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  • openclaw: managed, isolated browser (no extension required).
  • user: built-in Chrome DevTools MCP attach profile for your real signed-in Chrome session. Chrome shows a blocking “Allow remote debugging?” prompt the first time OpenClaw attaches, so someone must be at the computer.
  • chrome: built-in Chrome extension profile for your real signed-in Chrome session. Works from a phone with nobody at the desk because it drives tabs through the OpenClaw browser extension instead of the remote-debugging port, so there is no “Allow remote debugging?” prompt.
For agent browser tool calls:
  • Default: use the isolated openclaw browser.
  • Prefer profile="chrome" (extension) when existing logged-in sessions matter and the user is away from the computer (Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.).
  • Prefer profile="user" (Chrome MCP) when existing logged-in sessions matter and the user is at the computer to approve the attach prompt.
  • profile is the explicit override when you want a specific browser mode.
Set browser.defaultProfile: "openclaw" if you want managed mode by default.

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Browser panel in the Control UI

The Browser panel follows the current session’s latest successful browser tab, including its profile and host or node. Opening a browser preview card selects that card’s browser and tab. This does not change browser.defaultProfile or another session’s selection. Without a session browser target, the panel uses the configured default routing. The panel streams the active tab live as the page repaints. It falls back to screenshots for node-routed browsers, Chrome MCP existing-session profiles, missing Playwright, or stream connection failures. Navigation rules apply to the stream: navigating to a blocked address stops it and clears the view. After an established stream disconnects, the panel refreshes its screenshot and retries the stream automatically after a short delay. Annotation and inspection keep their captured image until you return to interaction mode. Preview cards appear only for HTTP(S) page URLs when OpenClaw can identify the browser’s route. Blank or internal pages remain ordinary tool results. Tab actions without a page URL still update the Browser panel’s selection. Sandbox browser results remain available to the agent but do not open a host-browser preview. If a listed tab cannot be accessed, the panel explains whether navigation rules blocked it or its address could not be verified. Select another tab, enter an allowed address, or refresh after a temporary lookup failure. Blocked URLs stay hidden; displaying a tab title does not grant access to its contents. Following a historical tab never starts a stopped managed browser: a fresh launch cannot contain that tab. The panel shows Start browser instead, and preview cards keep their title and URL without a thumbnail when that target is unavailable. Click Start browser to launch the browser and show its current tabs. For local attachOnly CDP profiles on macOS and Linux, direct preview screenshots preserve the active Chrome tab when OpenClaw can verify that the attached browser is running with a visible window. Headless browsers and browsers whose mode cannot be verified keep the existing activation behavior so screenshots remain reliable. Explicit tab-focus actions still activate the requested tab.