The latest articles on DEV Community by Marowa Labs (@marowa_labs). https://dev.to/marowa_labs https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4053384%2F16858cc6-a962-491e-8092-d6b373a1b339.jpg https://dev.to/marowa_labs en Marowa Labs Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:07:19 +0000 https://dev.to/marowa_labs/building-workcontext-an-open-source-ai-powered-workspace-looking-for-contributors-c39 https://dev.to/marowa_labs/building-workcontext-an-open-source-ai-powered-workspace-looking-for-contributors-c39 <p>Hey DEV Community! 👋</p> <p>I'm Craig, founder at Marowa Labs. Over the past few months, I've been building <strong><a href="https://github.com/marowa-labs/workcontext" rel="noopener noreferrer">WorkContext</a></strong> — an open-source productivity workspace designed to eliminate tool sprawl by bringing writing, tasks, real-time collaboration, and grounded AI assistance under one roof.</p> <h2> 💡 Why WorkContext? </h2> <p>Most workspace AI tools trap you in proprietary ecosystems or charge heavy subscription markups. WorkContext takes a different approach:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Bring Your Own Key (BYOK):</strong> Connect your Google AI Studio, OpenAI, Anthropic, or OpenRouter keys directly. You pay AI providers at cost with zero vendor lock-in.</li> <li> <strong>Context-Aware AI:</strong> The assistant isn't just a generic chatbot; it reads your active documents, tasks, and history to give grounded answers.</li> <li> <strong>Real-Time Collaboration:</strong> Live multi-user editing with presence cursors and comments, powered by Yjs &amp; CRDTs (Hocuspocus).</li> <li> <strong>Smart Task Extraction:</strong> Highlight any text inside your docs to turn it into actionable tasks and deadlines instantly.</li> </ul> <h2> 🛠️ Tech Stack </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Frontend:</strong> Next.js 16 (App Router), React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, TipTap Editor, Radix UI</li> <li> <strong>Backend:</strong> Node.js, Express 5, TypeScript, Prisma 7</li> <li> <strong>Database &amp; Auth:</strong> PostgreSQL 17 + pgvector, Supabase Auth</li> <li> <strong>Real-time Engine:</strong> Hocuspocus + Yjs (CRDT)</li> </ul> <h2> 🤝 Looking for Contributors! </h2> <p>We're making a strong push to welcome open-source contributors! Whether you're looking to practice TypeScript, test Next.js 16, or dive into real-time CRDT architectures, there's a place for you.</p> <p>We already have beginner-friendly tasks set up:</p> <ul> <li>🏷️ Look for the <strong><code>good first issue</code></strong> tag on our <a href="https://github.com/marowa-labs/workcontext/issues" rel="noopener noreferrer">GitHub Issues</a> tab.</li> <li>Tasks include adding unit tests, UI empty states, and expanding <code>.env</code> documentation.</li> </ul> <h3> 🔗 Links </h3> <ul> <li>📦 <strong>GitHub Repo:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/marowa-labs/workcontext" rel="noopener noreferrer">marowa-labs/workcontext</a> </li> <li>🚀 <strong>Live Demo:</strong> <a href="https://workcontext.vercel.app/" rel="noopener noreferrer">workcontext.vercel.app</a> </li> </ul> <p>I’d love to hear your feedback on the architecture, UX, or feature ideas. Star the repository if you find it interesting! ⭐</p> opensource showdev nextjs typescript