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agenticopsdocumentedsession-gated

Operational brief

CUA

Open-source computer-use agent infrastructure (TryCUA).

Cua GitHub organization logo

Choose it when

You are standing up computer-use infrastructure yourself.

Skip it when

You only need a web browser harness, not desktop computer-use infra.

01 / Classification

Autonomy evidence

This is our classification, not a vendor badge. The record says what the product normally does. The gaps stay visible.

How we classify it
Tool use + multi-step plans, still human-gated per session.
Runs unattended
No — the current record treats it as session-gated.
Trigger
Not recorded yet.
State
Not recorded yet.
Tools
Self-hosted computer-use infra
Human control
Not recorded yet.

02 / Operations

Control reality

Useful agents eventually touch something real. This is the operational picture we have, not a promise hidden in a sales page.

Where it runs
self-hosted
Data boundary
Not recorded yet.
Identity & permissions
Not recorded yet.
What it can write
desktop/computer-use sessions
Surfaces
Self-hosted computer-use infra
Export / lock-in
Not recorded yet.

03 / Receipts

Evidence ledger

Here is what this brief is built on. “Documented” means we found a source. “Tested” means this desk actually ran it. Those are different things.

Evidence status
documented
Source set
1 primary source
Evidence review
Not recorded yet.

Sources on file

Corrections

Not recorded yet. If we change a material claim, the correction belongs here.

Desk notes

What we found

Useful context, not a substitute for the source record above. This is not a desk test unless the evidence status says tested.

Pick this if agents need real OS machines — Linux, Windows, macOS, Android — in sandboxes or fleets. Skip it if a browser harness is enough.

GitHub stars
25,757
License
MIT
Cloud CPU
$0.044625 / vCPU-hour
Product Hunt
5.0 from 1 review

What the vendor says

cua.ai (fetched 2026-09-22) describes fleets for computer-use training, eval, and data generation on Linux, Windows, macOS, and Android. Cua Driver is described as an open-source background driver (MCP and CLI) that clicks and types without moving the system cursor, MIT licensed, on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The page says the open-source sandbox can run GUI Docker, QEMU, and Apple VZ locally, and lists Cua Fleet usage prices: CPU $0.044625 per vCPU-hour and memory $0.0223125 per GB-hour. The site also shows “25.2K Humans” next to the GitHub link; the GitHub API count below is the figure to use. This desk has not driven a Cua sandbox.

GitHub

GitHub API on 2026-09-22: trycua/cua, 25,757 stars, 1,770 forks, license MIT, last push 2026-09-22T00:37:14Z, homepage https://cua.ai. Description: “Scale computer-use 2.0 with open-source drivers, cross-OS fleets, and benchmarks for training, evaluation, and data generation.”

Product Hunt

Product Hunt product cua-3, tagline “Docker for Computer-use Agents,” showed 5.0 from 1 review and 348 followers when fetched. The listing is tagged Free and Open Source. The maker post claims up to 97% native CPU speed on Apple Silicon — that is maker copy on Product Hunt, not a measurement by this desk. The current cua.ai product is broader than that 2025 container launch.

Reddit

Anonymous search on 2026-09-22 mostly surfaces vendor announcements, not independent reviews. r/codex 29 May 2026 compares Cua Driver with Codex computer use on Windows and says the Windows Codex path takes over the desktop while Cua is pitched as background control — a user contrast, not a lab test. r/hermesagent 22 Jun 2026 notes Hermes computer use via TryCua. r/LovingOpenSourceAI 19 Sep 2026 reposts Cua’s CUA-S1 open-source model announcement.

Sources fetched 2026-09-22

04 / Change log

Related coverage

The brief tells you what the product is. Payloads track the changes that may alter the decision.