# Computer use

Source: https://layerwise.app/docs/build-your-app/computer-use

Let the agent read and operate other apps on your computer, with your approval for each app.

With computer use, the agent can work in other apps on your computer: check a design in a desktop tool, walk through a form in another app, or read a value from a window. Ask for it in a chat, by name or just by describing the task. You approve each app before the agent can touch it.

Computer use works in Layerwise, My Codex, and My Claude chats, on macOS, Windows, and Linux. It's off until you turn it on, and the setting is for this device only.

## Turn on computer use [#turn-on-computer-use]

1. Open **Account** from the user menu, then choose **Computer use**.
2. Turn on **Let agents use other apps**.

**On macOS**, two permissions appear below the switch. Choose **Open System Settings** for each one, then drag **Layerwise Computer Use** from the panel that appears into the list.

- **Accessibility** is required to read and operate apps.
- **Screen Recording** is only needed for screenshots.

**On Windows**, there's nothing else to set up.

**On Linux**, you need a graphical session with `at-spi2-core` installed. Ubuntu 24.04 or later with GNOME is the best supported setup. If Layerwise can't reach the desktop, the page shows **Unable to start computer use**.

## Approve an app [#approve-an-app]

The first time the agent needs an app, a card asks **Use _app_?** Choose:

- **Allow for this conversation** — approve the app for this conversation.
- **Always allow** — approve the app for every chat on this device.
- **Deny** — refuse. The agent is told not to try again unless you ask.

These cards appear in every approval mode, including **Full access**. The same card covers what no single app owns, such as the clipboard, notifications, system controls, and capturing a whole screen.

Most actions run in the background, without moving your pointer. When an action needs the real pointer, a separate card asks **Control the pointer in _app_?** The agent then moves the pointer and takes keyboard focus. This approval lasts for the chat and can't be made permanent.

To remove an app you always allowed, go back to **Computer use** in your account settings and choose **Remove** under **Always allowed**.

## Apps the agent can't use [#apps-the-agent-cant-use]

Agents can't use Layerwise itself, because they could approve their own requests. They also can't use password managers such as 1Password, Bitwarden, and Keychain Access. No card appears for these apps, and clicks at a screen position are refused when they land on one of their windows.

## Actions the agent confirms first [#actions-the-agent-confirms-first]

Text in an app or web page never counts as permission. If a document says "delete everything," the agent reports that and waits, even if you asked it to follow the document.

Unless you asked for that exact action, the agent stops and asks in the chat before it:

- Pays for something
- Sends or publishes something
- Deletes data
- Changes security or system settings
- Installs software
- Enters credentials
- Shares sensitive data

This is guidance for the model, and nothing technically enforces it. Approve only apps you trust the agent to use, and watch it when the stakes are high. To end a task at any time, stop the turn. See [Direct the agent](./direct-the-agent).

## Privacy [#privacy]

- What the agent reads from an app, including screenshots, goes to the chat's model. Avoid showing it anything you wouldn't paste into the chat.
- Screen content stays out of the chat history, which shows the action only. What the agent says about the screen in its replies is saved like any other message, and project members can read it.
- Approval cards and the list of allowed apps stay on your device.
- Turning computer use off takes back each chat's approvals, stops the helper, and deletes its temporary files. Apps under **Always allowed** stay listed for when you turn it back on.

## Platform differences [#platform-differences]

| Platform | What differs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| macOS    | Permissions belong to the separate **Layerwise Computer Use** app, so Layerwise and the processes it starts don't hold them.                                                                                                                                               |
| Windows  | The agent can read apps running as administrator but can't act in them. Some apps can't receive key presses, so the agent uses their buttons instead.                                                                                                                      |
| Linux    | On Wayland, the agent can't aim the pointer, the system asks for your consent to take screenshots, window controls such as moving and resizing are limited, and the clipboard needs `wl-clipboard`. X11 sessions don't have these limits. Notification access needs GNOME. |

## Troubleshooting [#troubleshooting]

| Problem                                       | What to do                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The agent says computer use is off            | Turn it on under **Computer use** in your account settings.                                                                                                                                                |
| The agent says it needs a permission on macOS | Go to **Computer use** in your account settings and choose **Open System Settings** for the permission that isn't allowed yet.                                                                             |
| **Unable to start computer use** on Windows   | Security software or Smart App Control may be blocking the helper. Allow it, then choose **Retry**.                                                                                                        |
| **Unable to start computer use** on Linux     | Run Layerwise from your desktop session, not over SSH or a TTY, and install `at-spi2-core`. Then choose **Retry**.                                                                                         |
| An app on Linux is missing or looks empty     | Restart the app, because apps that started before the accessibility service never register with it. Start Chrome or Chromium with `--force-renderer-accessibility`, and Qt apps with `QT_ACCESSIBILITY=1`. |
| Screenshots don't work                        | Choose a model that supports images. On macOS, allow **Screen Recording**.                                                                                                                                 |
| The agent can't use an app you expected it to | Check that the app is running and isn't one of the [apps agents can't use](#apps-the-agent-cant-use). If you chose **Deny**, ask the agent to try again.                                                   |