fix(engine,cli): download headless-shell instead of using system Chrome for local renders#131
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…eadless-shell The engine assumed any binary passed via PRODUCER_HEADLESS_SHELL_PATH supported the HeadlessExperimental.beginFrame CDP command. When the CLI resolved system Chrome (e.g. /usr/bin/google-chrome) instead of chrome-headless-shell, the render would silently hang for 120s then timeout — the #1 new-user friction point. Now checks the binary path for "chrome-headless-shell" before selecting beginframe capture mode. System Chrome falls back to screenshot mode which works universally. Reproducer: # On a machine with system Chrome but no chrome-headless-shell cached npx hyperframes init test --template blank --non-interactive cd test && npx hyperframes render --output out.mp4 # Was: 120s hang, then "Timed out after waiting 120000ms" # Now: renders successfully via screenshot mode
This was referenced Mar 29, 2026
miguel-heygen
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This was referenced Mar 29, 2026
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Consolidated into fix/render-improvements. |
miguel-heygen
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03-29-fix_engine_fall_back_to_screenshot_mode_when_system_chrome_is_not_headless-shell
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Summary
This was the #1 new-user friction point —
npx hyperframes render(without--docker) silently hung for 120s then timed out on machines with system Chrome but no cachedchrome-headless-shell.Root cause: Two issues working together:
browser/manager.ts):ensureBrowser()returned system Chrome (/usr/bin/google-chrome) as a valid browser for rendering, but system Chrome doesn't support theHeadlessExperimental.beginFrameCDP command required for deterministic frame capture, and older versions are incompatible with the bundled puppeteer-core (protocol mismatch)browserManager.ts):acquireBrowser()assumed any binary passed viaPRODUCER_HEADLESS_SHELL_PATHwas chrome-headless-shell and selectedbeginframecapture modeFix (two layers):
ensureBrowser()now skips system Chrome entirely for rendering — only uses env override, cached headless-shell, or auto-downloads headless-shell.findBrowser()still returns system Chrome for non-render use cases (dev server, etc.)acquireBrowser()now validates the binary path containschrome-headless-shellbefore selecting beginframe mode. Falls back to screenshot mode otherwise — defense in depth.Reproducer
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9/9 — Top of stack. Depends on #129.
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