Computer Use - Daytona

The Computer Use API provides comprehensive desktop automation capabilities, enabling programmatic control of mouse, keyboard, screenshots, and screen recording within sandbox environments.

Overview

Daytona’s Computer Use functionality enables:

Mouse control - Move, click, drag, and scroll
Keyboard control - Type text and press keys
Screenshots - Capture full screen or regions
Display management - Query display information and windows
Screen recording - Record and download desktop sessions

Getting Started

Start Computer Use

Initialize the desktop environment:

const result = await sandbox.computerUse.start();
console.log('Desktop started:', result.message);

This starts all required processes (Xvfb, xfce4, x11vnc, novnc).

Check Status

const status = await sandbox.computerUse.getStatus();
console.log('Status:', status.status);

Stop Computer Use

const result = await sandbox.computerUse.stop();
console.log('Desktop stopped:', result.message);

Mouse Operations

Get Mouse Position

const position = await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.getPosition();
console.log(`Mouse at: ${position.x}, ${position.y}`);

Move Mouse

const result = await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.move(100, 200);
console.log(`Moved to: ${result.x}, ${result.y}`);

number

required

X coordinate to move to

number

required

Y coordinate to move to

Click Mouse

// Single left click
const result = await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.click(100, 200);

// Double click
const doubleClick = await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.click(
  100, 200,
  'left',  // button
  true     // double
);

// Right click
const rightClick = await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.click(
  100, 200,
  'right'
);

// Middle click
const middleClick = await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.click(
  100, 200,
  'middle'
);

number

required

X coordinate to click at

number

required

Y coordinate to click at

button

string

Mouse button: ‘left’ (default), ‘right’, or ‘middle’

double

boolean

Whether to perform a double-click. Default is false.

Drag Mouse

const result = await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.drag(
  50, 50,    // start x, y
  150, 150   // end x, y
);

console.log(`Dragged from (${result.from.x},${result.from.y}) to (${result.to.x},${result.to.y})`);

startX

number

required

Starting X coordinate

startY

number

required

Starting Y coordinate

endX

number

required

Ending X coordinate

endY

number

required

Ending Y coordinate

button

string

Mouse button to use for dragging. Default is ‘left’.

Scroll Mouse

// Scroll up
const scrollUp = await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.scroll(
  100, 200,  // x, y
  'up',      // direction
  3          // amount
);

// Scroll down
const scrollDown = await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.scroll(
  100, 200,
  'down',
  5
);

number

required

X coordinate to scroll at

number

required

Y coordinate to scroll at

direction

'up' | 'down'

required

Scroll direction

amount

number

Amount to scroll. Default is 1.

Keyboard Operations

Type Text

// Type text normally
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.type('Hello, World!');

// Type with delay between characters
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.type(
  'Slow typing',
  100  // 100ms delay
);

text

string

required

Text to type

delay

number

Delay between characters in milliseconds. Default is 0.

Press Keys

// Press Enter
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.press('Return');

// Press Escape
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.press('Escape');

// Press Tab
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.press('Tab');

// Press with modifiers (Ctrl+C)
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.press('c', ['ctrl']);

// Press with multiple modifiers (Ctrl+Shift+T)
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.press('t', ['ctrl', 'shift']);

key

string

required

Key to press (e.g., ‘Return’, ‘Escape’, ‘Tab’, ‘a’, ‘A’)

modifiers

string[]

Modifier keys: ‘ctrl’, ‘alt’, ‘meta’, ‘shift’. Default is empty array.

Press Hotkeys

// Copy
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.hotkey('ctrl+c');

// Paste
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.hotkey('ctrl+v');

// Save
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.hotkey('ctrl+s');

// Alt+Tab
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.hotkey('alt+tab');

// Cmd+Shift+T (Mac)
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.hotkey('cmd+shift+t');

keys

string

required

Hotkey combination (e.g., ‘ctrl+c’, ‘alt+tab’, ‘cmd+shift+t’)

Screenshots

Full Screen Screenshot

const screenshot = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeFullScreen();

console.log(`Screenshot: ${screenshot.width}x${screenshot.height}`);
console.log(`Base64 image: ${screenshot.image.substring(0, 50)}...`);

// With cursor visible
const withCursor = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeFullScreen(true);

showCursor

boolean

Whether to show cursor in screenshot. Default is false.

Region Screenshot

Capture a specific screen region:

const region = { x: 100, y: 100, width: 300, height: 200 };

const screenshot = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeRegion(region);

console.log(`Captured region: ${screenshot.region.width}x${screenshot.region.height}`);

region

ScreenshotRegion

required

Region to capture

Show properties

number

required

X coordinate of top-left corner

number

required

Y coordinate of top-left corner

width

number

required

Width of region

height

number

required

Height of region

Compressed Screenshots

Take compressed screenshots for smaller file sizes:

// Default compression
const screenshot = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeCompressed();

// High quality JPEG
const jpeg = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeCompressed({
  format: 'jpeg',
  quality: 95,
  showCursor: true
});

// Scaled down PNG
const scaled = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeCompressed({
  format: 'png',
  scale: 0.5  // 50% size
});

// Compressed region
const region = { x: 0, y: 0, width: 800, height: 600 };
const compressed = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeCompressedRegion(
  region,
  {
    format: 'webp',
    quality: 80
  }
);

console.log(`Compressed size: ${compressed.size_bytes} bytes`);

options

ScreenshotOptions

Compression and display options

Show properties

showCursor

boolean

Show cursor in screenshot

format

string

Image format: ‘jpeg’, ‘png’, ‘webp’

quality

number

Compression quality (0-100)

scale

number

Scale factor (e.g., 0.5 for 50% size)

Display Information

Get Display Info

const info = await sandbox.computerUse.display.getInfo();

console.log(`Primary display: ${info.primary_display.width}x${info.primary_display.height}`);
console.log(`Total displays: ${info.total_displays}`);

info.displays.forEach((display, index) => {
  console.log(`Display ${index}: ${display.width}x${display.height} at (${display.x}, ${display.y})`);
});

List Open Windows

const windows = await sandbox.computerUse.display.getWindows();

console.log(`Found ${windows.count} open windows:`);
windows.windows.forEach(window => {
  console.log(`- ${window.title} (ID: ${window.id})`);
});

Screen Recording

Start Recording

const recording = await sandbox.computerUse.recording.start('my-recording');

console.log('Recording ID:', recording.id);
console.log('File path:', recording.filePath);

label

string

Optional custom label for the recording

Stop Recording

const result = await sandbox.computerUse.recording.stop(recording.id);

console.log(`Recording stopped: ${result.durationSeconds} seconds`);
console.log(`Saved to: ${result.filePath}`);

List Recordings

const recordings = await sandbox.computerUse.recording.list();

console.log(`Found ${recordings.recordings.length} recordings`);

recordings.recordings.forEach(rec => {
  console.log(`- ${rec.fileName}: ${rec.status}`);
  console.log(`  Duration: ${rec.durationSeconds}s`);
  console.log(`  Size: ${rec.sizeBytes} bytes`);
});

Get Recording Details

const recording = await sandbox.computerUse.recording.get(recordingId);

console.log('Recording:', recording.fileName);
console.log('Status:', recording.status);
console.log('Duration:', recording.durationSeconds, 'seconds');

Download Recording

await sandbox.computerUse.recording.download(
  recordingId,
  'local-recording.mp4'
);

console.log('Recording downloaded');

string

required

ID of the recording to download

localPath

string

required

Local path to save the recording file

Delete Recording

await sandbox.computerUse.recording.delete(recordingId);
console.log('Recording deleted');

Process Management

Get Process Status

const xvfbStatus = await sandbox.computerUse.getProcessStatus('xvfb');
const noVncStatus = await sandbox.computerUse.getProcessStatus('novnc');

console.log('Xvfb status:', xvfbStatus.status);
console.log('NoVNC status:', noVncStatus.status);

Restart Process

const result = await sandbox.computerUse.restartProcess('xfce4');
console.log('XFCE4 restarted:', result.message);

Get Process Logs

const logs = await sandbox.computerUse.getProcessLogs('novnc');
console.log('NoVNC logs:', logs.logs);

const errors = await sandbox.computerUse.getProcessErrors('x11vnc');
console.log('X11VNC errors:', errors.errors);

Complete Example

import { Daytona } from '@daytonaio/sdk';

const daytona = new Daytona();
const sandbox = await daytona.create();

try {
  // Start desktop environment
  console.log('Starting desktop...');
  await sandbox.computerUse.start();
  
  // Wait for desktop to initialize
  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 3000));
  
  // Get display info
  const displayInfo = await sandbox.computerUse.display.getInfo();
  console.log(`Display: ${displayInfo.primary_display.width}x${displayInfo.primary_display.height}`);
  
  // Start recording
  const recording = await sandbox.computerUse.recording.start('automation-demo');
  console.log('Recording started:', recording.id);
  
  // Move mouse to center
  const centerX = displayInfo.primary_display.width / 2;
  const centerY = displayInfo.primary_display.height / 2;
  await sandbox.computerUse.mouse.move(centerX, centerY);
  
  // Open terminal with keyboard
  await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.hotkey('ctrl+alt+t');
  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));
  
  // Type a command
  await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.type('echo "Hello from automation!"');
  await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.press('Return');
  
  // Wait a bit
  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 2000));
  
  // Take screenshot
  const screenshot = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeFullScreen(true);
  console.log(`Screenshot captured: ${screenshot.width}x${screenshot.height}`);
  
  // Stop recording
  const result = await sandbox.computerUse.recording.stop(recording.id);
  console.log(`Recording saved: ${result.durationSeconds}s`);
  
  // Download recording
  await sandbox.computerUse.recording.download(
    recording.id,
    'automation-demo.mp4'
  );
  
  console.log('Automation complete!');
  
} finally {
  await daytona.delete(sandbox);
}

Best Practices

Wait for desktop initialization

After starting computer use, wait a few seconds for the desktop to fully initialize:

await sandbox.computerUse.start();
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 3000));

Add delays between actions

Add small delays between UI interactions to allow applications to respond:

await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.type('command');
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 500));
await sandbox.computerUse.keyboard.press('Return');

Use compressed screenshots

For screenshots that will be transmitted or stored, use compression:

const screenshot = await sandbox.computerUse.screenshot.takeCompressed({
  format: 'jpeg',
  quality: 85
});

Clean up recordings

Delete recordings when no longer needed to save storage:

await sandbox.computerUse.recording.delete(recordingId);

Process Execution

Execute commands in the desktop environment

PTY Sessions

Interactive terminal sessions

Getting Started

Core Concepts

SDK Guides

Features

CLI Reference

Advanced

​Overview

​Getting Started

​Start Computer Use

​Check Status

​Stop Computer Use

​Mouse Operations

​Get Mouse Position

​Move Mouse

​Click Mouse

​Drag Mouse

​Scroll Mouse

​Keyboard Operations

​Type Text

​Press Keys

​Press Hotkeys

​Screenshots

​Full Screen Screenshot

​Region Screenshot

​Compressed Screenshots

​Display Information

​Get Display Info

​List Open Windows

​Screen Recording

​Start Recording

​Stop Recording

​List Recordings

​Get Recording Details

​Download Recording

​Delete Recording

​Process Management

​Get Process Status

​Restart Process

​Get Process Logs

​Complete Example

​Best Practices

​Related Resources

Process Execution

PTY Sessions

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Getting Started

Start Computer Use

Check Status

Stop Computer Use

Mouse Operations

Get Mouse Position

Move Mouse

Click Mouse

Drag Mouse

Scroll Mouse

Keyboard Operations

Type Text

Press Keys

Press Hotkeys

Screenshots

Full Screen Screenshot

Region Screenshot

Compressed Screenshots

Display Information

Get Display Info

List Open Windows

Screen Recording

Start Recording

Stop Recording

List Recordings

Get Recording Details

Download Recording

Delete Recording

Process Management

Get Process Status

Restart Process

Get Process Logs

Complete Example

Best Practices

Related Resources