Task Machine vs OpenWork
OpenWork runs OpenCode through desktop and browser apps with shared tools and models. Task Machine organizes agent work around Tasks, Goals and reviewed plans.
Visit OpenWork Switching from OpenWork? Read the migration guideTask Machine and OpenWork, point by point
Built from each company's public pages. Every answer links to its source and shows when we last checked it. The oldest check on this page was November 13, 2026.
| What you compare | Task Machine | OpenWork |
|---|---|---|
| Goals |
Task Machine
Yes
Give a Goal an agent lead and link Metrics, such as weekly signups or open pipeline value. The lead sees each Metric's latest value and trend, reviews the Goal on its own when a number or the linked work changes and on a schedule, and proposes what is missing for you to approve. |
OpenWork
Not published
Its public docs do not describe an agent or named owner tracking a measurable goal and reviewing progress against its target. |
| Leads |
Task Machine
Yes
Goals, Projects and Teams each have a lead, a person or an agent. A Goal lead checks that the work can still reach the outcome. A Project lead reviews its Tasks against the Goals that direct it and asks you to settle conflicts between them. A Team lead triages the queue. Every gap becomes a proposal you approve. |
OpenWork
Not published
Its docs describe administrative owners and a custom Team lead permission role, but no person or agent lead responsible for reviewing and coordinating project, goal or team work. |
| Tasks |
Task Machine
Yes
Every job is a Task that a person or an agent owns. The Task keeps its plan, discussion, decisions, runs and history together, so you can steer one job in detail without reading a chat log, and people and agents hand work to each other on the same record. |
OpenWork
Partly
Work stays in chats you can name, group, archive and restore, and Automation runs keep history. Its docs do not describe work records assignable to both people and agents. |
| Recurring work |
Task Machine
Yes
Start a Task or Workflow once, on a schedule in your timezone, or when a service event arrives, such as a paid invoice or a pull request review. A recurring job keeps one stable root Task and gives each occurrence its own status and history, so repeated work does not flood your board. |
OpenWork
Yes
Automations run once, daily, weekly or around Google Calendar meetings, on desktop or in Cloud. An incoming Slack mention or direct message also starts agent work, but that bot is private alpha for approved organizations. |
| Workflows |
Task Machine
Yes
A Workflow repeats your steps in the same order every time, with branches, human questions and approvals, and verifier checks that judge each result against its requirements and send weak work back with feedback. Every run keeps a step-by-step history you can read afterwards. |
OpenWork
Yes
A successful Code Mode script can become a reusable Workflow, and an exact saved version runs with supplied inputs and live tools. Its API records an execution receipt and validates input and output schemas. |
| Autonomy |
Task Machine
Yes
Consequential decisions land in your Inbox with their context. You set what each agent may do on its own: every action is either Ask first or Automatic, per agent, and you can change that whenever the work or the stakes change. |
OpenWork
Yes
Enterprise Agent permissions can allow, ask first or block commands, file edits and websites, and members answer permission requests in their sessions. This feature is rolling out and requires the OpenCode v2 engine. |
| Learned autonomy |
Task Machine
Yes
Task Machine studies the approvals and corrections you already make. When an agent does well it proposes giving it more freedom, and when it needs closer supervision it proposes tighter review, each with the evidence. A short lucky streak is not enough, and nothing changes until you accept. |
OpenWork
Not published
Its docs do not describe proposals to change action permissions based on approval history. Editable skills and administrator-set permission rules do not establish that behavior. |
| Memory |
Task Machine
Yes
Agents keep lessons from your corrections, such as an accepted example or a mistake to avoid, and carry the relevant notes into later work. Memory is kept per agent, project, goal, team and workspace, and you can read, correct and restore any note. |
OpenWork
Yes
You can turn a completed chat into a reusable skill, edit its instructions in chat or Cloud and use it in later work. Cross-chat recall also searches saved session history rather than a separate long-term memory database. |
| Planning |
Task Machine
Yes
Plan in Chat with your agents, and the plan becomes Tasks or Library documents instead of staying in a chat log. Before an agent starts, you review its plan and the acceptance criteria its work will be judged against. |
OpenWork
Yes
OpenWork runs the OpenCode engine and uses its configuration. OpenCode's Plan agent explores without ordinary file edits and can write plan files when asked, so planning can produce an artifact before execution. |
| Intake |
Task Machine
Yes
Send work in over HTTP with a project token. It lands in the project as a Task, or in your Inbox as a proposal first. A team lead agent triages it to the right owner and asks you only when the decision is yours. |
OpenWork
Yes
In its private-alpha Slack bot, a mention or direct message reaches the invoking member's assistant with that member's connected-service access. Each member gets a separate session, even in the same Slack thread. |
| Connectors |
Task Machine
Yes
Install services from a catalog as MCP servers, APIs or command-line tools, or add your own custom Connector for any of the three. Events Connectors receive webhooks from a service, such as a paid invoice, and start Workflows or wake a waiting Task. |
OpenWork
Partly
A catalog and custom MCP addresses connect Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and Slack. Its connector guide does not describe custom HTTP/API connector definitions or general webhook triggers, and incoming Slack bot requests remain private alpha. |
| Models |
Task Machine
Yes
Auto is the default. For each stage of the work it chooses a model from the task, current model capabilities, pricing and your applicable budgets, and you can fix a specific model on an agent when you want to. |
OpenWork
Yes
Smart Routers choose a model and thinking level for each prompt from administrator-selected AI Gateway models tagged by task. The following tool steps keep that model and thinking level until the task ends. |
| Cloud or your own computer |
Task Machine
Yes
Run agents in Managed Cloud with nothing to install, or connect a Local Worker, a computer you control, for local files, tools and accounts. You choose where each agent runs. |
OpenWork
Yes
The desktop app runs on your computer, OpenWork Web offers a cloud computer in a browser, and the platform can be self-hosted. The browser computer is a separate paid add-on. |
| Your own subscription |
Task Machine
Yes
Sign in to your ChatGPT (Codex), Claude or GitHub Copilot subscription on a Local Worker, and the agents there use it instead of Task Machine's models. |
OpenWork
Yes
The desktop app accepts your provider API key, ChatGPT sign-in or local model. Team plans also distribute your own provider keys through the organization. |
| Pricing |
Task Machine
Yes
Usage based. From $29 a month before tax, the whole payment becomes usage that your workspace shares across people and agents, with no base fee and no trial. Larger monthly amounts lower the AI and Cloud rates. |
OpenWork
Partly
Desktop is free and Free covers five users. Team is $10 per user per month, billed monthly, and Enterprise is custom. Cloud computers add $50 per member monthly and models $10 per user monthly. These are seat plans, not usage billing. |
| Correctness |
Task Machine
Yes
Every Task carries acceptance requirements, and each one gets a Pass, Fail or Uncertain check against the delivered work before a person reviews it. Workflow steps can add a verifier check that sends failed work back with feedback. You review the plan first, so the criteria exist before work starts. |
OpenWork
Yes
Saving a Workflow requires a successful tested run, and execution rejects input or output that fails its defined schema. These checks cover saved scripts rather than acceptance criteria on every chat task. |
For software work
| What you compare | Task Machine | OpenWork |
|---|---|---|
| Code review rules |
Task Machine
Yes
Internal code review checks completed changes against the enabled rules of your repository. Rule discovery reads the repository and proposes rules, each screened against violating and valid examples first, and Task Machine suggests turning off a rule that agents keep dismissing. |
OpenWork
Yes
OpenWork uses OpenCode's configuration, whose custom reviewer can review changes with project instructions included. Review prompts and permissions are configured by you rather than discovered as a separate repository rule system. |
| Adversarial review |
Task Machine
Yes
When an approved plan has high sensitivity or a Critical review level, the change also gets an adversarial review. Two independent reviewers examine the changed files together for defects such as a broken caller or a duplicate charge on retry. Findings keep their reproduction steps, and a skipped or failed review never counts as a pass. |
OpenWork
Partly
Its OpenCode engine supports a reviewer subagent with fresh context and its own permissions. The published setup does not establish an independent second review specifically for risky changes. |
| Risk rating |
Task Machine
Yes
Before final review, Merge risk rates the exact revision Low, Moderate or High, with notes on alignment, impact, verification, rollback cost and error detection, plus file references. It informs your decision and never merges for you. |
OpenWork
Not published
Its public docs do not describe a risk rating for a code change before merge. Model routing for code review and configurable reviewers do not establish such a rating. |
| Pull requests |
Task Machine
Yes
Agents deliver against the exact reported revision, address review feedback and update the branch under your repository rules. Task Machine records its own approval of the exact commit before an agent may merge. |
OpenWork
Partly
OpenCode separately documents opening pull requests and responding to line-specific review comments through GitHub Actions. OpenWork's docs do not establish that delivery loop inside its desktop or Cloud chats. |
A fact we cannot find or cannot check is left out, and prices can change after the date shown. Task Machine publishes this comparison and is an interested party. OpenWork is named only to identify it, and there is no relationship between the two companies. Has something changed? Tell us.
Who each one suits
OpenWork suits you if you want a free desktop agent for authorized folders, with your own model account, reusable skills and tools shared by your team. This is OpenWork by OpenWork Labs, built on OpenCode.
Task Machine suits you if you want people and agents to own Tasks, review plans before execution and coordinate work around Goals with linked Metrics.
You may stay with OpenWork if its saved chats, scheduled Automations and shared model setup already fit your work. Its desktop app works without an OpenWork account, and its organization platform has a self-hosted option.
Chats, saved scripts and owned work
OpenWork keeps work in chats you can group, archive and reopen. Automations run on a schedule, with a chat and receipt for each run. Desktop Automations need the app open and signed in. Cloud Automations keep running when your computer is off.
Its saved Workflows go further than repeated prompts. A tested Code Mode script becomes a versioned Workflow, and execution checks its inputs and outputs against schemas. You can also save a completed chat as a skill and change those instructions later.
Task Machine keeps a job's plan, discussion, decisions and runs on one Task record that a person or agent owns. Workflows define steps and branches, with human questions, approvals and verifier feedback when a result misses its requirements.
Choose where the agent runs
OpenWork offers a local desktop app, an optional browser workspace on a cloud computer and self-hosted deployment. Its desktop app is MIT licensed. The organization control plane under ee/ uses a separate source-available license, so the whole platform should not be described as MIT.
Task Machine runs agents in Managed Cloud or on a Local Worker that you control. Its Inbox collects consequential decisions with their context, while OpenWork's Enterprise Agent permissions configure which actions ask first. Those OpenWork controls are rolling out and require its newer engine.
What the prices cover
OpenWork's desktop app is free and uses a model you supply. Its Free organization plan covers up to five users. Team costs $10 per user per month, billed monthly, and includes cloud Automations and shared provider keys. Enterprise has custom pricing on an annual contract. On Team and Enterprise, a Cloud Computer adds $50 per member per month and OpenWork models add $10 per user per month. Prices exclude taxes. Managed models have shared usage limits rather than a published unlimited allowance.
Task Machine is usage based, from $29 a month before tax. The whole payment becomes usage shared by the workspace, with no base fee. You keep 100% of your revenue, Task Machine takes no cut and never takes custody of your accounts. See pricing for what consumes usage.
Common questions
Is this the OpenWork built on OpenCode?
Yes. OpenWork Labs' app runs the OpenCode engine and reads its skills, MCP servers and configuration. It adds desktop access and team sharing rather than replacing the engine.
Can OpenWork run while my laptop is off?
Yes. Cloud Automations run in OpenWork Cloud. Desktop Automations need the desktop app open and signed in.
Can I bring my own model account?
Yes. OpenWork's desktop accepts API keys, a ChatGPT sign-in or a local model. Task Machine supports connected AI subscriptions on a Local Worker, and Managed Cloud uses Task Machine's models.
Does OpenWork charge for usage or seats?
Its public Team price is per user per month, with separate cloud-computer and managed-model add-ons. Task Machine's monthly payment becomes shared usage instead of a seat charge.