chrome browser not working | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:03 AM

#

[tools] browser failed: Error: Chrome CDP websocket for profile "discord-agentshop-ads" is not reachable after start. raw_params={"action":"start","target":"host","profile":"discord-agentshop-ads"}

more Logs:

20:45:01-04:00 [plugins] embedded acpx runtime backend ready
20:45:02-04:00 [discord] GuildPresences intent enabled — presence listener registered
20:45:02-04:00 [discord] client initialized as 1466217073775476847 (Clawdbot); awaiting gateway readiness
20:46:02-04:00 [browser/service] Browser control service ready (profiles=19)
20:46:02-04:00 [browser/chrome] 🦞 openclaw browser started (chrome) profile "discord-agentshop-ads" on 127.0.0.1:18810 (pid 27564)
20:46:13-04:00 [tools] browser failed: Error: Chrome CDP websocket for profile "discord-agentshop-ads" is not reachable after start. raw_params={"action":"start","target":"host","profile":"discord-agentshop-ads"}
20:56:37-04:00 [tools] browser failed: Navigation blocked: strict browser SSRF policy requires an IP-literal URL because browser DNS rebinding protections are unavailable for hostname-based navigation raw_params={"action":"open","target":"host","profile":"openclaw","url":"https://x.com/home"}
20:56:45-04:00 [browser/chrome] 🦞 openclaw browser started (chrome) profile "openclaw" on 127.0.0.1:18800 (pid 10868)
20:57:08-04:00 [tools] browser failed: timed out. Restart the OpenClaw gateway (OpenClaw.app menubar, or openclaw gateway). Do NOT retry the browser tool — it will keep failing. Use an alternative approach or inform the user that the browser is currently unavailable. raw_params={"action":"start","target":"host","profile":"openclaw"}
20:57:11-04:00 [discord] gateway: Gateway websocket closed: 1000
20:57:11-04:00 [discord] gateway: Gateway reconnect scheduled in 850ms (close, resume=true)
20:59:25-04:00 [security] blocked URL fetch (url-fetch) target=http://127.0.0.1:9867/ reason=Blocked hostname or private/internal/special-use IP address

old thunderBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:03 AM

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quiet jacinthBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:03 AM

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

old thunderBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:03 AM

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split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:05 AM

#

Looking at the exact error paths in docs/source now, so I can give you something precise instead of guessing.

#

This is actually 3 separate signals.

Chrome CDP websocket ... is not reachable after start
OpenClaw did spawn the browser on 127.0.0.1:18810, but Chrome never exposed the DevTools websocket. After the later timeout, restart the gateway first before retrying:
```
openclaw gateway restart
```
If you're on Linux, a very common cause is snap Chromium/Brave or a bad browser binary/sandbox setup. The docs recommendation is to use an official Chromium-based browser binary via browser.executablePath, and in server/headless setups browser.noSandbox: true is often needed.
Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser-linux-troubleshooting
General browser docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser
strict browser SSRF policy requires an IP-literal URL
That is a config issue, separate from Chrome startup. Your browser SSRF policy is in strict mode, so hostname URLs like https://x.com/home get blocked unless explicitly allowed.

For normal browsing, use the default trusted mode, or remove the strict setting.

#

If you want strict mode, allow the host explicitly, for example:

{
  browser: {
    ssrfPolicy: {
      dangerouslyAllowPrivateNetwork: false,
      allowedHostnames: ["x.com"],
      hostnameAllowlist: ["*.x.com"],
    },
  },
}

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/security

blocked URL fetch ... 127.0.0.1

#

Also expected from that same SSRF policy. Loopback/private targets are blocked unless allowed.

Can you paste these next:

openclaw --version
openclaw doctor
openclaw browser profiles

and the browser: section from ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json?

That should be enough to tell whether this is:

browser binary / sandbox
bad browser profile config
or just strict SSRF policy fighting the browser setup.

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:07 AM

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🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — I don't have opinions about tabs vs spaces. I have opinions about everything else.

┌ OpenClaw doctor
│

│ │
│ This install is not a git checkout. │
│ Run openclaw update to update via your package manager (npm/pnpm), then rerun doctor. │
│ │

│
◇ Doctor warnings ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ │
│ - channels.discord.groupPolicy is "allowlist" but groupAllowFrom (and allowFrom) is │
│ empty — all group messages will be silently dropped. Add sender IDs to │
│ channels.discord.groupAllowFrom or channels.discord.allowFrom, or set groupPolicy to │
│ "open". │
│ │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
│
◇ Claude CLI ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

#

───╮
│ │
│ - Binary: ~.local\bin\claude.exe. │
│ - Headless Claude auth: OK (oauth). │
│ - OpenClaw auth profile: missing (anthropic:claude-cli) in │
│ C:\Users\ameli.openclaw\agents\main\agent\auth-profiles.json. │
│ - Workspace: ~.openclaw\workspace-discord-general (writable). │
│ - Claude project dir: │
│ ~.claude\projects\C--Users-ameli--openclaw-workspace-discord-general (not created │
│ yet; it appears after the first Claude CLI turn in this workspace). │
│ - Fix: run openclaw models auth login --provider anthropic --method cli --set-default. │
│ │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
│
◇ Bundled plugins ─────────────────────────────────╮
│ │
│ Bundled plugin runtime deps are missing. │
│ - @discordjs/opus@^0.10.0 (used by discord) │
│ Fix: run openclaw doctor --fix to install them. │
│ │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
│
◇ Install missing bundled plugin runtime deps now?
│ Yes
Failed to install bundled plugin runtime deps: Error: npm install failed
│
◇ State integrity ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮

#

│ │
│ - 1/4 recent sessions are missing transcripts. │
│ Verify sessions in store: openclaw sessions --store │
│ "C:\Users\ameli.openclaw\agents\discord-general\sessions\sessions.js │
│ on" │
│ Preview cleanup impact: openclaw sessions cleanup --store │
│ "C:\Users\ameli.openclaw\agents\discord-general\sessions\sessions.js │
│ on" │
│ --dry-run │
│ Prune missing entries: openclaw sessions cleanup --store │
│ "C:\Users\ameli.openclaw\agents\discord-general\sessions\sessions.js │
│ on" │
│ --enforce --fix-missing │
│ │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
│
◇ Security ─────────────────────────────────╮
│ │
│ - No channel security warnings detected. │
│ - Run: openclaw security audit --deep │
│ │
├────────────────────────────────────────────╯
│
◇ Skills status ────────────╮
│ │
│ Eligible: 10 │
│ Missing requirements: 42 │
│ Blocked by allowlist: 0 │
│ │
├────────────────────────────╯
│
◇ Plugins ──────╮
│ │
│ Loaded: 55 │
│ Imported: 55 │
│ Disabled: 42 │
│ Errors: 0 │
│ │
├────────────────╯
│
◇
Discord: ok (@Clawdbot) (248ms)
Agents: discord-general (default), discord-price-pulse, discord-business-ideas, discord-agentshop, discord-servicenow-mcp, discord-

#

servicenow, discord-bible-study, discord-home-assistant, discord-poke-recipes, discord-agentmart-user, discord-agentshop-ads, discord-openclaw-cloud, discord-chipotle-bot, discord-retail, discord-fb-marketplace, discord-resellbot, discord-supportchat, discord-greengenieai
Heartbeat interval: 30m (discord-general)
Session store (discord-general): C:\Users\ameli.openclaw\agents\discord-general\sessions\sessions.json (4 entries)

agent:discord-general:discord:channel:1466217392764878962 (6m ago)
agent:discord-general:discord:channel:1492884859931328592 (637m ago)
agent:discord-general:acp:binding:discord:default:046d27f1b31f9b46 (2201m ago)
agent:discord-general:main (2246m ago)
│
◇ Memory search ──────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ │
│ Memory search is explicitly disabled (enabled: false). │
│ │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
Run "openclaw doctor --fix" to apply changes.
│
└ Doctor complete.

split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:08 AM

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Nice, 2026.4.11 means this is not just an outdated build.

Also, that doctor warning about groupPolicy is unrelated to the browser failure.

At this point I’d narrow it to one of these:

browser binary / sandbox issue
bad browser profile config for discord-agentshop-ads
strict SSRF policy causing the navigation blocks on top of the launch issue

Please run these next and paste the output:

openclaw gateway restart
openclaw browser profiles
openclaw browser --browser-profile discord-agentshop-ads status

#

openclaw config get browser

Also tell me your OS.

Why these:

restart matters because your log hit the explicit browser timeout state
profiles shows whether discord-agentshop-ads is local, attach-only, or remote
status shows what browser/path OpenClaw is trying to use
config get browser will show whether strict ssrfPolicy, custom executablePath, attachOnly, or a weird cdpUrl is involved

One thing I’m already confident about: this line

Navigation blocked: strict browser SSRF policy requires an IP-literal URL

#

means your browser SSRF policy is in strict mode. That is separate from Chrome startup, and it will block normal hostname browsing like https://x.com/home unless you explicitly allow those hosts. Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/security and https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser

If you’re on Linux, snap Chromium/Brave is still my top suspect for the CDP websocket failure. Docs for that specific case: https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser-linux-troubleshooting

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:08 AM

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PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw browser profiles

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — Running on your hardware, reading your logs, judging nothing (mostly).

│
◇
openclaw: stopped [default]
port: 18800, color: #FF4500
discord-price-pulse: stopped
port: 18801, color: #0066CC
discord-business-ideas: stopped
port: 18802, color: #22AA66
discord-agentshop: stopped
port: 18803, color: #AA33AA
discord-servicenow-mcp: stopped
port: 18804, color: #CC8800
discord-servicenow: stopped
port: 18805, color: #008B8B
discord-bible-study: stopped
port: 18806, color: #8A2BE2
discord-home-assistant: stopped
port: 18807, color: #B22222
discord-poke-recipes: stopped
port: 18808, color: #2E8B57
discord-agentmart-user: stopped
port: 18809, color: #7B68EE
discord-agentshop-ads: stopped
port: 18810, color: #D2691E
discord-openclaw-cloud: stopped
port: 18811, color: #4682B4
discord-chipotle-bot: stopped
port: 18812, color: #C71585
discord-retail: stopped
port: 18813, color: #708090
discord-fb-marketplace: stopped
port: 18814, color: #20B2AA
discord-resellbot: stopped
port: 18815, color: #9932CC
discord-supportchat: stopped
port: 18816, color: #E74C3C
discord-greengenieai: stopped
port: 18817, color: #2E8B57
user: stopped [existing-session]
transport: chrome-mcp, color: #00AA00
PS C:\Users\ameli>

#

im on windows

split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:09 AM

#

This helps, thanks.

A few of those doctor items are red herrings for this problem:

Claude CLI auth missing: unrelated to browser startup
@discordjs/opus missing: unrelated unless you're doing Discord voice
groupPolicy warning: unrelated to Chrome CDP

The important new signal is this:

you’re on Windows
both discord-agentshop-ads and openclaw fail, so this is probably not just one bad profile
that makes me suspect the browser executable OpenClaw is launching, or Windows/policy/AV interfering with the DevTools port

Please run these next:

#

openclaw gateway restart
openclaw browser profiles
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw status
openclaw config get browser

If browser.executablePath is set, also tell me what it points to.

If it is not set, tell me which browser you expect OpenClaw to use on this machine:

Chrome
Brave
Edge

If you want, also paste:

#

where chrome
where msedge
where brave

That should tell us pretty quickly whether OpenClaw is picking a bad binary/path.

One more thing, still separate from startup: this error

Navigation blocked: strict browser SSRF policy requires an IP-literal URL

means your browser config is in strict SSRF mode, so normal hostname URLs like https://x.com/home will stay blocked until that policy is relaxed or allowlisted. Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/security and https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:09 AM

#

PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw config get browser

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — If it works, it's automation; if it breaks, it's a "learning opportunity."

{
"enabled": true,
"defaultProfile": "openclaw",
"profiles": {
"openclaw": {
"cdpPort": 18800,
"color": "#FF4500"
},
"discord-price-pulse": {
"cdpPort": 18801,
"color": "#0066CC"
},
"discord-business-ideas": {
"cdpPort": 18802,
"color": "#22AA66"
},
"discord-agentshop": {
"cdpPort": 18803,
"color": "#AA33AA"
},
"discord-servicenow-mcp": {
"cdpPort": 18804,
"color": "#CC8800"
},
"discord-servicenow": {
"cdpPort": 18805,
"color": "#008B8B"
},
"discord-bible-study": {
"cdpPort": 18806,
"color": "#8A2BE2"
},
"discord-home-assistant": {
"cdpPort": 18807,
"color": "#B22222"
},
"discord-poke-recipes": {
"cdpPort": 18808,
"color": "#2E8B57"
},
"discord-agentmart-user": {
"cdpPort": 18809,
"color": "#7B68EE"
},
"discord-agentshop-ads": {
"cdpPort": 18810,
"color": "#D2691E"
},
"discord-openclaw-cloud": {
"cdpPort": 18811,
"color": "#4682B4"
},
"discord-chipotle-bot": {
"cdpPort": 18812,
"color": "#C71585"
},
"discord-retail": {
"cdpPort": 18813,
"color": "#708090"
},
"discord-fb-marketplace": {
"cdpPort": 18814,
"color": "#20B2AA"
},
"discord-resellbot": {
"cdpPort": 18815,
"color": "#9932CC"
},
"discord-supportchat": {
"cdpPort": 18816,
"color": "#E74C3C"
},
"discord-greengenieai": {
"cdpPort": 18817,
"color": "#2E8B57"
}
}
}
PS C:\Users\ameli>

split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:09 AM

#

Yep, this chunk is still from openclaw doctor, and it’s not the part that will explain the browser failure.

The Security / Skills / Plugins / Sessions stuff is unrelated here.

Please paste only these, no doctor this time:

openclaw browser profiles
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw status
openclaw config get browser

If openclaw config get browser is huge, paste just the browser section from:

C:\Users\ameli\.openclaw\openclaw.json

#

What I’m looking for specifically:

which browser OpenClaw is trying to launch
whether browser.executablePath is set
whether attachOnly, cdpUrl, or strict ssrfPolicy is configured

Right now the evidence still points to:

bad Windows browser path/binary, or
browser config issue, or
strict SSRF blocking navigation after launch

But doctor won’t tell us which one.

#

No worries, doctor is just dumping a ton of unrelated stuff 😅

Let’s make this one command only:

openclaw config get browser

Please paste just that output.

That’s the next thing I need, because it will show:

browser.executablePath
attachOnly
cdpUrl
defaultProfile
ssrfPolicy

#

Right now we’re stuck because all the logs you pasted are still doctor, not the actual browser config.

#

Perfect, that actually helps a lot.

This confirms discord-agentshop-ads is just a normal local managed profile, not a remote cdpUrl or attachOnly setup. So the problem is probably the actual Chromium binary OpenClaw is choosing on Windows, not the profile itself.

One more command, just this:

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw status

Please paste the full output.

What I’m looking for there is the chosen browser/binary/path. That should tell us whether OpenClaw is launching the wrong thing, or whether Windows is blocking the DevTools port after launch.

#

Got it, thanks. Windows rules out the Linux snap weirdness.

So my top suspects now are:

OpenClaw is choosing a bad browser binary/path
Windows security/policy is blocking Chrome’s --remote-debugging-port

Please run these and paste the output:

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw status
where chrome
where msedge
where brave

That should tell us which Chromium browser is actually available on your machine, and what OpenClaw is trying to use.

#

Separate issue, still real: your strict browser SSRF policy config is what’s blocking https://x.com/home. We can fix that after the browser launch issue.

#

Nice, this is the useful part.

Your browser config is basically clean:

no cdpUrl
no attachOnly
no explicit browser.executablePath

So this is not a bad profile config.
At this point, the most likely problem is Windows browser auto-detection. OpenClaw is picking a Chromium browser automatically, and that choice is probably wrong or broken.

Please run these next:

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw status
where chrome

#

where msedge
where brave

If one of those exists, we can probably fix this by setting browser.executablePath explicitly.

For example, if Chrome is installed:

openclaw config set browser.executablePath "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start

If Edge is the one you have, use its path instead.

#

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser

Also, separate issue: the x.com error is still your strict SSRF policy, not the browser launch itself. We can fix that after we get the browser launching.

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:11 AM

#

PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw status

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — Half butler, half debugger, full crustacean.

│
◇
profile: openclaw
enabled: true
running: false
transport: cdp
cdpPort: 18800
cdpUrl: http://127.0.0.1:18800
browser: unknown
detectedBrowser: chrome
detectedPath: C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
profileColor: #FF4500

#

chrome

split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:11 AM

#

Perfect, that narrows it down a lot.

OpenClaw is detecting Chrome correctly:

detectedBrowser: chrome
detectedPath: C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

So this is not a bad path/autodetect problem anymore.

That means the failure is now one of these:

Chrome launches, but DevTools remote debugging never comes up
Windows policy / AV / Chrome policy is blocking --remote-debugging-port
the OpenClaw-managed profile dir/launch flags are the part going bad

Next test, manual Chrome CDP smoke test

#

Run this in PowerShell:

& "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --remote-debugging-port=18800 --user-data-dir="$env:TEMP\openclaw-browser-test" about:blank

Then in a second PowerShell window:

curl http://127.0.0.1:18800/json/version

What the result means

If you get JSON back: Chrome CDP works manually, so the issue is probably in how OpenClaw is launching/handling the managed profile.
If this fails too: the problem is outside OpenClaw, usually Chrome/Windows policy or security software blocking remote debugging.

#

Please paste the output of that curl call.

And yep, the x.com block is still a separate SSRF-policy issue. Let's ignore that until the CDP port is working.

#

Yep, Chrome is the one OpenClaw is detecting.

I need the manual CDP test result, specifically this part:

Run:

& "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --remote-debugging-port=18800 --user-data-dir="$env:TEMP\openclaw-browser-test" about:blank

Then in another PowerShell window run:

curl http://127.0.0.1:18800/json/version

Please paste the output of the curl command.

#

That’s the check that tells us whether Chrome remote debugging works at all on your Windows box.

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:12 AM

#

PS C:\Users\ameli> & "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --remote-debugging-port=18800 --user-data-dir="$env:TEMP\openclaw-browser-test" about:blank
PS C:\Users\ameli> curl http://127.0.0.1:18800/json/version

Security Warning: Script Execution Risk
Invoke-WebRequest parses the content of the web page. Script code in the web page might be run when the page is parsed.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Use the -UseBasicParsing switch to avoid script code execution.

  Do you want to continue?

[Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "N"):

split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:12 AM

#

Nice, that’s just PowerShell being annoying, not the real result yet.

Use curl.exe instead of PowerShell’s curl alias:

curl.exe http://127.0.0.1:18800/json/version

Or this is fine too:

(Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing http://127.0.0.1:18800/json/version).Content

Please paste that output.

If Chrome opened successfully and this returns JSON, that’s actually really good news, it means Chrome CDP works manually and the bug is likely in the OpenClaw-managed launch/profile path, not Windows blocking remote debugging entirely.

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:12 AM

#

PS C:\Users\ameli> curl.exe http://127.0.0.1:18800/json/version
{
"Browser": "Chrome/146.0.7680.178",
"Protocol-Version": "1.3",
"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/146.0.0.0 Safari/537.36",
"V8-Version": "14.6.202.31",
"WebKit-Version": "537.36 (@19ad7ae2ac645174d8fbf01dfde5f19a6c54f641)",
"webSocketDebuggerUrl": "ws://127.0.0.1:18800/devtools/browser/943f9ba5-a688-478a-bc6e-8dfcbf7bb98c"
}
PS C:\Users\ameli>

split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:13 AM

#

Nice, that’s the breakthrough.

That output proves:

Chrome itself is fine
remote debugging works on Windows
the problem is not your Chrome install or Windows blocking CDP

So the bug is now most likely in the OpenClaw-managed profile state for these local browser profiles.

Next thing to try

First, close the manual test Chrome window you launched on port 18800.

Then run:

#

openclaw gateway restart
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw reset-profile
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start

If openclaw works after that, do the same for the failing custom profile:

openclaw browser --browser-profile discord-agentshop-ads reset-profile
openclaw browser --browser-profile discord-agentshop-ads start

reset-profile is the right tool here because it resets only the isolated OpenClaw browser profile, not your normal Chrome profile. It moves that profile data aside to Trash.

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/browser and https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser

#

After we get startup working, we can fix the separate strict browser SSRF policy issue for x.com.

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:16 AM

#

Restarted Windows login item: OpenClaw Gateway
PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw reset-profile

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — Say "stop" and I'll stop—say "ship" and we'll both learn a lesson.

│
◇
GatewayClientRequestError: browser.request cannot mutate persistent browser profiles
PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — Your .zshrc wishes it could do what I do.

│
◇
Error: gateway timeout after 30000ms
Gateway target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
Source: local loopback
Config: C:\Users\ameli.openclaw\openclaw.json
Bind: loopback
PS C:\Users\ameli>

split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:16 AM

#

That’s really helpful.

So now we know:

manual Chrome CDP works
OpenClaw managed CDP does not
reset-profile is blocked through browser.request for these persistent profiles

At this point I’d do the profile reset manually by moving the OpenClaw browser data dirs aside.

Try this

First, close the manual test Chrome window.

Then in PowerShell:

#

openclaw gateway stop
$ts = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd-HHmmss"
Move-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\openclaw\user-data" "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\openclaw\user-data.$ts.bak"
Move-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\discord-agentshop-ads\user-data" "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\discord-agentshop-ads\user-data.$ts.bak"
openclaw gateway start
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start

This is safer than deleting, it just moves the isolated OpenClaw browser profiles aside so they can be recreated cleanly.

Why I think this is the right move

You already proved Chrome + remote debugging are healthy with:

chrome.exe --remote-debugging-port=18800 ...
curl.exe http://127.0.0.1:18800/json/version

#

So the likely bad state is in:

C:\Users\ameli\.openclaw\browser\openclaw\user-data
C:\Users\ameli\.openclaw\browser\discord-agentshop-ads\user-data

If that still fails, I think you’ve got a pretty solid bug report for GitHub, because then the repro is:

manual CDP works
OpenClaw-managed CDP on the same machine/path does not

GitHub issues: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:20 AM

#

Restarted Windows login item: OpenClaw Gateway
PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw reset-profile

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — Say "stop" and I'll stop—say "ship" and we'll both learn a lesson.

│
◇
GatewayClientRequestError: browser.request cannot mutate persistent browser profiles
PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — Your .zshrc wishes it could do what I do.

│
◇
Error: gateway timeout after 30000ms
Gateway target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
Source: local loopback
Config: C:\Users\ameli.openclaw\openclaw.json
Bind: loopback
PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw gateway stop

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — The only crab in your contacts you actually want to hear from. 🦞

Stopped Windows login item: OpenClaw Gateway
PS C:\Users\ameli> $ts = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd-HHmmss"
PS C:\Users\ameli> Move-Item "$env:USERPROFILE.openclaw\browser\openclaw\user-data" "$env:USERPROFILE.openclaw\browser\openclaw\user-data.$ts.bak"
PS C:\Users\ameli> Move-Item "$env:USERPROFILE.openclaw\browser\discord-agentshop-ads\user-data" "$env:USERPROFILE.openclaw\browser\discord-agentshop-ads\user-data.$ts.bak"
PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw gateway start

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — The only open-source project where the mascot could eat the competition.

Restarted Windows login item: OpenClaw Gateway
PS C:\Users\ameli> openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.11 (769908e) — Hot reload for config, cold sweat for deploys.

│
◇
Error: gateway timeout after 30000ms
Gateway target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
Source: local loopback
Config: C:\Users\ameli.openclaw\openclaw.json
Bind: loopback

split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:21 AM

#

Yeah, I’m pretty convinced this is maintainer-level bug territory now.

You’ve already ruled out the obvious stuff:

Chrome is installed and auto-detected correctly
manual CDP works on 127.0.0.1:18800
moving the OpenClaw-managed user-data dirs aside did not fix it
openclaw browser ... start still times out through the gateway
reset-profile is blocked with browser.request cannot mutate persistent browser profiles

At this point, please file a GitHub issue: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues

Good issue title

Windows: managed browser start times out, manual Chrome CDP works, reset-profile blocked for persistent profiles

Include these facts

openclaw --version → 2026.4.11

#

Windows
detectedPath: C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
manual test works:
- chrome.exe --remote-debugging-port=18800 --user-data-dir=...
- curl.exe http://127.0.0.1:18800/json/version returns JSON + webSocketDebuggerUrl
OpenClaw-managed start fails:
- openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start
- Error: gateway timeout after 30000ms
profile reset via CLI fails:
- GatewayClientRequestError: browser.request cannot mutate persistent browser profiles

One last thing to attach, if you can

Run this once and paste the browser-related lines into the issue:

openclaw logs --follow

#

Then in another window:

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start

I’m glad we narrowed it this far, because the repro is actually pretty clean now. The x.com strict SSRF problem is separate, but this browser-start timeout looks like a real bug.

quasi violet Apr 13, 2026, 1:21 AM

#

nah its just my instance I dont think its worth an issue

#

how do I reset my browser configuration for openclaw

#

I want to reset that

split orchidBOT Apr 13, 2026, 1:22 AM

#

Fair enough. If you don’t want to turn it into an issue, I’d just use the workaround and keep moving.

Since manual Chrome CDP works, the easiest workaround is:

& "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --remote-debugging-port=18800 --user-data-dir="$env:TEMP\openclaw-browser" about:blank

Then, while that Chrome stays open, use the normal openclaw browser profile:

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw tabs
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw open https://example.com

OpenClaw should be able to attach to the already-running CDP endpoint on 127.0.0.1:18800, even if its own launch path is busted.

#

If you need the custom profile instead, do the same idea on its port:

& "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --remote-debugging-port=18810 --user-data-dir="$env:TEMP\discord-agentshop-ads" about:blank

Then use:

openclaw browser --browser-profile discord-agentshop-ads tabs

One separate thing remains: your x.com block is still the strict SSRF policy. If you want, I can help you clean that up next.

#

On Windows, the practical way to “reset browser config” for OpenClaw is:

Option 1, reset the browser state/profile data only

This keeps your config file, but recreates the isolated OpenClaw browser profile fresh.

openclaw gateway stop
$ts = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd-HHmmss"
Move-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\openclaw\user-data" "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\openclaw\user-data.$ts.bak"
openclaw gateway start

If you also want to reset a custom profile like discord-agentshop-ads:

Move-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\discord-agentshop-ads\user-data" "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\discord-agentshop-ads\user-data.$ts.bak"

#

Option 2, reset the browser config in `openclaw.json`

Open this file:

C:\Users\ameli\.openclaw\openclaw.json

Back it up first, then either:

remove the whole browser block, or
replace it with the minimal default shape:

{
  browser: {
    enabled: true,

#

    defaultProfile: "openclaw"
  }
}

Then restart the gateway:

openclaw gateway restart

If you want a full browser reset

Do both:

move the browser user-data folders aside
simplify/remove the browser block in openclaw.json

#

restart gateway

That gets you closest to a fresh browser setup without deleting anything.

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser

If you want, I can help you turn your current browser block into a clean minimal one.

#

Yep, if you want to reset the browser config block, I’d make it minimal.

Open:

C:\Users\ameli\.openclaw\openclaw.json

Back it up first, then replace your current browser section with:

"browser": {
  "enabled": true,
  "defaultProfile": "openclaw"
}

#

Then restart:

openclaw gateway restart

If you want a full reset, also move the old profile data aside again before restarting:

openclaw gateway stop
$ts = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd-HHmmss"
Move-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\openclaw\user-data" "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\browser\openclaw\user-data.$ts.bak"
openclaw gateway start

So the clean reset is:

#chrome browser not working