head to head · open source
dots vs browser-search
dots has 32,357 GitHub stars, 4,739 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. browser-search has 539 stars, 42 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. dots leads on adoption by 5,903% (32,357 vs 539 stars). dots is written in TypeScript under MIT; browser-search is written in JavaScript under MIT. dots has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, browser-search 8%. dots was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (agent-skills, ai-agent, browser-automation), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| dots | browser-search | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 539 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-10-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.7K | ⑂ 42 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick dots if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 dots
dots Every AI agent is a model and a browser. You can swap the model with one flag. The browser is what the website sees. Windows, in PowerShell: Linux: Then open The conversation on the left, the browser on the right, live. It all comes down to the browser When a web agent fails, the model is rarely why. The page never loaded, a challenge appeared, the login expired, the click did not land. All of that happens in the browser, before the model gets to think. So dots is built around one: A real Firefox engine, patched in C++. The fingerprint is decided inside the engine, not painted over with JavaScript that a…
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 →
More in Data & Analytics
Related comparisons
More Data Extraction & Web Scraping projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Data Extraction & Web Scraping field.
Frequently asked questions
Is dots or browser-search more popular?
dots has 32,357 GitHub stars and browser-search has 539. dots has the larger community by that measure.
Are dots and browser-search free?
Both are open source. dots is licensed under MIT and browser-search under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between dots and browser-search?
dots is written in TypeScript 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, dots or browser-search?
Choose dots if you want the larger community (32,357 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose browser-search if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.