oriel Answers Updated
Does Claude Code computer use work 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 screenshot-based research preview that hides your other windows while it works. To let the Claude Code CLI use your Windows apps, add an MCP server that reads them, such as oriel.
What Anthropic's docs say
Read on 10 Nov 2026:
- Computer use in the CLI is “a research preview on macOS that requires a Pro, Max, or Ultra plan”. The page says: “Computer use in the CLI is not available on Linux or Windows. On Windows, use computer use in Desktop instead.”
- Computer use in Claude Desktop “is a research preview on macOS and Windows that requires a Pro, Max, or Ultra plan. It is not available on Team or Enterprise plans.”
- Only on macOS can Desktop's computer use run in the background. Otherwise “Claude hides your other windows while it works so it interacts with only the approved app.”
- The CLI and Desktop “share the same computer use engine”, which sends the model screenshots.
- The same CLI page says Claude tries the most precise tool first: “If you have an MCP server for the service, Claude uses that.”
What works on Windows
| Option | From the Claude Code CLI | While it works |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Desktop computer use | No, in the Desktop app only | Works from screenshots and hides your other windows |
| ChatGPT desktop app computer use | No, a separate app | On Windows, “expect ChatGPT to move the pointer, type, and take over the foreground while the task runs” (OpenAI) |
| An MCP server such as oriel | Yes, with one claude mcp add line | Reads each window as text. Presses, fills, selects and scrolls don't move the mouse; keys, click and drag do |
oriel is one of several MCP servers for Windows. Cua Driver and agent-desktop also read the accessibility tree, and Windows-MCP takes snapshots of the whole desktop. How oriel compares: oriel and Cua Driver, oriel and Windows-MCP. No whole-task benchmark has compared oriel with agent-desktop.
Add oriel to Claude Code
- Download oriel.exe and, in PowerShell in the download folder, run:
.\oriel.exe install - Add it to Claude Code, in the same PowerShell window:
claude mcp add --scope user oriel -- "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\ oriel\ oriel.exe" mcp - Ask Claude:
Open Calculator and work out 127 times 46 by pressing its buttons.
Each press replies with what changed in the window, so Claude doesn't read the window again to check. From a Mac, Claude Code can reach a Windows PC over SSH: the SSH guide.
Questions
Does oriel work with Claude Desktop?
Any client that starts a stdio MCP server should work, but only Claude Code is tested. Each release also has an .mcpb bundle that Claude Desktop installs as an extension.
Does oriel need admin rights?
No. It installs for your Windows account only, in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\oriel, with no service or driver. oriel uninstall removes everything it added.
Can I keep using the PC while Claude works?
For reading and element actions, yes: they don't move the mouse or take the focus. keys, click and drag bring the window to the front, wait for a pause in your typing, and are refused if you keep going.
Try oriel
Free and open source, one exe under 200 KB, no admin rights. Tested with Claude Code on Windows 11.
Not code-signed yet, so Windows will warn. Why, and how to check the file
Sources
- Claude Code docs, Let Claude use your computer from the CLI, read 10 Nov 2026
- Claude Code docs, Claude Desktop, section on computer use, read 10 Nov 2026
- OpenAI, Computer use, read 10 Nov 2026
- oriel, README and SECURITY.md