remote-chrome

Launch, stop, restart, or check the status of a remote Chrome browser service using Xvfb, x11vnc, and noVNC. Use this whenever the user wants to start a headless Chrome browser accessible via web browser or VNC client, needs to stop the remote browser service, wants to restart the service, or asks for the current status/access URL of the remote browser. This is for running a full Chrome browser remotely with GUI access through a web interface.

Open Remote Chrome Browser Management

Launch and manage a remote Chrome browser with web-based VNC access

Quick Start

bash

# Start service (auto-checks dependencies)
./start-remote-chrome.sh

# Check status and get access info
./status-remote-chrome.sh

# Stop service
./stop-remote-chrome.sh

That's it! The start script automatically checks dependencies and provides clear installation instructions if anything is missing.

What You Get

• Web Access: Browser-based VNC client at http://<IP>:6080
• VNC Access: Direct VNC connection at <IP>:5900
• Remote Debugging: Chrome DevTools at http://<IP>:9222
• Status Monitoring: Process info, memory usage, open tabs, VNC password

Scripts

Script	Purpose
start-remote-chrome.sh	Start the service (with auto dependency check)
stop-remote-chrome.sh	Stop the service
status-remote-chrome.sh	Monitor status, memory, tabs, and get access info

Options

bash

# Verbose mode (see Chrome output and process details)
./start-remote-chrome.sh -v

# Foreground mode (keep script running, Ctrl+C to stop)
./start-remote-chrome.sh -f

# Custom ports
./start-remote-chrome.sh --vnc-port 5901 --novnc-port 6081 --chrome-debug-port 9223

# Custom screen resolution
./start-remote-chrome.sh --screen-size 1920x1080x24

# With proxy and bypass list
./start-remote-chrome.sh --proxy http://proxy.example.com:8080 --proxy-bypass "localhost,127.0.0.1,*.example.com"

# Combined options
./start-remote-chrome.sh --screen-size 1920x1080x24 --vnc-port 5901 --novnc-port 6081 -v

# Get help
./start-remote-chrome.sh -h

Configuration Parameters

The start script supports the following configurable parameters:

Port Configuration

• --vnc-port <port>: VNC server port (default: 5900)
• --novnc-port <port>: noVNC web access port (default: 6080)
• --chrome-debug-port <port>: Chrome remote debugging port (default: 9222)

Example:

bash

# Use different ports to avoid conflicts
./start-remote-chrome.sh --vnc-port 5901 --novnc-port 6081

Screen Resolution

• --screen-size <WxHxD>: Screen resolution in format WidthxHeightxColorDepth (default: 1600x1200x24)

Examples:

bash

# Full HD resolution with 24 color depth
./start-remote-chrome.sh --screen-size 1920x1080x24

Examples

bash

# Use corporate proxy
./start-remote-chrome.sh --proxy http://proxy.company.com:3128

# Use proxy with bypass list for internal sites
./start-remote-chrome.sh --proxy http://proxy.company.com:3128 --proxy-bypass "*.internal.com,localhost,10.*"

# No proxy (direct connection - default behavior)
./start-remote-chrome.sh

Proxy Environment Variables

The script also respects standard proxy environment variables if set:

• HTTP_PROXY / http_proxy
• HTTPS_PROXY / https_proxy
• NO_PROXY / no_proxy

Priority: Command-line parameters > Environment variables > No proxy

Common Tasks

Start Service

bash

./start-remote-chrome.sh

Output includes access URLs and VNC password.

Check Status

bash

./status-remote-chrome.sh

Shows: process status, memory usage, open Chrome tabs, VNC password, access URLs.

Restart Service

bash

./stop-remote-chrome.sh && ./start-remote-chrome.sh

Integration with agent-browser

Control Chrome programmatically via the agent-browser skill:

bash

# 1. Start remote Chrome (with debugging port enabled)
./start-remote-chrome.sh

# 2. Connect agent-browser to Chrome
agent-browser connect --url http://localhost:9222

# 3. Navigate and interact
agent-browser open https://example.com
agent-browser click "#button-id"
agent-browser type "#input-field" "text content"

# 4. Check open tabs
./status-remote-chrome.sh  # Shows all tabs opened by agent-browser

Benefits:

• Visual monitoring via VNC + programmatic control via agent-browser
• Use agent-browser for automation, VNC for visual verification
• Debug automation scripts in real-time through web interface

References

For detailed information, see:

• Installation Guide - Dependencies and installation commands
• Output Examples - Sample output for all operations
• Configuration - Script parameters, ports, troubleshooting

Need Help?

• Missing dependencies? The start script will tell you exactly what to install.
• Port conflicts? Run ./stop-remote-chrome.sh first.
• Want details? Check the references/ folder for comprehensive documentation.