head to head · open source
javascript-obfuscator vs nanobrowser
javascript-obfuscator has 16,257 GitHub stars, 1,741 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. nanobrowser has 13,809 stars, 1,456 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. javascript-obfuscator leads on adoption by 18% (16,257 vs 13,809 stars). javascript-obfuscator is written in TypeScript under BSD-2-Clause; nanobrowser is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. javascript-obfuscator has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, nanobrowser 11%. javascript-obfuscator was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser), 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
| javascript-obfuscator | nanobrowser | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 14K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-08-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick javascript-obfuscator if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick nanobrowser if
- You want the nanobrowser 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 nanobrowser fits your workflow better
About javascript-obfuscator
JavaScript Obfuscator is a free, BSD 2 Clause licensed TypeScript obfuscator for JavaScript and Node.js source code, built for developers who need to ship browser or server side JavaScript that is hard to read, tamper with, or reverse engineer.
read the full javascript-obfuscator overview →
About nanobrowser
Nanobrowser is an open source Chrome extension for AI powered web automation that runs multi agent workflows inside your own browser using your own LLM API key, built for people who want Operator style browser agents without a subscription.
read the full nanobrowser overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is javascript-obfuscator or nanobrowser more popular?
javascript-obfuscator has 16,257 GitHub stars and nanobrowser has 13,809. javascript-obfuscator has the larger community by that measure.
Are javascript-obfuscator and nanobrowser free?
Both are open source. javascript-obfuscator is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and nanobrowser under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between javascript-obfuscator and nanobrowser?
javascript-obfuscator is written in TypeScript and nanobrowser 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, javascript-obfuscator or nanobrowser?
Choose javascript-obfuscator if you want the larger community (16,257 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose nanobrowser if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.