OpenBot 1.0 launched on November 9th as an MIT-licensed, self-hostable agent workspace from CopilotKit. The release aims to counter the standard model where vendors lock users into their own infrastructure, data hosting, and rule sets. Instead, this setup lets companies supply their own models, agents, and hardware. Governance is embedded directly into the system, with every bot action verified against a policy before execution.
What is OpenBot?
The tool is a modular agent environment built by the team behind the AG-UI protocol. Users assign a task to a bot, observe the work, and review findings within the same conversation thread. Interaction and approval of next steps happen inline.
Each bot operates with a dedicated computer. This is a container running its own Chromium browser, logins, and files. Access is restricted strictly to the tools granted by the user. Responses may include charts, checklists, tables, or cards. Version 1.0 defaults to Markdown replies and allows bots to render components when necessary.
How does the governance gateway work?
Every browser click, file write, MCP tool call, and component render passes through a single gateway. The system evaluates a CEL policy, logs an audit row, and only then performs the action. Deny rules execute before allow rules, meaning a broken rule results in a refusal rather than an open failure.
The business tier adds several layers of control:
- Single sign-on and SCIM sync for users and groups. Documentation covers Google, Microsoft Entra, and Okta, plus SAML and OIDC.
- On-behalf-of tokens, typically scoped to a subset of a user’s permissions.
- Tool grants assigned per bot, role, or individual, requiring admin approval for new access requests.
- Policies that block specific actions or route sensitive work to human approval.
- Spending visibility by bot, role, team, or person, alongside daily, weekly, or monthly token limits.
- A full audit trail with SIEM export, multi-tenancy, and an admin plane.
- EU AI Act content labeling, retention controls, and deletion on request. CopilotKit maintains SOC 2 Type II certification.
Which agents and models can you bring?
Any agent speaking the AG-UI protocol connects directly. The project site lists eight supported frameworks: Claude Agent SDK, OpenAI Agents SDK, LangChain, Google ADK, Mastra, AWS Strands, Microsoft Agent Framework, and CrewAI. The repository also includes examples for Agno, AG2, LlamaIndex, and Pydantic AI.
Teams can use OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, or Grok via existing subscriptions or API keys. Open models such as Kimi, DeepSeek, Qwen, Nemotron, and Mistral are also supported. Sandboxes, MCP hubs, and browsers act as swappable lanes.
What is new in OpenBot 1.0?
- A desktop application for Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows, featuring signed updates and backups before upgrades.
- Teach a Bot: record a task once, then Learning converts the recording into a reusable skill for review.
- Multiple accounts per app via Composio and Arcade, with approval rules saved per account. Composio alone brokers hundreds of apps.
- Orchestration: one bot can hand work to specialist bots, subject to admin-granted pairs and depth limits.
- Early access for iOS, Android, Slack (through OpenTag) and Microsoft Teams.
How do you deploy it?
Personal use runs locally, storing workspace data and API keys on the machine. For enterprise, a single Helm chart deploys into AWS EKS, Azure AKS, Google Cloud GKE, or any Kubernetes cluster.
Pricing is free for personal projects. OpenBot for Business costs up to $29 per active user per month. A 5% charge applies only to model spend exceeding $5,000 per month. The Annual plan includes air-gapped deployment and 24/7 support. Forward-deployed engineers assist teams with rollout.
Example use cases
- Ticket triage: route new support tickets, then post to Slack after human approval.
- Expense review: check each claim line against policy and flag overages.
- Ops workflows: identify problems and draft fixes for human approval.
How does OpenBot compare?
| Feature | OpenBot 1.0 | OpenAI dots | OpenClaw |
| Code license | MIT | Closed | MIT |
| Where it runs | Laptop, your VPC, any Kubernetes | OpenAI cloud computer per dot | Your machine, VPS or server |
| Models | OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Kimi, DeepSeek, Qwen, Nemotron, Mistral | GPT-6 Astra | Model-agnostic |
| Bring your own agent | Any AG-UI agent, 8+ frameworks | Not disclosed | Built around its own agent |
| Policy before each action | Yes, CEL gateway, fail closed | User-set approval rules | Not disclosed |
| SSO / SCIM | Yes (business tier) | Enterprise admin controls, beta | Not disclosed |
| Apps / tools | Composio, Arcade, MCP | 4,000+ apps | Plugins and skills |
| Price | Free personal; up to $29/user/month | First dot included in ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium | Free; you pay for models and hosting |
OpenBot 1.0 is MIT-licensed and self-hostable, from laptop to Kubernetes. Any AG-UI agent and nine model families plug in. Every bot action passes a policy check before execution. The business tier costs up to $29 per active user per month.
Further details are available on the GitHub repo, v1.0.0 release notes, and open.bot.
