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Unattended capture: launcher relies on --load-extension, which Chrome 137+ ignores #44
Description
Impact. Unattended capture (experimental, Windows) does not work for users whose only browser is Google Chrome. Brave and Edge are unaffected.
Evidence. Since Chrome 137, branded Google Chrome ignores --load-extension (Chromium PSA, 2025-04-04). Chromium, Chrome for Testing, Brave and Edge still honor it.
scripts/start-sourcecapsule-browser.ps1 picks Chrome when Brave is missing (Resolve-BrowserPath, lines 59-67). It then writes --load-extension into the shortcut. -Status checks only that the flag appears on the command line (line 97), so it reports healthy while Chrome has not loaded the extension. The CLI then fails with the host unreachable.
Environment. Not reproduced: Chrome is not installed on the owner's machine. This finding comes from the announcement and the code path.
Next action. Stop auto-selecting Chrome in the launcher, and make -Status / -Verify fail with a clear message for chrome.exe. In the README, tell Chrome users to use a one-time Load unpacked. That installs as UNPACKED, survives restarts and needs no launcher. Verify on a machine with Chrome 137+.
Activity
fix(launcher): stop relying on --load-extension for Google Chrome
wolfgang-aura commentedon Oct 5, 2026
Fix merged in 3b1f8d8 (PR #45, main 9ea5b05).
Verified:
test/native-host.test.mjsuses stand-in exes for Google Chrome, Chrome for Testing and Edge. The Chrome case failed before the fix (Chrome must not be given --load-extension) and passes now. CI is green.-Statusstill exits 0 and-ShowLaunchArgsstill includes--load-extension.Not verified: a real Chrome 137+. Chrome is not installed on the owner's machine. Live check on any Windows machine with Chrome and no Brave or Edge, or with
-BrowserPathpointing at chrome.exe:scripts\start-sourcecapsule-browser.ps1 -ShowLaunchArgs -BrowserPath "<chrome.exe>"prints the Load unpacked steps, and the Arguments line has no--load-extension.dist\sourcecapsule-extensiononce, start Chrome with those arguments, then runnode scripts\sourcecapsule-capture.mjs --ping. It should return"ok": true.Leaving this open until that check runs.