Peekaboo vs Browserbase MCP (Stagehand)

A side-by-side comparison of two Browser Automation servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	Peekaboo macOS screen capture, AI visual analysis, and full GUI automation for AI agents. Unverified stdio (local) API key Swift	Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) Official Browserbase cloud-browser MCP built on Stagehand — natural-language act/extract/observe. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript
Category	Browser Automation	Browser Automation
Language	Swift	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	4.8k	3.0k
Last commit	3 days ago	26 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y @steipete/peekaboo`	`npx -y @browserbasehq/mcp`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Peekaboo if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you want a verified, documented setup.

Add Peekaboo

Install / run

npx -y @steipete/peekaboo

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "peekaboo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@steipete/peekaboo"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PEEKABOO_AI_PROVIDERS": "openai/gpt-5.5,anthropic/claude-opus-4-8"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Browserbase MCP (Stagehand)

Install / run

npx -y @browserbasehq/mcp

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "browserbase-mcp-stagehand": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@browserbasehq/mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BROWSERBASE_API_KEY": "<your-browserbase-api-key>",
        "BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID": "<your-browserbase-project-id>",
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "<your-gemini-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Peekaboo or Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) — which is better?

Pick Peekaboo if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you want a verified, documented setup.

Can I use both Peekaboo and Browserbase MCP (Stagehand)?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do Peekaboo and Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Peekaboo →View Browserbase MCP (Stagehand) →More comparisons →