By name: use-computer description: Control the computer by taking screenshots, moving the mouse, clicking, and typing. Use this skill when you need to interact with GUI applications or perform actions that require visual feedback.
Use Computer
This skill enables an agent to interact with the computer's graphical user interface (GUI). It can retrieve screen information, take screenshots of specific regions, and perform mouse and keyboard actions.
When to Use This Skill
- User needs to interact with GUI applications programmatically
- User asks to automate mouse and keyboard actions
- User wants to take screenshots of specific screen regions
- User needs to test UI flows or perform visual verification
- User requires automated interaction with desktop applications
Your Roles in This Skill
- QA Engineer: Use computer control to perform automated UI testing and verification. Take screenshots to capture UI states and verify visual elements. Execute test scripts that require GUI interaction. Verify application behavior through visual feedback.
- DevOps Engineer: Execute Python scripts for computer control operations. Manage system permissions for screen recording and accessibility. Configure screen coordinates and interaction parameters. Troubleshoot PyAutoGUI fail-safe and permission issues.
Role Communication
As an expert in your assigned roles, you must announce your actions before performing them using the following format:
As a {Role} [and {Role}, ...], I will {action description}
This communication pattern ensures transparency and allows for human-in-the-loop oversight at key decision points.
Instructions
All interactions are performed via the core/bin/use-computer CLI from the project root:
core/bin/use-computer --json_str '<JSON_COMMAND>'
The script returns a JSON response wrapped in <output></output> tags.
1. Get Screen Information
Use this to understand the monitor setup and primary screen resolution.
Command:
{"action": "screen_info"}
2. Take a Screenshot
For screenshot payloads, return fields, scaling, pointer markers, and coordinate correction, refer to references/screenshot.md.
3. Find Coordinates for Actions (Required)
Before any mouse_move or click, use agent skill find-ui-element to locate the target UI element and derive coordinates.
Recommended flow:
- Take a screenshot with
draw_pointer: true. - Use
find-ui-elementon that screenshot to get the element bounding box. - Convert the bounding box to action coordinates (usually the center point).
- Use those coordinates in
inputactions.
4. Perform Actions
For mouse, keyboard, hotkey, typing, and wait action payloads, refer to references/input-actions.md.
5. macOS Native Terminal
If the task needs a visible macOS Terminal window backed by tmux, refer to references/macos-terminal.md.
Usage Notes
- Coordinates: (0, 0) is the top-left corner of the primary monitor.
- Fail-safe: PyAutoGUI has a fail-safe feature. Moving the mouse to any corner of the screen will abort the script.
- Scaling: Use a lower
scale(e.g., 0.5 or 0.25) when taking screenshots for large screens to reduce processing time and token usage if sending to an LLM. - Permissions: Ensure the terminal/IDE has "Screen Recording" and "Accessibility" permissions in System Settings (macOS).