Computer Use Agents

Anthropic

Claude Computer Use

Screenshot-and-control toolset exposed through the Anthropic API. Moves the mouse, types, and reads the screen of a full desktop environment you host yourself.

Anthropic exposes computer use as a toolset inside the standard Messages API rather than as a finished product. The model receives screenshots and returns actions — move, click, type, scroll, zoom — and you run the loop. Because the desktop is yours, the agent can reach any application on it, not just a browser. It left beta on 19 August 2026 as computer_toolset_20260801, and reached Google Cloud the following day.

Best for

Developers who want full desktop control and are willing to host the environment.

Watch out

You supply, sandbox and secure the machine it drives. That is real infrastructure work, and it is where most of the risk sits. The older computer_20251124 tool is now rejected outright on Claude Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5, so a pinned integration has to migrate before it can use the newest models.

Changelog

  1. Anthropic's SDKs ship base classes for the computer and browser toolsets
  2. Anthropic's newest models reject the old computer use tool outright
  3. Computer use and browser use land on Google Cloud
  4. Anthropic takes computer use out of beta and splits off a browser tool

Also in the directory

Agent S Open agentic framework for desktop control, with an emphasis on experience-based memory between runs. Cua Containerised desktop sandboxes for agents, with a focus on running macOS and Linux environments safely. Meta Muse Meta's personal agent. The Mac app, shipped in September 2026, acts inside native macOS applications — files, Messages, Calendar, Notes and mail — with permission.