v1.40.0.1 fix(browse): enable Chromium sandbox on headed launchPersistentContext

Playwright auto-adds --no-sandbox whenever chromiumSandbox !== true
(playwright-core/lib/server/chromium/chromium.js:291-292). The headless
chromium.launch() site set the option; the two headed sites
(launchHeaded() and handoff()) did not. Every headed launch on macOS
and Linux showed Chromium's yellow "unsupported command-line flag:
--no-sandbox" infobar.

Introduces shouldEnableChromiumSandbox() — centralizes the Win32 / CI /
CONTAINER / root heuristic that previously lived only in the headless
path's explicit --no-sandbox push at :225. All three launch sites now
use the helper, and six unit tests pin the policy across darwin,
linux, win32, CI, CONTAINER, and root.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,39 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.40.0.1] - 2026-05-19
+
+## **Headed Chromium launches stop shipping `--no-sandbox` to the browser on macOS and Linux.**
+## **Yellow "unsupported command-line flag" infobar disappears for every dev who runs browse headed.**
+
+`launchPersistentContext()` was missing the `chromiumSandbox` option, so Playwright's chromium launcher auto-added `--no-sandbox` on every headed launch (logic at `playwright-core/lib/server/chromium/chromium.js:291-292`: when `chromiumSandbox !== true`, push `--no-sandbox`). The headless `chromium.launch()` site set the option correctly; the two headed sites (`launchHeaded()` and `handoff()`) did not. Result: anyone running browse headed saw Chromium's bad-flags yellow infobar across the top of every tab. v1.40.0.1 introduces a shared `shouldEnableChromiumSandbox()` policy used by all three launch sites and pins it with unit tests so this can't regress silently.
+
+### The numbers that matter
+
+Source: `bun test browse/test/browser-manager-unit.test.ts` ... 8 tests, all green.
+
+| Surface | Before | After |
+|---|---|---|
+| macOS dev, `bun run dev` headed (or `launchHeaded`) | Yellow `--no-sandbox` infobar on every launch | No infobar |
+| Linux non-root, non-CI dev, headed launch | Yellow `--no-sandbox` infobar on every launch | No infobar |
+| Linux root / Docker / CI headed launch | `--no-sandbox` reaches Chromium (correct), no infobar (acceptable since usually headless) | Same; sandbox correctly off |
+| Windows headed launch | Sandbox off (GitHub #276 Bun→Node chain) | Same; explicitly preserved by helper |
+| `handoff()` (headless→headed re-launch) | Yellow infobar same as `launchHeaded` | No infobar |
+
+### What this means for builders
+
+If you run `browse` headed on macOS or Linux dev, the yellow "unsupported command-line flag: --no-sandbox" warning is gone. Container, root, and CI environments still get sandbox off (correct, the kernel can't engage it there). The fix is one helper plus three single-line additions, pinned by `shouldEnableChromiumSandbox` unit tests so a future refactor can't silently regress the behavior. Pull and your next headed launch is clean.
+
+### Itemized changes
+
+#### Fixed
+
+- `browse/src/browser-manager.ts` ... `launchPersistentContext()` calls in `launchHeaded()` and `handoff()` now pass `chromiumSandbox`, so Playwright stops auto-adding `--no-sandbox` on every headed launch. Headless `launch()` switches to the same helper for consistency.
+
+#### Added
+
+- `browse/src/browser-manager.ts` (new export) ... `shouldEnableChromiumSandbox()` centralizes the Win32 / CI / CONTAINER / root heuristic that previously lived only in the headless path's explicit `--no-sandbox` push.
+- `browse/test/browser-manager-unit.test.ts` ... six unit tests pinning `shouldEnableChromiumSandbox` across darwin, linux, win32, CI, CONTAINER, and root.
+
 ## [1.40.0.0] - 2026-05-16
 
 ## **gbrain sync stops biting users across the install path, slug algorithm, federation queue, and `.env.local` footgun.**

VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.40.0.0
+1.40.0.1

browse/src/browser-manager.ts

@@ -40,6 +40,29 @@ export function isCustomChromium(): boolean {
   return p.includes('GBrowser') || p.includes('gbrowser');
 }
 
+/**
+ * Decide whether Playwright should request Chromium's sandbox.
+ *
+ * Returns false on Windows (Bun→Node→Chromium chain breaks the sandbox,
+ * GitHub #276) and on Linux under root / CI / container (sandbox needs
+ * unprivileged user namespaces, which are missing for root and typically
+ * disabled in containers).
+ *
+ * When false, Playwright auto-adds --no-sandbox to the launch args — the
+ * desired behavior in those environments. When true, Playwright does NOT
+ * add --no-sandbox, which keeps Chromium's "unsupported command-line flag"
+ * yellow infobar from appearing on every headed launch.
+ *
+ * The headless launch path also pushes an explicit '--no-sandbox' into args
+ * when CI/CONTAINER/root is set; that push is now defensively redundant
+ * (Playwright will add it anyway when this returns false) and harmless.
+ */
+export function shouldEnableChromiumSandbox(): boolean {
+  if (process.platform === 'win32') return false;
+  const isRoot = typeof process.getuid === 'function' && process.getuid() === 0;
+  return !(process.env.CI || process.env.CONTAINER || isRoot);
+}
+
 export type { RefEntry };
 
 // Re-export TabSession for consumers
@@ -240,8 +263,10 @@ export class BrowserManager {
       headless: useHeadless,
       // On Windows, Chromium's sandbox fails when the server is spawned through
       // the Bun→Node process chain (GitHub #276). Disable it — local daemon
-      // browsing user-specified URLs has marginal sandbox benefit.
-      chromiumSandbox: process.platform !== 'win32',
+      // browsing user-specified URLs has marginal sandbox benefit. Also disabled
+      // on Linux root/CI/container, where the sandbox requires unprivileged user
+      // namespaces that aren't available.
+      chromiumSandbox: shouldEnableChromiumSandbox(),
       ...(launchArgs.length > 0 ? { args: launchArgs } : {}),
       ...(this.proxyConfig ? { proxy: this.proxyConfig } : {}),
     });
@@ -415,6 +440,10 @@ export class BrowserManager {
 
     this.context = await chromium.launchPersistentContext(userDataDir, {
       headless: false,
+      // Match the sandbox policy used by launch() above. Without this,
+      // Playwright auto-adds --no-sandbox on every headed launch and the user
+      // sees Chromium's "unsupported command-line flag" yellow infobar.
+      chromiumSandbox: shouldEnableChromiumSandbox(),
       args: launchArgs,
       viewport: null,  // Use browser's default viewport (real window size)
       userAgent: this.customUserAgent || customUA,
@@ -1303,6 +1332,10 @@ export class BrowserManager {
 
       newContext = await chromium.launchPersistentContext(userDataDir, {
         headless: false,
+        // Match the sandbox policy used by launchHeaded() / launch(). The
+        // handoff path is the headless→headed re-launch and shares the same
+        // anti-detection posture, including no spurious --no-sandbox infobar.
+        chromiumSandbox: shouldEnableChromiumSandbox(),
         args: launchArgs,
         viewport: null,
         ...(this.proxyConfig ? { proxy: this.proxyConfig } : {}),

browse/test/browser-manager-unit.test.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { describe, it, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, it, expect } from 'bun:test';
 
 // ─── BrowserManager basic unit tests ─────────────────────────────
 
@@ -15,3 +15,78 @@ describe('BrowserManager defaults', () => {
     expect(bm.getRefMap()).toEqual([]);
   });
 });
+
+// ─── shouldEnableChromiumSandbox ─────────────────────────────────
+//
+// Pinning this is what prevents the "--no-sandbox" yellow infobar from
+// regressing on headed launches. Playwright auto-adds --no-sandbox when
+// chromiumSandbox !== true (playwright-core chromium.js:291-292), so all
+// three launch sites in browser-manager.ts must pass the policy this
+// helper computes.
+
+describe('shouldEnableChromiumSandbox', () => {
+  const origPlatform = process.platform;
+  const origCI = process.env.CI;
+  const origContainer = process.env.CONTAINER;
+  const origGetuid = process.getuid;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    delete process.env.CI;
+    delete process.env.CONTAINER;
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    Object.defineProperty(process, 'platform', { value: origPlatform });
+    if (origCI === undefined) delete process.env.CI; else process.env.CI = origCI;
+    if (origContainer === undefined) delete process.env.CONTAINER; else process.env.CONTAINER = origContainer;
+    process.getuid = origGetuid;
+  });
+
+  function setPlatform(p: NodeJS.Platform) {
+    Object.defineProperty(process, 'platform', { value: p });
+  }
+
+  it('darwin, no CI/CONTAINER/root → true', async () => {
+    setPlatform('darwin');
+    process.getuid = (() => 501) as typeof process.getuid;
+    const { shouldEnableChromiumSandbox } = await import('../src/browser-manager');
+    expect(shouldEnableChromiumSandbox()).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('linux, no CI/CONTAINER/root → true', async () => {
+    setPlatform('linux');
+    process.getuid = (() => 1000) as typeof process.getuid;
+    const { shouldEnableChromiumSandbox } = await import('../src/browser-manager');
+    expect(shouldEnableChromiumSandbox()).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('win32 → false (sandbox fails in Bun→Node→Chromium chain)', async () => {
+    setPlatform('win32');
+    process.getuid = (() => 1000) as typeof process.getuid;
+    const { shouldEnableChromiumSandbox } = await import('../src/browser-manager');
+    expect(shouldEnableChromiumSandbox()).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('linux + CI=1 → false', async () => {
+    setPlatform('linux');
+    process.env.CI = '1';
+    process.getuid = (() => 1000) as typeof process.getuid;
+    const { shouldEnableChromiumSandbox } = await import('../src/browser-manager');
+    expect(shouldEnableChromiumSandbox()).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('linux + CONTAINER=1 → false', async () => {
+    setPlatform('linux');
+    process.env.CONTAINER = '1';
+    process.getuid = (() => 1000) as typeof process.getuid;
+    const { shouldEnableChromiumSandbox } = await import('../src/browser-manager');
+    expect(shouldEnableChromiumSandbox()).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('linux + root (uid 0) → false', async () => {
+    setPlatform('linux');
+    process.getuid = (() => 0) as typeof process.getuid;
+    const { shouldEnableChromiumSandbox } = await import('../src/browser-manager');
+    expect(shouldEnableChromiumSandbox()).toBe(false);
+  });
+});