[BUG] Claude in Chrome (Beta) — "No tab available" blocks all tab operations

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?

The extension reports successful pairing (list_connected_browsers returns my device, select_browser succeeds), but every subsequent tab operation — tabs_context_mcp, tabs_create_mcp, navigate — returns "No tab available". This matches GitHub issues #50551, #27542, #21106, and #20789, none of which appear resolved.
Reproduction

list_connected_browsers ✅
select_browser ✅
tabs_context_mcp (with or without createIfEmpty: true) ❌ "No tab available"
tabs_create_mcp ❌ same error

The extension icon shows active state, the side panel works for chat, and previous sessions clearly had been creating tabs (10+ orphaned Claude (MCP) tabs accumulated in my tab strip from earlier conversations) — but the current session can't see or create any.
Troubleshooting attempted (none worked)

Confirmed extension installed, enabled, "On all sites," pinned
Granted per-tab access via the puzzle-piece "Access requested → Claude" popup
Toggled extension off/on in chrome://extensions
Killed all Chrome processes via Task Manager and reopened
Closed all orphaned Claude (MCP) tabs to start fresh
Opened the side panel on the target tab and left it open
Repeated tabs_context_mcp multiple times in one session****

What Should Happen?

The extension should successfully create and manage tabs in the MCP tab group. Specifically:

1. After list_connected_browsers and select_browser succeed, calls to tabs_context_mcp (with createIfEmpty: true) should return an active tab and tab group ID.
2. tabs_create_mcp should successfully create a new tab in the MCP tab group and return its ID.
3. The connection state should persist across the session — tab operations should not silently fail with "No tab available" when the extension is connected and active.

Instead, every tab operation returns "No tab available" while the connection itself reports as successful — making the entire browser automation feature unusable.

Error Messages/Logs

Error message returned by every tab tool: "No tab available"

Steps to reproduce:
1. Install Claude in Chrome (Beta) v1.0.69
2. Open a Claude conversation that has the browser_batch / Chrome MCP tools available
3. Have the assistant call list_connected_browsers — succeeds, returns my Windows device
4. Have the assistant call select_browser with that deviceId — succeeds, returns "Connected to browser"
5. Have the assistant call tabs_context_mcp with createIfEmpty: true — fails with "No tab available"
6. Have the assistant call tabs_create_mcp with {active: true, url: "http://127.0.0.1:8188"} — fails with "No tab available"

Notes:
- The extension icon shows active/connected state in the toolbar
- The side panel works for chat
- I had 10+ orphaned "Claude (MCP)" tabs accumulated from prior sessions — closing all of them did not fix the issue for the current session
- Per-tab access was granted via the puzzle-piece "Access requested → Claude" popup
- Toggling the extension off/on in chrome://extensions did not fix it
- Killing all Chrome processes via Task Manager and reopening did not fix it

Environment:
- Chrome: latest stable on Windows
- Extension version: 1.0.69
- Plan: Pro
- Account: signed into claude.ai with the same account

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Claude in Chrome (Beta) v1.0.69 on Chrome / Windows
2. Pin the extension to the toolbar; verify "On all sites" access in chrome://extensions
3. Open claude.ai in Chrome and start a conversation with a model that has the Chrome MCP tools available
4. Open a separate Chrome tab to any URL (e.g. http://127.0.0.1:8188)
5. Click the puzzle-piece icon in the Chrome toolbar; in the "Access requested" popup, click the "Claude" row to grant access to the current tab
6. In the Claude conversation, ask the assistant to connect to the browser

Expected: Assistant's tab tools succeed and it can read/control the tab.

Actual:

• list_connected_browsers succeeds, returns my Windows device
• select_browser succeeds, returns "Connected to browser"
• tabs_context_mcp (with createIfEmpty: true) fails with "No tab available"
• tabs_create_mcp with {active: true, url: "..."} fails with "No tab available"
• Every subsequent tab tool returns the same error

Additional reproduction notes:

• The error persists across multiple Claude conversations on the same machine/account
• Over several sessions, 10+ orphaned "Claude (MCP)" tabs accumulated in my tab strip — but the current session cannot see or control any of them
• Closing all orphaned tabs did not fix the issue
• Toggling the extension off/on in chrome://extensions did not fix it
• Killing all chrome.exe processes via Task Manager and reopening Chrome did not fix it
• Re-doing the per-tab "Access requested" grant after restart did not fix it

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

sonnet 4.6

Claude Code Version

N/A — not using Claude Code CLI. This bug is in the Claude in Chrome (Beta) extension v1.0.69 used with claude.ai web interface (not the CLI). Filing here because related issues (#50551, #27542, #21106, #20789) are tracked in this repo.

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Windows Terminal

Additional Information

_No response_