support external browsers

hotzen · Kai Meder · commit 644a3fc32b0e · 2026-03-01T22:24:59.000+01:00
diff --git a/docs/docker.md b/docs/docker.md
@@ -149,6 +149,105 @@ volumes:
 
 The `shm_size` and `seccomp` settings are needed for Chromium to run properly in a container.
 
+### External Browser
+
+Run `chromedp/headless-shell` as a separate container and point Spacebot at it via
+`connect_url`. This decouples the browser lifecycle from the main process and avoids
+bundling Chromium into the Spacebot image.
+
+Workers spawned by the same agent share one Chrome process (each gets its own tab). A
+Chrome crash kills all tabs for that agent.
+
+#### Spacebot on host, browser in Docker
+
+When Spacebot runs as a binary directly on the host, expose port 9222 so the host process
+can reach the container:
+
+```yaml
+# docker-compose.yml
+services:
+  browser:
+    image: chromedp/headless-shell:latest
+    container_name: browser
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:9222:9222"
+    shm_size: 1gb
+    restart: unless-stopped
+```
+
+Test whether the browser is reachable from the host:
+
+```bash
+curl http://localhost:9222/json/version
+```
+
+Then configure Spacebot via config:
+
+```toml
+[defaults.browser]
+connect_url = "http://localhost:9222"
+```
+
+#### Per-agent dedicated sandboxes
+
+Use a `config.toml` to route each agent to its own container:
+
+```toml
+[defaults.browser]
+connect_url = "http://browser-main:9222"
+
+[[agents]]
+id = "research"
+[agents.browser]
+connect_url = "http://browser-research:9222"
+
+[[agents]]
+id = "internal"
+[agents.browser]
+enabled = false
+```
+
+```yaml
+services:
+  spacebot:
+    image: ghcr.io/spacedriveapp/spacebot:slim
+    volumes:
+      - spacebot-data:/data
+      - ./config.toml:/data/config.toml:ro
+    networks:
+      - spacebot-net
+
+  browser-main:
+    image: chromedp/headless-shell:latest
+    networks:
+      - spacebot-net
+    shm_size: 512mb
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+  browser-research:
+    image: chromedp/headless-shell:latest
+    networks:
+      - spacebot-net
+    shm_size: 1gb
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+networks:
+  spacebot-net:
+
+volumes:
+  spacebot-data:
+```
+
+#### `connect_url`
+
+Accepted formats:
+- `http://host:9222` — auto-discovers the WebSocket URL via `/json/version` (preferred)
+- `ws://host:9222/devtools/browser/<id>` — direct WebSocket URL
+
+An empty string is treated as unset and falls back to the embedded launch path.
+
+If the browser container crashes or the WebSocket drops, the next browser operation returns a clear `"external browser connection lost"` error rather than an opaque protocol failure.
+
 ## Building the Image
 
 From the spacebot repo root:
diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
@@ -915,6 +915,8 @@ pub struct BrowserConfig {
     pub executable_path: Option<String>,
     /// Directory for storing screenshots and other browser artifacts.
     pub screenshot_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
+    /// CDP URL of an external browser to connect to instead of launching one locally.
+    pub connect_url: Option<String>,
     /// Directory for caching a fetcher-downloaded Chromium binary.
     /// Populated from `{instance_dir}/chrome_cache` during config resolution.
     pub chrome_cache_dir: PathBuf,
@@ -928,6 +930,7 @@ impl Default for BrowserConfig {
             evaluate_enabled: false,
             executable_path: None,
             screenshot_dir: None,
+            connect_url: None,
             chrome_cache_dir: PathBuf::from("chrome_cache"),
         }
     }
@@ -2989,6 +2992,7 @@ struct TomlBrowserConfig {
     evaluate_enabled: Option<bool>,
     executable_path: Option<String>,
     screenshot_dir: Option<String>,
+    connect_url: Option<String>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Deserialize)]
@@ -4841,6 +4845,7 @@ impl Config {
                                 .map(PathBuf::from)
                                 .or_else(|| base.screenshot_dir.clone()),
                             chrome_cache_dir: chrome_cache_dir.clone(),
+                            connect_url: b.connect_url.or_else(|| base.connect_url.clone()),
                         }
                     })
                     .unwrap_or_else(|| BrowserConfig {
@@ -5038,6 +5043,9 @@ impl Config {
                             .map(PathBuf::from)
                             .or_else(|| defaults.browser.screenshot_dir.clone()),
                         chrome_cache_dir: defaults.browser.chrome_cache_dir.clone(),
+                        connect_url: b
+                            .connect_url
+                            .or_else(|| defaults.browser.connect_url.clone()),
                     }),
                     mcp: match a.mcp {
                         Some(mcp_servers) => Some(
@@ -5563,6 +5571,13 @@ impl Config {
             });
         }
 
+        warn_browser_config("defaults", &defaults.browser);
+        for agent in &agents {
+            if let Some(browser) = &agent.browser {
+                warn_browser_config(&agent.id, browser);
+            }
+        }
+
         Ok(Config {
             instance_dir,
             llm,
@@ -5816,6 +5831,28 @@ impl std::fmt::Debug for RuntimeConfig {
     }
 }
 
+/// Warn at config load time about `BrowserConfig` fields that have no effect when
+/// `connect_url` is set.
+fn warn_browser_config(context: &str, config: &BrowserConfig) {
+    let Some(url) = config.connect_url.as_deref().filter(|u| !u.is_empty()) else {
+        return;
+    };
+    if config.executable_path.is_some() {
+        tracing::warn!(
+            context,
+            connect_url = url,
+            "connect_url is set; executable_path has no effect"
+        );
+    }
+    if !config.headless {
+        tracing::warn!(
+            context,
+            connect_url = url,
+            "connect_url is set; headless flag has no effect"
+        );
+    }
+}
+
 /// Watches config, prompt, identity, and skill files for changes and triggers
 /// hot reload on the corresponding RuntimeConfig.
 ///
diff --git a/src/tools/browser.rs b/src/tools/browser.rs
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::net::{IpAddr, Ipv4Addr, Ipv6Addr};
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use tokio::sync::Mutex;
 use tokio::task::JoinHandle;
@@ -149,6 +150,11 @@ struct BrowserState {
     /// Per-launch temp directory for Chrome's user data. Cleaned up on drop to
     /// prevent stale singleton locks from blocking subsequent launches.
     user_data_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
+    /// True when connected to an external browser process rather than a locally launched one.
+    connected: bool,
+    /// Shared flag set to `false` by the handler task when the WebSocket connection drops.
+    /// Only meaningful when `connected` is true.
+    connection_alive: Arc<AtomicBool>,
 }
 
 impl Drop for BrowserState {
@@ -180,6 +186,8 @@ impl std::fmt::Debug for BrowserState {
     fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
         f.debug_struct("BrowserState")
             .field("has_browser", &self.browser.is_some())
+            .field("connected", &self.connected)
+            .field("connection_alive", &self.connection_alive.load(Ordering::Relaxed))
             .field("pages", &self.pages.len())
             .field("active_target", &self.active_target)
             .field("element_refs", &self.element_refs.len())
@@ -210,6 +218,8 @@ impl BrowserTool {
                 element_refs: HashMap::new(),
                 next_ref: 0,
                 user_data_dir: None,
+                connected: false,
+                connection_alive: Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false)),
             })),
             config,
             screenshot_dir,
@@ -505,6 +515,58 @@ impl BrowserTool {
             }
         }
 
+        let is_connect = self
+            .config
+            .connect_url
+            .as_deref()
+            .is_some_and(|url| !url.is_empty());
+
+        if is_connect {
+            self.connect_external().await
+        } else {
+            self.launch_local().await
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn connect_external(&self) -> Result<BrowserOutput, BrowserError> {
+        let connect_url = self.config.connect_url.as_deref().unwrap();
+
+        tracing::info!(connect_url, "connecting to external browser");
+
+        let (browser, mut handler) = Browser::connect(connect_url).await.map_err(|error| {
+            BrowserError::new(format!(
+                "failed to connect to browser at {connect_url}: {error}"
+            ))
+        })?;
+
+        let connection_alive = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(true));
+        let alive_flag = connection_alive.clone();
+        let handler_task = tokio::spawn(async move {
+            while handler.next().await.is_some() {}
+            alive_flag.store(false, Ordering::Release);
+        });
+
+        let mut state = self.state.lock().await;
+
+        // Guard against a concurrent launch that won the race.
+        if state.browser.is_some() {
+            drop(browser);
+            handler_task.abort();
+            return Ok(BrowserOutput::success("Browser already running"));
+        }
+
+        state.browser = Some(browser);
+        state._handler_task = Some(handler_task);
+        state.connected = true;
+        state.connection_alive = connection_alive;
+
+        tracing::info!(connect_url, "connected to external browser");
+        Ok(BrowserOutput::success(format!(
+            "Connected to external browser at {connect_url}"
+        )))
+    }
+
+    async fn launch_local(&self) -> Result<BrowserOutput, BrowserError> {
         // Resolve the Chrome executable path (may download ~150MB on first use):
         //   1. Explicit config override
         //   2. CHROME / CHROME_PATH env vars
@@ -551,13 +613,15 @@ impl BrowserTool {
             // Another call launched while we were downloading/starting. Clean up
             // the browser we just created and return success.
             drop(browser);
+            handler_task.abort();
             let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&user_data_dir);
             return Ok(BrowserOutput::success("Browser already running"));
         }
 
         state.browser = Some(browser);
         state._handler_task = Some(handler_task);
         state.user_data_dir = Some(user_data_dir);
+        state.connected = false;
 
         tracing::info!("browser launched");
         Ok(BrowserOutput::success("Browser launched successfully"))
@@ -1013,17 +1077,48 @@ impl BrowserTool {
     async fn handle_close(&self) -> Result<BrowserOutput, BrowserError> {
         let mut state = self.state.lock().await;
 
+        if state.connected {
+            self.disconnect(&mut state).await
+        } else {
+            self.close(&mut state).await
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn disconnect(&self, state: &mut BrowserState) -> Result<BrowserOutput, BrowserError> {
+        // Close all pages we opened so they don't linger as orphan tabs in the container.
+        for (id, page) in state.pages.drain() {
+            if let Err(error) = page.close().await {
+                tracing::debug!(target_id = %id, %error, "failed to close page during disconnect");
+            }
+        }
+        // Drop without Browser.close — that CDP command would terminate the external process.
+        state.browser.take();
+        self.reset_state(state).await;
+        tracing::info!("external browser disconnected");
+        Ok(BrowserOutput::success("Browser disconnected"))
+    }
+
+    async fn close(&self, state: &mut BrowserState) -> Result<BrowserOutput, BrowserError> {
         if let Some(mut browser) = state.browser.take()
             && let Err(error) = browser.close().await
         {
-            tracing::warn!(%error, "browser close returned error");
+            tracing::warn!(%error, "embedded browser close returned error");
         }
+        self.reset_state(state).await;
+        tracing::info!("embedded browser closed");
+        Ok(BrowserOutput::success("Browser closed"))
+    }
 
+    async fn reset_state(&self, state: &mut BrowserState) {
         state.pages.clear();
         state.active_target = None;
         state.element_refs.clear();
         state.next_ref = 0;
-        state._handler_task = None;
+        if let Some(task) = state._handler_task.take() {
+            task.abort();
+        }
+        state.connected = false;
+        state.connection_alive = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
 
         // Clean up the per-launch user data dir to free disk space.
         if let Some(dir) = state.user_data_dir.take()
@@ -1035,9 +1130,6 @@ impl BrowserTool {
                 "failed to clean up browser user data dir"
             );
         }
-
-        tracing::info!("browser closed");
-        Ok(BrowserOutput::success("Browser closed"))
     }
 
     /// Get the active page, or create a first one if the browser has no pages yet.
@@ -1046,6 +1138,12 @@ impl BrowserTool {
         state: &'a mut BrowserState,
         url: Option<&str>,
     ) -> Result<&'a chromiumoxide::Page, BrowserError> {
+        if state.connected && !state.connection_alive.load(Ordering::Acquire) {
+            return Err(BrowserError::new(
+                "external browser connection lost — reconnect with launch",
+            ));
+        }
+
         if let Some(target) = state.active_target.as_ref()
             && state.pages.contains_key(target)
         {
@@ -1075,6 +1173,12 @@ impl BrowserTool {
         &self,
         state: &'a BrowserState,
     ) -> Result<&'a chromiumoxide::Page, BrowserError> {
+        if state.connected && !state.connection_alive.load(Ordering::Acquire) {
+            return Err(BrowserError::new(
+                "external browser connection lost — reconnect with launch",
+            ));
+        }
+
         let target = state
             .active_target
             .as_ref()
