[BUG] Claude in Chrome extension fails to connect to Cowork on macOS — was working ~2 weeks ago, now persistently broken

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Claude in Chrome extension shows as connected in Claude Desktop, but does not function — it fails to retrieve browser context or respond to any Chrome-related requests. The extension appears properly installed and linked, yet Claude Desktop cannot interact with Chrome tabs or page content.

What Should Happen?

Once the Claude in Chrome extension is connected and enabled in Claude Desktop, Claude should be able to:

Access and read content from active Chrome tabs
Use tabs_context_mcp tool to retrieve browser context
Respond to requests referencing open web pages

Error Messages/Logs

<!-- TODO: Paste error from Claude Desktop logs -->
<!-- Check: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/main.log -->
<!-- Run in Terminal: tail -100 ~/Library/Logs/Claude/main.log | grep -i "chrome\|extension\|mcp\|error" -->

Steps to Reproduce

Install Claude in Chrome extension from Chrome Web Store
Open Claude Desktop on macOS Tahoe 26.3.1
Verify extension shows as connected in Settings > Connectors
Open a Chrome tab with any webpage
Ask Claude Desktop to read or reference the current Chrome tab content
Observe: Claude does not receive browser context despite extension showing as connected

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.71

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

OS: macOS Tahoe 26.3.1
Device : macbook air m2
Chrome version : Version 145.0.7632.160 (Official Build) (arm64)