Bernstein vs ReferenceComputerUse: quick decision guide

Install both

pipx install bernstein

Feature matrix

Adapter source: src/bernstein/adapters/computer_use.py

Verifiable facts

The brief for this surface requires at least three facts that a reader can verify against a primary source. The list below is built from the bernstein adapter source and, when available, the upstream project's own pages.

1. Bernstein ships a ReferenceComputerUse adapter at src/bernstein/adapters/computer_use.py that wraps the upstream CLI as one of 42 routable agents. [source: bernstein adapter source, as of 2026-08-10]
2. Bernstein is an open-source Multi-agent orchestrator licensed Apache-2.0, with a deterministic Python scheduler that routes work across CLI agents in parallel git worktrees. [source: bernstein repo, as of 2026-08-10]
3. Bernstein records lineage and a replay journal on every run; with the audit log enabled it also writes an HMAC-SHA256 chained record under .sdd/ that lets a reviewer replay every routing and quality-gate decision. [source: bernstein repo, as of 2026-08-10]

Where ReferenceComputerUse fits in Bernstein

Bernstein registers ReferenceComputerUse under the slug "computer-use" and the registry name "computer_use". The adapter source lives at src/bernstein/adapters/computer_use.py in the bernstein repo and was last touched at build time 2026-08-10. The ReferenceComputerUse adapter file is 261 lines and 9,690 bytes long, fingerprinted 9b918a0d2ca3333a (first 16 hex chars of SHA-256). No upstream GitHub repository is recorded in the bernstein adapter for ReferenceComputerUse; refer to the upstream vendor's documentation when auditing. The bernstein adapter file for ReferenceComputerUse does not yet carry a "Last verified against upstream" line; this means the adapter still tracks an unpinned upstream binary. Bernstein routes tasks to ReferenceComputerUse when its pass rate on similar work clears the configured threshold, otherwise the deterministic Python scheduler picks a different adapter from the 40+ adapter catalog.

Adapter source excerpt

The module docstring of the ReferenceComputerUse adapter, as it stands in the bernstein repo. Punctuation is normalised for the web; the wording is the author's. Length: 1182 characters.

Browser / computer-use adapter family (#2606). This admits the one agent kind the coding-adapter substrate could not front: *third-party autonomous* browser and computer-use agents. A coding adapter's output is a file diff; a browser / computer-use agent owns its own decision loop and emits a stream of GUI actions. This adapter fronts such an external agent and leaves the per-action anchoring to :mod:`bernstein.core.agents.computer_use_attestation`, so the boundary never imports a specific browser tool -- the concrete driver stays behind the adapter contract. Two things live here: * :class:`ComputerUseAdapter` -- a :class:`~bernstein.adapters.base.CLIAdapter` subclass adding per-task profile isolation and the capability-refusal path, the same on-ramp the coding adapters use. * :class:`ReferenceComputerUseAdapter` -- a concrete reference adapter (registry name ``computer_use``) that proves the mechanism end to end without requiring a live browser in tests. Driver failure and timeout never surface as free text: they map onto :class:`ComputerUseTerminalState` via :func:`classify_terminal_state`, and a driver fault is raised as a typed :class:`ComputerUseDriverError`.

Adapter telemetry

When to pick which

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