The open-source Zendriver alternative
Zendriver is the community fork of nodriver: fast, async, CDP-only, with open issues and Docker support. Like nodriver it drives a stock Chrome, so the fingerprint is still your machine's. Clearcote changes that fingerprint in the engine, and Zendriver can drive it.
What is Zendriver?
Zendriver is a fork of nodriver started to merge pull requests that had stalled upstream, add static typing and linting, and open the project to contributions. It is async-first, talks the Chrome DevTools Protocol directly with no Selenium or WebDriver, and has a companion Docker setup for running a GPU-accelerated, non-headless Chrome on Linux. It is AGPL-3.0, has about 1,400 GitHub stars and around 120,000 PyPI downloads a month, and released 0.16 in August 2026.
Zendriver inherits nodriver's design: it removes the WebDriver surface entirely, but the Chrome it controls is unmodified. Canvas, WebGL, fonts and hardware come from the host, and there is no way to give a session a different identity. The AGPL-3.0 licence is strong network copyleft, which matters if you run it as part of a hosted service.
Clearcote vs Zendriver
| Feature | Clearcote | Zendriver |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Engine-level C++ patches | Direct CDP client on a stock Chrome |
| Fingerprint identity | Coherent persona from a seed | Your host's real values |
| WebDriver surface | None: driven over CDP | None: driven over CDP |
| Docker | Official image with a CDP endpoint | Companion image for GPU-accelerated Chrome (Linux) |
| TLS / network | ClientHello follows the persona's Chrome version | Whatever the local Chrome sends |
| Interface | Playwright & Puppeteer, plus a raw CDP endpoint | Its own async Python API |
| License | Open build BSD-3 | AGPL-3.0 (network copyleft) |
| Cost | Open build free; latest build free with GitHub; Pro $49/mo | Free & open |
Comparison compiled September 2026. Zendriver is open source (agpl-3.0); details change — check its project for the latest.
Why teams pick Clearcote
Changes what the browser reports
Zendriver controls Chrome cleanly, but the Chrome is stock. Clearcote sets canvas, WebGL, fonts, screen and hardware in the engine, as one consistent persona.
Many identities from one host
Every seed is its own machine, so parallel sessions don't share the fingerprint of the server they run on.
Permissive licence
AGPL-3.0 has obligations for network services. Clearcote's open build is BSD-3, which doesn't.
Works with Zendriver
Zendriver's browser_executable_path accepts any Chromium binary, including Clearcote.
When Zendriver might be the better pick
- You like the async nodriver-style API and the host's own fingerprint is acceptable for your targets.
- AGPL-3.0 is fine for how you use it.
- Or run Zendriver on Clearcote: pass the binary as
browser_executable_pathand the fingerprint arguments asbrowser_args.
FAQ
Zendriver vs nodriver: what's the difference?
Zendriver is a fork of nodriver that merged pending fixes, added linting and typing, opened the issue tracker and added Docker support. The core approach, a direct CDP client for a stock Chrome, is the same.
Does Zendriver change the browser fingerprint?
No. It removes the WebDriver layer, but canvas, WebGL, fonts, screen and hardware come from the Chrome it launches and the machine it runs on.
Can Zendriver drive Clearcote?
Yes. Set browser_executable_path to the Clearcote binary (the SDK's download() returns its path) and pass --fingerprint in browser_args.
Related reading
Try the open-source Chromium alternative
Free and open source, a drop-in for Playwright & Puppeteer, coherent down to the TLS handshake.
Free for one browser with GitHub. No card.