head to head · open source
CloakBrowser vs browser-search
CloakBrowser has 32,712 GitHub stars, 2,720 forks, 164 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. browser-search has 539 stars, 42 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 14 days ago. CloakBrowser leads on adoption by 5,969% (32,712 vs 539 stars). CloakBrowser is written in Python under MIT; browser-search is written in JavaScript under MIT. CloakBrowser has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, browser-search 8%. CloakBrowser was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (browser-automation, cloudflare-bypass), 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
| CloakBrowser | browser-search | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 33K | ★ 539 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-10-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 42 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick CloakBrowser if
- You weight community size — 33K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick browser-search if
- You want the browser-search feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and browser-search fits your workflow better
About CloakBrowser
Stealth Chromium that passes every bot detection test. Not a patched config. Not a JS injection. A real Chromium binary with fingerprints modified at the C++ source level. Antibot systems score it as a normal browser — because it is a normal browser. Cloudflare Turnstile — 3 live tests passing (headed mode, macOS) Drop in Playwright/Puppeteer replacement for Python and JavaScript. Same API, same code — just swap the import. 3 lines of code, 30 seconds to unblock. 87 source level C++ patches — canvas, WebGL, audio, fonts, GPU, screen, WebRTC, network timing, automation signals, CDP input behavior humanize=True —…
read the full CloakBrowser overview →
About browser-search
browser search =20" A skill for AI agents. OpenCode, Claude Code, Cursor, OpenClaw and beyond. Search the web with SearXNG, browse with Camofox, bypass protections with CloakBrowser. Anti hallucination by design. All self hosted, free, unlimited. English · 简体中文 · Español · 日本語 · 한국어 · Português (Brasil) · Français · Deutsch · Русский · العربية · हिन्दी · Italiano Why it exists Today an AI agent browsing the web is like a thief in a balaclava sneaking around a police academy. The site protections block it, challenge it, reject it. 👮 browser search flips the situation: your agent stops being the thief and becomes…
read the full browser-search overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is CloakBrowser or browser-search more popular?
CloakBrowser has 32,712 GitHub stars and browser-search has 539. CloakBrowser has the larger community by that measure.
Are CloakBrowser and browser-search free?
Both are open source. CloakBrowser is licensed under MIT and browser-search under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between CloakBrowser and browser-search?
CloakBrowser is written in Python and browser-search 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, CloakBrowser or browser-search?
Choose CloakBrowser if you want the larger community (32,712 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose browser-search if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.