Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Summary

I'm seeing intermittent failures with openclaw browser commands on Windows.

The browser appears correctly configured, Chrome is detected, and openclaw browser status --json sometimes works, but browser actions like start, tabs, open, and profiles frequently fail with:

• gateway closed (1000 normal closure): no close reason
• gateway closed (1006 abnormal closure (no close frame)): no close reason

Gateway logs also show handshake timeout and closed before connect.

───

Environment

• OpenClaw: 2026.3.13 (61d171a)
• OS: Windows
• Node: tested on both:
• v25.8.1
• v22.22.1
• Browser: Google Chrome
• Chrome path:
C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

───

Browser config

"browser": {
"enabled": true,
"defaultProfile": "openclaw",
"executablePath": "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe",
"headless": false
}

Also using:

"tools": {
"profile": "coding",
"allow": ["browser"]
}

───

What works

These work:

openclaw config get browser
openclaw browser --help
openclaw skills list
openclaw channels status

This also sometimes works:

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw status --json

Example output:

{
"enabled": true,
"profile": "openclaw",
"driver": "openclaw",
"transport": "cdp",
"running": false,
"cdpReady": false,
"cdpHttp": false,
"pid": null,
"cdpPort": 18800,
"cdpUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:18800",
"detectedExecutablePath": "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe",
"detectError": null
}

At least once, openclaw browser start succeeded and launched Chrome.

───

What fails

These fail intermittently:

openclaw browser start
openclaw browser tabs
openclaw browser open https://www.google.com
openclaw browser profiles

Typical error:

gateway connect failed: Error: gateway closed (1000):
Error: gateway closed (1000 normal closure): no close reason
Gateway target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
Source: local loopback
Config: C:\Users\Fran.openclaw\openclaw.json
Bind: loopback

Sometimes instead:

Error: gateway closed (1006 abnormal closure (no close frame)): no close reason

───

Relevant logs

[gateway/ws] handshake timeout conn=... remote=127.0.0.1
[gateway/ws] {"cause":"handshake-timeout","handshake":"failed","durationMs":4116,"host":"127.0.0.1:18789","handshakeMs":3002} closed before connect conn=... remote=127.0.0.1 ... code=1000 reason=n/a

Also saw:

[browser/server] Browser control listening on http://127.0.0.1:18791/ (auth=token)
[gateway] listening on ws://127.0.0.1:18789

───

Notes

• This does not seem to be a simple config issue:
• browser.enabled = true
• Chrome path is valid
• detectError = null
• Chrome launches directly from PowerShell
• The issue seems more specific to browser/gateway RPC behavior.
• Reinstalling OpenClaw and moving from Node 25 to Node 22 did not fully resolve it.

───

Expected behavior

Browser commands should consistently connect and either:

• work, or
• return a clear browser-specific error

They should not intermittently fail with generic 1000/1006 gateway closures and handshake timeouts.

Steps to reproduce

1. Configure browser in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json with:

• "browser.enabled": true
• "browser.defaultProfile": "openclaw"
• "browser.executablePath": "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
• "browser.headless": false

2. Start the gateway:

openclaw gateway start

3. Confirm the browser profile is detectable:

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw status --json

4. Run browser actions:

openclaw browser start
openclaw browser tabs
openclaw browser open https://www.google.com

5. Observe intermittent failures with:

• gateway closed (1000 normal closure)
• gateway closed (1006 abnormal closure)
• gateway logs showing handshake timeout

Si quieres algo todavía más corto, incluso esto sirve:

1. Start OpenClaw on Windows.
2. Configure browser to use local Chrome.
3. Run:

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw status --json
openclaw browser start
openclaw browser tabs

4. Observe intermittent 1000/1006 gateway closures and handshake timeout in logs.

Expected behavior

Browser commands should consistently connect through the gateway and control the managed browser profile without intermittent WebSocket failures.

Specifically:

• openclaw browser status --json should return browser state reliably
• openclaw browser start should start the openclaw browser profile
• openclaw browser tabs should list open tabs (or return an empty list if none exist)
• openclaw browser open https://www.google.com should open a new tab successfully

If something is wrong, OpenClaw should return a clear browser-specific error instead of generic 1000/1006 gateway closures or handshake timeouts.

Actual behavior

Browser commands are intermittent.

• openclaw browser status --json sometimes works and correctly detects Chrome
• openclaw browser start sometimes launches Chrome, but often fails
• openclaw browser tabs, openclaw browser open, and openclaw browser profiles frequently fail with:
• gateway closed (1000 normal closure): no close reason
• gateway closed (1006 abnormal closure (no close frame)): no close reason

Gateway logs also show:

• handshake timeout
• closed before connect

So the browser is sometimes partially reachable, but browser-related commands are not stable or reliable.

OpenClaw version

2026.3.13 (61d171a)

Operating system

Windows 11

Install method

npm global

Model

openai-codex/gpt-5.4

Provider / routing chain

openclaw -> openai-codex

Config file / key location

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ; browser.enabled ; browser.defaultProfile ; browser.executablePath ; tools.profile ; tools.allow

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Impact and severity

No response

Additional information

No response