chrome-use gives Claude Code logged-in Chrome, no debug port

The gap chrome-use targets is the login state agents leave behind. Most browser automation starts a fresh context with no cookies, so agents hit login screens, CAPTCHAs and new-device emails before doing any work. Playwright and Puppeteer can attach to an existing browser, but Chrome 136 and later refuse a --remote-debugging-port on the default profile, and Chrome 144's remote-debugging toggle makes every window in that profile visible to the tool and asks for permission on each connection.

chrome-use's answer is to skip the DevTools route entirely: a small extension talks to the CLI over native messaging and drives only the tabs the agent targets via chrome.debugger. The visible trade-off is the "debugging" bar Chrome shows while connected, which the --silent option removes by restarting Chrome with --silent-debugger-extension-api. Setup is a one-line install plus a store extension, and the project places a guidance skill for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor automatically.

The project positions itself against Chrome DevTools MCP and Playwright's extension mode by supporting multiple agents on the same logged-in Chrome without remote debugging; for front-end debugging or teams already on Playwright MCP, its own guidance points elsewhere. Its stealth measurements are self-reported and environment-specific, and the docs state plainly that no tool can promise CAPTCHAs never appear or that accounts stay safe.