Browser tool can't verify local HTTPS dev servers (self-signed cert + non-rendering pane block all workarounds)
Status Open
Maintainer reply None cached
Workaround ✓ Mentioned in description ↑
Activity 0 comments · opened Aug 14, 2026
Summary
The integrated Browser pane tool cannot verify changes against local HTTPS dev servers using self-signed/untrusted certificates — a very common local dev setup (Piral, Vite, webpack-dev-server HTTPS, etc.).
Problem
- Navigating to a URL with an invalid/self-signed cert fails outright:
navigatereturns "navigation ... was denied or failed", even withforce: true.- Network requests show
net::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID— the server is reachable, but there's no path to proceed past the cert error.
- The usual manual workaround (clicking through Chrome's "Proceed to site (unsafe)" interstitial, or typing
thisisunsafe) isn't usable either, because:
computer(screenshot/click) fails with: "Screenshot timed out after 5s: the Browser pane is not displayed, so the page is not compositing frames." — even when the pane is open and other tools (get_page_text, read_page, navigate) work.
Impact
Verifying a local dev server over HTTPS with a self-signed cert is currently unworkable end-to-end in an agent session. Combined with the compositing failure blocking any manual bypass, there's no supported path to visually verify local changes — the user has to supply screenshots manually instead.
Suggested fixes
- Let
navigate/preview_startopt in to ignoring cert errors for localhost/local-dev origins (like Chrome's--ignore-certificate-errors), gated behind explicit user consent similar to other tool permission prompts. - Fix the Browser pane compositing/screenshot issue so the manual
thisisunsafebypass remains available as a fallback.
Environment
- OS: Windows 11 Pro
- Repro: local Piral pilet dev server (
piral debug) over HTTPS with a self-signed cert athttps://<custom>.dev.localhost:<port>