Remote Browser Support

Remote browser support allows Cline to utilize a remote Chrome instance, leveraging authentication tokens and session cookies relevant to certain web development test cases.

The Remote Browser feature in Cline allows the AI assistant to interact with web content directly through a controlled browser instance. This enables several powerful capabilities:

• Viewing and interacting with websites

• Testing locally running web applications

• Monitoring console logs and errors

• Performing browser actions like clicking, typing, and scrolling

Remote Browser in Cline

What is Remote Browser?

Remote Browser allows Cline to view and interact with websites directly. This feature enables Cline to:

• Visit websites and view their content

• Test your locally running web applications

• Fill out forms and click on elements

• Capture screenshots of what it sees

• Scroll through pages to see more content

How to Use Remote Browser

Basic Commands

You can ask Cline to use the browser with simple instructions:

• Open a website: "Use the browser to check the website at https://example.com"
• Click on elements: "Click the login button"

• Type text: "Type 'Hello world' in the search box"

• Scroll the page: "Scroll down to see more content"

• Close the browser: "Close the browser now"

Example Workflows

Testing a Web Application:

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Can you start my React app with "npm start" and then check if it's working properly at http://localhost:3000?

Analyzing a Website:

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Can you visit https://example.com and tell me what you think about its design and layout?

Filling Out a Form:

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Please go to https://example.com/contact, fill out the contact form with some test data, and submit it.

Important Things to Know

One Browser at a Time

Cline can only use one browser at a time. If you want to visit a different website, you can either:

• Ask Cline to navigate to a new URL within the same browser session

• Ask Cline to close the current browser and open a new one

Browser Must Be Closed Before Using Other Tools

If you want Cline to edit files or run commands after using the browser, you must first ask it to close the browser:

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Close the browser and then update the CSS file to fix the alignment issue we saw.

What Cline Sees

The browser has a fixed viewport size (900x600 pixels by default), similar to a small laptop screen. Cline will share screenshots after each action so you can see exactly what it sees.

Console Logs

Cline captures browser console logs, which can be helpful for debugging web applications. These logs are included with each screenshot.

Common Use Cases

• Web Development: Test your websites and web applications

• UI/UX Review: Get feedback on website design and usability

• Content Research: Have Cline browse websites to gather information

• Form Testing: Verify that forms work correctly

• Responsive Design Testing: Check how websites look at different screen sizes

Troubleshooting

• If a website doesn't load: Try providing a direct URL with the http:// or https:// prefix

• If clicking doesn't work: Try describing the location of the element more precisely

• If the browser seems stuck: Ask Cline to close the browser and try again

Using Remote Browser with VS Code in WSL

When running VS Code in WSL, you'll need to configure Windows to allow WSL to connect to Chrome. Follow these steps:

Open PowerShell as Administrator and Run:

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# Allow WSL to connect to Chrome's debugging port
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "WSL Chrome Debug" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 9222 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow

Configure Cline in VS Code:

1. Open VS Code settings

2. Search for "Cline: Chrome Executable Path"

3. Set the value to the path of your Chrome executable (e.g., C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe)

Cline should now be able to use the Remote Browser feature from within WSL.