Manus Launches 'My Computer': An AI Agent That Controls Your Desktop
Manus, the AI agent platform that has been making waves with its cloud-based task automation, just shipped its most ambitious feature yet: My Computer, a desktop application that brings its AI agent out of the cloud and directly onto your Mac or Windows machine.
Until now, Manus lived entirely in a cloud sandbox — secure and isolated, but fundamentally limited. Your most important files, development environments, and applications all live locally. My Computer bridges that gap by giving Manus direct access to your terminal, file system, and local apps.
How It Actually Works
Through the Manus Desktop app, the AI agent executes command line instructions (CLI) in your computer’s terminal. This lets it:
- Read, analyze, and edit local files
- Launch and control local applications
- Run development scripts and build tools
- Organize photos, documents, and media
- Automate repetitive desktop workflows
Manus gives the example of a florist with thousands of unsorted photos — bouquets, potted plants, customer shots all in one folder. The AI can categorize, rename, and organize them automatically through terminal commands.
The Security Question
Giving an AI agent terminal access to your computer is a significant trust decision. Manus addresses this by requiring explicit permission for each session and showing exactly what commands are being executed. But the fundamental tension remains: the more capable the agent, the more damage a mistake can cause.
For developers who want powerful local AI tools, check out our best laptops guide for machines with the horsepower to run AI agents locally.
The Bottom Line
Manus My Computer is part of a broader trend of AI agents moving from cloud demos to local, practical tools. Combined with Google’s Gemini task automation on phones and Tencent’s ClawBot on WeChat, the AI agent era is no longer theoretical — it’s shipping on every platform.