Claude in Chrome: Feature gate returns false despite Max Plan account

Description

Claude in Chrome MCP connection fails because the feature gate returns false, even though the account is on the Max Plan.

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.37
• Chrome Extension: Claude in Chrome (Beta) v1.0.47
• OS: Windows 10/11
• Account: Max Plan

Debug Log

2026-02-09T09:40:41.818Z [DEBUG] [claudeai-mcp] Checking gate (cached)...
2026-02-09T09:40:41.818Z [DEBUG] [claudeai-mcp] Gate returned: false
2026-02-09T09:40:41.818Z [DEBUG] [claudeai-mcp] Disabled via gate

What I verified

• Extension is installed and enabled in chrome://extensions/
• Logged into claude.ai with the same account as Claude Code
• Native Messaging Host registry entries exist and point to valid files:
• HKCU\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome\NativeMessagingHosts\com.anthropic.claude_code_browser_extension → manifest JSON exists
• HKCU\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome\NativeMessagingHosts\com.anthropic.claude_browser_extension → manifest JSON exists
• chrome-native-host.bat exists at ~/.claude/chrome/chrome-native-host.bat and references valid claude.exe
• chrome-native-host.exe exists at the Anthropic Claude app resources path
• Chrome restarted, Claude Code restarted, extension toggled off/on
• claude update confirms latest version

Expected behavior

tabs_context_mcp should connect to the browser extension and return available tabs.

Actual behavior

Every call to tabs_context_mcp returns: "Browser extension is not connected."

The root cause is the feature gate returning false, which disables the MCP connection entirely before any browser communication is attempted.