head to head · open source
chrome-devtools-mcp vs gosub-engine
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,222 GitHub stars, 4,037 forks, 109 open issues and last shipped yesterday. gosub-engine has 3,685 stars, 180 forks, 43 open issues and last shipped yesterday. chrome-devtools-mcp leads on adoption by 1,317% (52,222 vs 3,685 stars). chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; gosub-engine is written in Rust under MIT. chrome-devtools-mcp has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, gosub-engine 5%. gosub-engine 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 | gosub-engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 3.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.0K | ⑂ 180 |
| 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 gosub-engine if
- You want the gosub-engine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and gosub-engine 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 gosub-engine
Gosub is an embeddable, asynchronous browser engine written in Rust, aimed at developers who want to build browsing capability into their own application by supplying a render backend and compositor rather than embedding a full browser.
read the full gosub-engine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is chrome-devtools-mcp or gosub-engine more popular?
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,222 GitHub stars and gosub-engine has 3,685. chrome-devtools-mcp has the larger community by that measure.
Are chrome-devtools-mcp and gosub-engine free?
Both are open source. chrome-devtools-mcp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and gosub-engine under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between chrome-devtools-mcp and gosub-engine?
chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript and gosub-engine in Rust. 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 gosub-engine?
Choose chrome-devtools-mcp if you want the larger community (52,222 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose gosub-engine if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.