Agent Atlas / Runtimes and workbenches

different-ai/openwork

An OpenCode-powered workbench that turns team memory, self-hosting, desktop packaging, authentication, MCP sessions, and shared workspaces into operator-visible product boundaries.

Agent workbench Scope profile Reported + sourced Reviewed July 21, 2026
Intended operator

Teams hosting and sharing coding-agent workspaces.

Primary surfaces

desktop workbench / server and self-hosting / shared workspace

Tracked repository

different-ai/openwork

Teaching mechanism

Authentication needs a resumable state, not a timeout

A sign-in flow remains pending with a claim link and explicit state instead of turning an operator action into an arbitrary elapsed-time failure.

Evidence limitA clearer state machine does not prove an identity provider, deployment, or client will always deliver the callback.
Inspect the source
System map status

Reporting is still in progress.

This scope profile names the project's place in the field and one useful mechanism. It does not claim that every runtime boundary has been inspected.

Learn Through This Project

9 lessons
Chapter 1 Before the First Model Request Chapter 2 The Invisible Prompt Chapter 3 Tool Calls: Contract, Authorization, Execution Chapter 4 Loops, Workflows, and Recovery Chapter 6 Memory Is a Typed Storage Contract Chapter 7 The Approval Trap Chapter 8 The Human Control Loop Chapter 9 Trust Must Make Its Case Chapter 10 The Future Has Three Branches

Compare Its Boundaries

7 labs
Comparison labTool ContractsComparison labGoverned MemoryComparison labApproval BoundariesComparison labHuman WorkbenchComparison labSessions And RecoveryComparison labEvidence And EvaluationComparison labMaturity Signals

Latest Reporting

8 articles
An Agent's Sign-In Link Is Not a Timeout

July 21, 2026 — OpenWork's newest MCP work carries a provider's structured authorization link through a failed tool call, so the person who owns the account can act instead of watching an agent retry the wrong problem. different-ai/openwork

 OpenWork Gives MCP Failures a Useful Address

July 13, 2026 — A new diagnostics layer separates DNS, TLS, HTTP, OAuth, protocol, and provider failures, then returns a bounded reference and the person who can act—without logging the raw connection secret trail. different-ai/openwork

 Harness Engineering Is Becoming The Field's Self-Improvement Layer

July 8, 2026 — Lilian Weng's July 4 map of self-improving harnesses gives builders a constructive middle path: improve the runtime around the model, but keep evidence, permissions, and evaluation legible enough that the loop can be trusted. lilianweng/lilianweng.github.io, openai/codex, different-ai/openwork, openclaw/openclaw, NousResearch/hermes-agent, earendil-works/pi, anomalyco/opencode

 Self-Evolving Agents Need Receipts For The Loop

July 8, 2026 — Shilong Liu's taxonomy widens the self-improvement story beyond harnesses: agents may optimize artifacts, modify the harness, or learn in the model, but each loop needs evidence about what changed and what stayed outside the optimizer. NousResearch/hermes-agent openai/codex openclaw/openclaw different-ai/openwork anomalyco/opencode

 OpenWork Turns OpenCode Into A Shareable Agent Host

July 6, 2026 — OpenWork's source trail shows a desktop app, server, orchestrator, router, file sessions, approval flow, export safety, and single-org deployment policy around OpenCode rather than a thin UI wrapper. different-ai/openwork, anomalyco/opencode

 OpenWork Makes Team Memory A Governed Agent Surface

July 4, 2026 — OpenWork's July 2 Memory Bank merge turns saved agent context into a user-scoped, searchable capability with tests, schema checks, and explicit no-secrets guidance. different-ai/openwork

 Ben Moved OpenWork Setup Toward Claim Links

June 29, 2026 — A public start-guide patch shifted OpenWork's agent-first onboarding away from email signup and toward provisional workspace claim links. different-ai/openwork

 OpenWork Puts Self-Hosting On The Checklist

June 25, 2026 — OpenWork's June 24 code changes make deployment configuration, readiness, packaging, and user-flow proof visible as project maturity work. different-ai/openwork

Primary Sources

OpenWork repository

Primary workbench and self-hosting source.

Open Questions

  • Can a team see who owns saved context, live credentials, and every shared session effect?

Evidence state describes what this Atlas profile can support today. It is not a product score and it is not evidence that uninspected capabilities are absent.