[BUG] Browser tools stuck at "No tab available" after hitting usage limit — only fixed by starting a new session

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?

After hitting the usage limit mid-task, browser automation in the affected session
becomes permanently unusable. tabs_context_mcp and tabs_create_mcp always return
No tab available, even though list_connected_browsers still reports a live
connection with a connectedAt timestamp that updates on every call.

The session never recovers. Restarting Chrome, restarting the app, rebooting the
machine, reinstalling the extension, and signing out/in all had no effect.

Starting a brand new session in the Code tab immediately fixed it — the same prompt
worked on the first try, Chrome showed "Claude started debugging this browser",
and the tab group was created normally.

This suggests the tab group bound to the interrupted session is left in a stuck
state and blocks new tab creation for that session indefinitely.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Use browser tools in a Code session
2. Get cut off by the usage limit mid-task
3. Return to the same session after the limit resets
4. Ask Claude to open any page

Expected Behavior

The session should recover after the limit resets, or release the stale tab group
so new tabs can be created.

Actual Behavior

• list_connected_browsers → Browser 1, connectedAt updates each call
• tabs_context_mcp → No tab available
• tabs_create_mcp → No tab available

Same result every time, indefinitely.

Environment

• Claude Desktop (Microsoft Store build, package Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc)
• Windows 10
• Claude in Chrome extension 1.0.90 (ID fcoeoabgfenejglbffodgkkbkcdhcgfn)
• Chrome (managed by organization policy)
• Model: Opus 5

Diagnostics Already Performed

Everything on the local side checked out clean:

• Registry key HKCU\Software\Google\Chrome\NativeMessagingHosts\com.anthropic.claude_browser_extension present and correct
• Manifest JSON valid; path points to an existing chrome-native-host.exe;

allowed_origins includes the correct extension ID

• Extension enabled, service worker alive, no console errors
• chrome.runtime.connectNative('com.anthropic.claude_browser_extension') from the

service worker console returns Native host has exited — believed to be expected
since the app already holds the connection

• Extension and desktop app signed in with the same account
• A normal Chrome window with a regular tab was open throughout

Suggested Fix

Release or reclaim the stale tab group when a session is interrupted by the usage
limit, or surface a clearer error than No tab available so users know to start a
new session instead of assuming the installation is broken.

What Should Happen?

The session should recover once the usage limit resets, or release the stale
tab group so new tabs can be created. Browser tools should keep working in the
same session instead of being permanently broken.

Error Messages/Logs

tabs_context_mcp  -> No tab available
tabs_create_mcp   -> No tab available
list_connected_browsers -> Browser 1, connectedAt updates on every call

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start a session in the Code tab with browser tools enabled
2. Use browser automation until the usage limit is hit mid-task
3. Wait for the limit to reset, then return to the same session
4. Ask Claude to open any page, e.g. "open google.com and take a screenshot"
5. Every tab tool returns "No tab available"
6. Start a brand new session and run the same prompt — it works immediately

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Worked normally until the usage limit was hit — no version change involved

Claude Code Version

N/A — Claude Desktop app (Microsoft Store build), not the CLI

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

Not using the CLI — this is the Claude Desktop app (Microsoft Store build,
package Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc), Code tab, on Windows 10. The Terminal/Shell and
Last Working Version fields above don't apply.

Screenshots attached: the three failing tool calls in the affected session, and
the same prompt succeeding in a new session.

<img width="979" height="313" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/54eb6adf-3e0c-4f1f-a343-eac35ee12692" />

<img width="1366" height="728" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1f4784de-5903-4368-b41d-63c742ff643b" />

(Screenshot in Thai — the tool results and error strings are in English)