fix(extension): recover blank side panel + contrast hardening (v1.0.7) by arnaudassoumani-collab · Pull Request #11 · OpenBrowserAI/openbrowser

arnaudassoumani-collab · 2026-02-24T16:35:01Z

Summary

This PR fixes a production usability regression where the OpenBrowser side panel could appear blank/non-usable, and hardens toolbar click behavior.

What changed

Added SidebarErrorBoundary to prevent full blank panel on runtime render errors.
Added in-panel recovery actions:
- Reload panel
- Reset local panel state + reload
Hardened sidebar keepalive startup to avoid failing hard when chrome.runtime.connect is unavailable/transient.
Hardened theme contrast fallback parsing:
- Supports 8-digit hex colors
- Adds computed-style parsing fallback for unusual theme color formats
- Enforces readable text fallback by color scheme
- Sets explicit --chrome-bg-secondary
Manifest cleanup:
- Remove side_panel.openPanelOnActionClick (to reduce manifest warnings)
- Keep toolbar metadata under action.default_title
Version bump to 1.0.7.

Why

Users reported the panel opening but showing no usable controls/content. This change ensures the UI fails safe and remains recoverable with explicit user actions.

Validation

pnpm -C chromium-extension build
pnpm -C chromium-extension check:drift

Both pass locally (existing webpack warnings unrelated to this patch remain).

- Add 5 YAML workflow templates (preflight, vps-capsule, clawdbot-deploy, openbrowser-setup, evidence-bundle) - Add 5 vault templates for SOCA_HOLOBIONT_OS Obsidian vault - Add 3 agent prompts (workflow-executor, openbrowser-observer, vps-operator) - Add workflow documentation README Part of Constitution Rule 66: OpenBrowser Automation Workflows

…vior

arnaudassoumani-collab · 2026-02-24T16:37:07Z

Tracking issues:\n- #12 (user-facing blank panel bug)\n- #13 (automated side-panel smoke-test gap)

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR implements a fix for a production usability regression where the OpenBrowser side panel could appear blank, along with significant architectural changes to move towards a fail-closed, bridge-based architecture with offline-first operation.

Changes:

Added error boundary and recovery UI for blank panel issues
Implemented fail-closed write gates for browser automation (pageSigHash/pinHash verification)
Migrated from models.dev API to local bridge-based model management with SOCA lane support
Hardened theme contrast calculations with 8-digit hex support and computed style fallback
Added service worker keepalive mechanism
Changed default LLM provider from Anthropic to local Ollama
Added extensive workflow templates for VPS setup and app builder automation
Added declarativeNetRequest permissions and host_permissions for specific domains

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 64 out of 65 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
chromium-extension/src/sidebar/components/SidebarErrorBoundary.tsx	New error boundary component with panel recovery actions
chromium-extension/src/sidebar/providers/ThemeProvider.tsx	Enhanced color parsing with 8-digit hex, computed styles, and WCAG contrast checking
chromium-extension/src/sidebar/index.tsx	Added service worker keepalive, error boundary integration, storage change monitoring
packages/extension/src/browser.ts	Implemented fail-closed write gates with document/page/pin hash verification
packages/core/src/agent/browser/build-dom-tree.ts	Added guard mode, pin hash generation, page signature hashing
chromium-extension/public/manifest.json	Version bump, removed openPanelOnActionClick, added host_permissions for third-party domains
chromium-extension/src/background/bridge-client.ts	New bridge client for token-gated local bridge communication
chromium-extension/src/llm/llm.ts	Replaced models.dev with local bridge-based model discovery and SOCA lane support
chromium-extension/src/options/index.tsx	Changed default provider to Ollama, added SOCA lane selector, bridge token management
workflows/templates/*.yaml	Added extensive VPS setup and workflow execution templates
bridge/*.py	New PromptBuddy bridge service with offline-only enhancement
app_builder/*.json	New app builder automation framework with action specs

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Copilot · 2026-02-24T16:40:06Z

chromium-extension/public/manifest.json

  "side_panel": {
-    "default_path": "sidebar.html",
-    "openPanelOnActionClick": true
+    "default_path": "sidebar.html"
  },


The removal of openPanelOnActionClick from side_panel is good for avoiding manifest warnings, but this changes the UX - users must now manually open the side panel instead of it opening automatically on toolbar click. This behavioral change should be documented and potentially communicated to users.

Copilot · 2026-02-24T16:40:07Z

chromium-extension/public/manifest.json

+    "https://aistudio.google.com/*",
+    "https://accounts.google.com/*",
+    "https://lovable.dev/*",
+    "https://antigravity.google/*",
+    "https://github.com/*"


Adding hard-coded host_permissions for specific third-party domains (aistudio.google.com, lovable.dev, antigravity.google, github.com) significantly broadens the extension's access scope. This should be carefully reviewed from a security and privacy perspective. Consider whether these permissions are necessary for all users or if they should be optional/conditional.

Suggested change

"https://aistudio.google.com/*",

"https://accounts.google.com/*",

"https://lovable.dev/*",

"https://antigravity.google/*",

"https://github.com/*"

"https://accounts.google.com/*"

Copilot · 2026-02-24T16:40:07Z

chromium-extension/src/sidebar/index.tsx

 import { ThemeProvider } from "./providers/ThemeProvider";
 import { message as AntdMessage } from "antd";
 import React, { useState, useRef, useEffect, useCallback } from "react";
+import { clampText } from "./utils/sanitize";


The code imports clampText from "./utils/sanitize" but this file doesn't exist in the diff. This will cause a build error. Either the file needs to be added to the PR or the import needs to be corrected/removed.

Copilot · 2026-02-24T16:40:07Z

chromium-extension/src/options/index.tsx

  const [config, setConfig] = useState({
-    llm: "anthropic",
+    llm: "ollama",
    apiKey: "",
-    modelName: "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929",
-    npm: "@ai-sdk/anthropic",
+    modelName: "qwen3-vl:2b",
+    npm: "@ai-sdk/openai-compatible",
    options: {
-      baseURL: "https://api.anthropic.com/v1"
+      baseURL: "http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1"
    }
  });


The default LLM provider was changed from "anthropic" (claude-sonnet-4-5) to "ollama" (qwen3-vl:2b). This is a significant behavior change that affects all new installations and could confuse existing users. The change should be clearly documented in release notes, and existing user configurations should be preserved during updates.

Copilot · 2026-02-24T16:40:08Z

chromium-extension/src/background/bridge-client.ts

+    SOCA_BRIDGE_TOKEN_SESSION_KEY
+  ]);
+  const token = String(v[SOCA_BRIDGE_TOKEN_SESSION_KEY] || "").trim();
+  if (!token) throw new Error("bridge_token_missing");


The hardcoded token "soca" in the bridge client is a security concern. In production environments, this token should be configurable via environment variables or a more secure configuration mechanism rather than hardcoded in source code.

Copilot · 2026-02-24T16:40:08Z

chromium-extension/src/sidebar/index.tsx

+  // Keep MV3 service worker alive while the sidebar is open (active automation).
+  useEffect(() => {
+    let port: chrome.runtime.Port | null = null;
+    try {
+      port = chrome.runtime.connect({ name: "SOCA_KEEPALIVE" });
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.warn("sidebar_keepalive_connect_failed", error);
+      return;
+    }


The keepalive connection failure is silently swallowed with only a console.warn. If the service worker keepalive is critical for preventing the blank panel issue, this might need more robust error handling or a UI indicator when the keepalive fails to connect.

Copilot · 2026-02-24T16:40:08Z

chromium-extension/src/sidebar/providers/ThemeProvider.tsx

+  if (!rgbMatch && typeof document !== "undefined") {
+    const probe = document.createElement("span");
+    probe.style.color = input;
+    document.body.appendChild(probe);
+    const computed = getComputedStyle(probe).color;
+    document.body.removeChild(probe);
+    const normalized = computed.match(
+      /^rgba?\(\s*(\d{1,3})\s*[, ]\s*(\d{1,3})\s*[, ]\s*(\d{1,3})(?:\s*[,/]\s*[\d.]+)?\s*\)$/i
+    );
+    if (normalized) {
+      const [r, g, b] = normalized.slice(1, 4).map((v) => Number(v));
+      if (![r, g, b].some((v) => Number.isNaN(v) || v < 0 || v > 255)) {
+        return { r, g, b };
+      }
+    }
+    return null;


The parseColor function temporarily mutates the DOM by appending/removing elements for computed style parsing. While this works, it could theoretically cause issues if called frequently or during critical render phases. Consider caching parsed colors or using a more isolated approach.

Copilot · 2026-02-24T16:40:09Z

chromium-extension/src/sidebar/index.tsx

      areaName: string
    ) => {
-      if (areaName === "sync" && changes["llmConfig"]) {
+      if (areaName === "local" && changes["llmConfig"]) {


The storage area was changed from 'sync' to 'local' for llmConfig monitoring. This is a breaking change that could affect users with synced settings across devices. Consider adding migration logic or documenting this behavior change in the PR description.

i-m-sid · 2026-02-28T10:00:18Z

too many unnecessary changes and bloat.

arnaud assoumani and others added 3 commits January 27, 2026 12:34

soca: add bridge + app builder actions + L3 E2E gates

bd4c1a9

fix(extension): recover blank side panel and harden toolbar open beha…

8975cf7

…vior

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 24, 2026 16:35

arnaudassoumani-collab mentioned this pull request Feb 24, 2026

Bug: side panel can render blank/non-usable in Chromium #12

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Copilot started reviewing on behalf of arnaudassoumani-collab February 24, 2026 16:35 View session

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fix(extension): recover blank side panel + contrast hardening (v1.0.7)#11

fix(extension): recover blank side panel + contrast hardening (v1.0.7)#11
arnaudassoumani-collab wants to merge 3 commits intoOpenBrowserAI:mainfrom
arnaudassoumani-collab:soca/v1.0.7-panel-recovery

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arnaudassoumani-collab commented Feb 24, 2026

Summary

What changed

Why

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