[Epic] Support computer-use agents as a first-class agent type
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Description
## Decision
#9649 and merged PR #9657 replace the original CUA candidate and qualification design.
The current implementation is one experimental, default-off terminal agent. This epic tracks that foundation and any later first-class CUA capabilities that maintainers accept.
Candidate status, qualification gates, release manifests, readiness records, component receipts, and CUA-specific target or task state are not current requirements.
## Current foundation
- `NEMOCLAW_CUA_ENABLED=1` is the only value that exposes `nemocua`.
- `NEMOCLAW_CUA_SANDBOX_IMAGE_REF` selects the caller-prepared sandbox image.
- NemoClaw validates the image-reference syntax and uses the image as the sandbox base image.
- The `agents/nemocua` agent manifest defines terminal commands, configuration paths, smoke checks, and baseline policy additions.
- `nemoclaw launch ` uses the existing interactive terminal path.
- `nemoclaw agent` runs the NemoCUA harness through the existing agent path.
- Existing onboarding, status, doctor, managed inference, policy, recovery, rebuild, and destroy behavior remains authoritative.
- NemoClaw does not select a NemoCUA release, resolve private artifacts, or attest the supplied image contents.
- This path is experimental. It does not establish product support or a compatibility promise.
## Ownership
NemoClaw owns:
- the exact default-off feature gate;
- agent discovery and selection;
- image-reference validation and sandbox handoff;
- one OpenShell-managed sandbox;
- the baseline filesystem, process, and network policy;
- managed inference;
- the existing sandbox lifecycle.
The active scenario or caller owns:
- image preparation, distribution, contents, and version selection;
- compatibility between the image, harness, and desktop target;
- desktop-target provisioning, transport, reset, and removal;
- target credentials, task input, task orchestration, and private artifacts;
- independent result verification and scenario-resource cleanup.
NemoClaw core remains environment-agnostic. It creates no nested NemoCUA sandbox and stores no CUA-specific target, security, task, or evidence state.
## Current demo path
The private browser demo can proceed on the merged foundation:
1. The scenario prepares the NemoCUA sandbox image.
2. The caller sets the feature gate and image reference.
3. The caller onboards `nemocua` through the standard agent path.
4. The scenario invokes the harness through `nemoclaw agent`.
5. The scenario owns the desktop target, task flow, independent verification, and cleanup.
The scenario repository owns its Brev run and browser-task acceptance. The demo does not depend on a first-class NemoClaw target or task API.
## Deferred first-class work
Do not implement the deferred issues from their historical bodies. Re-refine each issue against the standard terminal-agent foundation before implementation.
1. #8450: First determine whether the standard agent and policy commands can connect one caller-managed disposable target. Add no CUA target subsystem unless a current requirement proves that these commands are insufficient.
2. A future first-class browser-task boundary requires a new accepted issue after #8450 establishes the required target boundary.
3. #7751: Define terminal-task recovery only after an accepted shared task boundary exists.
4. #7752: Define the computer and integrated journeys only after the earlier lifecycle work exists.
5. #7753: Re-scope only if maintainers resume a product release-qualification decision. It is not a feature slice.
Related records:
- #7750 preserves the environment-agnostic architecture constraint. Its larger design is historical context.
- #7754 is historical security input. Map only applicable safeguards into each accepted capability.
- #7755 is superseded and is not a dependency for current or future work.
## Refinement requirements
Before implementation starts on a deferred capability, its issue must:
- identify one current consumer and one independently useful outcome;
- establish product ownership, lifecycle, compatibility, security, and validation;
- reuse the standard agent, policy, and sandbox paths unless a current requirement prevents it;
- define credential custody, failure, interruption, recovery, and cleanup behavior;
- select deterministic tests and the minimum required live boundary;
- remove #7755 and all candidate, qualification, readiness, digest, and receipt assumptions.
Do not add a second CUA feature gate, a parallel agent lifecycle, duplicated sandbox state, or a general target or task framework.
## Completion criteria
- [x] #9649 defines the experimental terminal-agent foundation.
- [x] #9657 implements that foundation on `main`.
- [x] The private demo has no dependency on the deferred first-class issues.
- [ ] After the private demo, maintainers decide whether NemoClaw stops at the experimental foundation or resumes first-class product work.
- [ ] If product work resumes, maintainers accept a refined #8450 before implementation.
- [ ] Maintainers record any final enablement and product-support decision.
- [ ] If product work does not resume, close the deferred issues without describing the experimental foundation as supported.
## Non-goals
- General remote-desktop or target-fleet management.
- Brev control-plane behavior in NemoClaw core.
- Employee desktops, production accounts, or shared mutable desktop targets.
- A universal CUA abstraction.
- Cross-agent delegation, messaging, or dashboard work.
- Public storage of task content, screenshots, documents, browser state, credentials, or transport data.
- New CUA-specific state or APIs without an accepted capability that consumes them.
Contributor guide
Assessment
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