agent-cu vs Screenbox

agent-cu is a command-line tool for controlling desktop apps by clicking, typing, and reading interface information. It uses the accessibility tree that screen readers rely on to identify interface elements, then acts on them through references. Commands include snapshots, selectors, clicks, typing, scrolling, dragging, window management, and JSON output. Users can batch commands and reuse YAML workflows. The tool supports Electron apps through CDP, including Slack, Cursor, VS Code, Postman, Discord, and Notion. Its skill can be used with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Copilot, OpenCode, Cline, and 40+ other agents. agent-cu runs locally on macOS, Linux, and Windows; precompiled binaries are available for macOS Apple Silicon and Intel, Linux, and Windows. Installation instructions cover npm, pnpm, yarn, and bun. It requires explicit operating-system accessibility permissions to read and control apps. The project is free and MIT licensed. Its repository states that it is no longer maintained and recommends Cua and Cua Driver instead.

Screenbox gives AI agents isolated virtual desktops with real browsers and desktop applications. Each desktop includes Chromium with DevTools and extensions, plus tools such as file managers, terminals, and office applications. Agents can use 21 MCP tools across more than 100 actions, including screenshots, OCR, clicks, typing, shell access, file operations, and clipboard control. It connects to MCP clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor through stdio, streamable HTTP, or SSE. A web dashboard supports live viewing, agent management, snapshots, session logs, and a knowledge browser. Users can save and restore desktop states, including files and browser sessions, and clone desktops from templates. Activity can be viewed through RDP or noVNC, with mouse and keyboard control available. Desktops run in Docker containers with memory limits, network isolation, and no bind mounts; the maker cautions that they are not hardened sandboxes. The software is self-hosted and open source under AGPL-3.0. The maker says deployment data stays on the user's infrastructure and the software sends no telemetry to Screenbox or third parties. It requires about 2 GB of RAM per desktop and no GPU; idle desktops pause automatically.