(a repost due to gen-ai block | sry guys English is not my native language)

me: solo dev from Hamburg (ahoi) started months ago - couldn't stand the token waste and speed of playwright, Chrome dev tools etc - Vercel changed the game a bit but I use Public Browser for weeks now - it delivers

project: "Public Browser" is a MCP Server running real Chrome with ur profile (no logins) directly via CDP protocol. has a complete tool set. handles multiple tabs. free - open sources - script api - a beast with JEV.

numbers: vs agent-browser -24% calls, -33% token, -33% cost, -32% time vs Playwright CLI -26% calls, -34% token, -32% cost, -43% time vs Playwright MCP -51% calls, -61% token, -54% cost, -47% time vs Chrome DevTools -53% calls, -71% token, -65% cost, -51% time vs browser-use -79% calls, -95% token, -93% cost, -88% time

method: blind opus 5 - one test harness - 30 tests - 5 runs. competitors = Playwright, Chrome DevTools, browser-use.

    Public Browser 3.0 vs field, same harness, Opus 5, Chrome 153
    (PB 3.0 + agent-browser: 5 runs, 24.09. | others: 3 runs, 23.09.)

                            via  tests   calls  tokens  cost    time
    Public Browser 3.0      MCP  30/30      79   3.02M  $2.40   261s
    agent-browser 0.38.1    CLI  29/30     104   4.53M  $3.56   386s
    Playwright CLI 0.1.21   CLI  30/30     107   4.61M  $3.52   454s
    Playwright MCP 0.0.82   MCP  30/30     162   7.84M  $5.22   494s
    Chrome DevTools 1.9.0   MCP  29/30     169  10.33M  $6.78   535s
    browser-use 0.13.10     MCP  24-26/30  384  63.68M  $36.06  2187s

    29/30 = only T5.2 fails (navigator.webdriver check)

but: agentBrowser responses are 28% smaller still in most cases Public Browser should be more efficient cause it needs less rounds in the end

install: claude mcp add public-browser -- npx -y public-browser@latest

test-site: https://mcp-test.second-truth.com source code: https://github.com/Silbercue/public-browser/blob/master/test... harness & raw data: https://github.com/Silbercue/public-browser/tree/master/test...

p.s.: I know a race between a solo dev and companies is lost but I think the people should build the tools that are important. I would love to see Public Browser be used and it would be an absolute honor if someone would improve it - with work & ideas. I hope you enjoy it. pls tell me what u think about it.

Show HN: Public Browser MCP – +48% speed -33% token/session vs. AgentBrowser