Delivery matrix
Mounted artifact behavior
WhenOPENWORK_INSTALLER_ARTIFACTS_DIR points at a mounted directory and the expected file exists, Den streams that file directly. It does not fetch from GitHub, cache on first request, rewrap, ZIP, or hold the whole installer in memory.
The expected filename depends on the deployment. A self-hosted Den (single-org mode, the default) serves the enterprise distribution; the hosted multi-org OpenWork Cloud serves the cloud distribution. Install links never serve the public openwork-<platform>-<version> filenames. The version in the filename is the resolved release tag without a leading v:
openwork-enterprise-mac-arm64-<version>.dmgopenwork-enterprise-mac-x64-<version>.dmgopenwork-enterprise-win-x64-<version>.exeopenwork-enterprise-linux-x86_64-<version>.AppImageopenwork-enterprise-linux-arm64-<version>.AppImage
openwork-cloud- instead of openwork-enterprise-. A mounted file with any other name is ignored and the request falls through to the GitHub redirect.
OPENWORK_INSTALLER_RELEASE_REPO controls the GitHub redirect path when Den does not find a mounted artifact. It is not an internal artifact registry setting.
Which version is installed
Den resolves one release version per download request, in this order:- If the organization’s
allowedDesktopVersionsdesktop policy is set, the highest listed version wins. This is the way to pin a fleet or to opt into a newer desktop than the Den itself. - Otherwise, if
OPENWORK_INSTALLER_RELEASE_TAGis set on Den API, that tag wins. - Otherwise, a self-hosted Den running a published release image installs its own release version (the
versionreported byGET /healthon Den API), so a self-hosted control plane never hands out a desktop newer than itself by default. Hosted OpenWork Cloud, and Den builds without a release version, install the latest published stable release instead.
One-origin steady state and install-link exchange
For normal signed-in desktop traffic, prefer one desktop-facing Den web origin. The desktop derives API and MCP paths through that origin’s/api/den proxy.
If DEN_API_PUBLIC_URL is configured as a separate API origin, the one-time Open OpenWork install-link exchange must also reach that API origin. External MCP clients that use the published MCP URL must reach it too. This does not mean every steady-state desktop request needs both origins in the single-origin topology.
Managed fleets: enterprise binary + MDM
This page covers install-link delivery of the standard installer. Managed fleets typically skip the install-link handoff entirely: deploy the OpenWork Enterprise binary through MDM and writedesktop-bootstrap.json during provisioning so the first launch already targets your Den server. See Enterprise desktop deployment for the artifact names, bootstrap file reference, and what MDM does not need to push.