PinchTab
PinchTab is a 12MB Go binary that runs as a local HTTP server daemon, giving AI agents direct HTTP API control over Chrome.
About
PinchTab is a 12MB Go binary that runs as a local HTTP server daemon, giving AI agents direct HTTP API control over Chrome. Install once as a user-level daemon; the same browser control plane runs in the background and is reusable across agent sessions without relaunching. Token-efficient by design — APIs expose what agents actually need rather than dumping full page DOM. 8,000 GitHub stars and 1,354 commits put it in the upper tier of OpenClaw ecosystem projects by adoption.
AI agent developers who need reliable, persistent browser control across multiple agent sessions — particularly teams running agents that repeatedly perform browser automation tasks where startup overhead and token efficiency matter.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- check 8,000 GitHub stars and 1,354 commits — one of the most adopted tools in the OpenClaw ecosystem, indicating real production use
- check Daemon model means one browser instance shared across multiple agent sessions — no cold-start overhead per session
- check 12MB single Go binary with no runtime dependencies — simple to install, cross-platform, minimal footprint
- check HTTP API design means any agent or script can control the browser, not just specific framework integrations
- check Token-efficient API surface is explicitly designed for LLM agent usage, not human developer convenience
Cons
- close Go binary requires appropriate platform build; not a pure JavaScript/Python tool for teams that avoid compiled dependencies
- close Daemon model means Chrome stays running in the background — resource use is permanent, not on-demand
- close HTTP API for browser control is powerful but also a broad attack surface if not properly secured locally
- close Chrome dependency means headless Chromium must be available on the system
- close MIT licensed open source with no commercial support tier documented
More Infrastructure
Other tools in the same category.
