Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

In my local OpenClaw runtime, browser page open/snapshot works, but follow-up browser actions against aria snapshot refs fail with locator timeouts.

Steps to reproduce

Minimal repro

1. Open https://example.com
2. Take interactive snapshot with snapshotFormat: "aria"
3. Try clicking the Learn more link using returned ref (ax13)
4. Action times out waiting for locator

Also reproduced on Google search input with aria refs.

Expected behavior

Using snapshotFormat: "aria" should return refs that can be used in later browser.act calls for click/type.

Actual behavior

Snapshot succeeds and returns refs like ax13 / ax39, but follow-up actions fail, for example:

TimeoutError: locator.click: Timeout 15000ms exceeded
waiting for locator('aria-ref=ax13')
TimeoutError: locator.fill: Timeout 15000ms exceeded
waiting for locator('aria-ref=ax39')

OpenClaw version

OpenClaw: 2026.4.18

Operating system

OS: macOS 12.7.6

Install method

pnpm dev

Model

openai-codex/gpt-5.4

Provider / routing chain

webchat -> local OpenClaw gateway -> OpenAI provider -> openai-codex/gpt-5.4

Additional provider/model setup details

Main agent running in local webchat on macOS. Browser control used the managed \openclawbrowser profile through the local LaunchAgent-managed gateway. Effective model in runtime/status:openai-codex/gpt-5.4`.

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Evidence summary:

Reproduced on OpenClaw 2026.4.18, macOS 12.7.6, Node 24.14.0.
Browser page open and snapshot succeeded on both https://example.com and https://www.google.com.
With interactive aria snapshots, returned refs like ax13 / ax39 appeared valid in the snapshot but failed in follow-up actions.
Example errors:
TimeoutError: locator.click: Timeout 15000ms exceeded
waiting for locator('aria-ref=ax13')
TimeoutError: locator.fill: Timeout 15000ms exceeded
waiting for locator('aria-ref=ax39')
Reproduced on:
example.com “Learn more” link
Google search box / Google Search button
Confirmed workaround:
snapshotFormat: "ai" with refs like e1 / e7 / e22 works for click/type actions
evaluate/DOM actions also work
Confirmed browser transport is not generally broken:
page open works
snapshot works
AI-ref click/type works
evaluate works
Additional observed context:
managed browser profile showed extra Chrome tabs such as profile picker / tab search, but core repro remained specifically that aria-ref based actions failed while AI-ref actions succeeded.`
If there’s another field for exact logs, paste these lines too:

`TimeoutError: locator.click: Timeout 15000ms exceeded
Call log:

waiting for locator('aria-ref=ax13')`
`TimeoutError: locator.fill: Timeout 15000ms exceeded
Call log:

waiting for locator('aria-ref=ax39')`

Impact and severity

Affected users/systems/channels: Users relying on OpenClaw browser automation in local webchat/runtime setups where browser actions are driven from interactive snapshots. Observed in the local managed browser profile (\openclaw`) through the local gateway.

Severity:
Blocks a documented browser interaction workflow. Browser automation can appear broken when using aria snapshot refs for follow-up click/type actions. Workarounds exist (AI refs, evaluate), so this is not a total browser outage, but it is a serious workflow blocker for normal browser-control use.

Frequency:
Consistently reproducible in this environment during testing on both Example.com and Google when using aria snapshot refs for actions. AI-ref actions and evaluate-based actions succeeded.

Consequence:
Failed browser actions, repeated retries, debugging time, and reduced trust in browser automation reliability. Practical effect is that normal browser-control tasks may fail unless the user knows to switch to AI refs or a JS/evaluate workaround.`

Additional information

Observed workaround is reliable so far:

use snapshotFormat: "ai"
use AI refs like e1 / e7 / e22
re-snapshot after UI changes before the next action
use evaluate as fallback when needed
Additional grounded context:

Google produced duplicate "Google Search" buttons after typing, so a fresh snapshot was needed before the follow-up click.
That ambiguity was manageable with AI refs, but aria refs still failed earlier in the flow.
I did not establish a last known good version or first known bad version during this session, so regression version boundaries are not confirmed.`