solution browser high macos linux windows

Browser tool: 'browser control service timeout'

Fix browser automation timeouts by confirming the gateway/browser service is alive, reducing the repro, and addressing container/headless dependency and memory issues.

By CoClaw Team •

Symptoms

  • Browser runs fail with: browser control service timeout.
  • This can happen even on simple pages, or only on heavy websites.

Cause

Two common categories:

  1. The browser control service is down / wedged (gateway instability, crashed browser process).
  2. The browser is alive, but the page/action is too slow (heavy JS sites, bot protection, unstable egress, low memory).

Fix

1) Confirm the gateway is stable

openclaw status --deep
openclaw logs --follow

If the gateway is restarting or config is invalid, fix that first.

2) Reduce to the smallest repro

Try a lightweight URL + one simple action. If that times out too, focus on environment/deps/memory.

3) Docker/WSL2: check headless deps + memory

Common causes in containers:

  • missing Chromium/Playwright dependencies
  • low memory or small /dev/shm
  • restrictive sandbox preventing browser launch

Related:

4) If only one site times out

Treat it as a site complexity issue:

  • try a simpler navigation path
  • reduce JS-heavy steps
  • add bounded retries + evidence output

Verify

  • A minimal browser run succeeds on a lightweight page.
  • The failing site succeeds or fails with a more specific error than “timeout”.

Verification & references

  • Reviewed by:CoClaw Code Team
  • Last reviewed:March 14, 2026
  • Verified on: macOS · Linux · Windows

References

Official docs

  1. OpenClaw docs: /tools/browser
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