Bug: openclaw browser open can crash OpenClaw.app via browser.proxy / MacNodeBrowserProxy.makeRequest

Summary

On macOS, openclaw browser open <url> can crash OpenClaw.app instead of returning a normal browser/tool error.

The failure reproduces with both:

• the managed openclaw browser profile
• the chrome extension-relay profile

The crash reports consistently point to:

• MacNodeBrowserProxy.makeRequest(params:endpoint:)
• NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject
• SIGABRT

This looks like a browser-proxy request serialization bug in the macOS app, not just a browser launch failure.

Environment

• OpenClaw app: 2026.3.8-beta.1
• Build: 2026030801
• macOS: 26.2 (25C56)
• CPU: Apple Silicon / arm64
• CLI runtime observed locally: node 25.8.0
• Installed Chromium-family browser on this machine: Microsoft Edge

Reproduction

Case 1: managed openclaw profile

1. Ensure gateway/app is running.
2. Run:

openclaw browser status
openclaw browser start
openclaw browser open https://www.baidu.com

Case 2: chrome profile

1. Ensure gateway/app is running.
2. Run:

openclaw browser --browser-profile chrome open https://www.baidu.com

Expected

• The command should either open the page successfully, or
• return a normal recoverable error if browser relay / browser proxy is unavailable.

It should not crash OpenClaw.app.

Actual

• CLI returns:

Error: Error: node disconnected (browser.proxy)

• Immediately after, OpenClaw.app aborts and a crash report is generated.

Evidence

Gateway log sequence

At 2026-03-12 16:22:53 +0800, the browser request starts successfully:

[browser/chrome] openclaw browser started (edge) profile "openclaw" on 127.0.0.1:18800
[ws] res ✓ browser.request

Then at 2026-03-12 16:22:56 +0800, it fails:

[ws] res ✗ browser.request ... Error: node disconnected (browser.proxy)

And shortly after, the gateway receives shutdown signals.

Relevant log file:

• /Users/caojiaming/.openclaw/logs/gateway.log

Crash reports

Observed crash reports:

• /Users/caojiaming/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/OpenClaw-2026-03-12-162259.ips
• /Users/caojiaming/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/OpenClaw-2026-03-12-164337.ips
• /Users/caojiaming/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/OpenClaw-2026-03-12-164947.ips

These reports consistently show:

SIGABRT
...
_writeJSONValue
+[NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject:options:error:]
static MacNodeBrowserProxy.makeRequest(params:endpoint:)
MacNodeBrowserProxy.request(paramsJSON:)

Notes

• openclaw browser start alone can succeed.
• The crash is triggered when performing an actual browser action like open / navigation.
• This does not look like a simple "Edge unsupported" problem:
  • the browser executable is detected correctly
  • launch succeeds
  • the crash happens later in browser-proxy request handling / JSON serialization
• I also reproduced the same browser.proxy failure path using the chrome profile, so this appears broader than one profile name.

Suspected root cause

MacNodeBrowserProxy.makeRequest(params:endpoint:) appears to pass a non-JSON-serializable object into NSJSONSerialization, causing an Objective-C exception that is not caught and aborts the entire app.

Suggested fix direction

• Validate request payloads with isValidJSONObject before serialization
• Sanitize unsupported values before calling NSJSONSerialization
• Convert this path from app abort -> recoverable tool error
• Log the offending payload shape/type so the exact bad field can be identified