Keep Cua Spaces.
Reach remote machines.

AI Commander is not a replacement for Cua Spaces, and it is not a replacement for Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor. Agents, and the agencies and teams running them, usually do not need a full GUI desktop or a mouse and keyboard driving the computer like a person. Serious work goes through tools: shell, files, APIs, jobs, and MCP. Cua Spaces is excellent when you truly need the other thing — a local Mac VM, Cua Driver, Teleport, and a GUI more than one person can watch. AI Commander is the remote-machine harness beside that: always-on, non-Mac, and remote machines, with no GUI tax. When you only need to peek, a screenshot is enough. AI Commander already takes one. It is not a live multiplayer desktop.

Positioning in one line: Cua Spaces owns the local Mac GUI niche. AI Commander bets that the main path is tools on remote machines — alongside Spaces, Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor, not instead of any of them.

Where each one fits: local Mac desktop and remote machines.

Sibling harness pages: Cursor · GitHub Copilot · Cody · OpenHands · Amazon Q · Augment · Devin · Aider · Cline · Roo Code · Zed · OpenCode · Qwen Code · goose · Amp · Kilo Code · Continue · Windsurf · Claude Code · Grok · Codex · ChatGPT · Gemini.

Connect Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor

Cua’s own MCP stays pointed at the local Space (Driver, stream, teleport). Add AI Commander as a second MCP server when the same client needs a remote machine. Hosted endpoint: https://aicommander.dev/mcp.

Claude Code — HTTP MCP

$ claude mcp add --transport http aicommander https://aicommander.dev/mcp

Codex — HTTP MCP

$ codex mcp add aicommander --url https://aicommander.dev/mcp

Cursor — ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aicommander": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@aicommander/mcp"],
      "env": { "AICOMMANDER_SERVER": "https://aicommander.dev" }
    }
  }
}

Full client matrix: Connect your AI client. Cua Spaces: spaces.cua.ai · Spaces docs.

First connect may open a one-time browser sign-in (OAuth Dynamic Client Registration). For a code-only first hour without that flow, append ?anonymous=1 to the MCP URL.

What the remote harness adds

Remote shell on Linux, macOS, and Windows — by session code or saved alias.
Detached jobs for builds and headless agents on the box that has the repo, including machines that stay on.
Fleet list + GPU facts so Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor picks the right remote machine.
File courier (Pro) for checkpoints and diffs up to 100 MiB.

Cua Spaces and AI Commander, side by side

Respect the GUI niche. Some jobs really are a native Mac app, a signed-in desktop, and a screen more than one person watches. Cua Spaces is built for that: local Mac VM, Driver, Teleport, GUI multiplayer. AI Commander does not take that job, and it does not pretend a shell is a Mac app.

The bet on this side is the other way: most agent work should not steer a computer with a mouse. Direction of serious work is tools — shell, files, APIs, jobs, MCP — on machines that stay on, including Linux and Windows, reached from Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor. Seeing state is a screenshot, which is enough to peek. It is not a live multiplayer desktop, and that is intentional. No GUI tax.

	Cua Spaces	AI Commander
Best at	Local Mac VM when you need native apps and a desktop	Remote, always-on, and non-Mac machines
How the agent acts	Driver, Teleport, GUI multiplayer	Tools: shell, files, APIs, jobs, MCP
Seeing state	Live desktop you can watch together	Screenshot when you need to peek — not a live multiplayer desktop
Cost of the desktop	Worth it when the app is the job	No GUI tax on ordinary agent work
Clients	MCP into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor	The same clients. Not a replacement for them.
Replaces the other?	No	No. Spaces for the Mac GUI; AI Commander for the remote fleet.

Same clients, second server when the box is remote: Claude Code claude mcp add --transport http aicommander https://aicommander.dev/mcp, Codex codex mcp add aicommander --url https://aicommander.dev/mcp, Cursor npx -y @aicommander/mcp in ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

FAQ

Is AI Commander a replacement for Cua Spaces?

No. Cua Spaces is the right niche when you truly need a local Mac desktop: a Mac VM, Cua Driver, Teleport, and a GUI more than one person can watch, with MCP into Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor. Most agent work is not that. AI Commander is the remote-machine harness beside it — shell, files, APIs, jobs, and MCP on always-on, non-Mac, and remote machines, with a screenshot when you need to peek rather than a live multiplayer desktop. It does not replace Cua Spaces, and it does not replace Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor.

How do Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor reach remote machines alongside Cua Spaces?

Keep Cua’s MCP for the local Mac Space. Add AI Commander as another MCP server for the remote fleet. Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http aicommander https://aicommander.dev/mcp. Codex: codex mcp add aicommander --url https://aicommander.dev/mcp. Cursor: npx -y @aicommander/mcp in ~/.cursor/mcp.json with AICOMMANDER_SERVER=https://aicommander.dev. First connect may open a one-time browser sign-in (OAuth). Use ?anonymous=1 for a code-only first hour. See /howto/ for the full matrix.

When do I use Cua Spaces, and when do I use AI Commander?

Use Cua Spaces when the job really is a native Mac app or a desktop you share: Driver, Teleport, and GUI multiplayer. Use AI Commander when agents — and the teams running them — should work through tools instead of a mouse: remote, always-on, or non-Mac machines, with no GUI tax. Seeing state there is a screenshot, not a live desktop. The two sit side by side in Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor.

Next steps

Keep Cua Spaces when the job is a Mac desktop. Install the AI Commander agent on a remote machine, connect Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor, and let the agent use tools — alongside Spaces, not instead of it.

Install the agent Setup guides Where each one fits

Keep Cua Spaces.Reach remote machines.