Self-host BrowserBee
v0.2.0AI-powered browser assistant controlled by natural language
- Stars
- 980
What is BrowserBee?
BrowserBee is a privacy-first Chrome extension that acts as an in-browser AI assistant. Users install it locally in Chrome and provide their own LLM API keys (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini) or connect to a local Ollama instance. The extension uses Playwright for browser automation, giving the LLM access to many tools for navigation, interaction, observation, mouse and keyboard control, tab management, and memory. It tracks token usage and cost per task, and asks for user approval before sensitive actions like purchases or social media posts. The project is licensed under Apache 2.0. Development has been paused by the author as of October 2025, who noted that current LLM technology isn't yet reliable enough for web interaction tasks.
Should you self-host BrowserBee?
BrowserBee scores 50/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #7 of 11 in Browser Automation. It has 980 GitHub stars.
There was no stable release in the past 12 months, so check the repository's recent activity before you rely on it.
Setup is easy: most people get it running in one sitting. It is Apache-2.0-licensed and written mostly in Typescript.
Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Lightpanda (79/100, 37 078 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See BrowserBee vs Lightpanda side by side.
Features
- Chrome Web Store distribution
- Comprehensive browser toolset
- Local Ollama support with CORS
- Memory System
- Multiple LLM provider support
- Multi-window isolation
- Natural language browser control
- Playwright-powered browser automation
- Privacy-First Local Execution
- Side panel UI
- Token usage and cost tracking
- User approval for sensitive actions
BrowserBee README
More in Browser Automation
browserlessSelf-hosted headless browser deployment in Docker. Connects with Puppeteer or Playwright for web scraping, automation, and testing.
BrowserOS neoA self-hosted, open-source Chromium browser for your AI agents: one-click Chrome login import, parallel agent tabs, and full session replay, all running locally.
camofox-browserSelf-hosted, open-source browser server that drives the Camoufox Firefox engine through a REST API, evading Cloudflare and bot detection for AI agents.
CloakBrowserSelf-hosted stealth Chromium with source-level fingerprint patches passing 50+ bot detection tests. Drop-in Playwright replacement plus Pro tier for latest builds.
CloakBrowser-ManagerSelf-hosted anti-detect browser for unlimited isolated profiles with unique fingerprints. Open-source GUI (MIT) powered by CloakBrowser stealth Chromium.
CookieCloudOpen-source cookie sync for self-hosted servers: a Chrome/Edge extension plus a Docker server that keeps cookies and LocalStorage in step using end-to-end encryption.
figraniumFigranium is a self-hosted, open-source browser automation platform for building visual workflows and triggering them via REST API with scheduling and proxy rotation.
firefox-syncDocker Compose setup to self-host Firefox Sync using Mozilla's syncstorage-rs with MariaDB or PostgreSQL, syncing bookmarks and passwords to your own server.
LightpandaOpen-source, self-hosted headless browser written in Zig for scraping, crawling and AI agents; serves CDP and WebDriver BiDi on port 9222 for Puppeteer and Playwright.
maxunSelf-hosted and open-source web data platform: build scrape, crawl, extract, search and monitor robots in a no-code recorder or with an API, SDK, CLI or MCP.
ObscuraOpen-source, self-hosted headless browser engine in Rust: runs V8 JavaScript, speaks CDP for Puppeteer and Playwright, with built-in stealth and tracker blocking.
ohmycaptchaSelf-hosted open-source captcha solver with a YesCaptcha-style createTask API covering reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Turnstile and image tasks via Playwright and vision models.
0 comments