130 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
130 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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summary: "Fix Chrome/Brave/Edge/Chromium CDP startup issues for Clawdbot browser control on Linux"
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read_when: "Browser control fails on Linux, especially with snap Chromium"
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---
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# Browser Troubleshooting (Linux)
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## Problem: "Failed to start Chrome CDP on port 18800"
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Clawdbot's browser control server fails to launch Chrome/Brave/Edge/Chromium with the error:
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```
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{"error":"Error: Failed to start Chrome CDP on port 18800 for profile \"clawd\"."}
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```
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### Root Cause
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On Ubuntu (and many Linux distros), the default Chromium installation is a **snap package**. Snap's AppArmor confinement interferes with how Clawdbot spawns and monitors the browser process.
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The `apt install chromium` command installs a stub package that redirects to snap:
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```
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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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This is NOT a real browser — it's just a wrapper.
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### Solution 1: Install Google Chrome (Recommended)
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Install the official Google Chrome `.deb` package, which is not sandboxed by snap:
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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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Then update your Clawdbot config (`~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.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 with Attach-Only Mode
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If you must use snap Chromium, configure Clawdbot to attach to a manually-started browser:
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1. Update config:
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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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2. 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/.clawdbot/browser/clawd/user-data \
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about:blank &
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```
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3. Optionally create a systemd user service to auto-start Chrome:
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```ini
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# ~/.config/systemd/user/clawd-browser.service
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[Unit]
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Description=Clawd 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/.clawdbot/browser/clawd/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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Enable with: `systemctl --user enable --now clawd-browser.service`
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### Verifying the Browser Works
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Check status:
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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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```
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Test browsing:
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```bash
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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 default browser when Chromium-based) |
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| `browser.headless` | Run without GUI | `false` |
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| `browser.noSandbox` | Add `--no-sandbox` flag (needed for some Linux setups) | `false` |
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| `browser.attachOnly` | Don't launch browser, only attach to existing | `false` |
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| `browser.cdpPort` | Chrome DevTools Protocol port | `18800` |
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### Problem: "Chrome extension relay is running, but no tab is connected"
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You’re using the `chrome` profile (extension relay). It expects the Clawdbot
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browser extension to be attached to a live tab.
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Fix options:
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1. **Use the managed browser:** `clawdbot browser start --browser-profile clawd`
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(or set `browser.defaultProfile: "clawd"`).
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2. **Use the extension relay:** install the extension, open a tab, and click the
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Clawdbot extension icon to attach it.
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Notes:
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- The `chrome` profile uses your **system default Chromium browser** when possible.
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- Local `clawd` profiles auto-assign `cdpPort`/`cdpUrl`; only set those for remote CDP.
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