, experiment code, analysis, figures, and
write-up, in one continuous, auditable session.

**Autonomous research agents**— the bundled`ai4s-agent`

chains specialist skills end to end (explore → survey → experiment → write), and each stage drops a real, inspectable artifact into your workspace, not just a chat reply.**Everything traces back**— figures, tables, reports, notebooks, and run outputs link to the exact code, inputs, environment, model output, and conversation that produced them.**Local-first and yours**— sessions, data, provenance, notebooks, and run records live in local folders on your machine. Nothing leaves by default.**Model-agnostic runtime**— the UI talks through`packages/sdk`

to a bundled, pinned OpenCode sidecar. Bring your own model; providers, skills, and MCP servers stay pluggable.**Reproducible by construction**— local, SSH/Slurm, Modal, and notebook-batch runs are captured as reproducible run records, not loose terminal scrollback.**Extensible**— agent skills, MCP servers and one-click science connectors,`/`

commands,`!`

shell mode, and a model-agnostic SDK.

**One prompt -> a complete, traceable analysis.** Simulate data, fit a model, save a
publication-grade figure, and write a report where every number traces to the code.

**Every artifact traces back to its code, inputs, and conversation.**

**Literature -> verifiable report.** Search papers, draft a manuscript rendered as a
PDF, and audit citations, unsourced numbers, and figure/code consistency.

**The research loop, as skills.** One meta-skill runs the full pipeline; each stage
is a self-contained skill that produces a real, gradeable artifact — runnable on any
model OpenCode supports:

| Skill | Role | Primary output |
|---|---|---|
`ai4s-agent` |
Runs the four skills below, in order | The full research package |
`research-explorer` |
Turn a broad direction into concrete topics | `research_exploration.md` , `topic_matrix.md` , `literature_pre_survey.md` |
`literature-survey` |
Write a literature survey | 6–20 pp PDF, 60+ real citations, LaTeX source, taxonomy figures |
`experiment-suite` |
Build an experiment package | Design doc, runnable code, `results.json` with provenance, figures, report |
`paper-writer` |
Write a research paper | 8–14 pp PDF, 200+ citations, 4–8 figures, tables |
`mindmap-render` |
Render a mindmap | Image generated from a `topic_matrix.md` |
`integrity-auditor` |
Audit a paper's integrity | Image / numerical / logical findings, 4-level evidence grading, `audit_report.md` |

These ship in the `ai4s-skills`

pack alongside first-party review skills and the
office/document skills below.

| Area | Current state |
|---|---|
| Desktop shell | Tauri 2 + React + TypeScript + Vite, with macOS, Windows, and Linux desktop builds. |
| Runtime | Bundled OpenCode sidecar, auto-started by the app, isolated from the user's own OpenCode config/data. |
| Sessions | Multi-session chat/history, dated workspace folders, global history across workspaces, `/` commands, and `!` shell mode. |
| Files | Global and per-session file browsing, context menu actions, external open/reveal, copy path, and local preview server. |
| Notebooks | Real `.ipynb` files, Python and R notebook creation, local kernel execution, managed Jupyter environment via bundled `uv` , and an Open JupyterLab action. |
| Runs | Append-only run logs, global SQLite run index, search/facets/pagination, local/remote surfaces, output links, logs, and reproduce prompts. |
| Provenance | `.openscience/provenance.jsonl` tracks file versions and links produced artifacts back to the run or edit that created them. |
| Review | Traceability, statistics-integrity, domain-check, large-file, publication-figure, remote-compute, and Modal run skills are bundled as first-party skills. |
| Viewers | PDF, image, video, HTML, Markdown, code, CSV/TSV tables with charts, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, molecules, 3D meshes, genome tracks, FITS, DOS/DOSCAR, EIGENVAL bands, qcode, anomaly maps, and phase files. |
| Models | OpenCode provider catalog, OAuth/API-key provider flows, custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints, and local/provider-specific options supported by OpenCode. |
| Interface languages | English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German, French, and Korean. Portuguese (Brazil) and Arabic are registered but not selectable yet. |

Bundled skills are fetched for builds and releases instead of being committed into git history:

`ai4s-skills`

pack from`ai4s-research/ai4s-skills`

.- Office/document skills from the Apache-2.0
`anthropics/skills`

repository:`docx`

,`pdf`

,`pptx`

, and`xlsx`

. - First-party core skills in
`runtime/skills/core/`

:`traceability-review`

,`stats-integrity`

,`domain-check`

,`large-file`

,`publication-figures`

,`remote-compute`

, and`modal-run`

.

One-click science MCP connectors currently include:

- Literature search: arXiv, PubMed, Crossref, Semantic Scholar, bioRxiv/medRxiv.
- Biomedical databases: PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, MyVariant/ClinVar.
- Materials Project.
- FRED economic data.
- Space weather.
- Open-Meteo weather and climate.
- USGS water data.

You can also add any local or remote MCP server from Settings. See
[ docs/CONNECT_YOUR_TOOLS.md](/ai4s-research/open-science/blob/master/docs/CONNECT_YOUR_TOOLS.md).

For a neutral positioning note, see
[ Open Science Desktop vs OpenScience](/ai4s-research/open-science/blob/master/docs/open-science-desktop-vs-openscience.md).

Download the latest installer from the
[Releases page](https://github.com/ai4s-research/open-science/releases/latest).

**macOS**:`.dmg`

/`.app`

, Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 13 Ventura or later.**Windows**: NSIS`.exe`

and`.msi`

, Windows 10/11 x64.**Linux**:`.deb`

and`.rpm`

on x86_64 Linux.

Builds are not code-signed or notarized yet.

**macOS**: if Gatekeeper says the app is damaged or from an unidentified developer,
install it into Applications and run:

```
xattr -cr "/Applications/Open Science.app"
```

**Windows**: if SmartScreen appears, choose **More info -> Run anyway**.

**Linux**:

```
sudo apt install ./OpenScience_*.deb
# or
sudo rpm -i OpenScience_*.rpm
```

Prerequisites:

- Node.js >= 20
- pnpm 9
- Rust toolchain
- macOS, Windows, or Linux system dependencies required by Tauri

```
git clone https://github.com/ai4s-research/open-science
cd open-science
pnpm install

# Fetch pinned sidecars and bundled skills. These are git-ignored.
bash scripts/dev/fetch-opencode.sh
bash scripts/dev/fetch-uv.sh
bash scripts/dev/fetch-skills.sh

# Run in development or build installers.
pnpm --filter @ai4s/desktop tauri dev
pnpm --filter @ai4s/desktop tauri build
```

Useful checks:

```
pnpm test
pnpm typecheck
pnpm lint
```

- Workspace files, raw data, session history, provenance, notebooks, and run records stay local by default.
- Command execution, file deletion, dependency installation, and remote connections are human-approved flows in the desktop app.
- Provider credentials are written to app-private runtime config, not to the workspace, provenance, git, exports, or global OpenCode config.
- Settings includes a plain-language data-flow view explaining what can be sent to the selected model provider.

| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
`apps/desktop/` |
Tauri + React desktop app. |
`packages/sdk/` |
`OpenCodeClient` ; keeps the UI from calling OpenCode directly. |
`packages/shared/` |
Shared domain types and chart palette. |
`packages/ui/` |
Shared UI package. |
`runtime/skills/core/` |
First-party scientific skills. |
`runtime/skills/external/` |
Build-fetched external skills. |
`runtime/harness/` |
Runtime harness knowledge and operator context. |
`runtime/mcp/` |
MCP runtime notes/configuration. |
`examples/` |
Built-in example workspaces. |
`scripts/dev/` |
Sidecar, `uv` , skill fetchers, and focused regression probes. |
`docs/` |
Product, technical, operator, connector, and research notes. |

The project is a working desktop MVP in active development. The most reliable current
implementation log is [ PROGRESS.md](/ai4s-research/open-science/blob/master/PROGRESS.md). Product and architecture notes
live in

[and](/ai4s-research/open-science/blob/master/docs/PRD.md)

`docs/PRD.md`

[, but those documents include target design as well as historical status notes.](/ai4s-research/open-science/blob/master/docs/TECHNICAL_DESIGN.md)

`docs/TECHNICAL_DESIGN.md`

Near-term work is focused on signed/notarized releases, broader Windows/Linux verification, auto-update, richer connector hardening, and continued reproducibility review.

Issues and PRs are welcome. Keep changes minimal and verifiable, follow
[ AGENTS.md](/ai4s-research/open-science/blob/master/AGENTS.md), and run the checks before opening a PR. For discussion,
join the

[Open Science Discord](https://discord.gg/fWNMDKcd5P)or the

[linux.do](https://linux.do)community.

[MIT](/ai4s-research/open-science/blob/master/LICENSE). Bundled third-party skills and connectors keep their own licenses.

Open Science Desktop is beta research tooling. Treat outputs as drafts: verify numbers, citations, code, and conclusions before publication or decision-making.