让 Codex 浏览器控制支持 Arc 的补丁工具

Make Codex's browser use work in Arc.

Codex controls browsers through the Chrome plugin in the ChatGPT desktop app. In Arc, that connection stalls on the first tab Codex opens. This project fixes that by building a lightly patched copy of OpenAI's ChatGPT extension on your Mac.

Codex's separate Computer Use plugin, which operates Mac apps by clicking and typing, doesn't need this project.

How it works

Codex reaches a browser through three parts:

The Chrome plugin in the ChatGPT desktop app.
A native connector that the plugin installs. Arc finds it in the same place Chrome does, even if Chrome isn't installed.
OpenAI's ChatGPT extension, running inside the browser.

Only the extension needs changing. It waits for Chrome's tab-group API before it loads each tab, and Arc never answers that API. arc_browser_use.py build does these things:

It downloads the extension from the Chrome Web Store and checks its signature.
It applies two small patches, listed in What the patches change.
It writes the build to ~/Library/Application Support/Arc Browser Use/extension.

You load that folder into Arc once. After that, Codex lists Arc as a browser it can use.

Set up with an agent

Paste this into Codex, or into any coding agent that can run commands on your Mac:

Set up Arc for Codex browser use by following
https://github.com/brianlzhou/arc-browser-use/blob/main/SETUP.md

The agent runs the commands and asks you when it needs a click in Arc.

Set up by hand

You need these things:

macOS and Arc.
The ChatGPT desktop app, with the Chrome plugin installed from its plugin list. You don't need Google Chrome itself.
Python 3.9 or later. It comes with Apple's Command Line Tools. If it's missing, running python3 makes macOS offer to install it.

git clone https://github.com/brianlzhou/arc-browser-use.git
cd arc-browser-use
python3 arc_browser_use.py build

Then, in Arc:

Open arc://extensions and turn on Developer mode.
If a ChatGPT extension is listed, click Remove on it.
Click Load unpacked. Press ⇧⌘G, paste ~/Library/Application Support/Arc Browser Use/extension, press Return, and click Select.

Check the setup:

python3 arc_browser_use.py doctor

Every line should start with ok. Then ask Codex: "Use my Arc browser to open example.com and tell me the page title." Codex should answer "Example Domain".

Updating

The build doesn't update itself. When doctor reports FAIL The build is the latest store version, run this:

git pull
python3 arc_browser_use.py build

Then, in arc://extensions, turn the ChatGPT extension off and on again. Don't use Reload. It doesn't reconnect to the ChatGPT app, so Codex keeps talking to the old copy.

Here is what happens when OpenAI changes the extension:

Routine releases. The patches find their targets by method and property names, which survive OpenAI's minifier. A new release that leaves those parts alone builds without changes.
A required patch no longer applies. build stops and names the patch. Your build folder is left as it was. SETUP.md explains how to update the patch.
Only the optional patch no longer applies. That patch makes Codex list Arc by name. build skips it, warns, and finishes. Codex then lists Arc as "Chrome".

A weekly CI job builds the newest store version. If a patch fails or the version is untested, it opens an issue in this repository.

What the patches change

Patch	Change	Why
`skip-tab-groups` (required)	`ensureAgentTabGroup` returns immediately.	The extension puts each tab Codex opens into a tab group before loading it. Arc never answers tab-group calls, so the tab never loaded.
`arc-display-name` (optional)	The browser reports its name as "Arc".	Without it, Codex lists Arc as "Chrome".

build also changes two things outside background.js:

It adds the publisher's public key to manifest.json as key. The copy then keeps the official extension ID, and the native connector accepts only that ID.
It removes _metadata, the store's verification data, which doesn't apply to a modified copy.

This repository contains no OpenAI code. Each user builds their copy on their own Mac.

Limitations

Arc turns off unpacked extensions when Developer mode is off. Keep Developer mode on.
The extension's side panel doesn't open in Arc, because Arc doesn't support Chrome side panels. Chat in the ChatGPT app instead. Browser use isn't affected.
Only macOS is supported.
CHANGELOG.md lists the extension versions that each release was tested with.

Uninstall

python3 arc_browser_use.py uninstall

Then remove the ChatGPT extension in arc://extensions. To go back to the official extension, install it from the Chrome Web Store.

Acknowledgments

claude-arc-patch found the same tab-group problem in Claude's extension.
Claude-in-Arc adapts Claude's extension to Arc.
codex-computer-use-firefox-zen brings Codex browser use to Firefox and Zen.

Disclaimer

This project isn't affiliated with OpenAI or The Browser Company. ChatGPT and Codex are trademarks of OpenAI. You run a modified build of OpenAI's extension at your own risk.

License

MIT