Overview
Open Design is an open-source, local-first design workspace that reframes your existing coding agent — Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, and 20-plus others — as a design engine. Instead of a closed, cloud-hosted design SaaS, it runs on your own machine under an Apache-2.0 license and brings your own keys, so there is no subscription meter and no artifacts stored in someone else’s cloud. Point it at a live site URL, a .fig file, or a browser clip and it extracts colors, typography, spacing, and layout into a nine-section DESIGN.md that becomes the brand contract for every later generation. From one workspace you can produce app prototypes, animated sites, visual presentations, images, and video. It ships with 150-plus pre-built design systems and a set of guardrails — mandatory discovery forms and a multi-dimensional self-critique — meant to keep output from looking generic.
Key Features
- Agent-native workspace — connects 20+ coding CLIs (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode) and routes design prompts through the model you already pay for.
- DESIGN.md brand contracts — extracts a site’s visual language into an editable Markdown file every artifact respects, so generations stay on-brand.
- One workspace, many outputs — produces prototypes, animated sites, slide decks, images, and video from the same canvas.
- 150+ design systems — real brand tokens, not generic defaults, speeding up first drafts.
- Local-first and BYOK — Apache-2.0, runs on your hardware, data never leaves your machine, no vendor lock-in.
- Anti-slop guardrails — discovery forms and self-critique prevent the bland, templated look common to AI design tools.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | What’s included | Limits / exclusions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted (OSS) | $0 | Full Apache-2.0 codebase, local-first, all design systems and skills | You supply compute; bring your own model keys |
| Cloud / hosted | Early access | Managed option for teams that skip local setup | Not generally available yet |
| Enterprise / team | Custom | Shared workspaces, billing per workspace | Contact sales |
Comparison
vs. Figma: Figma is the collaborative design standard with a massive plugin and handoff ecosystem; Open Design does not try to replace that. It wins for developers who want generated, code-ready artifacts without leaving their agent loop, and it loses on team collaboration and non-technical handoff.
vs. Canva: Canva is the easy, template-driven choice for non-designers; Open Design assumes you run a coding CLI and want control, privacy, and no per-seat cost. Choose Canva for quick stakeholder decks, Open Design for production-grade, on-brand output.
vs. Adobe Firefly: Adobe Firefly lives inside the Adobe suite and monetizes via subscription; Open Design is free software you self-host. Pick Firefly if you already live in Adobe, Open Design if data sovereignty and zero cost matter more.