Anthropic ships background computer use on macOS, with an explicit escalation ladder before screen takeover

r/ClaudeAI (ClaudeOfficial), corroborated by 9to5Mac and Android Authority·high signalXBlueskyLinkedInCopy link

Anthropic's official account announced that Claude can now drive your computer in the background in both Claude Cowork and Claude Code, clicking, typing and opening apps while you work in another window, for as long as the machine is on and the Claude Desktop app is open. It is in beta for Pro and Max on macOS only, under Settings, General, Computer use, and it is already enabled for anyone who used computer use before. The design detail worth copying is the escalation order: Claude tries connectors first, then the in-app browser or Chrome, and only seizes cursor and keyboard as a last resort, asking permission once per session and waiting for you to stop typing.