Lightpanda
Headless browser written from scratch in Zig for AI agents and automation, built for speed and low memory rather than forked from Chromium.
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About Lightpanda
Lightpanda is listed in our browser/computer use category and is aimed at builders. Headless browser written from scratch in Zig for AI agents and automation, built for speed and low memory rather than forked from Chromium. Pricing, as the maker states it: Open source + cloud. Maturity: Mature. We last checked the official link on 2026-10-18.
What is Lightpanda?
Lightpanda is a headless browser built from scratch for AI agents and automation. It is not a Chromium fork or a WebKit patch: it is a new browser written in Zig.
In the maker's benchmark of 100 real pages on an AWS m5.large instance, it used about 123 MB of peak memory against 2 GB for headless Chrome and finished in 5 seconds against 46. Nightly builds are available for Linux and macOS on x86_64 and aarch64, and through Homebrew and the AUR.
Sources: the official README and our directory listing, checked 2026-10-18. Official site: lightpanda.io.
Who is Lightpanda for?
Developers running browser automation, scraping or AI agents at scale who want a lighter, faster headless browser than Chrome.
Lightpanda at a glance
- Open source: Yes (GNU Affero General Public License v3.0)
- GitHub: lightpanda-io/browser · 36,820 stars (as of Oct 21, 2026)
Key features
- Headless browser written from scratch in Zig
- Much lower memory use than headless Chrome in the maker's benchmark
- Built for AI agents and automation
- Linux and macOS builds (x86_64 and aarch64)
- Available via Homebrew and the AUR
Lightpanda FAQ
What is Lightpanda?
Lightpanda is a headless browser built from scratch for AI agents and automation. It is not a Chromium fork or a WebKit patch: it is a new browser written in Zig.
Who is Lightpanda for?
Developers running browser automation, scraping or AI agents at scale who want a lighter, faster headless browser than Chrome.
Is Lightpanda free?
Lightpanda's pricing, as the maker states it: Open source + cloud. Open-source tools are free to use, though you may still pay for model API usage or a hosted plan. Check the official site for current plans.
Is Lightpanda open source?
Yes. Lightpanda is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0, according to its GitHub repository.
What are alternatives to Lightpanda?
Similar tools include Stagehand, Moli, Browser Use Web UI, Ui.Vision RPA, Libretto and Browserbase.
Lightpanda ratings and reviews
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