[BUG] Claude in Chrome blocks navigation to nearly all domains except one, with no error prompt or approvable permission

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?

Bug: Claude in Chrome blocks navigation to nearly all domains except one, with no error prompt or approvable permission

Symptom: Navigation via the extension's navigate action fails with "Navigation to this domain is not allowed" for almost every domain tested — including harmless ones like example.com and localhost — while venmo.com consistently succeeds. No approval prompt is shown to the user for the blocked domains.

Domains tested:

Works: venmo.com
Blocked: example.com, localhost:8090, americanexpress.com, capitalone.com, chase.com, robinhood.com, lgeccu.org, google.com
Ruled out:

Extension's "Your approved sites" list — empty, no manual add option
Chrome enterprise policy (chrome://policy) — no policies set for Claude
Extension update — no change
Full extension reinstall — no change
Tab-focus mismatch — selectedTabId from tabs_context_mcp doesn't track actual browser focus and stayed static regardless of which tab was active
"Claude is active in this tab group" banner — informational only, not a permission gate
Notable: A separate, differently-named tab group ("Monthly expense report") was visible in the browser toolbar alongside the ad-hoc tab groups created via the MCP tool — possibly relevant to why some sessions behave differently, but this couldn't be inspected further.

What Should Happen?

Symptom: Navigation via the extension's navigate action fails with "Navigation to this domain is not allowed" for almost every domain tested — including harmless ones like example.com and localhost — while venmo.com consistently succeeds. No approval prompt is shown to the user for the blocked domains.

Domains tested:

Works: venmo.com
Blocked: example.com, localhost:8090, americanexpress.com, capitalone.com, chase.com, robinhood.com, lgeccu.org, google.com
Ruled out:

Extension's "Your approved sites" list — empty, no manual add option
Chrome enterprise policy (chrome://policy) — no policies set for Claude
Extension update — no change
Full extension reinstall — no change
Tab-focus mismatch — selectedTabId from tabs_context_mcp doesn't track actual browser focus and stayed static regardless of which tab was active
"Claude is active in this tab group" banner — informational only, not a permission gate
Notable: A separate, differently-named tab group ("Monthly expense report") was visible in the browser toolbar alongside the ad-hoc tab groups created via the MCP tool — possibly relevant to why some sessions behave differently, but this couldn't be inspected further.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Symptom: Navigation via the extension's navigate action fails with "Navigation to this domain is not allowed" for almost every domain tested — including harmless ones like example.com and localhost — while venmo.com consistently succeeds. No approval prompt is shown to the user for the blocked domains.

Domains tested:

Works: venmo.com
Blocked: example.com, localhost:8090, americanexpress.com, capitalone.com, chase.com, robinhood.com, lgeccu.org, google.com
Ruled out:

Extension's "Your approved sites" list — empty, no manual add option
Chrome enterprise policy (chrome://policy) — no policies set for Claude
Extension update — no change
Full extension reinstall — no change
Tab-focus mismatch — selectedTabId from tabs_context_mcp doesn't track actual browser focus and stayed static regardless of which tab was active
"Claude is active in this tab group" banner — informational only, not a permission gate
Notable: A separate, differently-named tab group ("Monthly expense report") was visible in the browser toolbar alongside the ad-hoc tab groups created via the MCP tool — possibly relevant to why some sessions behave differently, but this couldn't be inspected further.

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

newest

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_