Feature Request: Support for alternative Chromium browsers (Comet, Arc, Brave, etc.)

Summary

Claude Code's Chrome extension integration is hardcoded to Google Chrome, making it unusable for users who:

• Have Chrome extensions blocked by corporate IT policies
• Prefer alternative Chromium-based browsers (Comet by Perplexity, Arc, Brave, etc.)

Problem

1. No browser selection option - Claude Code always tries to open/detect Chrome
2. Native messaging host only installed for Chrome - Even if users manually install the extension in another browser, Claude Code can't communicate with it without manual config file copying
3. Corporate restrictions - Many organizations block Chrome extensions but allow other browsers

Proposed Solution

Add configuration options to specify an alternative Chromium browser:

Option 1: Environment Variable

export CLAUDE_CODE_BROWSER_PATH="/Applications/Comet.app/Contents/MacOS/Comet"
# or
export CLAUDE_CODE_BROWSER="comet"  # with predefined browser mappings

Option 2: Settings Configuration

// ~/.claude/settings.json
{
  "browser": {
    "path": "/Applications/Comet.app/Contents/MacOS/Comet",
    "nativeMessagingHost": "~/Library/Application Support/Comet/NativeMessagingHosts/"
  }
}

Option 3: CLI Flag

claude --browser comet
claude --browser-path "/path/to/browser"

Current Workaround

Users must manually:

1. Create NativeMessagingHosts folder in their browser's Application Support directory
2. Copy com.anthropic.claude_code_browser_extension.json from Chrome's directory
3. Set the alternative browser as system default

This is error-prone and undocumented.

Related Issues

• #14391 - Native messaging host not installed for Chromium/Brave browsers (Linux)
• #14370 - Detect Claude Chrome extension in other Chromium-based browsers
• #14981 - Add browser selection option for Chrome extension
• #18075 - Add env var for custom Chromium browser path

Environment

• macOS 15.x (also affects Linux/Windows)
• Claude Code latest
• Comet browser by Perplexity (Chromium-based)

Additional Context

Comet and other Chromium browsers fully support Chrome extensions from the Web Store. The extension itself works fine - the issue is purely Claude Code's detection and launch logic being Chrome-specific.