@qwen-code/chrome-bridge

A Chrome extension that brings Qwen Code into the browser as a thin client of a local qwen serve daemon — no Native Messaging host to install.

It does two things:

Side panel — frames the daemon's Web Shell (chat + tools), the same UI the daemon serves to the browser. The panel has no UI of its own.
Service worker — a CDP-tunnel pipe. It connects to the daemon's /acp WebSocket and bridges cdp_* frames into chrome.debugger, so the agent can drive the real browser when an external CDP MCP adapter is configured.
Readiness warning — the framed Web Shell stays usable for chat while a small status message distinguishes a disabled CDP tunnel from a missing browser automation adapter.

Build

bash

npm run build        # -> dist/extension (static assets + bundled service worker)

Then load it: chrome://extensions → enable Developer mode → Load unpacked → pick dist/extension.

Run

The extension is a client; the daemon does the work and must be started separately (an extension cannot spawn a local process). Open the side panel and it will tell you exactly what to run — it generates the command with this extension's own id:

bash

qwen serve --allow-origin chrome-extension://<this-extension-id>

--allow-origin chrome-extension://<id> is required: it lets the daemon's Web Shell be framed by the extension (the frame-ancestors CSP) and accepts the extension's requests. The side panel reads the id at runtime via chrome.runtime.id, so you never have to look it up.

Once the daemon is reachable and permits framing, the side panel swaps the welcome screen for the chat UI automatically.

Browser Automation Tools

The command above only makes the side panel and Web Shell available. Browser automation tools such as console/network inspection, screenshots, and page clicking require an explicit external MCP adapter command:

bash

QWEN_CDP_MCP_COMMAND=/path/to/cdp-mcp-adapter \
qwen serve --allow-origin chrome-extension://<this-extension-id>

No browser automation adapter is bundled with the main @qwen-code/qwen-code package. When QWEN_CDP_MCP_COMMAND is unset, the extension can still open the Web Shell, but the daemon will not register browser automation MCP tools. Install the adapter separately and point the daemon at its executable:

The pinned adapter requires Node.js 22.12 or newer.

bash

npm install -g [email protected]
QWEN_CDP_MCP_COMMAND=chrome-devtools-mcp \
  qwen serve --allow-origin chrome-extension://idkijaaipeeinemigojbjkmfmabokbdk

The separately installed adapter is not included in the Qwen Code npm package or Chrome extension zip. Clients can distinguish the states through /capabilities:

allow_origin means the extension may frame and call the daemon.
cdp_tunnel_over_ws means the daemon exposes the reverse CDP tunnel.
browser_automation_mcp means the external adapter command is configured and browser automation MCP tools can be registered when the CDP bridge connects.

When browser automation is configured, the panel also checks /workspace/mcp. It warns when the adapter has not connected or when an existing user-defined chrome-devtools server takes precedence over the extension tunnel.

Onboarding states

The side panel probes GET /health and GET /capabilities and shows one of:

State	Meaning	Shown
`down`	no daemon reachable	"Start qwen serve" + command
`needs-allow-origin`	daemon up but `--allow-origin` not set	"Allow this extension" + command
`chat-only`	Web Shell ready, CDP tunnel disabled	chat + bridge warning
`tunnel-only`	CDP tunnel ready, adapter missing	chat + adapter warning
`automation-unavailable`	adapter status could not be read	chat + status warning
`automation-pending`	adapter not connected	chat + connection warning
`automation-shadowed`	an existing MCP config takes precedence	chat + migration warning
`automation-configured`	adapter configured, discovery not started	the Web Shell
`automation-connected`	extension-backed MCP connected	the Web Shell

Automated real-Chrome acceptance

With Chrome running and the unpacked extension loaded, the acceptance runner starts an isolated daemon and fixture page, exercises DOM snapshots, console messages, network requests, button clicks, link navigation, restores the original page, restarts the daemon, and verifies a cold restart:

bash

QWEN_CDP_MCP_COMMAND=/path/to/cdp-mcp-adapter \
  npm -w packages/chrome-extension run test:e2e:chrome

The command exits successfully only after printing DEGRADED-MODE: PASS, RUNTIME-MCP: PASS, RUNTIME-MCP-COLD-RESTART: PASS, FULL-CDP-SMOKE: PASS, and REAL-CHROME-E2E: PASS. It does not read or modify the user's Qwen settings.

Packaging for the Chrome Web Store

Packaging (npm run package) and the release test require the POSIX zip utility.

bash

npm run package      # -> chrome-extension.zip (manifest at the zip root)

Run the complete release check from the repository root. It builds the main npm payload, runs the extension tests and typecheck, packages the zip, and scans both generated payloads for external Chrome DevTools MCP source signatures:

bash

npm run test:chrome-extension:release

The generated manifest version follows this package's version. Upload the zip to a GitHub prerelease for alpha side-loading, or to the Chrome Web Store Developer Dashboard for managed distribution. The debugger permission will draw manual review and must be justified in the store listing.

Version note: the manifest version is derived from this package's semver (e.g. 0.21.2.65535), which is lower than the legacy side-loaded 1.0.0 alpha. Chrome refuses to update an extension to a lower version, so testers upgrading from the 1.0.0 build must remove it in chrome://extensions before loading this package.