Manus

// Overview

Manus is a hosted, general-purpose AI agent: you describe a job and it plans and carries out the steps itself, instead of answering in a chat. Its own site lists what that covers — slides, websites, games, video editing, design, AI images and music, a browser operator that works on the web for you, Wide Research, and Mail Manus and Slack integrations. It runs in the browser, with desktop and mobile apps. Manus is based in Singapore and returned to independent operations in September 2026, after Beijing blocked Meta's planned acquisition of the company.

Manus 2.0, announced on 28 September 2026, moved the agent onto Cascade, a new in-house agent harness that starts each project light and adds specialised capabilities only when a task calls for them. In one tested setup Manus reports that Cascade used 23.2% fewer tokens, finished tasks in 28.2% less time and cost 32% less to run than its previous system. The same release added Automations that start a task when something happens in a connected service, a paid Cloud Computer for projects that must keep running, Remote Control of your own desktop from a phone, and Manus Studio tools for video editing and multiplayer game development.

Alongside Manus 2.0 the company launched Cue, a separate app for personal agents. Each Cue agent gets its own email address, phone number, wallet and computer, so it can send messages, pay for things inside a budget you set and take calls on your behalf, then leave a summary. Cue opened in early access, free with an invite code, on web, desktop and mobile, with iOS following App Store review.

// What it does

• Cascade agent harness: starts lean and adds specialised capabilities as a project needs them (Manus reports 23.2% fewer tokens, 28.2% less time and 32% lower cost in one test)
• Automations that start a task on an event — a new email, a Slack message, a calendar event, a Notion update or a change in ad performance — set up from a single prompt
• Cloud Computer: a dedicated, always-on environment for long automations and multiplayer game servers that keeps running when your laptop is closed
• Remote Control and Computer Use: drive your desktop from your phone by voice, with Manus working visibly in the apps and files you approve
• Manus Studio: a timeline Video Editor for 30–60 second ads, tutorials and vlogs (with an AI-directed Alchemy mode) and Game Dev for browser-playable multiplayer games
• Cue: a companion app where each personal agent has its own email, phone number, wallet and computer

// Getting started

Manus is a hosted service, not a package you install: you sign up on the web and can add the desktop and mobile apps. Cue is a separate app with its own early-access sign-up.

https://manus.im/

https://cue.im/

Commands and code are distilled from the project's own documentation — always check the official docs for the latest.

// When to use it

• Reach for it when you want a finished artefact — a deck, a site, a short video or a playable game — from a prompt, not a chat answer you still have to assemble
• Reach for it when a task should start on its own the moment something happens in Gmail, Slack, your calendar or Notion
• Reach for it when you need an agent to work on your own computer's apps and files, and to check on it from your phone
• Reach for Cue when a personal agent has to deal with the outside world directly — its own inbox, phone line and spending budget

// How Manus compares

Manus alongside other open-source computer & browser use tools AI/TLDR tracks, ranked by GitHub stars.