open-computer-use vs Pan-Agent

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.

Pan-Agent is a free, MIT-licensed, open-source AI assistant that runs on the user’s own machine. It can take screenshots, interpret screens, type, click, manage windows, run commands, and browse the web. The project lists more than 20 built-in tools, including terminal, filesystem, browser, web search, keyboard, mouse, vision, memory, and cron. It connects to OpenAI-compatible providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, Groq, Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, and llama.cpp. Cron expressions can schedule agent runs, while separate profiles isolate API keys, model settings, persona, memory, and skills. Telegram, Discord, and Slack bots work without a public URL. A headless local HTTP API runs on localhost:8642 and has a documented set of 50 endpoints. Its 103-pattern approval system classifies commands and blocks catastrophic actions by default. Sessions use SQLite, and updates verify Ed25519 signatures. The project says it has no telemetry. Important limits include an unauthenticated API, Linux control requiring X11 or XWayland, unsigned Windows installers, and a macOS app that is not notarized.