Let Claude open apps, control the screen, click, type, and take screenshots on macOS.

Claude Code Computer Use

Status: Research preview. Requires Pro or Max plan. macOS only (CLI). Claude Code v2.1.85 or later. Not available on Team or Enterprise plans, non-interactive mode (-p), or third-party providers (Bedrock, Vertex, Foundry).

Let Claude open apps, control your screen, click, type, and take screenshots on macOS directly from the CLI. Build and validate native apps, debug visual issues, test GUI flows, and drive tools that have no CLI or API.

What You Can Do

Build and validate native apps: Claude writes Swift, compiles it, launches the app, clicks through every control, and verifies it works
End-to-end UI testing: Point Claude at a local Electron app and say "test the onboarding flow." Claude opens it, clicks through signup, screenshots each step. No Playwright or test harness needed
Debug visual and layout issues: Claude resizes windows, reproduces bugs, screenshots the broken state, patches CSS, and verifies the fix
Drive GUI-only tools: Interact with design tools, hardware control panels, the iOS Simulator, or proprietary apps without a CLI or API

When Computer Use Applies

Claude tries the most precise tool first and falls back to computer use only when nothing else can reach the task:

MCP server for the service (if configured)
Bash for shell commands
Claude in Chrome for browser work (if configured)
Computer use for native apps, simulators, and tools without an API

Enabling Computer Use

Computer use is a built-in MCP server called computer-use, disabled by default.

Run /mcp in an interactive session
Find computer-use in the server list and select Enable
The setting persists per project

On first use, macOS prompts for two permissions:

Accessibility: lets Claude click, type, and scroll
Screen Recording: lets Claude see what's on your screen

Grant both in System Settings. macOS may require restarting Claude Code after granting Screen Recording.

App Approval Per Session

Enabling the server does not grant access to every app. The first time Claude needs a specific app in a session, a prompt shows:

Which apps Claude wants to control
Any extra permissions requested (e.g., clipboard access)
How many other apps will be hidden while Claude works

Choose Allow for this session or Deny. Approvals last for the current session only.

App Warnings

Apps with broad reach show extra warnings:

Warning	Applies to
Equivalent to shell access	Terminal, iTerm, VS Code, Warp, and other IDEs
Can read or write any file	Finder
Can change system settings	System Settings

Claude's level of control also varies by app category: browsers and trading platforms are view-only, terminals and IDEs are click-only, and everything else gets full control.

How Claude Works on Your Screen

One Session at a Time

Computer use holds a machine-wide lock. If another session is already using your computer, new attempts fail with a message identifying which session holds the lock.

Apps Are Hidden While Claude Works

When Claude starts controlling your screen, other visible apps are hidden so Claude interacts only with approved apps. Your terminal stays visible and is excluded from screenshots, so you can watch and Claude never sees its own output. Hidden apps restore automatically when the turn finishes.

Stop at Any Time

A macOS notification appears: "Claude is using your computer - press Esc to stop." Press Esc anywhere to abort immediately, or press Ctrl+C in the terminal. Claude releases the lock, unhides apps, and returns control.

Safety

Unlike the sandboxed Bash tool, computer use runs on your actual desktop with access to the apps you approve. Built-in guardrails:

Per-app approval: Claude can only control apps you've approved in the current session
Sentinel warnings: apps granting shell, filesystem, or system settings access are flagged
Terminal excluded from screenshots: Claude never sees your terminal window
Global escape: Esc aborts computer use from anywhere (key press is consumed, so prompt injection can't use it to dismiss dialogs)
Lock file: only one session can control your machine at a time

Example Workflows

Validate a Native Build

Build the MenuBarStats target, launch it, open the preferences window,
and verify the interval slider updates the label. Screenshot the
preferences window when you're done.

Claude runs xcodebuild, launches the app, interacts with the UI, and reports findings.

Reproduce a Layout Bug

The settings modal clips its footer on narrow windows. Resize the app
window down until you can reproduce it, screenshot the clipped state,
then check the CSS for the modal container.

Test a Simulator Flow

Open the iOS Simulator, launch the app, tap through the onboarding
screens, and tell me if any screen takes more than a second to load.

CLI vs Desktop App

Feature	Desktop	CLI
Platforms	macOS and Windows	macOS only
Enable	Toggle in Settings > General (Desktop app)	Enable `computer-use` in `/mcp`
Denied apps list	Configurable in Settings	Not yet available
Auto-unhide toggle	Optional	Always on
Dispatch	Dispatch-spawned sessions can use computer use	Not applicable

Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
"Computer use is in use by another Claude session"	Finish or exit the other session. If it crashed, the lock releases automatically when Claude detects the process is gone
macOS permissions prompt keeps reappearing	Quit Claude Code completely and restart. Confirm your terminal app is listed in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording
`computer-use` doesn't appear in `/mcp`	Requires macOS, Claude Code v2.1.85+, Pro or Max plan, claude.ai auth (not Bedrock/Vertex/Foundry), and an interactive session (not `-p` non-interactive)

Computer Use