`--yolo` / `-z` read as "don't prompt me", but they also swap computer_use
onto a private `unrestricted` daemon, dropping the ceilings the configured
mode would have applied. Nothing said so. A script picks up `-z` for quiet
output and loses its limits as a side effect, and the only trace is a driver
process nobody inspects.
The mapping itself stays. It is deliberate, and `unrestricted` is reachable
no other way: it is intentionally not a config value so a stale config line
can never silently bypass approvals (see `_cua_configured_permission_mode`).
Removing the mapping would delete the capability rather than fix it, and
splitting it onto a second CLI flag was declined to avoid growing the
surface.
So the widening is now stated instead: one warning per session naming the
configured mode it left, what stopped applying, and the two ways to keep a
ceiling - drop the bypass flag, or declare a version-3 capability manifest,
which now rides along with unrestricted as of the previous commit.
Once per session, not per dispatch: the resolver runs on every tool call.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Live-testing the Cua Driver 0.20 convergence on Windows 11 (session 2,
cua-driver 0.20.0) surfaced three defects in the existing-profile browser
path and in install status.
1. The config grant was silently nullified by an approval bypass.
`--yolo` / `-z` map onto a private unrestricted daemon, which answers every
browser_prepare. Because the host delegated the entire existing-profile
decision to the driver, that bypass also nullified
`computer_use.grant_existing_profile: false`: a plain `hermes -z` attached
to the user's real Chrome profile and read live page content over CDP, with
the driver reporting it as "the approved existing Chromium profile". It was
never approved.
An approval bypass is consent to skip prompts, not consent to read an
existing profile's pages, cookies, and storage. CuaTypedBrowserRoute.prepare
now enforces the key itself, regardless of permission mode. bounded stays
exempt - its reviewed capability manifest is the authorization boundary.
The authorization inputs are resolved in the backend from config and the
backend's immutable mode, never from model-supplied kwargs.
2. The grant, once set, still could not be used.
With `grant_existing_profile: true` the runtime is launched
`--grant existing-profile` correctly, but cua_browser_prepare then hit a
runtime approval prompt anyway - re-asking the user to authorize what the
config already authorized, and making the documented opt-in unusable on any
non-interactive run, where the prompt has nobody to answer it and the call
dies on approval timeout. The durable, file-backed grant now stands in for
that prompt. Scope is narrow: only the existing-profile prepare, only when
the grant is present; isolated launches still prompt and any resolution
failure falls closed to prompting.
3. `computer-use status` hid a custom override and spliced its output.
With HERMES_CUA_DRIVER_CMD pointed at cmd.exe, status printed the child's
multi-line banner and prompt inside the one-line version field, never
mentioned the override, and advised `hermes computer-use install` - which
install itself (correctly) refuses to run against an overridden path. It now
names the override and mirrors install's update-or-unset guidance, and
version output is reduced to one bounded line.
Verified on the reported host: `-z` existing-profile attach now refuses and
names the key; `grant: true` no longer prompts (33s vs a 300s approval
timeout); status names the override and prints one line. No change to the
reconciliation path - driver SHA256 unchanged end to end.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
KDE/Qt apps report [0,0,0,0] bounds for elements that are perfectly
clickable by index (live QA: all 50 of kcalc's zero-rect elements,
including every radio button). Serializing that as a plausible rect
invites a model to derive coordinate=[0,0] and click the screen corner.
- _element_to_dict: zero rect -> bounds: null
- _format_elements: '@ bounds-unknown (click by element index)' instead
of the fake rect in the summary line
- malformed bounds fail open (unchanged serialization)
Live-proven on real kcalc (cua-driver 0.20.0): 50 elements now null, 0
zero-rect leftovers, summary annotated, real rects preserved, and a
null-bounds radio button still clicks fine by index.
Live complex-action QA on a real KDE desktop (kcalc + kate multi-app
flows) found two dispatch gaps:
1. Wrong-window input reported as success. Input actions deliver to the
backend's sticky target (last capture/focus_app); the app= argument
models routinely pass on the input call itself was silently dropped.
Proven live: with kcalc sticky, type(text='777', app='kate') returned
ok:true and typed 777 INTO KCALC. New guard: provable mismatch
(both names known, neither substring of the other — list_windows
names are localized/variant) refuses with input_target_mismatch and
a one-call fix instruction. Unknown current target fails open so
legacy no-app flows are untouched.
2. Near-miss unknown actions were dead ends. A model emitting 'hotkey'
got a bare unknown-action error. Suggestion map now names the real
action ('did you mean key?') without aliasing — we never repair bad
model output, we just point at the schema.
Also documents the verified-lost-keystroke rung in the computer-use
skill: KTextEditor (Kate/KWrite) discards synthetic X keystrokes at the
toolkit level — foreground type reports ok but AX shows nothing arrived,
and a raw XTest control fails identically outside our stack. Guidance:
after one verified-lost round trip, switch to file/DBus I/O instead of
looping the ladder.
Live proof on the fixed build: mismatch refused, kcalc display clean,
same call after capture(app=kate) succeeds, 'hotkey' suggests 'key'.
11 new tests; 158 sibling tests green.
Completes the typed cua_browser_* route (PR #74166 lineage) with the
authorization surface that makes existing-profile attachment and
repeatable bounded automation reachable by real users:
- hermes computer-use browser-approve: CLI passthrough that mints
cua-driver's five-minute single-use attachment token for one exact
(pid, window_id). The user, never the model, is the token source.
- approval_token passthrough on cua_browser_prepare (schema + dispatch +
browser_route), forwarded only for existing_profile and only as a
non-empty string.
- computer_use.permission_mode: bounded + capability_manifest config:
private per-session embedded daemon launched with
--capability-manifest/--approve-capability-manifest; missing manifest
fails loudly. 'unrestricted' is deliberately NOT a config value —
it stays bound to the explicit per-session YOLO toggle.
- Skill + system-prompt + docs guidance for the three authorization
rungs and the isolated-profile-first default.
E2E-verified against a temp HERMES_HOME: real config resolution to
bounded, loud failure without a manifest, real argparse path driving a
fake cua-driver binary, standard default preserved.
When an approval prompt expired without a response, every CLI-side path
collapsed the timeout into the same 'deny' choice as an explicit user
refusal, so the agent was told the user denied the action when the user
simply never answered. The gateway wait already distinguished the two
('timed out without user response... Silence is not consent.'); this
brings the CLI/TUI/ACP surfaces to parity.
- prompt_dangerous_approval(): input()-path expiry now returns a distinct
'timeout' choice (still fail-closed).
- cli.py _approval_callback + hermes_cli/callbacks.py approval_callback:
deadline expiry returns 'timeout' instead of 'deny'.
- check_all_command_guards / _run_approval_gate CLI tails: 'timeout' maps
to outcome='timeout' with a 'timed out without user response... Silence
is not consent.' BLOCKED message (matching the gateway wording);
explicit deny keeps outcome='denied' and gains user_consent=False for
shape parity.
- computer_use: 'timeout' verdict threads through the CLI adapter and
yields a 'prompt timed out — the user did not respond' error instead of
'denied by user'.
- ACP permissions bridge: FutureTimeout returns 'timeout' (other failures
still 'deny'); elicitation maps 'timeout' to 'cancel' like the gateway's
unresolved outcome; codex wire mapping documents deny/timeout→decline.
- write_approval already treats unknown choices as 'stage, not drop', so
a timeout now stages the memory write instead of silently refusing it.
Every timeout path remains fail-closed — the action never runs; only the
classification reported to the agent changes.
Follow-up to the #68246 salvage. The backend permission-mode resolution
only checked the DB session_id the tool path passes, but gateway /yolo
keys approval bypass off the gateway session_key (contextvar). Consult
both namespaces so /yolo works on messaging platforms, not just CLI/TUI.
Adds a regression test driving the real approval contextvar + yolo
toggle path E2E.
`_canon_key_combo` (the `_BLOCKED_KEY_COMBOS` gate in
`handle_computer_use`) split key strings on `+` only, but the cua-driver
backend's `_parse_key_combo` splits on both `+` and `-`. So a model could
issue `{"action":"key","keys":"ctrl-alt-delete"}` (or `alt-f4`,
`cmd-shift-q`): the gate saw a single unknown token and let it through
while the backend executed the real destructive shortcut.
Split the gate on both `+` and `-` so it canonicalizes combos the same
way the backend does. Non-destructive hyphen combos (`cmd-c`) and the
literal `-` zoom key (`cmd+-`) are unaffected.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
CuaDriverBackend caches a long-lived cua-driver subprocess for the life of
the Hermes process, and stop() was never called from anywhere — the driver
outlived the session that spawned it. #69903 stopped the orphan from pegging
a core by disabling the cursor overlay, but left the process behind; this is
item 3 of #28152 ("Hermes does not keep the driver alive after tool
completion").
Register an atexit hook, mirroring browser_tool's
atexit.register(_emergency_cleanup_all_sessions). atexit only, no signal
handlers, for the prompt_toolkit reason documented there. reset_backend_for_tests
now reuses the same teardown instead of repeating it.
Cut steady-state Computer Use latency without changing default behavior
or waiting on cua-driver:
- Cap screenshots via set_config(max_image_dimension) on session start
(config: computer_use.max_image_dimension, default 1456)
- Cache aux-vision routing per (provider, model) so captures skip
repeated load_config()
- Add computer_use.capture_after_mode (default som) so users can opt
follow-ups down to ax (elements only) for speed
Hermes' computer_use wrapper dropped cua-driver's structured action verdicts,
exposed no delivery_mode, and injected background-only guidance — so the agent
reported unverified no-ops as success and concluded cua-driver 'cannot drive'
Electron/Chromium surfaces (observed live on tldraw offline). Fixes#67052.
Phase A — preserve the result contract:
- ActionResult carries verified/effect/escalation/path/degraded/code/delivery_mode
- CuaDriverBackend._action() reads structuredContent (was data-only); a helper
normalizes it, additive and None-safe on old drivers
- _text_response surfaces the fields additively (ok stays transport-only)
Phase B — bounded, model-reachable foreground:
- delivery_mode (background|foreground) + bring_to_front on the schema, dispatcher,
ABC, and all input methods
- foreground is capability-gated (input.delivery_mode); old drivers get a
structured foreground_unsupported refusal, never a silent background downgrade
- no automatic/hidden foreground retry — the model selects it from the signal
Phase C — guidance + isolation:
- system prompt (prompt_builder) and bundled skills/computer-use/SKILL.md go from
background-ONLY to background-FIRST, teaching the AX→PX→foreground ladder driven
by returned effect/escalation, not predicted from the app being Electron
- foreground approval scoped by (action, delivery_mode): a background approval
never silently authorizes foreground
- approval state keyed per session_id so concurrent gateway runs don't leak unlocks
Tests: tests/tools/test_computer_use_delivery_ladder.py (15) cover confirmed/
unverifiable/suspected_noop/degraded/old-driver verdicts, delivery_mode gating +
foreground_unsupported, and session-scoped foreground approval. Existing 265
computer_use tests still green.
Live E2E (real cua-driver 0.8.3 + tldraw offline on Linux/X11): a background click
returned effect='unverifiable'/path='ax' (no fabricated success), and a foreground
request returned code='foreground_unsupported' — correct on a driver that predates
the input.delivery_mode capability.
* fix(computer-use): target Linux app windows reliably
Resolve app filters through the canonical cua-driver MCP app metadata and join running app PIDs back to windows. Preserve an exact selected window across capture_after, support direct capture by pid/window_id, and send the active window ID for coordinate pointer actions on Linux.
Co-authored-by: annguyenNous <annguyenNous@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: grimmjoww578 <willies578@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: ai-ag2026 <261867348+ai-ag2026@users.noreply.github.com>
* fix(computer-use): address review on PR #63725
Address three review comments from @f-trycua:
1. type_text, press_key, and hotkey now carry _active_window_id and
fail closed when it is missing. Previously they sent only the PID,
so CUA Driver fell back to the first window for that PID — input
could reach the wrong window in multi-window apps.
2. Coordinate scroll x/y are now capability-gated behind
input.scroll.coordinates. CUA Driver 0.7.1 Linux schema rejects
x/y on scroll; omitting them when the driver doesn't advertise
support avoids the schema rejection while still routing via
window_id.
3. Windows are sorted by z_index descending (higher = front, per CUA
Driver semantics) instead of ascending. Null z_index (Wayland) is
coerced to 0 in _ingest_windows so it doesn't crash the sort and
sorts to the back instead of being selected as the capture target.
---------
Co-authored-by: LeonSGP43 <cine.dreamer.one@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: annguyenNous <annguyenNous@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: grimmjoww578 <willies578@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: ai-ag2026 <261867348+ai-ag2026@users.noreply.github.com>
The runtime gate (check_computer_use_requirements) and the hermes tools
platform_gate both enable linux alongside darwin/win32, but several
docstrings/comments still described Linux as "alpha, gated off until it
flips upstream" — contradicting the code that ships it. Bring the prose in
line with the gate that's actually live:
- tool.py / cua_backend.py module docstrings: Linux is enabled (X11 today,
Wayland via XWayland), not gated off.
- toolsets.py description and hermes tools display name: (macOS/Windows) ->
(macOS/Windows/Linux).
No behavior change — the gate already allowed all three platforms.
Make the computer_use toolset platform-agnostic by driving cua-driver on
macOS, Windows, and Linux. Consumes the 8 cua-driver decoupling surfaces
(capability discovery, structuredContent AX tree, opaque element_token,
click button enum, explicit mimeType, machine-readable manifest,
structured list_windows, structured health_report), each degrading
gracefully on older drivers.
Adds `hermes computer-use doctor` (drives cua-driver health_report with a
per-OS check matrix and an exit 0/1/2 ok/degraded/blocked contract), full
typed wrappers for the previously-uncovered cua-driver tools plus a generic
call_tool escape hatch, per-session agent-cursor lifecycle, platform-aware
system-prompt guidance (host-deterministic, cache-safe), and honors
HERMES_CUA_DRIVER_CMD end-to-end.
Replaces the macOS-only skills/apple/macos-computer-use skill with a
cross-platform skills/computer-use skill, and refreshes the EN + zh-Hans
docs.
Supersedes #44221 (Windows-enablement salvage of #30660).
Co-authored-by: Teknium <127238744+teknium1@users.noreply.github.com>
xAI's consent page renders the authorization code in-page instead of
redirecting to the loopback callback, so the listener just hangs and the
manual-paste flow demands a callback URL that never contains the token.
- auth.py: poll stdin non-blockingly while waiting for the xAI loopback
callback; accept a pasted bare Grok Build code and substitute the locally
generated state (PKCE code_verifier still binds the exchange). No need to
wait for timeout or re-run with --manual-paste.
- computer_use: parse PNG/JPEG dimensions from base64 and fall back to the
text/AX/SOM payload when the screenshot is below the provider minimum
(8x8), which xAI rejects with HTTP 400.
- model_setup_flows.py: xAI credential reuse prompt uses the standard radio
picker via a shared _prompt_auth_credentials_choice helper.
- main.py: thread a title through _prompt_provider_choice; re-home the helper
import (flows live in model_setup_flows.py post-decomposition).
Salvaged from #36781 onto current main (contributor's main.py edits re-homed
to model_setup_flows.py, where the flows were extracted since the PR opened).
_maybe_follow_capture() issued a follow-up screenshot unconditionally
when capture_after=True, even when res.ok=False. The model then received
a normal-looking screenshot alongside an error message, and in practice
it often ignored ok=False and proceeded as if the action had succeeded.
Fix: return _text_response(res) early when res.ok is False so the model
receives only the error and can decide how to recover.
Tests added:
- test_capture_after_skipped_when_action_failed: patches click to return
ok=False and asserts no capture call is issued.
- test_capture_after_fires_when_action_succeeds: ensures the happy path
still triggers the follow-up capture.
_dispatch() routes action="set_value" to backend.set_value(), but:
- ComputerUseBackend did not declare set_value as @abstractmethod, so
subclasses could silently omit it without a TypeError at class load time.
- _NoopBackend (the test/CI stub) had no set_value method at all, causing
AttributeError in any test that exercises the set_value action path.
Fix:
- Add set_value as @abstractmethod to ComputerUseBackend in backend.py.
- Add a recording stub in _NoopBackend in tool.py.
- Add two TestDispatch cases: one verifying the call reaches the backend,
one verifying the missing-value guard returns a clean error.
The cherry-pick of #22891 (max_elements cap) reshuffled _capture_response
so summary was assigned inside both the multimodal and AX branches,
but #30126's aux-vision routing call (_route_capture_through_aux_vision)
fires BEFORE either branch and references the not-yet-bound name.
Compute summary once up-front, keep the AX-branch rebuild for the
truncation note.
Four findings from Copilot's review on PR #22891, all in the AX
elements-array cap added by 22fa1ed:
1. The truncation note ("response truncated to N of M elements") was
appended unconditionally — including in the som/vision multimodal
path, whose response carries a screenshot rather than an `elements`
array. The note described a payload field that wasn't present.
Moved the note into the AX-text branch where the array actually
appears.
2. `_format_elements(cap.elements)` ran on the full untrimmed list with
its own `max_lines=40` cap, so a caller passing `max_elements=10`
would see summary lines referencing `#11..#40` even though the JSON
`elements` array only held #1..#10. Format on `visible_elements`
instead so the summary indices always exist in the response.
3. `_coerce_max_elements` enforced a lower bound but no upper bound,
so `max_elements=10_000_000` silently disabled the safeguard and
reintroduced the original context-blow-up. Added a hard cap
(`_MAX_ALLOWED_MAX_ELEMENTS = 1000`) that clamps oversized values.
4. The schema string said "Default 100" but the property carried no
`default` field, and claimed `max_elements` had no effect on som/
vision while the image-missing fallback path can still return an
elements array. Added `"default": 100`, `"maximum": 1000`, and
clarified the fallback-path wording.
Each finding gets a regression test:
- test_capture_ax_clamps_oversized_max_elements_to_hard_cap
- test_capture_ax_summary_indices_match_returned_elements
- test_capture_multimodal_summary_omits_truncation_note
- test_schema_max_elements_documents_default_and_upper_bound
Verified with `pytest tests/tools/test_computer_use.py` (53 passed,
including the 5 new cases). Confirmed each new test fails on the
pre-fix code path before applying the production change.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
`computer_use(action='capture', mode='ax')` returned the full AX element
list verbatim in the JSON response. Dense Electron / Obsidian / JetBrains
UIs publish 500+ AX nodes (one reproduction in #22865 returned 597
elements against Obsidian), so a single capture could consume enough
context to trigger compression failures or render the session unusable.
The human-readable `_format_elements` summary is already capped at 40
lines, so the truncation gap was invisible to anyone reading the summary
output.
Add a `max_elements` argument to the tool schema, default 100, that
trims the AX `elements` array. When the cap fires, the response surfaces
`total_elements` and `truncated_elements` and appends a "raise
max_elements or pass app= to narrow" hint to the summary so the model
knows the JSON view is partial and can re-issue with a tighter scope.
Validation is centralized in `_coerce_max_elements`: missing /
non-integer / sub-1 inputs fall back to the default cap, so the
protection can never be silently disabled by a malformed tool-call
argument. The cap only affects AX-mode JSON; `mode='som'` and
`mode='vision'` keep returning a screenshot + image-aware summary
unchanged.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
When the active main model has no vision capability — or when the user
explicitly configured auxiliary.vision in config.yaml — sending the
captured screenshot back to the main model in a multimodal tool-result
envelope is the wrong move: it trips HTTP 404 / 400 at the provider
boundary (e.g. 'No endpoints found that support image input') and the
agent loop reports a hard tool failure for what should have been a
simple capture.
The reporter on #24015 hit this with:
model:
default: tencent/hy3-preview # no vision support
provider: openrouter
auxiliary:
vision:
provider: openrouter
model: google/gemini-2.5-flash # explicitly configured
…and observed:
computer_use(action='capture', mode='som')
→ ⚠️ API call failed (attempt1/3): NotFoundError [HTTP 404]
🔌 Provider: openrouter Model: tencent/hy3-preview
📝 Error: HTTP 404: No endpoints found that support image input
Fix: in tools/computer_use/tool.py::_capture_response, after a
screenshot is captured (modes 'som' / 'vision'), consult the routing
helper introduced earlier in this branch. When it says 'route to aux',
materialise the PNG to $HERMES_HOME/cache/vision/, run vision_analyze
on it (which honours auxiliary.vision via the standard async_call_llm
task='vision' router), and return a text-only JSON tool result that
embeds the analysis alongside the existing AX/SOM index. The main
model never sees the pixels — it sees an actionable text description
plus the same set-of-mark element index it normally uses.
The two new helpers (_should_route_through_aux_vision,
_route_capture_through_aux_vision) keep the policy and the IO
separated so each can be tested in isolation. Both fail open: if the
config import fails, if the aux call raises, or if the analysis is
empty, we fall back to the existing multimodal envelope so the
behaviour is at worst the pre-fix status quo. Temp screenshot files
are cleaned up unconditionally in a finally block — even on aux call
failure — to avoid leaving residue under cache/vision/.
The end-to-end regression for #24015 is added in the next commit.
Bug 2 (capture_after=True loses app context):
_maybe_follow_capture called backend.capture(mode='som') with no app=,
causing cua-driver to capture the frontmost window instead of the app
targeted by the preceding capture/focus_app. Fix: track _last_app on
CuaDriverBackend and thread it through the follow-up capture call so
the same app is re-captured regardless of which window has OS focus.
Bug 5 (element labels stripped in capture results):
_ELEMENT_LINE_RE matched the classic ' - [N] AXRole "label"' format
but not the '[N] AXRole (order) id=Label' format introduced in
cua-driver v0.1.6. All element labels were silently dropped as empty
strings, making element identification impossible.
Fix: extend regex to capture both group(3) (quoted label) and group(4)
(id= label), and update _parse_elements_from_tree to use group(4) as
fallback. Both old and new cua-driver output now produce populated
UIElement.label values.
focus_app() now also sets _last_app so that capture_after= on any
subsequent action re-targets the focused app.
5 new regression tests added.
Part of #24170 (bugs 1 and 3/4 addressed separately).
Bug 3: The cua_backend type_text() method called MCP tool 'type_text_chars'
which does not exist in current cua-driver. Changed to 'type_text' which is
the correct MCP tool name.
Bug 4: The drag() method returned a hardcoded 'not supported' error even
though cua-driver exposes a 'drag' MCP tool. Implemented proper drag
dispatching with coordinate-based and element-based targeting.
Added dispatch-level validation for drag to ensure from/to coordinates
or elements are provided before calling any backend.
Fixes#24170 (bugs 3 and 4)
Replace with for all literal-tuple
membership tests. Set lookup is O(1) vs O(n) for tuple — consistent
micro-optimization across the codebase.
608 instances fixed via `ruff --fix --unsafe-fixes`, 0 remaining.
133 files, +626/-626 (net zero).
Extends the cua-driver computer-use backend to drive backgrounded macOS
windows without stealing keyboard or mouse focus from the foreground app.
All changes target the cua-driver MCP backend and the shared dispatcher.
## cua_backend.py
**Window-aware capture**: capture() now calls list_windows + get_window_state
instead of the removed capture tool. Prefers structuredContent.windows
(MCP 2024-11-05+ cua-driver) for zero-parse window enumeration; falls back
to regex-parsed text for older builds. Stores the selected (pid, window_id)
as sticky context so subsequent action calls do not need a redundant round-trip.
**Action routing**: click/scroll/type_text/key all carry the sticky pid
(and window_id for element-indexed clicks). type_text routes through
type_text_chars (individual key events) rather than AX attribute write --
WebKit AXTextFields reject attribute writes from backgrounded processes.
**Key parsing**: _parse_key_combo splits cmd+s-style strings into
(key, [modifiers]) and routes to hotkey (modifier present) or
press_key (bare key) -- cua-driver actual tool names.
**set_value method**: new set_value(value, element) calls the cua-driver
set_value MCP tool. For AXPopUpButton / HTML select in a backgrounded Safari,
AXPress opens the native macOS popup which closes immediately when the app is
non-frontmost; set_value AX-presses the matching child option directly
(no menu required, no focus steal).
**focus_app**: reimplemented as a pure window-selector (enumerates
list_windows, sets sticky pid/window_id) without ever raising the window
or stealing focus.
**list_apps**: fixed tool name from listApps to list_apps; handles plain-text
response via regex when structured data is absent.
**Structured-content extraction**: _extract_tool_result now surfaces
structuredContent from MCP results, enabling the list_windows window array
without text parsing.
**Helpers**: _parse_windows_from_text, _parse_elements_from_tree,
_split_tree_text, _parse_key_combo extracted as module-level functions.
## schema.py
Added set_value to the action enum with a description explaining when to
prefer it over click (select/popup elements, sliders, no focus steal).
Added value field for set_value payloads.
## tool.py
Routed set_value action through _dispatch to backend.set_value.
Added set_value to _DESTRUCTIVE_ACTIONS (approval-gated).
Fixed MIME-type detection in _capture_response: cua-driver may return
JPEG; detect from base64 magic bytes (/9j/ -> image/jpeg, else image/png)
rather than hardcoding image/png.
## agent/display.py + run_agent.py
Guard _detect_tool_failure and result-preview logic against non-string
function_result values: multimodal tool results (dicts with _multimodal=True)
are not string-sliceable; treat them as successes and fall back to str()
for length/preview.
Background macOS desktop control via cua-driver MCP — does NOT steal the
user's cursor or keyboard focus, works with any tool-capable model.
Replaces the Anthropic-native `computer_20251124` approach from the
abandoned #4562 with a generic OpenAI function-calling schema plus SOM
(set-of-mark) captures so Claude, GPT, Gemini, and open models can all
drive the desktop via numbered element indices.
- `tools/computer_use/` package — swappable ComputerUseBackend ABC +
CuaDriverBackend (stdio MCP client to trycua/cua's cua-driver binary).
- Universal `computer_use` tool with one schema for all providers.
Actions: capture (som/vision/ax), click, double_click, right_click,
middle_click, drag, scroll, type, key, wait, list_apps, focus_app.
- Multimodal tool-result envelope (`_multimodal=True`, OpenAI-style
`content: [text, image_url]` parts) that flows through
handle_function_call into the tool message. Anthropic adapter converts
into native `tool_result` image blocks; OpenAI-compatible providers
get the parts list directly.
- Image eviction in convert_messages_to_anthropic: only the 3 most
recent screenshots carry real image data; older ones become text
placeholders to cap per-turn token cost.
- Context compressor image pruning: old multimodal tool results have
their image parts stripped instead of being skipped.
- Image-aware token estimation: each image counts as a flat 1500 tokens
instead of its base64 char length (~1MB would have registered as
~250K tokens before).
- COMPUTER_USE_GUIDANCE system-prompt block — injected when the toolset
is active.
- Session DB persistence strips base64 from multimodal tool messages.
- Trajectory saver normalises multimodal messages to text-only.
- `hermes tools` post-setup installs cua-driver via the upstream script
and prints permission-grant instructions.
- CLI approval callback wired so destructive computer_use actions go
through the same prompt_toolkit approval dialog as terminal commands.
- Hard safety guards at the tool level: blocked type patterns
(curl|bash, sudo rm -rf, fork bomb), blocked key combos (empty trash,
force delete, lock screen, log out).
- Skill `apple/macos-computer-use/SKILL.md` — universal (model-agnostic)
workflow guide.
- Docs: `user-guide/features/computer-use.md` plus reference catalog
entries.
44 new tests in tests/tools/test_computer_use.py covering schema
shape (universal, not Anthropic-native), dispatch routing, safety
guards, multimodal envelope, Anthropic adapter conversion, screenshot
eviction, context compressor pruning, image-aware token estimation,
run_agent helpers, and universality guarantees.
469/469 pass across tests/tools/test_computer_use.py + the affected
agent/ test suites.
- `model_tools.py` provider-gating: the tool is available to every
provider. Providers without multi-part tool message support will see
text-only tool results (graceful degradation via `text_summary`).
- Anthropic server-side `clear_tool_uses_20250919` — deferred;
client-side eviction + compressor pruning cover the same cost ceiling
without a beta header.
- macOS only. cua-driver uses private SkyLight SPIs
(SLEventPostToPid, SLPSPostEventRecordTo,
_AXObserverAddNotificationAndCheckRemote) that can break on any macOS
update. Pin with HERMES_CUA_DRIVER_VERSION.
- Requires Accessibility + Screen Recording permissions — the post-setup
prints the Settings path.
Supersedes PR #4562 (pyautogui/Quartz foreground backend, Anthropic-
native schema). Credit @0xbyt4 for the original #3816 groundwork whose
context/eviction/token design is preserved here in generic form.
Extends the cua-driver computer-use backend to drive backgrounded macOS
windows without stealing keyboard or mouse focus from the foreground app.
All changes target the cua-driver MCP backend and the shared dispatcher.
## cua_backend.py
**Window-aware capture**: capture() now calls list_windows + get_window_state
instead of the removed capture tool. Prefers structuredContent.windows
(MCP 2024-11-05+ cua-driver) for zero-parse window enumeration; falls back
to regex-parsed text for older builds. Stores the selected (pid, window_id)
as sticky context so subsequent action calls do not need a redundant round-trip.
**Action routing**: click/scroll/type_text/key all carry the sticky pid
(and window_id for element-indexed clicks). type_text routes through
type_text_chars (individual key events) rather than AX attribute write --
WebKit AXTextFields reject attribute writes from backgrounded processes.
**Key parsing**: _parse_key_combo splits cmd+s-style strings into
(key, [modifiers]) and routes to hotkey (modifier present) or
press_key (bare key) -- cua-driver actual tool names.
**set_value method**: new set_value(value, element) calls the cua-driver
set_value MCP tool. For AXPopUpButton / HTML select in a backgrounded Safari,
AXPress opens the native macOS popup which closes immediately when the app is
non-frontmost; set_value AX-presses the matching child option directly
(no menu required, no focus steal).
**focus_app**: reimplemented as a pure window-selector (enumerates
list_windows, sets sticky pid/window_id) without ever raising the window
or stealing focus.
**list_apps**: fixed tool name from listApps to list_apps; handles plain-text
response via regex when structured data is absent.
**Structured-content extraction**: _extract_tool_result now surfaces
structuredContent from MCP results, enabling the list_windows window array
without text parsing.
**Helpers**: _parse_windows_from_text, _parse_elements_from_tree,
_split_tree_text, _parse_key_combo extracted as module-level functions.
## schema.py
Added set_value to the action enum with a description explaining when to
prefer it over click (select/popup elements, sliders, no focus steal).
Added value field for set_value payloads.
## tool.py
Routed set_value action through _dispatch to backend.set_value.
Added set_value to _DESTRUCTIVE_ACTIONS (approval-gated).
Fixed MIME-type detection in _capture_response: cua-driver may return
JPEG; detect from base64 magic bytes (/9j/ -> image/jpeg, else image/png)
rather than hardcoding image/png.
## agent/display.py + run_agent.py
Guard _detect_tool_failure and result-preview logic against non-string
function_result values: multimodal tool results (dicts with _multimodal=True)
are not string-sliceable; treat them as successes and fall back to str()
for length/preview.
Background macOS desktop control via cua-driver MCP — does NOT steal the
user's cursor or keyboard focus, works with any tool-capable model.
Replaces the Anthropic-native `computer_20251124` approach from the
abandoned #4562 with a generic OpenAI function-calling schema plus SOM
(set-of-mark) captures so Claude, GPT, Gemini, and open models can all
drive the desktop via numbered element indices.
- `tools/computer_use/` package — swappable ComputerUseBackend ABC +
CuaDriverBackend (stdio MCP client to trycua/cua's cua-driver binary).
- Universal `computer_use` tool with one schema for all providers.
Actions: capture (som/vision/ax), click, double_click, right_click,
middle_click, drag, scroll, type, key, wait, list_apps, focus_app.
- Multimodal tool-result envelope (`_multimodal=True`, OpenAI-style
`content: [text, image_url]` parts) that flows through
handle_function_call into the tool message. Anthropic adapter converts
into native `tool_result` image blocks; OpenAI-compatible providers
get the parts list directly.
- Image eviction in convert_messages_to_anthropic: only the 3 most
recent screenshots carry real image data; older ones become text
placeholders to cap per-turn token cost.
- Context compressor image pruning: old multimodal tool results have
their image parts stripped instead of being skipped.
- Image-aware token estimation: each image counts as a flat 1500 tokens
instead of its base64 char length (~1MB would have registered as
~250K tokens before).
- COMPUTER_USE_GUIDANCE system-prompt block — injected when the toolset
is active.
- Session DB persistence strips base64 from multimodal tool messages.
- Trajectory saver normalises multimodal messages to text-only.
- `hermes tools` post-setup installs cua-driver via the upstream script
and prints permission-grant instructions.
- CLI approval callback wired so destructive computer_use actions go
through the same prompt_toolkit approval dialog as terminal commands.
- Hard safety guards at the tool level: blocked type patterns
(curl|bash, sudo rm -rf, fork bomb), blocked key combos (empty trash,
force delete, lock screen, log out).
- Skill `apple/macos-computer-use/SKILL.md` — universal (model-agnostic)
workflow guide.
- Docs: `user-guide/features/computer-use.md` plus reference catalog
entries.
44 new tests in tests/tools/test_computer_use.py covering schema
shape (universal, not Anthropic-native), dispatch routing, safety
guards, multimodal envelope, Anthropic adapter conversion, screenshot
eviction, context compressor pruning, image-aware token estimation,
run_agent helpers, and universality guarantees.
469/469 pass across tests/tools/test_computer_use.py + the affected
agent/ test suites.
- `model_tools.py` provider-gating: the tool is available to every
provider. Providers without multi-part tool message support will see
text-only tool results (graceful degradation via `text_summary`).
- Anthropic server-side `clear_tool_uses_20250919` — deferred;
client-side eviction + compressor pruning cover the same cost ceiling
without a beta header.
- macOS only. cua-driver uses private SkyLight SPIs
(SLEventPostToPid, SLPSPostEventRecordTo,
_AXObserverAddNotificationAndCheckRemote) that can break on any macOS
update. Pin with HERMES_CUA_DRIVER_VERSION.
- Requires Accessibility + Screen Recording permissions — the post-setup
prints the Settings path.
Supersedes PR #4562 (pyautogui/Quartz foreground backend, Anthropic-
native schema). Credit @0xbyt4 for the original #3816 groundwork whose
context/eviction/token design is preserved here in generic form.
Gille