Manus’s latest desktop application enables users to read, edit, and manage files and applications directly on their devices. This launch positions Meta’s AI agent ambitions against the prominent open-source tool that has been a major topic this week.
OpenClaw made its internet debut last month, spreading like a weather system. It quickly gained popularity, being downloaded millions of times, dissected in numerous tutorials, and praised by Jensen Huang as “definitely the next ChatGPT.”
Its charm lies in its simplicity: a free, locally running AI agent capable of web browsing, code writing, file management, and executing multi-step tasks on your computer without relying on a cloud server. In today’s terms, it is agentic and free.
Manus, the AI agent startup acquired by Meta last year, launched its counter on March 16, 2026. A new desktop app named My Computer is now available for macOS and Windows users, integrating Manus’s agent directly onto personal devices.
Through My Computer, the agent can interpret, analyze, and modify local files, launch and manage applications, and perform complex tasks such as coding, all without requiring users to upload data to a server.
Previously, Manus functioned primarily in the cloud: tasks were processed on a remote server and results were returned. While this model offers advantages in terms of computing and consistency, it falls short compared to OpenClaw: it’s not free and doesn’t operate on your machine.
My Computer seeks to bridge these gaps, all while retaining what Manus claims is a more refined and capable agent beneath the surface.
What does My Computer do?
According to the company, My Computer enables the Manus agent to organize files, build coding projects, and control applications locally, tasks that previously required technical know-how or cloud uploads.
One example provided by the company includes organizing “thousands of internal images.” The agent can generate applications within the desktop environment and interact with software already installed on the device.
The primary architectural difference between Manus and OpenClaw is the model layer underlying the agent. OpenClaw is open-source and can operate with various underlying language models; its quality is heavily dependent on the model and user configuration.
Manus operates on Meta’s proprietary model stack, which the company claims offers a more consistent and capable foundation, albeit with a subscription fee.
For users who find OpenClaw’s setup process daunting or its outputs inconsistent, Manus presents itself as a polished commercial alternative: a tool that offers similar functionality but operates reliably from the start. For those seeking free and configurable options, OpenClaw remains available.
The Manus launch is part of a broader Meta strategy concerning autonomous AI agents. Information from the company’s internal development reveals that Meta AI plans to integrate its Avocado model family, Manus agent capabilities, and direct OpenClaw compatibility, acknowledging that open-source agent frameworks are now essential infrastructure for competitive AI products.
The desktop agent market is becoming increasingly competitive. Apple is enhancing its on-device intelligence framework; Microsoft is deepening Copilot’s integration with the Windows file system; Google is embedding agentic capabilities into Gemini.
Each of these players boasts unique advantages, such as hardware, operating system access, and search data, which Manus and Meta lack. Nevertheless, Manus benefits from an early lead in cross-platform, task-oriented agency and the backing of the world’s largest social network.
Whether users who navigate OpenClaw’s configuration complexity will opt for a Manus subscription, and whether those unfamiliar with it will trust a Meta product running locally on their machine, are questions the market will address in the coming months.
The race in the AI agent arena has shifted from the cloud to the desktop, and it remains in its early, rapidly evolving stages.