open-computer-use vs QuickDesk

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.

QuickDesk is an open-source remote desktop application with an MCP server for AI agents to see and control remote computers. Its MCP tools include screenshots, mouse and keyboard control, clipboard actions, OCR and UI element detection. The server supports stdio and HTTP/SSE connections; HTTP/SSE can serve multiple AI clients. The README names Cursor, Claude Desktop and VS Code as compatible clients. For remote control, QuickDesk includes keyboard and mouse mapping, cursor synchronization, two-way clipboard sync, adaptive frame rate and bitrate, and performance statistics. Devices connect with a 9-digit Device ID and temporary access code; refresh settings range from every 30 minutes to 24 hours or never. Users can host their own signaling and TURN servers. Its self-hosted admin panel lists TOTP two-factor authentication, audit logs and CIDR-based IP whitelisting. QuickDesk's own code is MIT-licensed and free for commercial use; its bundled remoting component uses BSD 3-Clause. The README lists Windows x64 and macOS ARM64 downloads. Linux and iOS/Android clients are described as roadmap items.