# CUA

> **TL;DR.** CUA (Computer-Use Agent) is the open-source infrastructure project by [trycua](https://github.

- **Category:** AI / Developer Tools / Infrastructure
- **Stage:** validating
- **Age:** 54 days
- **Origin date:** 2026-04-23
- **First detected:** 2026-04-28
- **Canonical URL:** https://earlyterms.com/term/cua
- **Sources:** 7 primary URLs

## Definition

CUA (Computer-Use Agent) is the open-source infrastructure project by [trycua](https://github.com/trycua/cua) that provides sandboxes, SDKs, and benchmarks for building and evaluating AI agents that control full desktops across macOS, Linux, and Windows. Founded in early 2025 and backed by YC Spring 2025, the project has accumulated over 15,000 GitHub stars.

The term surged on April 23, 2026 when Cua shipped [Cua Driver v0.1](https://github.com/trycua/cua/releases/tag/cua-driver-v0.0.3) — a background macOS driver that lets any agent (Claude Code, Codex, or custom loop) click, type, and read native apps without stealing the cursor, window focus, or Space. It uses Apple's private SkyLight.framework to route input events per-process and speaks MCP over stdio, making it agent-agnostic and MIT-licensed.

## Example

With Cua Driver, you point Claude Code at a macOS app and run `cua-driver recording start` to capture a trajectory of screenshots, accessibility-tree snapshots, and click markers — then replay or fine-tune the recorded behavior. No Chrome DevTools Protocol, no VM, no focus loss.

## Analogy

Think of it as a stunt double for your cursor — the agent acts while you keep working.

## Why it's emerging now

On April 23, 2026 Cua open-sourced Cua Driver — a macOS background automation driver that uses Apple's private SkyLight.framework to let any MCP-capable agent control native apps without stealing cursor or focus. In 48 hours it hit 165 HN points and cuadriver.com was snapped up by a third party, signaling early land-rush.

## Related terms

- *related:* browser-use
- *parent:* agent-harness
- *parent:* agent-loop
- *related:* mcp-server
- *related:* managed-agents
- *related:* claude-code
- *competitor:* openai-codex-cli
- *parent:* agentic-coding
- *related:* model-context-protocol
- *parent:* computer-use
- *competitor:* Lume
- *competitor:* Playwright

## Sources

1. [trycua/cua — GitHub repository (15.1k stars)](https://github.com/trycua/cua)
2. [Show HN: Drive any macOS app in the background without stealing the cursor (HN, 165 pts)](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47936312)
3. [Cua Driver: inside macOS window internals (official blog)](https://github.com/trycua/cua/blob/main/blog/inside-macos-window-internals.md)
4. [Cua Driver vs Codex / Claude Cowork comparison (Cua Docs)](https://cua.ai/docs/cua-driver/guide/getting-started/comparison)
5. [What is Cua? (official docs)](https://cua.ai/docs/cua/guide/get-started/what-is-cua)
6. [Launch HN: Cua (YC X25) — Open-Source Docker Container for Computer-Use Agents (172 pts)](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43773563)
7. [Announcing the First Multi-Player Computer-Use — Live from ClawCon (Cua Blog)](https://cua.ai/blog/clawcon-multiplayer)

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_Generated by EarlyTerms · https://earlyterms.com/term/cua_