Quill Cowork

Quill Cowork is an open-source, native macOS coding agent built entirely in Swift and SwiftUI — no Electron or web-app shell. It is developed by the Lore-Hex organization and published under the Apache License 2.0, with tester builds currently available for both Apple silicon and Intel Macs running macOS 14 or later.

What It Is

Quill Cowork is a desktop AI coding agent that integrates project-aware chat, file editing, Git management, shell execution, browser sessions, macOS Computer Use controls, scheduled automations, and MCP server support into a single SwiftUI application. The agent runtime itself is written in Swift, making it a rare example of a coding agent whose implementation language matches its primary target platform. It connects to the TrustedRouter model catalog for live model access, and also supports developer API keys for direct model configuration.

Native Swift Architecture

The decision to write both the desktop app and the agent runtime in Swift is a deliberate architectural choice documented in the README. This eliminates the Electron or web-app shell layer common in many AI coding tools, resulting in bounded background work, persistent local state, and a verified updater with automatic rollback — all built into the Swift architecture. The app uses Swift 6 and Swift Package Manager, and can be built from source with standard swift build and swift test commands.

What You Can Do

Quill Cowork covers a broad surface area of developer workflows in a single app:

• Read, search, edit, and review files; run shell commands; inspect Git diffs; manage branches, worktrees, commits, pushes, and pull requests
• Use an integrated terminal, browser session, screenshots, and macOS Computer Use controls
• Run concurrent chats, side conversations, code reviews, scheduled automations, and reusable recorded workflows
• Add skills, plugins, hooks, and MCP servers with visible approval and workspace boundaries
• Choose from the live TrustedRouter model catalog or use named model profiles
• Track TrustedRouter usage across daily, weekly, monthly, and total limits, and set a Task Limit before long-running tasks

Reliability and Update Model

The README describes several reliability features built into the app. Downloads are size- and SHA-256-verified; the app identity and code signature are checked before installation; the packaged source commit must match the public manifest; activation is atomic; and the previous build is restored if a new build cannot finish launching. Unsent composer text is checkpointed after a brief typing pause and immediately when the app becomes inactive or quits, and is restored after an unexpected exit without rewriting the full chat transcript on every keystroke. After an unexpected exit, the next successful launch identifies whether the prior session ended during startup or while running and offers a privacy-safe GitHub issue report path.

Current Status: Tester Preview

As of the latest available information, Quill Cowork is in a public tester preview stage. Tester builds are automatically built from verified main branch commits, are ad-hoc code-signed, and are self-updating. The README notes that stable release infrastructure — including Developer ID signing, notarization, and stable update feeds — is implemented, but the first stable release awaits the repository's Apple distribution credentials. A CLI artifact is also available for macOS (arm64 and x86_64) and Linux (x86_64), all at tester preview status. The repository was created in mid-2026 and shows active development with regular pushes.