Fix Browser act Timeouts in Isolated Profile (macOS)
[Browser] act() timed out after 30000ms Error: CDP call timed out: Input.dispatchMouseEvent Browser session became unresponsive
This issue is intermittent — open and snapshot calls succeed, but act (interaction) calls timeout. This pattern strongly indicates a stale Chrome process holding the profile lock.
OpenClaw browser automation uses an isolated Chrome profile to keep sessions separate from your personal browser. When a previous Chrome session didn't close cleanly, the zombie process holds the profile lock — new sessions can open pages but interaction calls (act) hang until timeout.
Next Step
Fix now, then reduce repeat incidents
If this issue keeps coming back, validate your setup in Doctor first, then harden your config.
Jump to Fix
Step 1: Kill Zombie Chrome Processes
First, stop OpenClaw, then kill any Chrome processes associated with the isolated profile:
# Stop OpenClaw gateway openclaw gateway stop # Find Chrome processes related to OpenClaw profile ps aux | grep -i "openclaw.*chrome\|chrome.*openclaw" # Kill them all: pkill -f "OpenClaw.*chrome" pkill -f "chrome.*--user-data-dir.*openclaw" # Verify no Chrome processes remain: ps aux | grep -i chrome | grep -v grep
Step 2: Clear the Isolated Browser Profile
# macOS profile location: rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Application Support/OpenClaw/browser-profile" # Linux profile location: rm -rf "$HOME/.config/openclaw/browser-profile" # Windows (PowerShell): # Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:APPDATA\OpenClaw\browser-profile"
Clearing the profile removes saved cookies, local storage, and cached credentials for the browser automation session. Your personal Chrome profile is not affected.
After clearing, restart the gateway. OpenClaw will create a fresh isolated profile on the next browser automation request:
openclaw gateway start
Step 3: Increase act Timeout (Optional)
If timeouts persist on slow pages or complex interactions, increase the default act timeout in your config:
{
"browser": {
"actTimeout": 60000,
"navigationTimeout": 30000,
"isolated": true
}
}actTimeoutDefault: 30000 — Timeout in ms for each act() interaction call. Increase for slow or complex pages.
navigationTimeoutDefault: 15000 — Timeout in ms for page navigation (open, goto). Increase for slow networks.
isolatedDefault: true — Keep true to use OpenClaw's isolated profile. Set to false to use your system Chrome (not recommended).
Verify Browser Automation Works
# In OpenClaw chat, try a simple browser task: # "Open https://example.com and click the first link" # Or run the doctor tool: npx clawkit-doctor@latest
If both open, snapshot, and act calls complete without timeouts, the profile issue is resolved. Consider adding a startup script to kill zombie Chrome processes before starting the gateway.
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