In Claude Code (CLI, current version), the user ran the /chrome comma…

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2026-08-31

User:

In Claude Code (CLI, current version), the user ran the /chrome command and it printed no output. I expected browser-automation tools (to drive their logged-in Chrome) to become available, but no browser/chrome tools appear in my deferred tool list via ToolSearch. Questions: (1) What does /chrome do exactly and what tool names does it expose (e.g. mcp__chrome__*, Computer, BrowserNavigate...)? (2) What setup does the user need (Chrome extension? --browser flag? claude in Chrome beta?) for it to work, and how can they verify it's connected? (3) If the connection is established mid-session, do the tools appear automatically or does the session need a restart? Answer concisely and concretely.

🔧 WebFetch: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/claude_code_docs_map.md

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🔧 WebFetch: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/chrome.md

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What /chrome actually does

/chrome isn't itself the thing that "prints output" as a report — it opens a status/management panel for the claude-in-chrome MCP integration: connection status, permission management, "Reconnect extension," and browser selection (if multiple browsers are connected). It's normal for it to look like it "printed nothing" if you expected a text summary — the UI is the interactive panel, not a stdout report.

Tool exposure: the browser tools come in through a built-in MCP server named claude-in-chrome (not mcp__chrome__*). To see the actual tool list: run /mcp → select claude-in-chrome → View tools. Docs name specific tools like read_page, get_page_text, find, tabs_context_mcp, browser_batch, plus click/type/navigate/tab-management/screenshot/GIF-recording actions — these are distinct from the Computer tool (that's the separate computer-use MCP server for native macOS app control, which you already have configured).

Setup required

  1. Claude in Chrome extension ≥ v1.0.36, installed and enabled from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Launch with --chrome (claude --chrome), or run /chrome → "Enabled by default" to skip the flag going forward.
  3. Auth: must be signed in via /login on a direct Anthropic plan (Pro/Max/Team/Enterprise). Chrome integration is silently disabled with API-key or setup-token long-lived-token auth — no error before v2.1.216, just never connects (403s under the hood).
  4. First-ever connection installs a native-messaging host config file; Chrome must be restarted once to pick that up if not detected on the first try.
  5. Not supported in WSL, and not available through Bedrock/Vertex/Foundry.

Verify it's connected: run /chrome — it's working when the panel shows "Status: Enabled" and "Extension: Installed". If it says "Not detected," redacted isn't installed/enabled in chrome://extensions.

Given your settings list includes computer-use as an MCP server but no claude-in-chrome mention, and you're asking why no browser tools appeared — the most likely causes are: extension not installed, wrong auth type (check whether you're on API-key/token auth vs. a direct Pro/Max/Team login), or Chrome needing a restart after the native-messaging host config was written.

Mid-session connection

Tools do not require a session restart in the sense of quitting Claude Code — but you do need to run /chrome → "Reconnect extension" after fixing the underlying issue (installing redacted, restarting Chrome, etc.) for the MCP connection to establish within the current session. If Chrome/extension wasn't running at all when you launched, /chrome reconnect should pick it up live; no need to fully exit and relaunch claude --chrome, though doing so is the fallback if reconnect doesn't work.

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