head to head · open source
CloakBrowser vs pdf_oxide
CloakBrowser has 32,693 GitHub stars, 2,719 forks, 164 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pdf_oxide has 1,156 stars, 147 forks, 322 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. CloakBrowser leads on adoption by 2,728% (32,693 vs 1,156 stars). CloakBrowser is written in Python under MIT; pdf_oxide is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. CloakBrowser has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, pdf_oxide 13%. CloakBrowser was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | pdf_oxide | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 33K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 147 |
| 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 pdf_oxide if
- You want the pdf_oxide feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and pdf_oxide 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 pdf_oxide
PDFOxide The Fastest PDF Toolkit for 20 Languages — Python, Rust, Go, JS/TS, C , Java, Kotlin, Swift, C++ & more, plus CLI & AI New in v0.3.69 — eleven new language bindings. PDFOxide now ships idiomatic bindings for C++, Swift, Kotlin, Dart, R, Julia, Zig, Scala, Clojure, Objective C, and Elixir , each built over the stable C ABI with its own CI workflow, api coverage tests, and runnable examples. That brings the toolkit to 20 languages (Rust core + 19 bindings). Want another language? Open an issue and tell us. The fastest PDF library for text extraction, image extraction, and markdown conversion. A Rust core…
read the full pdf_oxide overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is CloakBrowser or pdf_oxide more popular?
CloakBrowser has 32,693 GitHub stars and pdf_oxide has 1,156. CloakBrowser has the larger community by that measure.
Are CloakBrowser and pdf_oxide free?
Both are open source. CloakBrowser is licensed under MIT and pdf_oxide under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between CloakBrowser and pdf_oxide?
CloakBrowser is written in Python and pdf_oxide 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, CloakBrowser or pdf_oxide?
Choose CloakBrowser if you want the larger community (32,693 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose pdf_oxide if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.