Most automation scripts rely on brittle selectors like XPath or CSS classes. When a UI changes, your script breaks. The /v1/ground endpoint solves this by taking a screenshot and an element description, then returning the exact x,y coordinates for clicks and hovers. You get reliable computer use agents that work on live, changing interfaces.
How /v1/ground Works
You send a screenshot (base64), a natural language description of the UI element, and your computer use API key. The server locates the element, computes its bounding box, and returns the center coordinates. This is a pure computer use API function that lets you act on any GUI you can see.
curl https://coasty.ai/v1/ground \ \
-H "X-API-Key: $COASTY_API_KEY" \ \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \ \
-d '{
"screenshot": "$(base64 -w 0 screenshot.png)",
"description": "The checkbox that says ""Accept terms""",
"cua_version": "v3"
}'Request and Response Fields
- screenshot (string, base64): The full desktop screenshot or viewport frame.
- description (string): A natural language description of the target element.
- cua_version (string, optional): Defaults to v3. Use v4 for autonomous agents with a pass/fail verifier.
- Response contains x and y coordinates of the element center.
- Billing: $0.03 per /v1/ground call.
Ground once, then use the returned x,y coordinates with your automation tool.
Where /v1/ground Beats Brittle Selectors
Traditional selectors break when classes change, when accessibility names shift, or when multiple elements match the same selector. /v1/ground works on visual evidence. You describe what you see, the model finds it on the screenshot, and you get a stable coordinate pair. This gives you a human-like computer use agent that adapts to UI changes automatically.
Start grounding UI elements today. Use /v1/ground to turn natural language descriptions into reliable clicks and hovers. Get your API key at https://coasty.ai/developers and build computer use agents that can see and interact with any desktop, browser, or terminal.
Want to see this in action?
View Case Studies