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Browser agents · agent infrastructure component

Browser Harness: review, pricing, security and alternatives

Browser Harness is an open-source agent infrastructure component published by Browser Use, in the browser agents family. Browser Harness connects coding assistants to a real Chrome browser while reusing the user’s authenticated sessions. Its repository has 18,587 stars and its last commit is from October 23, 2026.

Open sourceSelf-hostableActively maintainedLow risk

What Browser Harness does

Browser Harness belongs to the browser agents family: agents that open pages, click, fill in forms and extract information in place of a human. On our grid it ranks #10 of the 21 projects of this family listed in the directory.

It is not an agent in itself: it is a component other agents use (memory, isolated execution, web access, model gateway or monitoring). You pick it based on the agent or framework it has to equip.

Who is Browser Harness for?

It helps people who spend time on websites without an API: it clicks, fills in and reads pages for you. Typical tasks people give it:

  • fill in repetitive forms
  • collect prices or information across several sites
  • test a website's user flow
  • fetch documents from a customer portal

It is a good candidate if your data must stay on your machines.

Access and human control

Its documentation does not detail the access granted to the agent: check the settings before connecting it to your accounts.

We could not establish whether it asks for human approval before sensitive actions: test it first on an unimportant account or folder.

Read and edit filesRead and edit files : 14 %14 %Drive a web browserDrive a web browser : 76 %76 %Call online services and APIsCall online services and APIs : 33 %33 %Read and send messagesRead and send messages : 5 %5 %Make paymentsMake payments : 5 %5 %
Share of the 21 agents in the family that have each access, according to their documentation. In orange, Browser Harness's access.

Browser Harness pricing

The code is free, under the MIT licence.

Getting started with Browser Harness

  1. Install it: the project ships as a Python package (install with pip or uv). The exact command is in the repository README.
  2. Start with the minimal example from the docs, then add one tool at a time and check what the agent does with it.
  3. Give it a short, checkable task, review the result and its action log, then raise the difficulty step by step.

Security: risk level

Every page visited may hide instructions: do not leave a browser agent logged into sensitive accounts without action approval.

Three habits: least privilege (minimal rights, dedicated keys), human approval for irreversible actions, a sandbox for code execution. The AI agent security check reviews your setup in a few minutes.

Project activity and releases

Created on April 17, 2026, the browser-use/browser-harness repository has 18,587 stars, 1,836 forks and 57 open issues, with 780 commits in total. It received changes this month.

Over the last 52 weeks: 535 commits, an average of 10.3 per week.

Nov 2, : 0 · Nov 2, 2025Nov 2,Nov 9, : 0 · Nov 9, 2025Nov 16, : 0 · Nov 16, 2025Nov 23, : 0 · Nov 23, 2025Nov 30, : 0 · Nov 30, 2025Dec 7, : 0 · Dec 7, 2025Dec 14, : 0 · Dec 14, 2025Dec 21, : 0 · Dec 21, 2025Dec 28, : 0 · Dec 28, 2025Dec 28,Jan 4, : 0 · Jan 4, 2026Jan 11, : 0 · Jan 11, 2026Jan 18, : 0 · Jan 18, 2026Jan 25, : 0 · Jan 25, 2026Feb 1, : 0 · Feb 1, 2026Feb 8, : 0 · Feb 8, 2026Feb 15, : 0 · Feb 15, 2026Feb 22, : 0 · Feb 22, 2026Feb 22,Mar 1, : 0 · Mar 1, 2026Mar 8, : 0 · Mar 8, 2026Mar 15, : 0 · Mar 15, 2026Mar 22, : 0 · Mar 22, 2026Mar 29, : 0 · Mar 29, 2026Apr 5, : 0 · Apr 5, 2026Apr 12, : 0 · Apr 12, 2026Apr 19, : 94 · Apr 19, 2026Apr 19,Apr 26, : 52 · Apr 26, 2026May 3, : 73 · May 3, 2026May 10, : 40 · May 10, 2026May 17, : 13 · May 17, 2026May 24, : 4 · May 24, 2026May 31, : 1 · May 31, 2026Jun 7, : 1 · Jun 7, 2026Jun 14, : 6 · Jun 14, 2026Jun 14,Jun 21, : 6 · Jun 21, 2026Jun 28, : 8 · Jun 28, 2026Jul 5, : 6 · Jul 5, 2026Jul 12, : 9 · Jul 12, 2026Jul 19, : 20 · Jul 19, 2026Jul 26, : 10 · Jul 26, 2026Aug 2, : 5 · Aug 2, 2026Aug 9, : 5 · Aug 9, 2026Aug 9,Aug 16, : 26 · Aug 16, 2026Aug 23, : 7 · Aug 23, 2026Aug 30, : 16 · Aug 30, 2026Sep 6, : 48 · Sep 6, 2026Sep 13, : 2 · Sep 13, 2026Sep 20, : 2 · Sep 20, 2026Sep 27, : 5 · Sep 27, 2026Oct 4, : 4 · Oct 4, 2026Oct 4,Oct 11, : 56 · Oct 11, 2026Oct 18, : 3 · Oct 18, 2026Oct 25, : 13 · Oct 25, 2026Oct 25,
Commits per week on the main repository, last 52 weeks (GitHub API, checked October 25, 2026).

14 releases in total; 13 in the last twelve months. Latest release: v0.1.13, on September 4, 2026.

v0.1.3 · Jun 21, 2026v0.1.3Jun 21, 2026v0.1.2 · Jun 21, 2026v0.1.1 · Jun 21, 2026v0.1.4 · Jul 1, 2026v0.1.5 · Jul 11, 2026v0.1.6 · Jul 17, 2026v0.1.7 · Jul 21, 2026v0.1.8 · Jul 26, 2026v0.1.9 · Aug 16, 2026v0.1.10 · Aug 26, 2026v0.1.11 · Sep 3, 2026v0.1.13 · Sep 4, 2026v0.1.12 · Sep 4, 2026v0.1.12Sep 4, 2026
The latest 13 releases published on GitHub (hover a point for details).

Browser Harness vs other browser agents

GitHub stars of the best-rated open-source projects in the browser agents family. Stars measure attention, not quality: a heavily promoted project collects them fast, a specialised tool will have few.

Browser UseBrowser Use : 119K119KStagehandStagehand : 25.8K25.8KSkyvernSkyvern : 23.3K23.3KBrowserOSBrowserOS : 14.1K14.1KOpenCLIOpenCLI : 30.6K30.6KCloakBrowserCloakBrowser : 32.5K32.5KInvisible DotsInvisible Dots : 32.2K32.2KMoliMoli : 20.5K20.5KBrowser HarnessBrowser Harness : 18.6K18.6K
Log scale; Browser Harness in orange. Checked October 25, 2026.

Browser Harness and other browser agents at a glance

The 7 best-ranked agents in the same family, 7 of them open source. The score out of 100 only applies to open-source projects; for proprietary services we show the published entry price. A dash marks information the documentation does not state.

Quick comparison: browser agents
AgentModelScoreStars or entry priceSelf-hostableHuman approval
Browser Harnessopen source7718.6K ★yes–
Browser Useopen source92119K ★yes–
Stagehandopen source8425.8K ★yes–
Skyvernopen source8323.3K ★yes–
BrowserOSopen source8114.1K ★yes–
OpenCLIopen source8030.6K ★yes–
CloakBrowseropen source7832.5K ★yes–
Invisible Dotsopen source7832.2K ★yes–

How we rated it

Score: 77/100, computed only from public, verifiable data, with no subjective testing or partnership:

  • Adoption 27/40: 18,587 stars on a log scale (40 points from about 200,000).
  • Activity 30/30: last commit less than a month ago, 13 releases in six months, 535 commits in a year.
  • Framework 20/30: licence, default human approval, self-hosting, model choice and documentation site.

The score does not say whether the agent will succeed at your tasks: it measures how solid the project is. The full grid is on the method page.

Verdict

Browser Harness is a serious option; check the limitations below before granting it access.

Strengths

  • Very active development
  • Frequent releases (13 in a year)
  • Can run on your side: data under control
  • Permissive licence (MIT)

Frequently asked questions

Is Browser Harness free?

The software is free (MIT licence). You still pay for the model calls, unless you use a local model.

Is Browser Harness safe?

Our risk level: low. Give it minimum rights and approve irreversible actions.

Which models does Browser Harness use?

Its documentation does not specify the supported models.

Can Browser Harness be installed on your own server?

Yes, from the browser-use/browser-harness repository. Data then stays with you, but security and updates are your job.

What are the alternatives to Browser Harness?

In the same family: Browser Use, Stagehand, Skyvern, and BrowserOS.

Browser Harness or Browser Use: what is the difference?

Both belong to the browser agents family. Browser Harness has 18.6K stars against 119K for Browser Use. The right choice mostly depends on the access you are willing to give it.

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Neutrality. No affiliate links. No vendor pays to be reviewed, rated or ranked. Reviews are directed by François Chollet, neutral and factual, and every data point is dated and sourced. How we score