LobsterAI
English · 中文
All-scenario office assistant Agent.
The first open-source desktop-grade Agent among major Chinese tech companies, built by NetEase Youdao.
Features · Developing · Community
LobsterAI is a desktop Agent that can operate in your real working environment: local files, terminal commands, browser workflows, documents, spreadsheets, slides, IM channels, scheduled jobs, and project workspaces.
Cowork is the LobsterAI product/session layer. OpenClaw is the runtime and gateway underneath it. That split lets LobsterAI keep local persistence, permissions, UI state, artifacts, agents, memory, and IM bindings in the desktop app while using OpenClaw for agent execution.
Features
Desktop Cowork Sessions
Run long-form Agent tasks against local projects and files. LobsterAI streams progress, keeps session history, renders tool output, and asks for approval before sensitive actions such as file operations, terminal commands, or network access.
Multi-Agent Workflows
Create custom Agents with their own identity, model choice, skills, working directory, enabled state, and IM bindings. Keep the Main Agent for general work and use specialized Agents for repeatable roles.
Expert Kits
Install scenario-oriented Expert Kits that package capability selections and references for common workflows. Kits are selected independently from direct skills, so a workflow can combine curated kits with individual tools.
Skills
LobsterAI ships with 28 built-in skills configured in SKILLs/skills.config.json, including web search, Word documents, spreadsheets, PowerPoint, PDF processing, Remotion video generation, browser automation, image/video generation, stock research, content writing, email, weather, and skill creation.
MCP Servers
Connect external tools and data sources through Model Context Protocol servers. LobsterAI stores user-configured servers locally and syncs enabled servers into OpenClaw.
Scheduled Tasks
Create recurring work either by conversation or through the scheduled task UI. Use it for daily news digests, inbox summaries, website monitoring, weekly reports, and other repeatable work.
IM Remote Control
Reach your desktop Agent from WeChat, WeCom, DingTalk, Feishu/Lark, QQ, Telegram, Discord, NetEase IM, NetEase Bee, POPO, and email. Multi-instance platforms can bind different accounts or channels to different Agents.
Rich Artifacts
Preview and manage generated HTML, SVG, images, video, Mermaid diagrams, code, Markdown, text, documents, and local service artifacts inside the desktop app.
Local Memory And Data
Sessions and app data live locally in SQLite. OpenClaw workspace memory uses files such as MEMORY.md, USER.md, SOUL.md, and daily notes, so durable preferences and project context can carry across sessions.
Real-World Prompts
| Scenario | Example prompt |
|---|---|
| Build a local system | "I still track inventory and sales in Excel. Build a local inventory system that records purchases and sales, calculates stock and profit, and opens in my browser." |
| Analyze local data | "Use product-growth.xlsx to build a visual dashboard and summarize the main growth drivers." |
| Generate a deck | "Research the AI Agent market and turn the findings into a presentation." |
| Automate browser checks | "Open the ads dashboard every morning, check spend and conversion anomalies, and summarize likely causes." |
| Screen documents | "Turn the resumes in this folder into a screening sheet and shortlist the strongest candidates against the JD." |
| Run scheduled work | "Every weekday at 9 AM, collect yesterday's AI news and send me a concise digest." |
How It Works
- Renderer: React, Redux Toolkit, Tailwind, artifact renderers, settings, agent/session UI, skills, MCP, scheduled tasks, and IM configuration.
- Main process: Electron lifecycle, IPC, SQLite persistence, auth, logging, OpenClaw startup, runtime repair, skill sync, IM gateways, and artifact services.
- OpenClaw integration:
openclawEngineManager,openclawConfigSync,openclawRuntimeAdapter, andcoworkEngineRoutertranslate LobsterAI state into OpenClaw runtime behavior.
Install
Desktop
Download the latest macOS and Windows installers from Official Website or GitHub Releases.
Run From Source
Requirements:
- Node.js
>=24.15.0 <25 - npm
>=11.17.0 <12(older versions:npm install -g npm@11.17.0) - git and pnpm, needed on the first run to build the pinned OpenClaw runtime from the sibling
../openclawcheckout
better-sqlite3@13.0.3 includes prebuilt N-API binaries for Windows, macOS,
and Linux on x64/arm64. The allowScripts entry in package.json skips npm's
unnecessary implicit rebuild for this version, so installing it does not require
Visual Studio C++ Build Tools on Windows. Other dependencies' install scripts
still run. Recheck this entry when upgrading better-sqlite3.
git clone https://github.com/netease-youdao/LobsterAI.git
cd LobsterAI
npm installFirst development run:
npm run electron:dev:openclawDaily development after the pinned OpenClaw runtime exists:
npm run electron:devThe renderer dev server runs at http://localhost:5175.
Developing
# Production renderer bundle
npm run build
# Electron main/preload TypeScript build
npm run compile:electron
# Official Vitest entry used by CI
npm test
# Full ESLint across src; may expose existing legacy debt
npm run lint
# CI-style lint for touched TypeScript files
npx eslint --ext ts,tsx --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0 <files>OpenClaw Runtime
The pinned OpenClaw version and third-party plugin list live in package.json under openclaw.
# Build the current-platform runtime manually
npm run openclaw:runtime:host
# Use a custom OpenClaw source checkout
OPENCLAW_SRC=/path/to/openclaw npm run electron:dev:openclaw
# Force runtime rebuild
OPENCLAW_FORCE_BUILD=1 npm run electron:dev:openclaw
# Keep a local OpenClaw checkout on its current branch/tag
OPENCLAW_SKIP_ENSURE=1 npm run electron:dev:openclawDeepSeek Harness Runtime
The pinned dsh version and one archive descriptor per platform live in package.json under dsh. Development reads vendor/dsh-runtime/current; shipped apps download the archive on first use and verify it against the digest they carry.
# Build and activate the current-platform runtime
npm run dsh:runtime:host
# Boot it once and assert the web UI answers
npm run dsh:runtime:verify
# Full gate: build, pack, install over HTTP, boot, assert provider/model over RPC
npm run dsh:e2ePublish a runtime archive (per platform)
Each target must be built on a matching machine: native dependencies install for the host, so a cross-architecture build produces an archive that packs cleanly and only fails on users' machines. The build refuses to run on a mismatched host.
| Target | Build on |
|---|---|
mac-arm64 |
Apple Silicon mac |
mac-x64 |
Intel mac |
win-x64 |
Windows 10 1803+ (ships tar.exe) |
Run these on that machine, substituting the target:
# 1. Build (applies the pinned patches, prunes to ~160 MB)
npm run dsh:runtime:mac-arm64
# 2. Pack; prints the sha256 and size
npm run dsh:runtime:pack mac-arm64
# 3. Upload vendor/dsh-dist/dsh-runtime-<version>-mac-arm64.tar.gz to the CDN,
# then record where it landed. Digest and size come from the local manifest,
# so they cannot drift from the bytes that were packed.
npm run dsh:runtime:url mac-arm64 "https://cdn.example.com/<uploaded>"
# 4. Confirm the URL serves exactly those bytes
npm run dsh:runtime:verify-urls mac-arm64Step 3 writes dsh.runtimes[target] into package.json; commit that hunk so every platform's descriptor ships in one build. Each target holds one absolute URL and nothing is appended to it, so a CDN that mints an unrelated URL per file needs no shared directory.
Update to a newer dsh version
- Bump
dsh.versioninpackage.json. - Copy the patch directory to the new version before that directory exists:
cp -R scripts/dsh-patches/<old> scripts/dsh-patches/<new>(if<new>already exists,cpnests the copy one level down and the build finds no patches). Patches are found by version, and a missing directory applies no patches without failing — the Windows console-hiding fix would vanish silently. After copying, the build's sentinels re-verify each patch still lands, and fail if upstream moved the code: retarget the patch and add its sentinel toPATCH_SENTINELSinscripts/build-dsh-runtime.cjs, or drop it once upstream carries the fix (the directory-picker fix is upstream from 0.1.5, the console-hiding fix from 0.1.6-alpha.2). - Empty
dsh.runtimes. A descriptor left pointing at the previous archive still passes its digest check, so the old runtime would install under the new version's name. - Rebuild, upload, and record all three targets as above.
- Re-run
npm run dsh:runtime:verify-urlsandnpm run dsh:e2e.
Known gap: existing users keep the runtime they already installed. ensureRuntimeInstalled returns early whenever any runtime is present and never compares it with the pinned version, so only fresh installs pick up a new dsh. Selection among installed versions is also a lexical sort, which puts rc.6 ahead of rc.10.
Packaging
Build desktop installers
The CI workflow builds each installer on its own OS (macOS, Windows, Linux). Do the same locally: native modules are compiled for the host, and the dist:* scripts build the OpenClaw runtime for the requested target only.
Build machine prerequisites:
- Node.js
>=24.15.0 <25..npmrcsetsengine-strict, so npm refuses other versions. - npm
>=11.17.0 <12, required for the dependency install-script policy. - git and pnpm, used to build the pinned OpenClaw runtime from the sibling
../openclawcheckout (override withOPENCLAW_SRC). - Windows: Git for Windows. The runtime build runs in its Git Bash. Without it, run
npm run setup:mingitonce to prepare a portable Git underresources/mingit.
Clean build:
# 1. Install dependencies exactly as pinned in package-lock.json.
# npm ci removes node_modules itself, so do not delete it by hand and do not
# run npm install first: that installs everything twice and may rewrite the
# lock file. postinstall applies patches/. better-sqlite3 uses its bundled
# N-API binaries in both Node.js and Electron.
npm ci
# 2. Remove stale build output. dist-electron is compiled by tsc, which keeps
# files whose sources were deleted.
npx rimraf dist dist-electron
# 3. Build the installer. Output goes to release/.
npm run dist:mac # macOS, host architecture
npm run dist:mac:x64
npm run dist:mac:arm64
npm run dist:mac:universal
npm run dist:win # Windows x64
npm run dist:linuxvendor/ does not need to be deleted between builds. The OpenClaw runtime under vendor/openclaw-runtime/<target> is cached by pinned version and patch hash and is rebuilt automatically when either changes. Set OPENCLAW_FORCE_BUILD=1 to rebuild it after changing the build scripts themselves, and OPENCLAW_FORCE_PLUGIN_INSTALL=1 to re-download the bundled plugins. Optional plugins (POPO, NIM) are skipped with a warning when their registry is unreachable, so check the build log before shipping.
The dist:* scripts also run these steps for you:
openclaw:runtime:<target>: build, patch, bundle, and prune the OpenClaw runtime, shipped underResources/cfmind.- Windows only,
verify:installer-patches: re-appliespatches/app-builder-lib+*.patchtonode_modulesand runs the installer contract tests. It fails whennode_modulesstill carries an older version of the patch, for example aftergit pullwithout reinstalling; runnpm ciand retry. Never ship an installer from a tree where it fails. - Windows only,
setup:python-runtime: prepares a portable Python underresources/python-win, so end users do not need to install Python. cfmind,SKILLs, and python-win are shipped as a singlewin-resources.tarand extracted after install.
Windows channel and web-installer builds wrap the same dist:win chain:
# Full installer for a distribution channel
npm run dist:win:channel -- --keyfrom <channel> [--silent]
# Web installer: a small stub that downloads the package from your CDN
npm run dist:win:web -- --keyfrom <channel> [--silent] [--pkg-base-url <cdn-dir> | --pkg-url <package-url>]Offline or private-source packaging can use:
LOBSTERAI_PORTABLE_PYTHON_ARCHIVELOBSTERAI_PORTABLE_PYTHON_URLLOBSTERAI_WINDOWS_EMBED_PYTHON_VERSIONLOBSTERAI_WINDOWS_EMBED_PYTHON_URLLOBSTERAI_WINDOWS_GET_PIP_URLLOBSTERAI_PORTABLE_GIT_ARCHIVELOBSTERAI_PORTABLE_GIT_URL
Project Map
| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
src/main/main.ts |
Electron lifecycle, IPC registration, auth, logging, runtime startup, and service wiring |
src/main/libs/openclawEngineManager.ts |
OpenClaw gateway process, runtime state, ports, logs, restart, and repair |
src/main/libs/openclawConfigSync.ts |
Renders LobsterAI providers, models, agents, IM bindings, skills, MCP, and workspace instructions into OpenClaw config |
src/main/libs/agentEngine/openclawRuntimeAdapter.ts |
Translates OpenClaw gateway events into Cowork stream events |
src/main/coworkStore.ts |
Cowork sessions, messages, config, agents, memory metadata, and SQLite CRUD |
src/renderer/components/cowork/ |
Main Cowork UI, prompt input, session detail, permissions, thinking/tool display, media, and voice input |
src/renderer/components/agent/ |
Agent creation and settings UI |
src/renderer/components/skills/ |
Skill management UI |
src/renderer/components/mcp/ |
MCP server management UI |
src/renderer/components/scheduledTasks/ |
Scheduled task list, form, detail, run history, and templates |
src/renderer/services/i18n.ts |
Renderer i18n dictionary and t() helper |
SKILLs/ |
Bundled LobsterAI skills |
Security And Data
- Renderer windows use context isolation, disabled Node integration, and sandboxing.
- Renderer-to-main access goes through preload IPC APIs.
- Sensitive tool actions are permission-gated and logged.
- App data is stored locally in
lobsterai.sqliteunder ElectronuserData. - OpenClaw state, workspace memory, generated config, and gateway logs live under
userData/openclaw.
Community & Support
Join the WeChat group for help, feedback, and release updates:
Please use the repository issue templates for bugs and feature requests. For pull requests, include a short summary, linked issue when relevant, screenshots for UI changes, and notes for Electron-specific behavior such as IPC, storage, runtime, or windowing changes.
Star History
License
Built and maintained by NetEase Youdao.
