head to head · open source
chrome-devtools-mcp vs markdown-viewer
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,222 GitHub stars, 4,037 forks, 109 open issues and last shipped today. markdown-viewer has 1,684 stars, 227 forks, 99 open issues and last shipped 9 months ago. chrome-devtools-mcp leads on adoption by 3,001% (52,222 vs 1,684 stars). chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; markdown-viewer is written in JavaScript under MIT. chrome-devtools-mcp has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, markdown-viewer 13%. 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 (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 | markdown-viewer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2025-12-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.0K | ⑂ 227 |
| 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 markdown-viewer if
- You want the markdown-viewer feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and markdown-viewer 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 markdown-viewer
Markdown Viewer / Browser Extension Install: [Chrome] / [Firefox] / [Edge] / [Opera] / [Brave] / [Chromium] / [Vivaldi] Features Secure by design Render local and remote file URLs Granular access to remote origins Multiple markdown parsers Full control over the compiler options ([markdown it], [marked], [remark]) 30+ Themes ([cleanrmd], [GitHub][github theme]) Custom theme support GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) Auto reload on file change Syntax highlighted code blocks ([prism][prism]) Table of Contents (ToC) MathJax formulas ([mathjax]) Mermaid diagrams ([mermaid]) Convert emoji shortnames (icons provided free by…
read the full markdown-viewer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is chrome-devtools-mcp or markdown-viewer more popular?
chrome-devtools-mcp has 52,222 GitHub stars and markdown-viewer has 1,684. chrome-devtools-mcp has the larger community by that measure.
Are chrome-devtools-mcp and markdown-viewer free?
Both are open source. chrome-devtools-mcp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and markdown-viewer under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between chrome-devtools-mcp and markdown-viewer?
chrome-devtools-mcp is written in TypeScript and markdown-viewer in JavaScript. 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 markdown-viewer?
Choose chrome-devtools-mcp if you want the larger community (52,222 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose markdown-viewer if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.