head to head · open source
dots vs Steel
dots has 32,383 GitHub stars, 4,739 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Steel has 7,916 stars, 1,004 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. dots leads on adoption by 309% (32,383 vs 7,916 stars). dots is written in TypeScript under MIT; Steel is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. dots has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Steel 13%. Steel was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai-agents, 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.
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Side by side
| dots | Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 7.9K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.7K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 Steel if
- You want the Steel feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Steel 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 Steel
Steel The open source browser API for AI agents & apps. The best way to build live web agents and browser automation tools. Get Started · Documentation · Website · Cookbook ✨ Highlights Steel.dev is an open source browser API that makes it easy to build AI apps and agents that interact with the web. Instead of building automation infrastructure from scratch, you can focus on your AI application while Steel handles the complexity. Under the hood, it manages sessions, pages, and browser processes, allowing you to perform complex browsing tasks programmatically without any of the headaches: Full Browser Control…
read the full Steel overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is dots or Steel more popular?
dots has 32,383 GitHub stars and Steel has 7,916. dots has the larger community by that measure.
Are dots and Steel free?
Both are open source. dots is licensed under MIT and Steel under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between dots and Steel?
dots is written in TypeScript and Steel 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, dots or Steel?
Choose dots if you want the larger community (32,383 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Steel if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.