head to head · open source
chrome-devtools-mcp vs BrowserOS
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,335 GitHub stars, 4,281 forks, 109 open issues and last shipped today. BrowserOS has 13,718 stars, 1,459 forks, 82 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. chrome-devtools-mcp leads on adoption by 282% (52,335 vs 13,718 stars). chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; BrowserOS is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. chrome-devtools-mcp has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, BrowserOS 11%. chrome-devtools-mcp was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| chrome-devtools-mcp | BrowserOS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 14K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.3K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick chrome-devtools-mcp if
- You weight community size — 52K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick BrowserOS if
- You want the BrowserOS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and BrowserOS fits your workflow better
About chrome-devtools-mcp
chrome devtools mcp is an Apache 2.0 TypeScript Model Context Protocol server, distributed on npm, that gives coding agents such as Claude, Cursor, Copilot and Antigravity control over and visibility into a live Chrome browser through the full Chrome DevTools toolset.
read the full chrome-devtools-mcp overview →
About BrowserOS
BrowserOS is an open source agentic browser, written in TypeScript under AGPL 3.0, that puts AI agents inside a real Chromium browser on the user's own machine so they can work with real logged in accounts, and it is aimed at people who already use an agent harness such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or any MCP agent and want that agent to handle web tasks instead of a sandbox.
read the full BrowserOS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is chrome-devtools-mcp or BrowserOS more popular?
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,335 GitHub stars and BrowserOS has 13,718. chrome-devtools-mcp has the larger community by that measure.
Are chrome-devtools-mcp and BrowserOS free?
Both are open source. chrome-devtools-mcp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and BrowserOS under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between chrome-devtools-mcp and BrowserOS?
chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript and BrowserOS in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, chrome-devtools-mcp or BrowserOS?
Choose chrome-devtools-mcp if you want the larger community (52,335 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose BrowserOS if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.