head to head · open source
CloakBrowser vs x-crawl
CloakBrowser has 32,712 GitHub stars, 2,720 forks, 164 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. x-crawl has 1,890 stars, 116 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. CloakBrowser leads on adoption by 1,631% (32,712 vs 1,890 stars). CloakBrowser is written in Python under MIT; x-crawl is written in TypeScript under MIT. CloakBrowser has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, x-crawl 6%. CloakBrowser was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (chromium, fingerprint), 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 | x-crawl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 33K | ★ 1.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 116 |
| 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 x-crawl if
- You want the x-crawl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and x-crawl 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 x-crawl
x crawl · English 简体中文 x crawl is a flexible Node.js AI assisted crawler library. Flexible usage and powerful AI assistance functions make crawler work more efficient, intelligent and convenient. It consists of two parts: Crawler: It consists of a crawler API and various functions that can work normally even without relying on AI. AI: Integrate ollama and openai, AI simplifies many tedious operations. If you find x crawl helpful, or you like x crawl, you can give x crawl repository a like on GitHub A star. Your support is the driving force for our continuous improvement! thank you for your support! Features 🤖…
read the full x-crawl overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is CloakBrowser or x-crawl more popular?
CloakBrowser has 32,712 GitHub stars and x-crawl has 1,890. CloakBrowser has the larger community by that measure.
Are CloakBrowser and x-crawl free?
Both are open source. CloakBrowser is licensed under MIT and x-crawl under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between CloakBrowser and x-crawl?
CloakBrowser is written in Python and x-crawl in TypeScript. 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 x-crawl?
Choose CloakBrowser if you want the larger community (32,712 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose x-crawl if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.