Silbercue/public-browser

Lets Claude Code, Cursor and any MCP client drive Chrome. In a blind benchmark on a 30-test page, five runs each, Public Browser 3.0 passed 30/30 in every run and used a median of **3.0M session tokens where agent-browser 0.38.1 used 4.5M — a third fewer tokens, a third less cost, a quarter fewer tool calls and 48% faster** (261 s against 386 s) (Benchmarks, including where it loses). Measured 2026-09-23/24 with Claude Code 2.1.281, driver Claude Opus 5 and Chrome 153; agent-browser ran through its CLI with its official skill file, and the test page is our own. Direct CDP, a11y-tree refs, several steps per call with run_plan — 2,700+ TypeScript tests, 280+ Python tests.
Built for Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible client — and, without an LLM in the loop, for decision models like Jev.
> **Looking for an alternative to agent-browser, Playwright MCP, Chrome DevTools MCP or Browser MCP?** Public Browser is an MCP server that talks to Chrome directly over the DevTools Protocol — no Playwright dependency, no extension bridge, no shell command per step. One command to install, zero config. See the benchmark comparison below.
Why Public Browser?
- **Fewer tokens per task.** Every tool call makes the model re-read the conversation so far, so the session total is what you pay for. On the benchmark page Public Browser 3.0 needed 3.0M tokens (median of five runs) where agent-browser needed 4.5M. In the field run a day earlier, with Public Browser still at 2.10.6, Playwright MCP needed 7.8M and Chrome DevTools MCP 10.3M. The lead comes from fewer, denser steps: run_plan executes several actions with variables and conditions in one call, and since 3.0 the responses carry less repetition — diffs show only what changed, text the parent line already shows is not repeated, a tip appears once per session.
- **Loud failures instead of silent ones.** A CSS selector that matches several elements does nothing and returns the candidates with their refs. Refs are kept per tab and never reused, so a ref from a page you left reports stale ref instead of clicking whatever node now has that number. drag answers Drag not confirmed when nothing reacted, and a click that opens a tab names the new tab.
- **Nested cross-origin iframes and shadow DOM.** Clicks reach elements in a cross-origin iframe that sits inside another cross-origin iframe — agent-browser 0.38.1 reads one level (#1784). Open and closed shadow roots are read as well.
- **Two ways in without an LLM.** A Node library (createSession()) and a Python client (pip install publicbrowser) run the same tool handlers as the MCP server.
**What agent-browser does better:** it can copy your Chrome profile so its logins come along (Public Browser's profile mode does not carry site logins on macOS, see Chrome Profiles), records HAR files and intercepts requests, saves PDFs and video, and drives iOS Safari. If your agent works from the shell rather than through an MCP client, it is a strong choice.
| Blind benchmark, median of 5 runs each | **Public Browser 3.0** | agent-browser 0.38.1 (CLI) |
|---|---|---|
| Passed (30 scored tests) | **30/30 in 5 of 5 runs** | 29/30 in 5 of 5 runs — misses T5.2, a navigator.webdriver check |
| Session tokens, whole run | **3.02M** (2.47–3.15M) | 4.53M (4.40–5.33M) |
| Cost per run, Opus 5 list price | **$2.40** | $3.56 |
| Tool calls | **79** | 104 |
| Time to finish, wall clock | **261 s** | 386 s |
| Tool-response volume | **78.9k chars** | 84.4k chars |
| Average tool response | 1,040 chars | **754 chars** |
2026-09-23/24, Claude Code 2.1.281, driver claude-opus-5, Chrome 153.0.8010.53. Method, per-run table and the rest of the field: Benchmarks.
Quick Start
Install in Claude Code
One command — installs globally for all projects:
**Important:** after claude mcp add you must **fully quit and reopen Claude Code**. /mcp reconnect is not enough — Claude Code reads the mcpServers config only at session start and caches it. After the restart, the first tool call auto-launches Chrome **visible** (no headless, no port setup). Done.
> To enable parallel Python Script API access, add --script to the args:
> claude mcp add --scope user public-browser -- npx -y public-browser@latest -- --script
Install in Cursor
Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
> For parallel Python Script API access, use "args": ["-y", "public-browser@latest", "--", "--script"]
Install in Cline
Add to your cline_mcp_settings.json:
Install in other MCP clients
Any client that supports stdio MCP servers: npx -y public-browser@latest with no arguments.