Agents, memory, configuration: the ownership question Claude Coworkand ChatGPT Work
Buy an AI Operating System and you are choosing who owns three things: the agents, the memory, the configuration. A closed suite holds all three inside the vendor’s product. Kortix is open source, and all three live as files in a git repo your company owns.
The open-source AI Operating System
Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free.
Open source · Configuration in a git repo · Any model, your keys
# Kortix project manifest. Source of truth for project-wide config that# lives in git alongside the code.agents: kortix: file: agents/kortix.md connectors: allcurl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bashkortix init my-agentcd my-agentkortix shipEach card is one session’s output: a sheet, a diff or a checklist, sitting in the repo next to the code.
Procurement
A trigger starts a session before each renewal date, checks usage against the contract and drafts the renewal memo.
| Vendor | Annual cost | Usage | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwind CRM | $18,000 | 71% of seats | Renegotiate |
| Initech SSO | $9,600 | All seats active | Renew |
| Globex analytics | $22,400 | 12% of seats | Cancel |
Engineering
The session bumps the library on its own branch, runs the tests and opens the change request with the failures it fixed.
+2 −2
Security
A monthly trigger lists every account with standing access, checks the list against the role sheets and drafts the revocations.
People
After each loop the session files the scorecards, compares them with the role bar and drafts the decision memo.
| Stage | Verdict | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio review | Strong | Distributed tracing design |
| Systems deep-dive | Hire | Scaled the ingest pipeline |
| Values | Mixed | Reference pending |
Kortix first, then the two closed products, on the four rows that decide ownership.
Open source
Where your configuration lives
Models
Self-hosting
Rival cells quote each vendor’s own product page, October 2026.
GitHub stars on the public repo
Answers stand alone; facts that move carry a date.
One layer that runs the company’s agent work instead of a separate app per task. Kortix maps each operating-system part to a feature: processes are sessions, the file system is the project repo, programs are agents and skills, drivers are connectors, and updates are change requests.
Yes. Kortix is open source: agents, skills, memory, triggers and connectors are files in the repo, and session work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents.
A framework is a library you call from your own code; you run it and you host it. An operating system runs the work: on Kortix, each session has its own isolated machine and branch, started by you, by a trigger, or from Slack.
Yes. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free.
Yes. Kortix is one, and the whole system is open source: agents, memory and configuration are files in a git repo your company owns.
Yes. Kortix runs agent work the way an operating system runs a computer: sessions are its processes, agents and skills are its programs, and connectors are its drivers.
Kortix. Of the three compared on this page, it is the only open-source option, while Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work keep configuration inside their apps.
Yes. A Kortix session is an agent operating its own isolated machine: in the engineering example on this page, the session bumps a library, runs the tests and opens the change request. Self-host, and the machines sit on your own on-prem network.
Three commands to start; the configuration is git from day one.