The Claude Code Chrome extension bridges the gap between your terminal and browser, letting you automate, test, and debug web applications without constantly switching contexts. If you use Claude Code for development work, this integration can significantly speed up your workflow.

What Is the Claude Code Chrome Extension?

Claude Code is Anthropic’s CLI tool that brings AI-powered coding assistance to your terminal. The Chrome extension adds browser automation capabilities to this workflow. Instead of manually testing your web app in the browser while coding in the terminal, Claude can do both simultaneously.

The extension uses Chrome’s Native Messaging API to communicate between Claude Code and your browser. When you give Claude a browser-related task, it opens new tabs, interacts with page elements, reads console output, and reports back—all while maintaining your existing login sessions.

What You Can Do With It

Live Debugging

Claude can read console errors and inspect DOM state directly from your browser. After identifying issues, it can switch back to your codebase and apply fixes. This tight feedback loop eliminates the manual back-and-forth of checking the console, finding the relevant code, and making changes.

Design Verification

Building a UI from a design mockup? Claude can compare your implementation against the original design and identify discrepancies. This works particularly well for catching spacing issues, colour mismatches, and layout problems.

Web Application Testing

Test form validation, check for visual regressions, and verify user flows without writing separate test scripts. Simply describe what you want to test in plain language.

Authenticated Web Apps

Because the extension shares your browser’s login state, Claude can interact with services you are already signed into—Google Docs, Gmail, Notion, or internal tools—without requiring API configuration.

Data Extraction

Pull structured information from web pages and save it in whatever format you need. Useful for scraping product listings, extracting contact details, or gathering research data.

Task Automation

Automate repetitive browser tasks like form filling, data entry, and multi-site workflows. If you have a CSV of contacts to enter into a CRM, Claude can process them systematically.

Session Recording

Record browser interactions as GIFs for documentation, bug reports, or sharing with teammates.

Requirements

Before you start, you will need:

Google Chrome (currently the only supported browser)
Claude in Chrome extension version 1.0.36 or higher
Claude Code CLI version 2.0.73 or higher
A paid Claude plan (Pro, Team, or Enterprise)

The extension does not currently support Brave, Arc, or other Chromium-based browsers. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is also not supported.

Getting Started

Step 1: Update Claude Code

Ensure you have the latest version of Claude Code installed:

claude update

Step 2: Install the Chrome Extension

Visit the Chrome Web Store and install the Claude in Chrome extension. After installation, you may need to restart Chrome for the native messaging host to initialise properly.

Step 3: Start Claude Code with Chrome Enabled

Launch Claude Code with the --chrome flag:

claude --chrome

Step 4: Verify the Connection

Within your Claude Code session, run:

/chrome

This command shows the connection status and lets you manage settings. If the extension is not detected, ensure Chrome is running and the extension is enabled.

Optional: Enable by Default

If you use the Chrome integration frequently, you can enable it by default through the /chrome command and selecting “Enabled by default”. Note that this increases context usage, so disable it if you notice higher consumption than expected.

How It Works in Practice

The integration works conversationally. You describe what you want to happen, and Claude handles the browser automation.

Testing a local web application:

I just updated the login form validation. Can you open localhost:3000,
try submitting the form with invalid data, and check if the error
messages appear correctly?

Debugging with console logs:

Open the dashboard page and check the console for any errors when
the page loads.

Automating data entry:

I have a spreadsheet of customer contacts in contacts.csv. For each row,
go to our CRM at crm.example.com, click "Add Contact", and fill in the
name, email, and phone fields.

Extracting data from a page:

Go to the product listings page and extract the name, price, and
availability for each item. Save the results as a CSV file.

When Claude encounters obstacles like login pages, CAPTCHAs, or cookie consent dialogs, it pauses and asks you to handle them manually. Once you have resolved the blocker, tell Claude to continue and it picks up where it left off.

Tips for Effective Use

Dismiss modal dialogs promptly. JavaScript alerts and confirmation dialogs block browser commands. If one appears, dismiss it manually and let Claude know it can continue.

Request new tabs when needed. If a tab becomes unresponsive or gets stuck, ask Claude to open a fresh tab rather than trying to recover the existing one.

Be specific about console filtering. Rather than asking Claude to retrieve all console output, specify what patterns or error types you are looking for. This keeps responses focused and reduces noise.

Keep the browser window visible. The extension requires a visible browser window—headless mode is not supported.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Problem	Solution
Extension not detected	Verify the extension is installed and enabled (v1.0.36+), check Claude Code is updated (v2.0.73+), ensure Chrome is running, run `/chrome` and select “Reconnect extension”
Browser not responding	Check for modal dialogs that need dismissing, ask Claude to create a new tab, restart the extension
First-time setup issues	Restart Chrome after installing the extension to ensure the native messaging host initialises correctly

Conclusion

The Claude Code Chrome extension turns your terminal into a full-stack development environment where coding and testing happen in the same workflow. For developers who spend significant time switching between their editor and browser, this integration removes friction and keeps you focused on building.

To get started, update Claude Code, install the Chrome extension, and run claude --chrome. From there, you can test, debug, and automate browser tasks using natural language—no additional configuration required.

For more details, see the official Claude Code Chrome extension documentation.

Author

Scott Dooley

Scott has been coding websites since before "mobile responsive" was a thing. After a stint working as a growth marketer in London, he switched to the "digital nomad" life and now leads a team of talented developers, designers and marketers at Kahunam.