Manus, the AI agent startup acquired by Meta in December 2025 for approximately $2 billion, launched a desktop application on March 16 that brings its agent directly onto users' personal computers. The central feature, called My Computer, marks a significant shift from the company's previous cloud-only model.

From Cloud Sandbox to Local Machine

Until now, Manus operated entirely in a remote cloud environment. My Computer changes that by allowing the agent to execute terminal commands on the user's own machine — reading, analyzing, and editing local files, launching applications, and automating repetitive workflows without any cloud upload required.

The agent works through standard CLI tools already installed on the system. Demos from the company show it organizing thousands of photos into categorized folders, renaming large batches of invoices, and building a functional Mac app in Swift in roughly 20 minutes — entirely via terminal, with no manual coding.

Permission-Based Execution

Every terminal command requires explicit user approval before it runs. Manus offers two modes: Allow Once for one-time review, and Always Allow for trusted recurring actions. The company says users remain in full control at each step.

Competing with OpenClaw

The launch puts Manus in direct competition with OpenClaw, the free MIT-licensed local AI agent that drew millions of downloads after Jensen Huang called it "the next ChatGPT." Unlike OpenClaw, Manus operates on a paid subscription model, positioning itself as a more polished enterprise option.

My Computer is available now for macOS and Windows. Manus also plans to integrate Meta's Avocado models and add OpenClaw API compatibility in future updates.