BrowserOS
Shares rank 41 of 53 web browsers by recommenders
Open-source browser with built-in agents and an MCP server that works with Claude Code and Codex. Critics find it confusing and doubt it needs to be a full browser.
Open-source browser with built-in agents and an MCP server that works with Claude Code and Codex. Critics find it confusing and doubt it needs to be a full browser.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Built-in MCP server for coding agents
“It has an in-built MCP server and I use it with claude code, codex and like it quite a lot.”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Let your Coding Agent debug the browser session with Chrome DevTools MCP” “MCP server works out of box”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: BrowserOS – "Claude Cowork" in the browser (open source)” People use it daily with agents
“It has an in-built MCP server and I use it with claude code, codex and like it quite a lot.”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Let your Coding Agent debug the browser session with Chrome DevTools MCP” “my agents like BrowserOS and I use it all the time”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “A farewell to Arc browser”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Questions need for a full browser
“I still don't buy the we needed it to be a whole Browser and not a Chrome Extension argument”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: BrowserOS – "Claude Cowork" in the browser (open source)” Not yet useful for typical users
“I couldn't turn a typical user lose with something like this yet, but I think I see the vision.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: BrowserOS – "Claude Cowork" in the browser (open source)”
Other web browsers people recommend
The four most recommended other web browsers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firefox | 1,572 | 1,371 | 53% | 12 | 16 yrs125 owners | — |
| Google Chrome | 503 | 1,086 | 32% | 12 | 10 yrs11 owners | — |
| Brave | 397 | 248 | 62% | 12 | 4.9 yrs16 owners | — |
| Safari | 307 | 577 | 35% | 12 | 13 yrs27 owners | — |
| BrowserOSThis page | 7 | 1 | 88% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
11 of the 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“my agents like BrowserOS and I use it all the time”
“It has an in-built MCP server and I use it with claude code, codex and like it quite a lot.”
“I couldn't turn a typical user lose with something like this yet, but I think I see the vision.”
“You could try this use case on on agent builder even today.”
“BrowserOS should work with agent browser as well in headless mode!”
“it is confusing, possibly even misleading”
“We honestly haven't faced any bot detection or blocking issues.”
“without owning the binary, we couldn't shipped today's feature”
“I still don't buy the we needed it to be a whole Browser and not a Chrome Extension argument”
“MCP server works out of box”
“it looks like this is in there. I'm glad to see it!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.