Lapu AI vs open-computer-use

Lapu AI is a desktop agent for carrying out multi-step tasks with files, terminals and desktop applications on macOS and Windows. Give it a plain-language goal and it plans steps, selects tools and can pause for approval. It controls applications through interfaces exposed by the operating system, rather than taking over the mouse and keyboard. Workflows can be packaged as reusable skills and scheduled. It can operate services such as Notion, Slack, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 through desktop or signed-in browser interfaces, without native connectors. Files, documents, folders, application data and audit logs remain on the user's machine; only context needed for a reasoning step is sent to the model provider. High-risk actions require explicit confirmation, and local action logs are retained by default for up to 90 days. The native app requires macOS 12 Monterey or later on Apple Silicon, or Windows 10 or 11 on 64-bit x86_64, with at least 4 GB RAM. A free plan is available; paid plans are listed from $20/mo.

open-computer-use is a free, MIT-licensed local MCP server that lets AI agents inspect and operate desktop applications through accessibility interfaces. Its nine core tools cover app discovery, accessibility-tree and screenshot capture, clicking, scrolling, dragging, typing, key presses, secondary actions, and control-value changes. The project says it runs entirely on the user’s machine and uses the accessibility layer for core app actions without taking over the physical mouse and keyboard. Setup documentation covers Codex CLI and App, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and opencode, with manual configuration for other MCP clients. A ZCode plugin installs the skill and connects an MCP server. macOS 14 or later requires Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions. Windows and Linux use a signed-in desktop session, and Linux requires AT-SPI2. Additional window-level tools are currently available on Windows, while macOS and Linux support is in progress. Password managers are refused; app launching, focus changes, and global input injection require explicit environment-variable gates. The project warns that high-privilege automation should be used only on authorized machines.