head to head · open source
nanobrowser vs hermes-browser-extension
nanobrowser has 14,232 GitHub stars, 1,522 forks, 81 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. hermes-browser-extension has 1,774 stars, 169 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. nanobrowser leads on adoption by 702% (14,232 vs 1,774 stars). nanobrowser is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; hermes-browser-extension is written in JavaScript under MIT. nanobrowser has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, hermes-browser-extension 10%. hermes-browser-extension was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (chrome-extension), 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
| nanobrowser | hermes-browser-extension | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 14K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-24 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 169 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nanobrowser if
- You weight community size — 14K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick hermes-browser-extension if
- You want the hermes-browser-extension feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and hermes-browser-extension fits your workflow better
About nanobrowser
🌐 Nanobrowser Nanobrowser is an open source AI web automation tool that runs in your browser. A free alternative to OpenAI Operator with flexible LLM options and multi agent system. ⬇️ Get Nanobrowser from Chrome Web Store for free 👏 Join the community in Discord X 🌟 Loving Nanobrowser? Give us a star and help spread the word! ❤️ Support the project by sponsoring us every contribution helps keep Nanobrowser free and open source! Nanobrowser's multi agent system analyzing HuggingFace in real time, with the Planner intelligently self correcting when encountering obstacles and dynamically instructing the…
read the full nanobrowser overview →
About hermes-browser-extension
Hermes Browser Extension Browser native side panel for Hermes Agent — connect active web context through a local gateway, Hermes Cloud, or a self hosted remote gateway. Created by Jon Komet ( @abundantbeing ). Community extension for Hermes Agent by Nous Research. Public v0.3.2 · Load unpacked · Local / Hermes Cloud / Remote · Full Hermes runtime tools Not on the Chrome Web Store yet. What it is Hermes Browser Extension is not a browser chatbot. It is a Chrome/Edge/Chromium side panel for the real Hermes Agent runtime. Choose a local gateway, attach to a signed in Hermes Cloud agent tab, or connect to a self…
read the full hermes-browser-extension overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nanobrowser or hermes-browser-extension more popular?
nanobrowser has 14,232 GitHub stars and hermes-browser-extension has 1,774. nanobrowser has the larger community by that measure.
Are nanobrowser and hermes-browser-extension free?
Both are open source. nanobrowser is licensed under Apache-2.0 and hermes-browser-extension under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nanobrowser and hermes-browser-extension?
nanobrowser is written in TypeScript and hermes-browser-extension 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, nanobrowser or hermes-browser-extension?
Choose nanobrowser if you want the larger community (14,232 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose hermes-browser-extension if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.