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migration / Checked 2026-10-18

Move reconnecting to browser work from Kernel to Notte

A migration plan for reconnecting to browser work: retain the business check, replace Kernel's provider-owned resources, and prove the Notte workflow before cutover.

Decide whether this move earns its cost

A controller loses its connection midway through a safe task and attempts to continue. Starting a fresh browser is not always equivalent to reconnecting to a live page.

Kernel's browser-local Apps make execution placement part of the decision. Compare the repeated action path with the proposed Notte controller or Function deployment before concluding that a lifecycle or hourly-rate difference decides the workflow.

Evaluate Notte when browser ownership can be tracked independently of a transient controller socket. Confirm the supported reconnection path and distinguish it from loading a saved profile.

A provider's documented reconnect product can be decisive for a workflow that depends on a live page. Do not replace it with profile persistence without changing the task's continuation design.

Keep the result contract stable

A page with unsaved in-memory state, a stored provider session reference and a controlled controller interruption.

The application determines whether the original browser is still alive and either resumes the expected state or explicitly restarts the task.

Preserve the evidence contract across the move: Original session reference, page-state marker, connection interruption and resume-or-restart decision.

Map the workflow's resources

RequirementKernelNotte
Browser controlDocumentedDocumented
Saved browser stateDocumentedDocumented
Live viewDocumentedDocumented
Deployment choiceCheck deployment offeringEnterprise options

Sources: kernel.sh [1] ↗kernel.sh [2] ↗kernel.sh [3] ↗kernel.sh [4] ↗docs.notte.cc [5] ↗docs.notte.cc [6] ↗docs.notte.cc [7] ↗docs.notte.cc [8] ↗

What survives a session

Kernel: Profiles preserve browser user-data-directory state, including cookies, site data, tabs and preferences. Profile sharing and save behavior need explicit treatment when parallel workers use seeded state.

Notte: Profiles save cookies, local storage and session storage. Sessions start with fresh state by default. Persisting a profile writes state back when the session ends; a running session can also save its state explicitly.

Sources: kernel.sh [1] ↗docs.notte.cc [2] ↗

Website login

Kernel: Managed Auth handles website login and eligible connection recovery. Vault fill is a separate flow for applications that control navigation and form submission; the reviewed vault documentation labels that surface as preview.

Notte: Vaults substitute credential placeholders in supported browser actions outside the model context. Managed Auth checks requested saved connections before automation. Personas supply an inbox and optional phone number for verification workflows.

Sources: kernel.sh [1] ↗docs.notte.cc [2] ↗

Deployment ownership

Kernel: Kernel Apps move the automation process next to the browser. Alternatively, an external process can control a browser through the browser API. Choose based on execution locality and deployment ownership.

Notte: Use a remote browser from your existing process or deploy the browser automation as a Notte Function. These choices put lifecycle, scheduling and monitoring responsibilities in different places.

Sources: kernel.sh [1] ↗docs.notte.cc [2] ↗

Pricing model

Kernel: Use the plan and browser configuration in Kernel's pricing documentation. Managed networking, account allowances and app execution make a browser-hour comparison only one part of the decision.

Notte: The public usage rates are $0.01 per browser-hour, $0.05 per Function-hour and $10 per GB of managed proxy traffic. Paid plans return their price as usage credits. Price the relevant meters and plan eligibility for the workload.

Sources: kernel.sh [1] ↗notte.cc [2] ↗

Cut over one responsibility at a time

For this Kernel-to-Notte migration, keep the business assertion outside provider resource management. Source profile, connection, file and execution IDs are not valid target IDs; use a documented transfer path or establish the corresponding resource in Notte.

Retain source job history and a rollback route until the target pilot passes. A migration checklist is not evidence that saved state or runtime behavior is automatically portable.

  • Inventory which steps depend on unsaved page state.
  • Test the target session's documented connection path before moving continuation logic.
  • Retain a restart path for ended sessions and verify that cleanup still occurs.

Sources: kernel.sh [1] ↗docs.notte.cc [2] ↗docs.notte.cc [3] ↗

A proposed acceptance case

This is an evaluation design, not a claim that this workflow has been executed successfully on every provider.

Part of the testRequired observation
Controlled inputA page with unsaved in-memory state, a stored provider session reference and a controlled controller interruption.
Pass conditionThe application determines whether the original browser is still alive and either resumes the expected state or explicitly restarts the task.
Negative caseRepeat the reconnect after the browser has ended. The application must not treat a new session or restored profile as the original live page.
Evidence to retainOriginal session reference, page-state marker, connection interruption and resume-or-restart decision.

A reason to delay or keep the source

Repeat the reconnect after the browser has ended. The application must not treat a new session or restored profile as the original live page.

Kernel: Browser-local code changes the deployment model. Check app action behavior, account limits and persistent-state ownership before moving an external worker into it.

Delay cutover when the target's selected plan, required artifact path or supported website-account flow is not established. Resolve that gap before moving real jobs, even if the rate comparison favors the target.

Sources: kernel.sh [1] ↗notte.cc [2] ↗

Keep comparing

Put the workflow to the test.

Try Notte Read the quickstart ↗