Overview
- Anthropic has shipped a background macOS control feature in the Claude Desktop app that lets the assistant click, type and capture the screen while running in its own windows for Pro and Max subscribers on macOS 15 or later.
- Claude uses native connectors when available and falls back to screen capture plus simulated input to read the screen and interact with apps that lack APIs, a method the company says is careful but slower than a human for complex tasks.
- The feature is organized into two contexts—Claude Cowork for general productivity and Claude Code for development—and includes a mobile Dispatch option that can start jobs on a remote Mac.
- The system requires explicit user permission at the start of a session, shows privacy prompts before sensitive actions, and offers app-level controls so users can limit what Claude can access and do.
- The capability builds on Anthropic’s 2024 Computer Use API but is currently limited to individual paid plans, leaving Team and Enterprise customers without access and signaling that broader organizational rollout and security reviews may follow.