| FMRS | 66 / 100 · C | 64 / 100 · C |
| Reliability | 10 / 20 | 11 / 20 |
|---|
| Security and permissions | 14 / 20 | 12 / 20 |
|---|
| Maintenance | 15 / 20 | 12 / 20 |
|---|
| Documentation | 15 / 20 | 15 / 20 |
|---|
| Setup experience | 12 / 20 | 14 / 20 |
| Best for | - Developers who want AI clients to directly control the browser
- Scenarios requiring DOM-level understanding and low-latency automation (50-200 ms)
- Multi-client support (Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, etc.)
- Internal tools or automation scripts needing browser interaction
| - Developers already using Codex CLI/IDE, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or Cursor who want to drive a local browser
- Automation that needs both DOM-selector work and coordinate interaction on visual surfaces
- Teams wanting a lightweight Python 3.10+ browser automation option using local Chrome/Chromium
- Local workflows that need no external API credentials, including authorized testing and accessibility work
|
| Not for | - Headless browser or server-side monitoring
- Bypassing website restrictions or unsupervised automation
- Automation on sensitive pages without human supervision
- Complex scenarios that require visual understanding (e.g., screenshots)
| - Users expecting built-in site-specific workflows, component-library adaptation, or challenge handling (these live in the client or optional Skills)
- Environments without Chrome/Chromium or without Python 3.10+
- Users who need a cloud-hosted browser or remote execution environment
- Production-critical scenarios that require official vendor support or an SLA
|
| Required permissions | - Requires installing the Chrome extension, which requests permissions for active tab, debugger, storage, etc.
- MCP server needs to connect to the extension via WebSocket (default ws://localhost:7225)
- Optional Streamable HTTP mode requires allowing connections to http://127.0.0.1:7226/mcp
- Uploading files requires providing absolute local paths
| - Local browser control: open tabs, navigate to any reachable URL, run bounded JavaScript
- Read and write browser Cookies, localStorage, and sessionStorage
- Read and modify request headers, user agent, HTTP cache, and browser permissions
- File upload and download (bounded by DP_MCP_UPLOAD_ROOT and DP_MCP_DOWNLOAD_ROOT), plus screenshot and PDF/MHTML artifact writes (bounded by DP_MCP_SCREENSHOT_ROOT and DP_MCP_ARTIFACT_ROOT)
- Access to authenticated sessions and page content in the local browser
|
| Risks and side effects | - Browser automation can be unpredictable on complex or sensitive sites; supervision is required
- Credentials and payment info are stored in a vault but require user unlock flows
- API keys are encrypted in Chrome storage, but clients may send page context to model providers
- MCP server is a local process, posing local security risks
- Capability catalog allows most non-denied origins but is gated by multiple checks
| - The local browser may hold authenticated sessions, cookies, downloads, and page data, so mistakes can affect real accounts or production systems
- It can open and interact with any site reachable from the local machine, risking misuse or violation of site terms
- Coordinate-based interaction depends on the model's reading of screenshot coordinates and can click the wrong place, so observe and verify results
- Downloads, uploads, and exported artifacts write to the local file system, so review directories and content boundaries
- DP_NO_SANDBOX=1 disables the Chrome sandbox and should be reserved for restricted container or root environments
- The project is in beta; real browser behavior depends on the local Chrome/Chromium and target sites
|
| Supported clients | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Codex | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI/IDE, VS Code |
| Tools | 30 | 69 |