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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix Claude in Chrome: MCP client never connects to native host bridge socket (macOS) [1 comments, 2 participants]

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anthropics/claude-code#45227•Fetched 2026-04-09 08:10:19
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The claude-in-chrome built-in MCP tools always report "Browser extension is not connected" despite the native messaging host running correctly and the bridge socket being created and accepting connections.

Root Cause

The claude-in-chrome built-in MCP tools always report "Browser extension is not connected" despite the native messaging host running correctly and the bridge socket being created and accepting connections.

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

  • Killing stale native host processes and restarting Chrome
  • Toggling extension off/on in chrome://extensions/
  • Restarting Claude Code in a fresh terminal
  • Closing all other Claude Code sessions
  • Uninstalling and reinstalling the Chrome extension
  • Updating native messaging manifest to point to Claude Code's host (per #20887 workaround)
  • Verified same account on both claude.ai and Claude Code
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Description

The claude-in-chrome built-in MCP tools always report "Browser extension is not connected" despite the native messaging host running correctly and the bridge socket being created and accepting connections.

Environment

  • Claude Code: v2.1.96
  • macOS: 26.3.1 (Darwin 25.3.0, x86_64)
  • Chrome extension ID: fcoeoabgfenejglbffodgkkbkcdhcgfn
  • Chrome extension version: 1.0.66

Debugging findings

The Chrome/extension side is working correctly:

  1. Native messaging host spawns successfully (~/.local/share/claude/versions/2.1.96 --chrome-native-host)
  2. Bridge socket is created at /tmp/claude-mcp-browser-bridge-<user>/<pid>.sock
  3. Socket accepts connections (verified with manual Python socket connect)
  4. Extension sends connect message with valid OAuth token via network
  5. Both native messaging manifests (com.anthropic.claude_browser_extension.json and com.anthropic.claude_code_browser_extension.json) point to Claude Code's host binary

The problem: Claude Code's own process never connects to the bridge socket. Verified via lsof -U — only the native host PID has an open connection to the socket, not the Claude Code session PID.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Install Claude in Chrome extension
  2. Log into claude.ai with the same account as Claude Code
  3. Start Claude Code (claude)
  4. Call mcp__claude-in-chrome__tabs_context_mcp
  5. Always returns "Browser extension is not connected"

What was tried

  • Killing stale native host processes and restarting Chrome
  • Toggling extension off/on in chrome://extensions/
  • Restarting Claude Code in a fresh terminal
  • Closing all other Claude Code sessions
  • Uninstalling and reinstalling the Chrome extension
  • Updating native messaging manifest to point to Claude Code's host (per #20887 workaround)
  • Verified same account on both claude.ai and Claude Code

Related issues

  • #20887
  • #20790
  • #20411

extent analysis

TL;DR

The issue can be resolved by ensuring Claude Code's process connects to the bridge socket, potentially by verifying the socket path and permissions.

Guidance

  • Verify the bridge socket path /tmp/claude-mcp-browser-bridge-<user>/<pid>.sock is correctly resolved and accessible by Claude Code's process.
  • Check the permissions of the bridge socket to ensure Claude Code's process has the necessary permissions to connect.
  • Investigate why Claude Code's process is not connecting to the bridge socket, potentially by adding logging or debugging statements to the Claude Code codebase.
  • Review the native messaging manifests (com.anthropic.claude_browser_extension.json and com.anthropic.claude_code_browser_extension.json) to ensure they are correctly configured and point to the correct host binary.

Example

No code snippet is provided as the issue does not contain sufficient information to create a specific example.

Notes

The issue may be related to the configuration or permissions of the bridge socket, or an issue with the Claude Code codebase. Further investigation is needed to determine the root cause.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: Verify the bridge socket path and permissions to ensure Claude Code's process can connect to it. This is a safe and minimal step to take before further investigation.

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