Cross-platform AI workspace for developers and everyday users.
Chat, templates, recent conversations, and the main composer in one view.
Workspaces for project-based organization and deeper task flows.
Integrated image studio for prompt-driven generation inside the app.
Marketplace surface for modules, themes, models, and other add-ons.
Settings for app behavior, accounts, models, and customization.
- Chat and model switching: Use hosted models or local models from one desktop surface.
- Workspace control: Work directly in local files and Git-backed projects.
- Image generation: Generate images without leaving the app.
- Portable mode: Keep app data inside the application folder for a zero-install flow.
- Native sidecar services: Use the Rust-backed path for faster and more isolated system operations.
- Everyday AI tasks: Draft, summarize, debug, translate, and generate content without switching apps.
| Product | Pricing / access | Platforms | Open source | Local models | Image gen | Agent surface | Workspace / file control | Privacy posture | Extensions / MCP / plugins | Best for | Not ideal for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tengra | Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Yes | Yes | Chat, workspace, image | Edit files, terminal, Git | Local models and portable mode | Plugins and MCP | Native desktop AI with local models | Browser-only users |
| ChatGPT / Codex | Subscription | Desktop, web, terminal | Partial, Codex CLI open source | No | Yes in ChatGPT | Chat and coding agent | Read, write, run | Cloud-hosted | Limited native plugin story | General AI and coding | Strict local-first setups |
| Claude Code | Subscription | Terminal, web | No | No | No | CLI agent | Read, write, run | Cloud-hosted | MCP | Terminal-first coding agent | GUI-heavy workflows |
| Antigravity | Preview / quota | Desktop, browser | No | No core docs | No | Editor, browser, mission control | Plans, edits, validates | Google account and preview quotas | Browser and integrations | Google-first agentic workflows | Local-first or open-tooling users |
| Windsurf | Free and paid | Desktop | No | No | No core image-gen feature | Chat, command, workflows | Edit files, terminal, deploy | Cloud account | MCP and Open VSX | Agentic IDE workflows | Open-source purists |
| Cursor | Subscription | Desktop, terminal | No | No | No | Editor and background agents | Edit files, terminal | Privacy mode available | MCP | AI-first IDE | Open-source purists |
| PearAI | Open source | Desktop | Yes | Partial | No | Editor and chat | File editing | Local-friendly, but docs are thin | VS Code ecosystem | Open-source VS Code fork | People who want mature official docs |
| OpenClaw | Open source | Desktop, self-hosted | Yes | Yes | Partial | Multi-channel assistant gateway | Local files and tools | Local-first | Skills and channels | Local-first assistant gateway | Simple single-app chat |
| Continue | Open source | IDE, CLI | Yes | Yes | No | Chat, edit, apply, autocomplete | Edit, apply, terminal | Local or BYOK | MCP and IDE integrations | Extend existing IDEs | Standalone desktop app |
| Zed | Free and paid | Desktop | Yes | Yes | No | Agentic editor | Edit selections and external agents | Local-first | ACP and external agents | Fast native editor with AI | Chat-centric non-editor users |
| VS Code | Free | Desktop, web | Partial, repo open source | Yes via tooling | No | Local and background agents | Edit, run, Git | Depends on extensions and models | Extensions and MCP | General-purpose editor | Opinionated AI workflows out of box |
| Copilot CLI | Subscription | Terminal | No | No | No | Terminal agent | Read, modify, run | Cloud-backed | GitHub integration | Terminal-only coding tasks | Desktop-first workflows |
Verified against official docs on 2026-05-16.
Tengra sits between a general-purpose desktop assistant and a developer-first workspace: GUI-friendly for everyday AI use, but built for managed workspaces, local models, and a native engine when the task needs more control.
- Download a pre-built package for your platform from the releases page.
- Launch Tengra and sign in or configure local models.
- Open a workspace, switch models, and start chatting or editing.
- Hybrid Inference: Switch between OpenAI/Claude and local Ollama/LM Studio models instantly.
- Managed Workspaces: Native Git integration and direct filesystem project management.
- Native Sidecar: Rust-based engine for high-speed file I/O and secure proxying.
- Portable Mode: Zero-install operation with 100% data redirection to the application folder.
- Windows: Setup.exe or Portable.exe
- macOS: Setup.dmg (Right-click -> Open to bypass Gatekeeper)
- Linux: AppImage or deb/rpm
For Windows developers, the Rust proxy requires llvm and nasm to compile the Chrome-impersonation engine (BoringSSL). You can install them via Scoop or Chocolatey:
# Using scoop
scoop install llvm nasm
# OR using chocolatey
choco install llvm nasm -ygit clone https://github.com/TengraStudio/tengra.git
npm install
npm run dev
Tengra is licensed under GPL-3.0. See LICENSE for details.
Made with ❤️ by TengraStudio