head to head · open source
chrome-devtools-mcp vs chromium
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,197 GitHub stars, 3,990 forks, 109 open issues and last shipped yesterday. chromium has 24,799 stars, 9,244 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped yesterday. chrome-devtools-mcp leads on adoption by 110% (52,197 vs 24,799 stars). chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; chromium is written in various languages under BSD-3-Clause. chrome-devtools-mcp has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, chromium 37%. chromium 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 | chromium | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 25K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | TypeScript | — |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.0K | ⑂ 9.2K |
| 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 chromium if
- You want the chromium feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- You evaluated both and chromium 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 chromium
The official GitHub mirror of the Chromium source — read only snapshot of the codebase behind the Chromium open source browser project, aimed at developers and packagers who need to read, build, or audit browser source rather than end users looking for a browser download.
read the full chromium overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is chrome-devtools-mcp or chromium more popular?
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,197 GitHub stars and chromium has 24,799. chrome-devtools-mcp has the larger community by that measure.
Are chrome-devtools-mcp and chromium free?
Both are open source. chrome-devtools-mcp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and chromium under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between chrome-devtools-mcp and chromium?
chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript and chromium in various languages. 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 chromium?
Choose chrome-devtools-mcp if you want the larger community (52,197 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose chromium if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.