YC S24 backed Chromium fork with native AI support. 314 HN points with 206 comments is strong organic engagement. Comments flagged prompt injection risk as a known concern.
BrowserOS / Nxtscape
activeChromium fork with native AI agent support. YC S24 backed. Privacy-first agentic browser with 12 built-in AI skills. Supports 11+ LLM providers including Ollama for local models. Only credible open-source alternative to ChatGPT Atlas, Perplexity Comet, and Dia.
Where it wins
Chromium fork with native AI agent integration — not a plugin or overlay
YC-backed with weekly releases: 47 releases in ~10 months, v0.43.0 on 2026-03-12
31-tool MCP server integration (v0.42.0); Skills, Memory, SOUL.md in v0.43.0
Supports 11+ LLM providers including local models (Ollama, LMStudio) — browsing history stays on device
314-point HN (Jun 2025) + 88-point thread (Jan 2026 as BrowserOS)
Only credible open-source alternative to Atlas/Comet/Dia
Where to be skeptical
~10 contributors despite YC backing — thin team for a browser product
AGPL-3.0 license may block enterprise adoption
Lane 4 (consumer agentic browser) — different market than developer automation tools
HN criticism flagged prompt injection risk
Editorial verdict
Lane 4 leader. Just crossed 10K stars. 314 HN pts with 206 comments is strong organic engagement. YC S24 backing. Privacy-first Chromium fork with built-in AI. Different market than Lanes 1-3 but clear leader in consumer agentic browsers.
Related
Playwright MCP
93Microsoft's official MCP server for Playwright. Uses accessibility snapshots instead of screenshots for structured browser control. Auto-configured in GitHub Copilot's Coding Agent.
Chrome DevTools MCP
92Google Chrome team's official MCP server for Chrome DevTools. Gives coding agents deep debugging, performance profiling, and Core Web Vitals analysis through 26 tools across 6 categories.
Stagehand
90AI-native browser automation SDK by Browserbase with natural language selectors and act/extract/observe primitives.
Skyvern
90Vision-LLM browser automation for enterprise workflows. Combines computer vision with LLM reasoning to handle websites never seen before. YC S23 backed with CAPTCHA solving, 2FA, and proxy networks.
Public evidence
YC S24 backing provides institutional credibility. Available on macOS, Windows, Linux. 12 built-in AI skills (deep research, price comparison, form filling).
Just crossed the 10K star threshold. Actively maintained — pushed Mar 19. Privacy-first, supports local models (Ollama). 47 releases in ~10 months.
v0.43.0 (2026-03-12) adds Skills, Memory, and SOUL.md — agent-native primitives uncommon in Chromium forks. v0.42.0 added MCP server integration with 31 tools. Weekly release cadence confirms active development.
Raw GitHub source
GitHub README peek
Constrained peek so you can sanity-check the source material without leaving the site.
<br></br> <br></br> <a href="https://files.browseros.com/download/BrowserOS.dmg"> </a> <a href="https://files.browseros.com/download/BrowserOS_installer.exe"> </a> <a href="https://files.browseros.com/download/BrowserOS.AppImage"> </a> <a href="https://cdn.browseros.com/download/BrowserOS.deb"> </a> <br />
</div>BrowserOS is an open-source Chromium fork that runs AI agents natively. The privacy-first alternative to ChatGPT Atlas, Perplexity Comet, and Dia.
Use your own API keys or run local models with Ollama. Your data never leaves your machine.
Documentation · Discord · Slack · Twitter · Feature Requests
Quick Start
- Download and install BrowserOS — macOS · Windows · Linux (AppImage) · Linux (Debian)
- Import your Chrome data (optional) — bookmarks, passwords, extensions all carry over
- Connect your AI provider — Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, ChatGPT Pro via OAuth, or local models via Ollama/LM Studio
Features
| Feature | Description | Docs |
|---|---|---|
| AI Agent | 53+ browser automation tools — navigate, click, type, extract data, all with natural language | Guide |
| MCP Server | Control the browser from Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or any MCP client | Setup |
| Workflows | Build repeatable browser automations with a visual graph builder | Docs |
| Cowork | Combine browser automation with local file operations — research the web, save reports to your folder | Docs |
| Scheduled Tasks | Run agents on autopilot — daily, hourly, or every few minutes | Docs |
| Memory | Persistent memory across conversations — your assistant remembers context over time | Docs |
| SOUL.md | Define your AI's personality and instructions in a single markdown file | Docs |
| LLM Hub | Compare Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini responses side-by-side on any page | Docs |
| 40+ App Integrations | Gmail, Slack, GitHub, Linear, Notion, Figma, Salesforce, and more via MCP | Docs |
| Vertical Tabs | Side-panel tab management — stay organized even with 100+ tabs open | Docs |
| Ad Blocking | uBlock Origin + Manifest V2 support — 10x more protection than Chrome | Docs |
| Cloud Sync | Sync browser config and agent history across devices | Docs |
| Skills | Custom instruction sets that shape how your AI assistant behaves | Docs |
| Smart Nudges | Contextual suggestions to connect apps and use features at the right moment | Docs |
Demos
BrowserOS agent in action
<br/><br/>
Install BrowserOS as MCP and control it from claude-code
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c725d6df-1a0d-40eb-a125-ea009bf664dc
<br/><br/>
Use BrowserOS to chat
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/726803c5-8e36-420e-8694-c63a2607beca
<br/><br/>
Use BrowserOS to scrape data
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9f038216-bc24-4555-abf1-af2adcb7ebc0
<br/><br/>
Install browseros-cli
Use browseros-cli to launch and control BrowserOS from the terminal or from AI coding agents like Claude Code.
macOS / Linux:
curl -fsSL https://cdn.browseros.com/cli/install.sh | bash
Windows:
irm https://cdn.browseros.com/cli/install.ps1 | iex
After install, run browseros-cli init to connect the CLI to your running BrowserOS instance.
LLM Providers
BrowserOS works with any LLM. Bring your own keys, use OAuth, or run models locally.
| Provider | Type | Auth |
|---|---|---|
| Kimi K2.5 | Cloud (default) | Built-in |
| ChatGPT Pro/Plus | Cloud | OAuth |
| GitHub Copilot | Cloud | OAuth |
| Qwen Code | Cloud | OAuth |
| Claude (Anthropic) | Cloud | API key |
| GPT-4o / o3 (OpenAI) | Cloud | API key |
| Gemini (Google) | Cloud | API key |
| Azure OpenAI | Cloud | API key |
| AWS Bedrock | Cloud | IAM credentials |
| OpenRouter | Cloud | API key |
| Ollama | Local | Setup |
| LM Studio | Local | Setup |
How We Compare
| BrowserOS | Chrome | Brave | Dia | Comet | Atlas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Source | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| AI Agent | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| MCP Server | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Visual Workflows | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Cowork (files + browser) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Scheduled Tasks | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Bring Your Own Keys | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Local Models (Ollama) | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Local-first Privacy | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Ad Blocking (MV2) | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
Detailed comparisons:
- BrowserOS vs Chrome DevTools MCP — developer-focused comparison for browser automation
- BrowserOS vs Claude Cowork — getting real work done with AI
- BrowserOS vs OpenClaw — everyday AI assistance
Architecture
BrowserOS is a monorepo with two main subsystems: the browser (Chromium fork) and the agent platform (TypeScript/Go).
BrowserOS/
├── packages/browseros/ # Chromium fork + build system (Python)
│ ├── chromium_patches/ # Patches applied to Chromium source
│ ├── build/ # Build CLI and modules
│ └── resources/ # Icons, entitlements, signing
│
├── packages/browseros-agent/ # Agent platform (TypeScript/Go)