The Claude Code CLI has no built-in computer use on Windows (docs, read 10 Nov 2026).

oriel lets Claude Code use your Windows apps.

An MCP server for Windows. It reads each window as text through the accessibility tree, presses, fills and selects controls through UI Automation so those actions don't move your mouse, and replies to every action with what changed.

Download for Windows View on GitHub

Not code-signed yet, so Windows will warn. Why, and how to check the file

Free, Apache-2.0 One exe under 200 KB No admin rights Tested on Windows 11 with Claude Code

> tree Character Mapwindow [264694] charmap "Character Map" at 15,65 491x437[kqm1] Pane "Character Grid"[kqm3] Edit "Characters to copy :" value=" "[kqm4] Button "Select"[kqm5] Button "Copy" (disabled)[kqm6] CheckBox "Advanced view" off...> set id=kqm3 value="hello"set "Characters to copy :"~ [kqm3] Edit "Characters to copy :" value="hello"~ [kqm5] Button "Copy"(set took 9 ms)
One call fills the field. The reply says what changed.

Set up

One exe, no admin rights, three steps. Tested with Claude Code on Windows 11.

Claude Code on a Mac? Run it there and reach the PC over SSH: the SSH guide. For a Mac or Linux desktop itself, oriel-vnc, in the same repo, works with any screen that runs a VNC server.

  1. Install

    Download oriel.exe, then run this in PowerShell in the download folder:

    .\oriel.exe install

    It copies oriel to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\oriel, for your Windows account only. It ends by printing the config line for each client, with your path filled in. Not code-signed yet, so Windows will warn: why, and how to check the file.

  2. Add it to Claude Code

    In the same PowerShell window:

    claude mcp add --scope user oriel -- "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\oriel\oriel.exe" mcp

    Or as a Claude Code plugin, which carries its own oriel.exe, so it needs no step 1 (Claude Code 2.1.292 or later, and Git for Windows, which Claude Code uses to fetch the plugin). Use one of the two, not both.

    claude plugin install oriel --marketplace YordiLorenzo/oriel

    On the Mac or Linux machine, with your Windows user name for <you>. The PC needs OpenSSH Server with key login. Turning it on needs admin once; oriel itself needs none. SSH guide

    claude mcp add --scope user oriel -- ssh '<you>@my-windows-pc' 'C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\Programs\oriel\oriel.exe' mcp

    Not tested yet. In %USERPROFILE%\.codex\config.toml, with your Windows user name for <you>:

    [mcp_servers.oriel]
command = "C:\\Users\\<you>\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\oriel\\oriel.exe"
args = ["mcp"]

    Not tested yet. In claude_desktop_config.json, or .cursor\mcp.json for Cursor:

    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "oriel": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\<you>\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\oriel\\oriel.exe",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

    Each release also has an .mcpb bundle that Claude Desktop installs as an extension.

    Not tested yet. In .vscode\mcp.json:

    {
  "servers": {
    "oriel": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "C:\\Users\\<you>\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\oriel\\oriel.exe",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

    Tested with Claude Code. The Codex, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code configs follow each client's documented format.

  3. Try it

    Ask Claude one of these. Each press and fill replies with what changed in the window.

    Open Calculator and work out 127 times 46 by pressing its buttons.
    Open Notepad, write a three-line note and save it in Documents as oriel-test.txt.

    Did it work? Say so in Discussions. To hear about new releases, choose Watch, Custom, Releases on GitHub, or follow the releases feed.

Windows warns about oriel.exe

oriel isn't code-signed yet, so Windows can't name the publisher. Here is each warning, and how to check the file.

  • Your browser may say "oriel.exe isn't commonly downloaded". In Edge, point at the file in the downloads list, open its ... menu and choose Keep. In "Make sure you trust oriel.exe before you open it", open the arrow next to Delete and choose Keep anyway.
  • Running it: .\oriel.exe install in PowerShell showed no further prompt in a test on Windows 11 on 11 Nov 2026. Opened from File Explorer, Windows may ask "Are you sure that you want to run this software?" (choose Run), and SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC" (choose More info, then Run anyway). Reputation builds with downloads, and every new version starts with none (Microsoft).
  • Smart App Control, where it is on, blocks unsigned programs and has no way past for one app (Microsoft). It checks a copy you build yourself too; a local build only avoids SmartScreen's download warning.
  • Antivirus may be wary of an unsigned program that sends keystrokes and reads other windows. oriel doesn't try to get around it.

Check the file

In PowerShell, compare its hash with the release's SHA256SUMS:

(Get-FileHash .\oriel.exe).Hash

The GitHub CLI can also check that this repository's release workflow built it:

gh attestation verify oriel.exe -R YordiLorenzo/oriel

oriel will apply to SignPath Foundation for free code signing, so that Windows names the publisher. The code signing policy says what will be signed and who approves it.

A median 49 s a task, against 70 s.

Same model, same 153 tasks from Microsoft's WindowsAgentArena, two runs each. Only the MCP server changed.

Cua Driver 0.38.0 completed 4 points more tasks: 67% against 63%. Its own two identical runs differed by 6.5 points, so that gap is within run-to-run variation, but it was also ahead in every round since round 5. It ran without 4 of its 63 tools, run_script among them.

Round 9, October 2026, Claude Sonnet 5.5 in Claude Code. Median time 30% lower, model cost 38% lower, 19% fewer turns; each gap is larger than either layer's own run-to-run gap. The benchmark does not show which feature did it. Model cost is what Claude Code reported, a list-price estimate. What this does not show Method and every round oriel and Cua Driver compared

oriel Cua Driver 0.38.0
Median time per task 49 s 70 s
Model cost, all 153 tasks $38 $61
Model turns per task 21.8 27.0
Tasks completed 63% 67%

Per call, against Cua Driver 0.46.1

oriel Cua Driver
List windows 1 ms 30 ms
Launch an app 192 ms 604 ms
Read a window 20 ms 37 ms
Fill a field 2 ms 3 ms
Press a button 2 ms 5 ms
Calls to press and see what changed 1 2

10 Nov 2026, oriel 0.1.0 on one unlocked Windows 11 PC, median of 5 runs. Press and change report together took oriel 42 ms. Per-call results

A Windows MCP server that reads text, not screenshots

Reads windows as text

Every control is one line with a short ref, taken from the accessibility tree that Narrator uses. Claude acts on the ref without searching again.

Element actions leave your mouse alone

Presses, fills, selects and scrolls go through UI Automation, so they don't move the mouse or take the focus. Keys, click and drag do, and wait for a pause in your typing.

Says what changed

Each action replies with the controls that appeared, changed or went away, so Claude doesn't read the window again to check.

Careful by default

It acts as you, only in windows it may use. It is not a sandbox: SECURITY.md lists every limit.

  • Never types into a password field with any setting
  • Stays out of sign-in, UAC prompts and password managers add your own apps with deny
  • No shell and no file tools until you turn the shell on
  • Only your own MCP clients can connect loopback only, with a per-user key

Powerful and limitless when you need it

Turn on more when a task calls for it.

  • Shells and terminals {"shell": true} in config.json
  • Apps that run as administrator run oriel as administrator too
  • Games, canvases and drawing screenshot, click and drag
  • Your Mac and Linux machines oriel-vnc, in the same repo

Questions

More in the README, or ask in Discussions.

Longer answers: Claude Code computer use on Windows, oriel and Cua Driver, oriel and Windows-MCP, a Windows PC from a Mac and testing your Windows app.

Does Claude Code have computer use on Windows?

Not in the CLI. Anthropic's docs say "Computer use in the CLI is not available on Linux or Windows" and send Windows users to Claude Desktop, whose computer use is a research preview on Pro, Max and Ultra that hides your other windows while it works. An MCP server such as oriel lets the CLI use your Windows apps. oriel was never measured against Claude Desktop's computer use. The full answer

How is it different from Cua Driver?

Both read the accessibility tree. oriel answers every action with what changed in the same reply; Cua Driver needs a second call to read the window. On WindowsAgentArena round 9 (October 2026), with the same model, tasks took a median 49 s against 70 s, at the model cost Claude Code reported of $38 against $61. Cua Driver 0.38.0 completed 4 points more tasks: 67% against 63%. Its own two runs differed by 6.5 points. It ran without 4 of its 63 tools, run_script among them. The full comparison

Which clients and Windows versions does it work with?

It is tested with Claude Code on Windows 11. Any client that starts a stdio MCP server should work, but no other client is tested yet. Windows 10 version 1903 or later should work, since it includes the .NET Framework 4.8, but it isn't tested yet.

Is it safe to let Claude use my PC?

In the windows it may use, it can do what you can. It won't type into password fields, stays out of sign-in, UAC prompts, password managers and terminals, and has no shell by default. An allow-list in config.json keeps it to the apps you name. It is not a sandbox. SECURITY.md lists what it guarantees and where that stops.

It isn't code-signed. Can I trust it?

The source is open and every release lists its hash in SHA256SUMS, and each release file also carries a GitHub build attestation that gh attestation verify checks. oriel will apply to SignPath Foundation for free code signing; the code signing policy says how it will work. Until then SmartScreen warns, and Smart App Control, where it is on, blocks it. Each warning

Does it work on a Mac or on Linux?

oriel.exe runs on Windows. From a Mac or Linux machine, Claude Code can use a Windows PC over SSH. oriel itself needs no admin rights; turning on OpenSSH Server needs admin once. For the Mac or Linux desktop itself, use oriel-vnc, the second MCP server in the repo. The SSH guide

Does it send anything anywhere?

No telemetry and no update checks. oriel only talks to itself on 127.0.0.1. Your MCP client sends what oriel reads to its model provider, as it does with anything else you show it.

How do I remove it? 
& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\oriel\oriel.exe" uninstall

It removes what it added and lists each item. Then remove oriel from your MCP client: in Claude Code, claude mcp remove --scope user oriel, or claude plugin uninstall oriel@oriel if you used the plugin. What oriel changes on your PC

Let Claude Code use your Windows apps

Download for Windows Star on GitHub

Not code-signed yet, so Windows will warn. Why, and how to check the file