chrome-local-skill

Overview

chrome-local is a user-managed wrapper skill for the official chrome@openai-bundled Codex Chrome plugin.

Its purpose is to keep a stable Chrome bootstrap workaround in a location that is not replaced when Codex or the bundled Chrome plugin is upgraded. The skill still uses the real bundled Chrome backend and does not replace the official plugin.

Why this skill exists

In some environments, setupAtlasRuntime() can hang before the Chrome backend is actually used. The hang happens during ambient network bootstrap, before normal Chrome extension-backed browser work begins.

This skill avoids that failure mode by setting x-codex-browser-use-disable-ambient-network before loading the bundled Chrome plugin runtime. It is a user-managed workaround for a known bootstrap issue, not a modification of the official runtime.

Scope

This skill is responsible for:

• setting the bootstrap flag before Chrome runtime initialization
• loading the official bundled Chrome plugin runtime
• providing a stable entry point for tasks that need the real Chrome browser, existing tabs, or logged-in sessions

This skill is not responsible for:

• modifying browser-client.mjs
• repairing native host or Chrome extension installation problems
• replacing the official chrome@openai-bundled plugin
• acting as a complete upstream fix for every Chrome bootstrap failure

Installation

Install the skill under your Codex home directory:

$CODEX_HOME/skills/chrome-local/SKILL.md

Then add an entry to your Codex config file:

[[skills.config]]
path = "$CODEX_HOME/skills/chrome-local/SKILL.md"
enabled = true

If your local Codex config does not support environment variable expansion in paths, replace $CODEX_HOME with the absolute path to your local Codex home directory.

Usage

Invoke the local skill explicitly by referencing the local skill path in Codex.

Use it for tasks that need:

• the real Chrome browser
• existing Chrome tabs
• logged-in browser sessions
• Chrome extension-backed browser control

The exact invocation syntax may vary by Codex client version. The key requirement is to use the local chrome-local skill instead of relying on the bundled @chrome skill as the default entry point.

Limitations

• This skill still depends on the official bundled Chrome plugin being installed and available.
• The skill may require a path update if the bundled plugin location changes in a future release.
• This repository provides a persistence and workaround layer. It is not the upstream product fix.