Pan-Agent vs Screenbox

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.

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.