- Open source
- Yes
- Bring your own model
- Yes
- The computer it works on
- One isolated sandbox per session
- Where it runs and who hosts it
- Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or on-prem. Self-host is free.
- How you keep control
- Approval gates you set. Off until you set them.
- How finished work reaches you
- Through a change request a person approves
- Cost to start
- Self-host is free
Five alternatives, compared on who owns the machine
The open-source AI Operating System
The open-source OpenAI Dots alternative you host and own
Most lists of OpenAI Dots alternatives point at another assistant to sign up to. If the machine and the rules have to be yours, compare the ones you host. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own, with the agents working on real cloud computers.
Open source · Self-host is free · Approval gates you set
20,000+ GitHub starsSession work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents.
Six ways to get an always-on agent, and the one that hands you the machine
Six products that give an agent its own computer, judged on who holds the machine and who writes the rules, and Kortix is the pick when both have to be yours.
- Open source
- No
- Bring your own model
- No
- The computer it works on
- A cloud computer per Bot
- Where it runs and who hosts it
- Grok's own cloud, from desktop or phone
- How you keep control
- It comes back when a job needs approval
- How finished work reaches you
- Finished in your tools and inbox
- Cost to start
- Included with SuperGrok or Cursor plans
- Open source
- No
- Bring your own model
- No
- The computer it works on
- A Secure VM shared with you
- Where it runs and who hosts it
- Meta's cloud, plus a Mac app and WhatsApp
- How you keep control
- Allow once, always allow, or deny
- How finished work reaches you
- In the app, with an audit trail
- Cost to start
- Free with a usage limit, then paid
- Open source
- Yes
- Bring your own model
- Yes
- The computer it works on
- Your own machine's files and shell
- Where it runs and who hosts it
- The Mac, Windows or Linux machine you install it on
- How you keep control
- Full access or sandboxed, your choice
- How finished work reaches you
- In your files and chat channels
- Cost to start
- You install it yourself; you bring the models
- Open source
- Yes
- Bring your own model
- Yes
- The computer it works on
- A terminal on the backend you choose
- Where it runs and who hosts it
- A $5 VPS, a GPU cluster, or serverless
- How you keep control
- The code and config are yours to change
- How finished work reaches you
- In your terminal and chat channels
- Cost to start
- You install it yourself; you pay for compute
- Open source
- Yes
- Bring your own model
- Yes
- The computer it works on
- A computer you give each Dot
- Where it runs and who hosts it
- The infrastructure you deploy it to
- How you keep control
- Drafts wait for your approval
- How finished work reaches you
- Saved after you approve
- Cost to start
- You host it yourself; you pay for infrastructure
CopilotKit OpenDots is a template you deploy and run; the other five are products you install or subscribe to.
Open source means the rule file, the runtime and the connectors are files you can read.
The rule file, the machine image and the change history stay in a repo the company keeps, which a template you copy once does not give you.
20,000+GitHub stars
What people ask before they leave Dots
What Dots is, how to start one, and which parts of it you can own.
What is dots by OpenAI?
Dots are OpenAI's always-on agents: each has its own cloud computer, learns from feedback, and works toward your goals around the clock. They run on GPT-6 Astra and reach you through ChatGPT, Slack or Teams.
How to use OpenAI dots?
Create your dot in the ChatGPT mobile app, the desktop app or desktop web, connect the apps it may use, and message it like a chat; Slack and texting are connected from a desktop session. On Pro access is limited to people 18 and older outside the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK, and Business Premium depends on the workspace.
Who owns the computer an OpenAI dot runs on?
OpenAI does. A dot works on a cloud computer OpenAI runs, and your own computer stays separate unless you connect it. Open source gives you that choice: run the agent on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network.
How is an OpenAI Dots alternative different from Dots?
The alternative gives you the rule file as well as the machine. On Dots, the cloud computer and the Custom Rules both sit in your OpenAI account; with Kortix the rules are files in a git repo you own, and session work reaches main through a change request a person approves.
Own the computer your agents work on
Start with one job on Kortix Cloud, or run it on your own network.