An AI agent that controls your computer
Not a chatbot that describes what to do. An agent with a shell on your machine, your real browser with your logins, and a list of tasks it works through. You choose which tools it may touch, which it must ask about, and which are off limits.
What "controls your computer" actually means
Most AI products run in a vendor's cloud. They can browse in a sandbox and produce a document, but the moment a task needs your files, your installed tools, or an account you are already logged into, they stop and hand it back to you. A computer-use agent removes that hand-off: it has a shell on the machine where your work lives and a browser where you are already signed in.
TODO for AI does this in three places at once. A native bridge on your PC, Mac or Linux box. A Chrome extension in your real browser profile. And a cloud VM per account with its own cloud browser, for work that should keep running when your laptop is closed. A single task can move between them.
How it gets onto your machine
Three optional pieces. Install none of them and it still runs in the cloud VM. Install all three and it can reach everything you can.
A native binary, about 90 KB on Linux and 150 KB on Windows. Noise-encrypted WebSocket, PTY relay. Gives the agent a shell on that machine. Runs on Linux, macOS and Windows.
Drives the browser you already use, in the profile that is already logged in to your CRM, ad account, bank portal or admin panel. No API keys, no OAuth apps to build.
Open-source runtime that ships about 90 CLI tools as integrations and wraps any binary you have. Also what the cloud VM runs.
What people hand it
The list is the interface. Drop a task, the agent picks the machine and tools it needs, does the work, and shows the result with the receipts.
Fix the bug, run the tests, open the PR, from the checkout on your own disk with your own toolchain.
Update the CRM, pull the invoice PDF from the vendor portal, post the ad, reply on the support desk. Anything that needs a session you already have.
Rename and sort a download folder, build an XLSX with formulas, turn notes into a DOCX, merge PDFs.
The weekly numbers, the daily triage, the backup check. Runs on the cloud VM whether your PC is on or not.
Staying in control of an agent with a shell
Every tool an agent can use can be set to allow, ask first, or block, per agent. Secrets live in an encrypted vault; connected tools keep their own sessions so they stay signed in between tasks. Any run can be stopped mid-task. Cloud sandboxes are Firecracker microVMs, one per account, hosted in the EU.
The honest limit: an agent with a shell can do damage if you leave everything on allow and walk away. Set ask-first on anything that writes, and widen from there.