Chrome DevTools MCP

Both BrowserOS MCP and Chrome DevTools MCP give AI agents control over a browser via the Model Context Protocol. But they’re built for different scopes. Chrome DevTools MCP focuses on debugging and inspection, while BrowserOS MCP is a complete browser automation and app integration platform. This page breaks down the differences for developers evaluating which to use with Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Cursor, or any MCP client.

At a Glance

	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
Total MCP tools	53	29
External app integrations	40+ (Gmail, Slack, GitHub, etc.)	None
Setup	Copy URL from settings, works instantly	Requires `--remote-debugging-port` flag and separate server process
Browser session	Your real browser with cookies, logins, extensions	Attached debug session (some sites block WebDriver-controlled browsers)
Architecture	Built into the browser	External Node.js process connecting via CDP

Feature Comparison

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
Navigate to URL / back / forward / reload	`navigate_page`	`navigate_page`
Open new tab	`new_page`	`new_page`
Close tab	`close_page`	`close_page`
List open tabs	`list_pages`	`list_pages`
Switch to tab	`show_page`	`select_page`
Hidden/background tabs	`new_hidden_page`	-
Move tab between windows	`move_page`	-
Get active/focused tab	`get_active_page`	-
Wait for condition	-	`wait_for`

Content & Observation

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
Accessibility tree snapshot	`take_snapshot`	`take_snapshot`
Enhanced structural snapshot	`take_enhanced_snapshot`	-
Page content as Markdown	`get_page_content`	-
Extract all page links	`get_page_links`	-
Raw HTML / DOM access	`get_dom`	-
Search DOM (text / CSS / XPath)	`search_dom`	-
Screenshot	`take_screenshot`	`take_screenshot`
Execute JavaScript	`evaluate_script`	`evaluate_script`

Interaction & Input

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
Click element	`click`	`click`
Click at coordinates	`click_at`	-
Type / fill text	`fill`	`fill`
Fill entire form	-	`fill_form`
Type text (raw keystrokes)	-	`type_text`
Clear input	`clear`	-
Hover	`hover`	`hover`
Drag	`drag`	`drag`
Press key / key combo	`press_key`	`press_key`
Check / uncheck checkbox	`check` / `uncheck`	-
Select dropdown option	`select_option`	-
Focus element	`focus`	-
Scroll (directional)	`scroll`	-
Upload file	`upload_file`	`upload_file`
Handle dialog (alert/confirm)	`handle_dialog`	`handle_dialog`

File & Export

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
Save page as PDF	`save_pdf`	-
Save screenshot to disk	`save_screenshot`	-
Download file via click	`download_file`	-

Window Management

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
List windows	`list_windows`	-
Create window	`create_window`	-
Create hidden window	`create_hidden_window`	-
Close window	`close_window`	-
Activate / focus window	`activate_window`	-

Tab Groups

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
List tab groups	`list_tab_groups`	-
Create tab group	`group_tabs`	-
Update group (title/color)	`update_tab_group`	-
Ungroup tabs	`ungroup_tabs`	-
Close tab group	`close_tab_group`	-

Bookmarks

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
List bookmarks	`get_bookmarks`	-
Create bookmark / folder	`create_bookmark`	-
Remove bookmark	`remove_bookmark`	-
Update bookmark	`update_bookmark`	-
Move bookmark	`move_bookmark`	-
Search bookmarks	`search_bookmarks`	-

History

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
Search history	`search_history`	-
Get recent history	`get_recent_history`	-
Delete URL from history	`delete_history_url`	-
Delete history range	`delete_history_range`	-

Debugging & Performance

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
Console messages	Coming soon	`get_console_message` / `list_console_messages`
Network request inspection	Coming soon	`get_network_request` / `list_network_requests`
Performance tracing	Coming soon	`performance_start_trace` / `performance_stop_trace`
Performance analysis	Coming soon	`performance_analyze_insight`
Memory snapshot	Coming soon	`take_memory_snapshot`
Lighthouse audit	Coming soon	`lighthouse_audit`
Device / network emulation	Coming soon	`emulate`
Resize viewport	Coming soon	`resize_page`

External App Integrations

Feature	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
Gmail, Outlook	Yes	-
Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar	Yes	-
Slack, Discord, Teams, WhatsApp	Yes	-
GitHub, GitLab	Yes	-
Linear, Jira, Asana, Monday, ClickUp	Yes	-
Notion, Google Docs/Sheets/Drive	Yes	-
Figma, Canva	Yes	-
Salesforce, HubSpot	Yes	-
Shopify, Stripe	Yes	-
20+ more services	Yes	-

Setup Comparison

BrowserOS MCP
Chrome DevTools MCP

BrowserOS MCP is built into the browser. No separate process, no debug flags.

# One command, done
claude mcp add --transport http browseros http://127.0.0.1:9239/mcp --scope user

The server URL is available at chrome://browseros/mcp. Copy it and connect.

Chrome DevTools MCP requires launching Chrome with remote debugging enabled and running a separate Node.js server.

# Step 1: Launch Chrome with debug port
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --remote-debugging-port=9222

# Step 2: Install and run the MCP server
npx @anthropic-ai/chrome-devtools-mcp@latest

# Step 3: Connect your MCP client to the server

Some sites may block sign-in when the browser is controlled via WebDriver (the default launch mechanism).

Summary

Dimension	BrowserOS MCP	Chrome DevTools MCP
Browser automation tools	54	29
External app integrations	40+	0
Window management	Yes	No
Tab groups	Yes	No
Bookmarks & history	Yes	No
File export (PDF, screenshots, downloads)	Yes	No
Content extraction (Markdown, links, DOM)	Yes	No
Console / network inspection	Coming soon	Yes
Performance tracing & Lighthouse	Coming soon	Yes
Memory snapshots	Coming soon	Yes
Device emulation	Coming soon	Yes
Setup complexity	Copy URL	Debug port + Node server
Browser session	Real (cookies, extensions)	Debug-attached (WebDriver flags)

BrowserOS MCP gives you a broader automation surface: browser control, content extraction, file operations, and 40+ app integrations through a single connection. Debugging and performance tools are coming soon to BrowserOS MCP, which will close the remaining gap with Chrome DevTools MCP. For most AI agent workflows, BrowserOS MCP already covers more ground out of the box.

Get Started

BrowserClaw

Core Features

Comparisons

Integrations

Troubleshooting

Contributing

At a Glance

Feature Comparison

Navigation & Tab Management

Content & Observation

Interaction & Input

File & Export

Window Management

Tab Groups

Bookmarks

History

Debugging & Performance

External App Integrations

Setup Comparison

Summary

​At a Glance

​Feature Comparison

​Navigation & Tab Management

​Content & Observation

​Interaction & Input

​File & Export

​Window Management

​Tab Groups

​Bookmarks

​History

​Debugging & Performance

​External App Integrations

​Setup Comparison

​Summary

At a Glance

Feature Comparison

Navigation & Tab Management

Content & Observation

Interaction & Input

File & Export

Window Management

Tab Groups

Bookmarks

History

Debugging & Performance

External App Integrations

Setup Comparison

Summary