Workshop AI: Building Apps with Cloud and Local Agents (GLM 5, Qwen 3.5)

Melvin Vivas · X video post · 2026-03-27 · 3:50 · 384 views · Open on X

Topics: AI Dev Tools & Productivity, AI Agents, Tool Use & MCP · Level: beginner

Summary

This is a reshared launch demo for Workshop AI, an agentic tool that builds apps. You can use it in the browser (Workshop Cloud) or on your own computer (Workshop Desktop). The demo starts a social media post generator in the cloud using OpenAI for text and Google's Nano Banana for images. It then finishes the same project offline with a local model. Melvin Vivas adds that Workshop Desktop also works offline with the open models GLM 5 and Qwen 3.5. The video is mostly a product launch, but it shows a useful pattern: build in the cloud, then keep developing with a local model.

Key points

• Workshop AI has two parts: Workshop Cloud runs in the browser with its own compute environment, and Workshop Desktop lets agents use your own computer.
• On Desktop you can use frontier models or run local models (the post names GLM 5 and Qwen 3.5) offline, privately and with no usage limit.
• A built-in hub connects agents to AI models, databases and tools, so you don't have to set up separate provider accounts.
• Agents pull in relevant 'skills' as needed, such as front-end design, Stripe for payments or Salesforce for CRM.
• Cloud agents can browse the web, run code, analyze data and visualize results. Workshop also handles research tasks and can import existing projects.
• Workflow shown: describe the app, build it in the cloud, publish it with access limited to your team, download the project to Desktop, then add features with a local model.
• Launch offers: $250k in Gemini AI credits (including Nano Banana) given away, free app hosting for the first month, and free unlimited local AI on Desktop.

Resources mentioned

• Workshop AI (Workshop Cloud & Workshop Desktop) · tool · workshop.ai · check price
  An agentic AI system for building websites, AI apps, dashboards and internal tools, running in the cloud or on your desktop with local models.
• GLM-5 · tool · github.com · free
  An open-weight large language model from Zhipu AI (Z.ai) that can run locally.
  Also in: Z.ai's Lessons from Serving GLM-5 for Coding Agents at Scale (Melvin Vivas on X · notes)
• Qwen 3.5 · tool · qwen.ai · free
  Alibaba Qwen open model family with small on-device variants and toggleable reasoning.
  Also in: Qwen3.5 0.8B Does Real-Time Local Video Captioning (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Qwen3.5 0.8B Real-Time Video Captioning on Mac Studio (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Qwen 3.5 Is the Local Model That Holds Up in Claude Code (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Free, Unlimited Agentic AI with Local Qwen 3.5 (Melvin Vivas on X · notes) and 7 more
• OpenAI API · tool · platform.openai.com · paid · recommended by both Bashiri Smith & Melvin Vivas
  OpenAI API documentation, including function calling and structured outputs.
  Also in: How to Relearn LLMs & RAG in 2026: A 7-Step Roadmap with Free Resources (Bashiri Smith on Facebook · notes), Livestream: Building a React Native ChatGPT App with Cursor and OpenAI (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), GPT-Live-1: OpenAI's Full-Duplex Voice Model for Voice Agents in the API (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), The 3 Levels of AI Engineering: LLM Apps → Production → Agentic Systems (Bashiri Smith on Facebook · notes) and 4 more
• Nano Banana · tool · deepmind.google · free
  Google's Gemini image generation and editing model.
  Also in: Using GPT Image 2 in Freepik (vs Nano Banana) (Melvin Vivas on X · notes)
• Gemini · tool · gemini.google.com · free
  Google's multimodal AI model family. In this prototype it interprets voice, pointer position and on-screen content, and writes code to act on what the user wants.
  Also in: Multimodal AI Pointer: Combining Voice, Mouse Pointing and Vision with Gemini (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Why Claude Works Well as a Brainstorming Partner (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Building a Nano Banana 2 Image-Gen App with Memex Managed AI Connectors (Melvin Vivas on X · notes)
• Stripe · tool · stripe.com · check price
  A payments platform. Workshop agents can use a Stripe skill to set up payments.
  Also in: Is Indie Hacking Dead? How AI Coding Changes the Micro-SaaS Playbook (Melvin Vivas on X · notes)
• Salesforce · tool · salesforce.com · paid
  A CRM platform. Workshop agents can use a Salesforce skill to work with CRM data.
  Also in: Grok Bot Connects to Sales Tools (Salesforce, HubSpot, Gong) (Melvin Vivas on X · notes)

Try this

• Sign up and get started at Workshop.ai.
• Try Workshop Desktop with a local model such as GLM 5 or Qwen 3.5 for private, offline, unlimited use.
• Check the launch giveaway of Gemini AI credits (including Nano Banana).
• A social media post generator that writes in your brand voice (OpenAI) and creates matching images (Nano Banana).
• Extend the generator with brand context and reference images, using a local model on your desktop.
• Build an internal team tool or dashboard and publish it with access limited to your team.