01What Open Design Is and How It Works

Open Design is a free, open-source design tool that you can run on your own computer. You type one sentence describing what you want, and Open Design builds a prototype for you — a website, app, dashboard, slide deck, or image.

It works by connecting to AI agents you already have installed on your machine, like Hermes, Claude Code, or Gemini CLI. Open Design scans your system, finds those agents, and uses them to generate designs. You don't need to pay for API keys or subscribe to any service.

Because it's open source, you can customize the code however you like. The whole studio stays on your computer, so your ideas and brand remain private. You can even run it with free local models and work offline.

02Main Features of Open Design

  • One-sentence input: Describe your project in a single sentence, and Open Design creates a full design.
  • 150 built-in design systems: Choose from a large library of templates for websites, dashboards, and more.
  • 100+ UI skills: The tool includes pre-built skills that improve the quality of your user interfaces.
  • Runs on your machine: Everything processes locally, so your work never leaves your computer unless you choose to share it.
  • Works with free models: You can use Hermes, Gemma, or other free open-source models. No paid subscriptions required.
  • Integrates with your existing agents: Open Design automatically detects coding agents like Claude Code or Codex and uses them through your command-line interface (CLI).

03How to Set Up Open Design

  1. Go to the Open Design GitHub repository and read the installation instructions.
  2. Download or clone the project to your computer. Follow the setup guide for your operating system (Mac, Windows, or Linux).
  3. Install any free local model you want to use, such as Hermes or Step 3.7 Flash. You can also use your existing CLI agents like Gemini CLI or Claude Code.
  4. Run the setup command to let Open Design scan your machine for all installed coding agents. It will list them in a dropdown menu.
  5. Open the Open Design interface (often inside an agent operating system like AgentOS). Choose your agent from the dropdown.
  6. Browse the community section to find a design template you like. Click “Make the Same” to start customizing it.

04How to Use Open Design: Examples from the Episode

In the episode, Julian Goldie showed how to use Open Design inside an agent operating system called AgentOS. He started by going to the settings section and selecting the Open Design plugin. Then he scrolled to the community area, picked a template he liked, and clicked “Make the Same.”

He changed the description to be about his own project: an AI profit boardroom community. He hit send. On the left side of the screen, the prompt appeared.

On the right side, the design started building step by step. After a few minutes, a full website appeared.

The site included a headline, description, call-to-action links, and sections about playbooks and processes. Julian could then download the design, share it with others, or deploy it directly to his website. He could also make changes by typing in the chat — for example, asking to change colors or content.

All projects are saved in a workspace so you can return to them anytime.

05Results and Comparisons Shown in the Episode

Julian compared Open Design with older tools like Figma and Claude Design. He said the old way required hiring a designer or spending hours messing around in Figma. Many AI design tools also required separate API keys, which could get expensive.

Even Claude Design, he noted, produces weak UI outputs and requires many back-and-forth turns.

With Open Design, the result is a polished prototype in a few minutes. Julian built a full website for his community in less time than it took to explain the process. He said the quality came from the 150 design systems and 100 UI skills built into the tool, not from the model's own judgement.

Another key difference: Claude Design runs only on Anthropic's servers using Claude tokens. Open Design runs locally, works offline with local models, and lets you use any agent you want — even free ones. Julian called design the old bottleneck, now reduced to a single sentence.

06Tips, Limits and Mistakes to Avoid

  • Don't worry about token costs: You can use free models and free CLIs, so running Open Design doesn't consume expensive API tokens.
  • Don't assume local means weak: Even though the tool runs on your machine, you can plug in frontier-level models through your CLI. The 150 design systems and 100 UI skills handle the quality, not the local model.
  • Don't skip the community templates: Start from an existing design rather than a blank canvas. This saves time and gives your output a strong foundation.
  • Make sure your agents are installed first: Open Design scans for coding agents you already have. If you haven't installed any, install at least one free CLI like Hermes before setting up Open Design.
  • Use the chat for edits: Instead of editing code directly, type changes in the chat panel. Open Design will modify the design for you.

07Who Open Design Is For and Why It Matters

Open Design is for anyone who needs to create digital designs but lacks coding or design skills. It's especially useful for founders, solo entrepreneurs, and small teams who want to prototype ideas fast without hiring a designer or learning complex tools.

It also matters for people who want privacy and control. Because the tool runs locally, your designs stay on your machine. You are not locked into a subscription or a closed platform.

You can customize the open-source code to fit your exact workflow.

Finally, Open Design integrates with an agent operating system, so design becomes just one more task your AI agents can handle. You can build websites, dashboards, slide decks, and even games. This turns a formerly slow, expensive process into something that matches the speed of your thinking.