# agent-browser vs Kane CLI (slim)

> agent-browser scores 66.8 (B) to Kane CLI's 55.3 (C) for browser automation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-kane-cli.md (~5,200 tokens) · this version ~2,930 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-kane-cli.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-browser-vs-kane-cli
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-01
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

agent-browser scores 66.8 (B) on agent readiness against Kane CLI's 55.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Kane CLI leads on maintenance & community. Both do browser automation.

- agent-browser: B 66.8, rank #263 of 1260 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-browser.min.md
- Kane CLI: C 55.3, rank #805 of 1260 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kane-cli.min.md
- agent-browser, good for Coding agents with a shell that want short commands and compact snapshots. Ahead on Schema & documentation, 84 against 77; Agent ergonomics, 78 against 65; Security & auth, 67 against 55; Payments & pricing, 60 against 20; Transparency & trust, 63 against 38. Also No key needed to call it; Runs on your own machine; Open source.
- Kane CLI, good for Coding agents and CI that need to check a web or mobile app in a real browser or device and keep replayable Markdown tests with evidence. Ahead on Maintenance & community, 77 against 70.

| Category | agent-browser | Kane CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 48 | 50 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 84 | 77 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 78 | 65 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 67 | 55 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 20 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 70 | 77 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 63 | 38 |

| Fact (where they differ) | agent-browser | Kane CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Vercel Labs | TestMu AI (formerly LambdaTest) |
| Transports | stdio |  |
| Auth | None | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Paid |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | The npm wrapper, skill and repository are Apache-2.0. The runner, assurance and pinned Node binaries it installs are labelled Apache-2.0 on npm, but their source isn't in the linked repository. TestMu AI's service terms weren't read |
| Tools exposed | 158 | none |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-28 |
| Popularity | 44k stars, 2.1M npm/wk | 2.1k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2.8/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Payments & pricing, agent-browser +40: agent-browser 60 (Free, self-hosted, nothing to buy, so 20 + 20 + 20 under the self-hosted rule. No payment protocol (0).); Kane CLI 20 (No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Plan prices are public per the listing check of 1 November 2026 (Starter $17 a month billed annually, Pro $89), and `run_end` reports credits per run, but the credit price per run isn't published, so plan-only pricing (10). The release says "free to start" and the check found a 10,000-credit, 30-day trial; whether it needs a card couldn't be read today. Judgement call (10 of 20). A person signs up and approves OAuth in a browser, or copies an access key from the dashboard, before any run (0).)
- Transparency & trust, agent-browser +25: agent-browser 63 (Apache-2.0, copyright Vercel Inc. (30). No privacy statement for the software. The docs say where credentials, keys and state are stored, that saved state expires after 30 days by default, and that `chat` goes to the Vercel AI Gateway (18 of 30). No deprecation policy. The changelog flagged the `-C` snapshot flag as deprecated under a Breaking Changes heading (6 of 20). No telemetry code found in the source, and the README and docs do not state this either way (14 of 20).); Kane CLI 38 (The editorial half. The wrapper, skill and docs are Apache-2.0. The runner, assurance and pinned Node binaries are labelled Apache-2.0 on npm with no source in the linked repository, and the service terms couldn't be read (12 of 30). The repository says what leaves the machine. Every run uploads to Test Manager with screenshots and an evidence pack recording the user's name and email, secrets are masked, credentials are stored with mode 0600, and the evidence viewer reads packs locally. The privacy policy, DPA and retention periods are on testmuai.com and weren't read (10 of 30). The changelog calls out breaking changes, such as the removal of the bare-objective shortcut in 0.4.1, but there's no deprecation policy or dated notice period (5 of 20). The changelog describes telemetry (a remote log, support ids, errors spooled and sent at exit) and a daily npm update check. The opt-out `KANE_TELEMETRY=0` appears only in a skill reference, not the user guide (8 of 20).)
- Agent ergonomics, agent-browser +13: agent-browser 78 (The CLI adds no tool definitions to context, and the MCP server defaults to 29 `core` tools with seven further profiles and paged tools/list up to 158 (22 of 25). `snapshot -i`, `-c`, `-d`, `-s` and `--delta`, `--max-output`, and network request filters by type, method and status (20). Clicks fail early and name the covering element, and JSON errors carry codes such as `tab_gone` with recovery data, with no documented list of codes (14). `readOnlyHint` and `openWorldHint` on every tool, no `destructiveHint`, and open issue #2032 reports the CLI re-sending a command after it reached the daemon (12). Refs and defaults keep commands short. One CLI, no SDK in a second language (10).); Kane CLI 65 (Graded on the CLI as an agent drives it. `run_end` carries `summary`, `one_liner` and only the values asked for with "store as" in `final_state`, and `--max-steps` and `--timeout` bound a run. The skill an agent loads is about 40 KB with 25 reference files (15 of 25). `testrun` selects by paths, `--match` and `--tags`, `explore list` and `explore sessions` filter by run, and `--json` on design and review commands; few size controls beyond that (14 of 20). Exit codes separate pass, fail, setup error and timeout, failure reasons are named, and refusals name the command to run next (18 of 20). Replays of saved tests come from cache, reconcile resumes rather than re-billing, and Exploration allows one run at a time. A one-shot `run` has no idempotency key and Exploration's default can change data (10 of 20). One required argument for `run`; Exploration's `mutating` default isn't a safe one; no SDKs, only the CLI from npm, Homebrew and a shell script (8 of 15).)
- Security & auth, agent-browser +12: agent-browser 67 (The tool needs no credential. Site passwords sit in a local vault encrypted with AES-256-GCM and are filled without reaching the model, while saved state files are plaintext unless a key is set (22 of 30). Domain allowlist, action policy file and confirmation for chosen action categories, all opt-in, with no restriction by default (16 of 20). Content boundary markers with a per-process nonce, output caps and a written threat model with ten known limitations, also opt-in (12 of 15). A local dashboard shows a command and result feed, with no persistent audit log found (7 of 15). No SECURITY.md in the repository and no published advisories. vercel.com's security.txt names HackerOne, and the changelog records hardening of the dashboard (0.35.2) and allowlist (0.32.0) (10 of 20).); Kane CLI 55 (Two credential routes. OAuth with browser consent and token revocation on logout, scopes not documented; or the account's username and access key, which the docs say lets anyone holding it run tests on the account, passed as a command-line flag in CI. Not in a URL. 20 of 30 for revocable credentials without documented scopes. Exploration's `read_only` policy blocks write requests to any host and never presses Delete, Sign out or Pay, with `--deny`, `--allow-domain` and `--allow-post`, and the first `mutating` run in a project asks once on a terminal. The default is `mutating`, with no confirmation in agent mode (12 of 20). Results include text from the page under test. The 0.10.0 content fence masks secrets before they leave the worker, but no prompt-injection guidance was found (2 of 15). Every run lands in Test Manager with screenshots, evidence packs record steps and logs, and Exploration findings keep a history naming who changed what (13 of 15). SECURITY.md with security@testmuai.com, signed and notarised binaries per the README, npm registry signatures. No bug bounty, certification or security.txt could be checked, since testmuai.com wasn't readable, and SECURITY.md's supported versions list only 0.1.x (8 of 20).)
- Schema & documentation, agent-browser +7: agent-browser 84 (Graded on the CLI and its MCP server. Every MCP tool has a JSON Schema input with `additionalProperties` false, and `agent-browser.schema.json` covers the config file (25). llms.txt and a Markdown copy of each docs page at agent-browser.dev (10). Tool descriptions are one line, such as `Scroll the page or an element`, with parameter descriptions that say when to omit a field. Few say when not to use a tool (12). Enums, minimums, defaults and required lists, with a free-form `extraArgs` string array on every tool (12). Many CLI examples and a `--json` result shape, with error codes such as `tab_gone` named in passing and no error catalogue found (10). Versioned releases and CHANGELOG.md for each (15).); Kane CLI 77 (No OpenAPI or JSON Schema file. The NDJSON events are documented in typed Markdown tables, `run_end` is declared stable across versions, and each command family has its event list (10 of 25). Markdown docs in the repository, an agent skill and a context7.json for agents. The agents.md guide on testmuai.com wasn't readable and no llms.txt was checked (10). The user guide and skill say when to use `run`, `testmd`, `testrun`, assurance or Exploration, and when not (Exploration when there are no written requirements, `read_only` for data you care about) (17 of 20). Flag tables give defaults and allowed values for `--mode`, `--target`, `--policy` and `--bug-detection`; `--variables` and `--session-context` take free-form JSON (12 of 15). Examples throughout, exit-code tables and troubleshooting tables with named failures such as `failed:setup_failed` and `RUN_ACTIVE`. The README's `run_end` example names `credits` while the skill names `credits_consumed` (13 of 15). Semantic versions with a dated Keep a Changelog file and git tags (15).)
- Maintenance & community, Kane CLI +7: agent-browser 70 (0.38.2 on 1 October 2026 (30). 19 tagged releases since 13 July 2026 (20). 34 commits to main since 8 September, but of the 19 newest open issues 12 had no comment and none had a label, including two off-topic ones left open (10 of 25). Not in the official MCP registry, where a search for agent-browser returned only other publishers. npm and Homebrew are current and crates.io is 19 minor versions behind (5 of 15). No runtime npm dependencies and a lockfile, with CI failing on main (5 of 10).); Kane CLI 77 (0.10.0 on npm on 28 October 2026, 4 days ago (30). 28 releases from 3 August to 1 November 2026, 0.8.4 to 0.10.0, each in the changelog (20). The repository has 337 commits, pull requests up to #222 merged within days by LambdaTest staff, a Discord and an issue tracker. GitHub's API wasn't reachable from this session, so open issues and reply times weren't counted (12 of 25). Not an MCP server. The CLI and skill are current on npm and a Homebrew tap, with no SDK (10 of 15). CI runs the skill installer's tests on Linux, macOS and Windows with Node 18 and 22. The CLI's own source and tests aren't public, and the main package carries no npm provenance attestation while the skill package does (5 of 10). Kane CLI is six and a half months old by its first npm release.)