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f7d7148cf0
Source-grounded rewrite of 529 published docs pages with per-unit information-loss verification: 1,713 factual corrections cited to src/**, generated surfaces regenerated, frontmatter titles preserved for i18n, release notes pages untouched. All docs gates green. Closes #100141
169 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
169 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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summary: "Fix Chrome/Brave/Edge/Chromium CDP startup issues for OpenClaw browser control on Linux"
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read_when: "Browser control fails on Linux, especially with snap Chromium"
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title: "Browser troubleshooting"
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---
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## Problem: Failed to start Chrome CDP on port 18800
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```json
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{ "error": "Error: Failed to start Chrome CDP on port 18800 for profile \"openclaw\"." }
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```
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### Root cause
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On Ubuntu and most Linux distros, `apt install chromium` installs a snap
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wrapper, not a real browser:
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```text
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Note, selecting 'chromium-browser' instead of 'chromium'
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chromium-browser is already the newest version (2:1snap1-0ubuntu2).
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```
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Snap's AppArmor confinement interferes with how OpenClaw spawns and monitors
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the browser process.
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Other common Linux launch failures:
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- `The profile appears to be in use by another Chromium process`: stale
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`Singleton*` lock files in the managed profile directory. OpenClaw removes
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these locks and retries once when the lock points at a dead or
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different-host process.
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- `Missing X server or $DISPLAY`: a visible browser was explicitly requested
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on a host without a desktop session. Local managed profiles fall back to
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headless mode on Linux when both `DISPLAY` and `WAYLAND_DISPLAY` are unset.
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If you set `OPENCLAW_BROWSER_HEADLESS=0`, `browser.headless: false`, or
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`browser.profiles.<name>.headless: false`, remove that headed override, set
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`OPENCLAW_BROWSER_HEADLESS=1`, start `Xvfb`, run
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`openclaw browser start --headless` for a one-shot managed launch, or run
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OpenClaw in a real desktop session.
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### Solution 1: install Google Chrome (recommended)
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```bash
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wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
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sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
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sudo apt --fix-broken install -y # if there are dependency errors
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```
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Update `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`:
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```json
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{
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"browser": {
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"enabled": true,
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"executablePath": "/usr/bin/google-chrome-stable",
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"headless": true,
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"noSandbox": true
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}
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}
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```
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### Solution 2: use snap Chromium in attach-only mode
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If you must keep snap Chromium, configure OpenClaw to attach to a
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manually-started browser instead of launching it:
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```json
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{
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"browser": {
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"enabled": true,
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"attachOnly": true,
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"headless": true,
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"noSandbox": true
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}
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}
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```
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Start Chromium manually:
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```bash
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chromium-browser --headless --no-sandbox --disable-gpu \
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--remote-debugging-port=18800 \
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--user-data-dir=$HOME/.openclaw/browser/openclaw/user-data \
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about:blank &
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```
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Optionally auto-start it with a systemd user service:
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```ini
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# ~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-browser.service
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[Unit]
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Description=OpenClaw Browser (Chrome CDP)
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After=network.target
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[Service]
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ExecStart=/snap/bin/chromium --headless --no-sandbox --disable-gpu --remote-debugging-port=18800 --user-data-dir=%h/.openclaw/browser/openclaw/user-data about:blank
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Restart=on-failure
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RestartSec=5
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[Install]
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WantedBy=default.target
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```
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```bash
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systemctl --user enable --now openclaw-browser.service
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```
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### Verify the browser works
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```bash
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curl -s http://127.0.0.1:18791/ | jq '{running, pid, chosenBrowser}'
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curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:18791/start
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curl -s http://127.0.0.1:18791/tabs
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```
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### Config reference
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| Option | Description | Default |
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| -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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| `browser.enabled` | Enable browser control | `true` |
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| `browser.executablePath` | Path to a Chromium-based browser binary (Chrome/Brave/Edge/Chromium) | auto-detected (prefers the OS default browser when Chromium-based) |
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| `browser.headless` | Run without GUI | `false` |
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| `OPENCLAW_BROWSER_HEADLESS` | Per-process override for local managed browser headless mode | unset |
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| `browser.noSandbox` | Add `--no-sandbox` flag (needed for some Linux setups) | `false` |
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| `browser.attachOnly` | Do not launch a browser; only attach to an existing one | `false` |
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| `browser.cdpPortRangeStart` | Starting local CDP port for auto-assigned profiles | `18800` (derived from the gateway port) |
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| `browser.localLaunchTimeoutMs` | Local managed Chrome discovery timeout, up to `120000` | `15000` |
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| `browser.localCdpReadyTimeoutMs` | Local managed post-launch CDP readiness timeout, up to `120000` | `8000` |
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Both timeout values must be positive integers up to `120000` ms; other values
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are rejected at config load. On Raspberry Pi, older VPS hosts, or slow
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storage, raise `browser.localLaunchTimeoutMs` when Chrome needs more time to
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expose its CDP HTTP endpoint. Raise `browser.localCdpReadyTimeoutMs` when
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launch succeeds but `openclaw browser start` still reports `not reachable
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after start`.
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### Problem: No Chrome tabs found for profile="user"
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You are using the `user` (`existing-session` / Chrome MCP) profile and no
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tabs are open to attach to.
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Fix options:
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1. Use the managed browser instead:
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`openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start` (or set
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`browser.defaultProfile: "openclaw"`).
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2. Keep local Chrome running with at least one open tab, then retry with
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`--browser-profile user`.
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Notes:
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- `user` is host-only. On Linux servers, containers, or remote hosts, prefer
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CDP profiles instead.
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- `user` and other `existing-session` profiles share the current Chrome MCP
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limits: ref-driven actions only, one file per upload, no dialog `timeoutMs`
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overrides, no `wait --load networkidle`, and no `responsebody`, PDF export,
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download interception, or batch actions.
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- Local `openclaw`-driver profiles auto-assign `cdpPort`/`cdpUrl`; only set
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those manually for remote CDP.
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- Remote CDP profiles accept `http://`, `https://`, `ws://`, and `wss://`.
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Use HTTP(S) for `/json/version` discovery, or WS(S) when your browser
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service gives you a direct DevTools socket URL.
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## Related
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- [Browser](/tools/browser)
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- [Browser login](/tools/browser-login)
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- [Browser WSL2 troubleshooting](/tools/browser-wsl2-windows-remote-cdp-troubleshooting)
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