Product · Cortex Cowork

The desktop agent that stays with your LCA project.

LCA work doesn't fit in one conversation. Cowork runs on your machine, reads your files, and carries the boundary decisions, the proxy log, and the supplier data — across sessions, across restarts.

Download Cortex Desktop See what it handles

Available on your machine

No login required to install. Login required to sync cloud services and run database searches.

macOS

live

Apple Silicon (M1–M4) and Intel · .dmg

Gatekeeper: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway on first launch.

Windows

live

.exe installer

Linux

live

.AppImage or .deb (dpkg -i)

What it's good for

§ I–IV

Four workflows Chat can't run.

Cowork operates on your files, executes tools locally, and picks up where the last session ended. These four workflows show what that means in practice.

§ I

BOM processing

Before

Open Excel + query databases one by one + log results manually.

After

Upload the BOM. Cortex identifies materials, runs cross-database matching, and fills in missing datasets — row by row, with every match sourced.

Cortex reads your BOM file directly from disk. It searches HiQLCD, Ecoinvent, and EF in parallel per row, flags rows where coverage is below threshold, and writes the matched GWP values back into a new Excel file. No copy-paste. No tab-switching.

BOM.xlsx → parallel search → matched GWP · source · DQI per row

§ II

Scope 3 calculation

Before

Consult GHG Protocol documentation + ask an AI separately + classify categories by hand.

After

Provide the activity data file. Cortex classifies categories automatically, builds the data-collection checklist, and runs the calculation.

All 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories are supported. Cortex handles upstream, downstream, and use-phase classifications — including avoided-emissions credit (Category 13 / C5). The output is a calculation file with category totals and factor sources, not a black-box number.

Activity data in → 15 categories · factor matching · calculation out

§ III

openLCA operation

Before

Learn the openLCA interface + build flows by hand + read the documentation.

After

Describe what you need. Cortex connects to openLCA, matches background datasets, builds the product system, and runs the calculation.

Cortex does not replace openLCA — it drives it. Start openLCA's IPC server, point Cowork at your BOM file, and describe the goal in plain language. Cortex handles the dataset matching, system construction, circular-reference resolution, and result export. Your openLCA instance is the model; Cortex is the operator.

openLCA IPC → dataset match → product system built → results exported

§ IV

EPD report generation

Before

Find the template + copy data out of the LCA software + fill in Word by hand.

After

One conversation trigger. Cortex applies the standard template, pulls from the calculation results, and outputs a complete EPD report.

The output follows the EPD standard structure. Cortex pulls declared unit, system boundary, reference flows, and LCIA results from the calculation — and formats them into a .docx file ready for review. No reformatting. No re-entry.

Calculation results → EPD template applied → .docx report out

The same rigor. Your files.

Cowork inherits Cortex's core reasoning rules: top-k candidates ranked by DQI, three human-in-the-loop gates (coverage below 80%, proxy required, cross-database spread exceeds 2×), and every assumption named. In Cowork, those gates fire inside a multi-step session, and decisions accumulate across days.

How Cortex reasons →

Which Cortex

§ V

When to use Cowork instead of Chat.

Cortex Chat answers questions. Cortex Cowork runs workflows — on your machine, in your project folder, across as many sessions as the work takes.

	Cortex Chat	Cortex Cowork
Session history	Cloud-synced	Local only
File access	No local files	Full read/write
Script execution	Not available	Local execution
Skills system	Limited	Full skills marketplace + custom MCP
LCA database search	Yes	Yes
Best for	Quick queries, methodology Q&A	BOM matching, report generation, project work

Meet Cortex Chat →

Install once. Pick up where you left off.

Cowork keeps the project context between restarts: the decisions made, the proxy choices logged, the rows already matched. The next session starts where the last one ended.

Download Cortex Desktop Questions · info@hiqlcd.com