head to head · open source
chrome-devtools-mcp vs HackBrowserData
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,197 GitHub stars, 3,990 forks, 109 open issues and last shipped yesterday. HackBrowserData has 14,534 stars, 1,810 forks, 33 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. chrome-devtools-mcp leads on adoption by 259% (52,197 vs 14,534 stars). chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; HackBrowserData is written in Go under MIT. chrome-devtools-mcp has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, HackBrowserData 12%. chrome-devtools-mcp was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (browser, chrome), 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 | HackBrowserData | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.0K | ⑂ 1.8K |
| 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 HackBrowserData if
- You want the HackBrowserData feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and HackBrowserData 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 HackBrowserData
HackBrowserData is an MIT licensed command line tool written in Go that decrypts and exports browser data — passwords, cookies, history, bookmarks, credit cards, downloads, extensions, localStorage and sessionStorage — from Chromium based browsers, Firefox, and Safari for security research on Windows, macOS and Linux.
read the full HackBrowserData overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is chrome-devtools-mcp or HackBrowserData more popular?
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,197 GitHub stars and HackBrowserData has 14,534. chrome-devtools-mcp has the larger community by that measure.
Are chrome-devtools-mcp and HackBrowserData free?
Both are open source. chrome-devtools-mcp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and HackBrowserData under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between chrome-devtools-mcp and HackBrowserData?
chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript and HackBrowserData in Go. 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 HackBrowserData?
Choose chrome-devtools-mcp if you want the larger community (52,197 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose HackBrowserData if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.