# Eigent on Linux: the open-source alternative for headless, always-on agents

> Eigent ships as a desktop app that runs local-first on one machine, and its own repo documents no headless server target. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System built for exactly that: each session runs on its own isolated cloud computer, so agents keep working after your laptop closes.

URL: https://eigentalternative.com/eigent-on-linux

## What Eigent is built to run on

Eigent is an open-source Cowork desktop application built on the CAMEL multi-agent framework and packaged with Electron, the desktop app framework. [Eigent's own repository](https://github.com/eigent-ai/eigent) describes it as desktop software that runs local-first on the machine you install it on, with a FastAPI backend and a Uvicorn server running beside the interface. Its [download page](https://www.eigent.ai/download) offers builds for macOS, Windows and Linux desktops, and its [installation guide](https://www.eigent.ai/docs/installation) walks through the macOS `.dmg` and the Windows `.exe`.

A Linux build of Eigent is still a desktop app. It installs on one machine, belongs to the person at that machine, and depends on that machine staying awake for an agent to keep going. Eigent's repository documents a local backend that runs beside the desktop app; it does not document a headless deployment or a server-native target where agents run with no desktop in front of them, and its installation guide covers desktop installation only (both checked October 2026).

## Why a desktop app behaves differently from a server

A desktop agent runs inside an app window on one machine. When that machine sleeps, closes or goes home with its owner, the agent's work stops with it. A server-side agent runs on a computer that stays on somewhere else, so a long research run or an overnight data job finishes with nobody watching.

Teams that search for "Eigent on Linux" or "run Eigent on a server" usually want the second thing: agents on a machine that is not a teammate's laptop, reachable by more than one person, and kept running on its own. A Linux desktop build does not provide that, because the app is still bound to whichever machine it was installed on.

## Where agents run when the laptop closes

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. One isolated sandbox per session. Each session has its own isolated machine and branch. Thousands of agents in parallel on one config, each on its own cloud computer, so a team can widen a job without buying machines to host it.

The Kortix session model answers the headless question directly. A session starts from the web app, the CLI, Slack, Microsoft Teams or a scheduled trigger, and it keeps running whether or not a person is at a keyboard. Session work reaches `main` through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents, so finished work waits for a person's review before it lands. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free: [the self-hosting guide](/self-hosting-eigent-alternative) has the steps, or you can start in the cloud with [Try Kortix](https://kortix.com).

## What to check before you choose a fit

Three questions decide which kind of platform a team needs. Does the job have to finish with nobody at the keyboard, such as a nightly run or a report due at 9am? If so, the agent has to live on a computer that stays on. Does the team need one shared configuration, the same agents, skills and connectors for everyone? If so, a desktop install per person means rebuilding the setup on every machine. Does finished work need a gate before it lands? If so, the platform has to route changes through review.

Kortix is built for the yes answers, with one repo holding the agents, skills, memory and connectors and every session on a machine that is not a laptop. The [Kortix vs Eigent](/kortix-vs-eigent) comparison walks through the product differences, and the [how-to-use-Eigent walkthrough](/how-to-use-eigent) covers Eigent's own setup for anyone still weighing it.

## A trigger starts a session with nobody at the keyboard

`kortix.yaml`

```yaml
# kortix.yaml
triggers:
  - slug: daily-digest
    type: cron
    cron: '0 0 9 * * 1-5'
    prompt: Summarize yesterday's support tickets and open a change request with the digest.
```

Source: https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna

A scheduled trigger runs the job on its own cloud computer, so the work does not stop when the laptop does.