# Codex Computer Use

8 Hacker News commenters recommended Codex Computer Use and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for an AI that controls apps in the background with its own cursor, leaving your mouse free; some critics worry it is unreliable and unsettling to watch.

## Why people recommend it

- Works in background without taking mouse (2 comments): "it can completely control applications in the background with it's own dedicated mouse cursor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48423226)) "Codex's computer use was nice bc it didn't hijack your mouse." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48148116))
- Feels good and capable in use (2 comments): "honestly it feels really, really good" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47798599)) "its the best cua experience I've seen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47798647))

## What people warn about

- Unsettling to watch it act (1 comments): "it's really cool that it just 'did the thing' but I was also freaked out during the experience" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47805282))
- Doubts about reliability and data safety (2 comments): "They are rejecting a double trojan horse that stores your data in the cloud and exfiltrates it to an LLM." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49508388)) "LLMs are still not reliable enough for me to trust them with my actual system." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49509108))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Claude Cowork](https://hackerapproved.com/p/claude-cowork.md): 163 recommend
- [Understudy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/understudy.md): 7 recommend
- [Coasty](https://hackerapproved.com/p/coasty.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Codex Computer Use", https://hackerapproved.com/p/codex-computer-use/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).