Use my own browser and own profile with the native agent browser not the extension

[wary gate]

How do I get my clawd to use my own chrome profile so he uses my logged in sessions etc and not his browser?

[warm sapphire]

To help others find answers, you can mark your question as solved via Right click solution message -> Apps -> ✅ Mark Solution

[wise pine]

You have two options to use your own Chrome with logged-in sessions:

Option 1: Chrome Extension Relay (Recommended)

This lets Clawdbot control your actual Chrome tab with all your sessions intact:

1. Install the extension:

   clawdbot browser extension install
   

2. Load it in Chrome:

   • Go to chrome://extensions
   • Enable "Developer mode"
   • Click "Load unpacked" and select the path from: clawdbot browser extension path
   • Pin the extension

3. Attach a tab:

   • Open the tab you want Clawdbot to control (e.g., Gmail, etc.)
   • Click the Clawdbot Browser Relay extension icon → badge shows ON
   • Detach by clicking again

4. Use it:

   • Agent tool: browser with profile="chrome"
   • CLI: clawdbot browser --browser-profile chrome tabs

The extension only controls tabs you explicitly attach — your other tabs stay private.

Option 2: Point Clawdbot at Your Chrome Profile

If you want Clawdbot to launch Chrome with your actual user data dir:

{
  browser: {
    executablePath: "/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome", // macOS
    // Linux: "/usr/bin/google-chrome"
    // Windows: "C:\\Program Files\\Google\\Chrome\\Application\\chrome.exe"
    defaultProfile: "clawd" // or create a profile that uses your user data
  }
}

Note: This still creates an isolated profile for Clawdbot. If you need your logged-in sessions, Option 1 (extension relay) is the way to go.

---

Docs: Chrome extension | Browser

[wary gate]

I don’t want to use the extension

Clawd said that in the general chat

Here's a cleaner rewrite:

description: [
  // What it does
  "Browser automation via Playwright. Actions: status, start, stop, tabs, open, snapshot, screenshot, navigate, act.",
  
  // Two modes - simple choice
  "TWO MODES:",
  "1. profile=\"clawd\" → Isolated browser Clawdbot controls (default for sandbox)",  
  "2. profile=\"chrome\" → Your Chrome tabs via extension (requires user to click extension icon)",
  
  // Target selection
  "TARGET: sandbox (isolated), host (your machine), custom (remote URL).",
  
  // How to automate

[wise pine]

No extension needed. Here's how to use your own Chrome profile directly:

Run Chrome with your profile + CDP port

Start Chrome manually with your user data directory and debug port:

macOS:

/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome \
  --remote-debugging-port=9222 \
  --user-data-dir="$HOME/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default"

Linux:

google-chrome \

  --remote-debugging-port=9222 \
  --user-data-dir="$HOME/.config/google-chrome/Default"

Windows:

"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" `
  --remote-debugging-port=9222 `
  --user-data-dir="%LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default"

Point Clawdbot at it

Add to ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json:

{
  browser: {
    enabled: true,
    defaultProfile: "my-chrome",
    profiles: {
      "my-chrome": {
        cdpUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:9222",
        color: "#00AA00"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or create via CLI:

clawdbot browser create-profile \
  --name my-chrome \
  --driver remote \
  --cdp-url http://127.0.0.1:9222 \
  --color "#00AA00"

Restart the Gateway, and Clawdbot will connect to your running Chrome with all your sessions.

Note: Keep that Chrome window open — Clawdbot connects to the existing instance rather than launching its own.

[wise pine]

Got it — no extension. You want your own Chrome instance with your user data.

The "chrome" profile is extension-only. For your own Chrome, create a remote profile that points at your running Chrome:

1. Start Chrome with your sessions

google-chrome \
  --remote-debugging-port=9222 \
  --user-data-dir="$HOME/.config/google-chrome/Default"

(macOS: use the full path to Chrome.app)

2. Configure Clawdbot

clawdbot browser create-profile \
  --name my-chrome \
  --driver remote \
  --cdp-url http://127.0.0.1:9222 \
  --color "#00AA00"

Then use profile="my-chrome" when calling the browser tool.

Or set as default

clawdbot config set browser.defaultProfile my-chrome

Keep Chrome running — Clawdbot connects to it, doesn't launch its own.

[wary gate]

✅