collective-memory-repo/shared/long-term/decisions/browser-endpoints-mac5-mac7.md

Browser endpoints registry for mac-5 takeover and mac-7 automation

Date: 2026-03-18 Status: accepted

Purpose

Record the currently validated browser control endpoints so future automation and browser takeover tasks can reuse the right path without re-discovering ports.

mac-5 local intelligent browser takeover

Use OpenClaw local browser attach on mac-5 for takeover of the real local Chrome session.

Validated profile

• OpenClaw browser profile: user
• Driver/transport: existing-session via chrome-mcp

Validation result

Validated on 2026-03-18:

• openclaw browser --browser-profile user status returned running: true
• openclaw browser --browser-profile user tabs listed live local tabs

Operational meaning

This is the preferred path for smart takeover of the browser running on mac-5 itself.

mac-7 browser automation service

mac-7 hosts the dedicated automation Chrome instance.

Persistent local CDP service

• LaunchAgent plist:
  • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.lingyuzeng.chrome-cdp-mac7.plist
• Chrome executable:
  • /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome
• Dedicated profile dir:
  • ~/.openclaw/browser/mac7-automation-profile
• Persistent local CDP listen address:
  • 127.0.0.1:9333
• Validation:
  • http://127.0.0.1:9333/json/version returns standard CDP metadata and webSocketDebuggerUrl

Persistent tailnet-facing listener

Validated on 2026-03-18:

• Tailscale IP on mac-7: 100.64.0.23
• Persistent tailnet listener: 100.64.0.23:9223
• Forward target: 127.0.0.1:9333
• LaunchAgent:
  • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.lingyuzeng.chrome-cdp-tailnet-proxy-mac7.plist
• Proxy script:
  • ~/.openclaw/bin/chrome_cdp_tailnet_proxy.py
• Validation:
  • http://100.64.0.23:9223/json/version returns 200 OK
  • returned webSocketDebuggerUrl is reachable on the tailnet-facing endpoint

Important caveat

tailscale serve is not the active solution here.

Observed status:

• tailscale serve status => No serve config

The durable implementation is instead LaunchAgent + Python TCP proxy.

So future tasks should treat the endpoints as:

• stable local automation endpoint on mac-7: 127.0.0.1:9333
• stable tailnet remote endpoint on mac-7: 100.64.0.23:9223

Usage guidance

• For mac-5 intelligent browser takeover: use OpenClaw local user profile.
• For mac-7 automation on the same machine: use CDP on 127.0.0.1:9333.
• For mac-5 controlling mac-7 across the tailnet: use the stable remote CDP endpoint http://100.64.0.23:9223.

LaunchAgent correction after blank-tab loop incident

Validated on 2026-03-18 later the same day:

• The original com.lingyuzeng.chrome-cdp-mac7 LaunchAgent caused repeated blank tabs.
• Root cause: the plist directly executed Chrome with KeepAlive=true and about:blank in ProgramArguments.
• On macOS, Chrome detected the existing browser session, printed 正在现有的浏览器会话中打开。, exited with code 0, and launchd immediately re-ran it.
• This created a loop that kept injecting new about:blank tabs into the same automation profile.

Corrected durable implementation

• LaunchAgent remains:
  • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.lingyuzeng.chrome-cdp-mac7.plist
• It should no longer use KeepAlive=true to re-exec Chrome directly.
• It should launch a wrapper script instead:
  • ~/.openclaw/bin/start_chrome_cdp_mac7.sh
• Wrapper behavior:
  • check whether 127.0.0.1:9333 is already listening
  • if yes, exit without launching another Chrome instance
  • if no, start the dedicated automation Chrome profile once

Operational takeaway

• If future symptoms show many new about:blank tabs appearing on mac-7, first inspect com.lingyuzeng.chrome-cdp-mac7.plist for accidental reintroduction of KeepAlive or direct Chrome execution with about:blank.
• The repeated-tab issue was caused by LaunchAgent semantics, not by the remote CDP profile on mac-5.