feat: auto-launch Chromium-family browser for CDP

Add browser CDP launch candidates for Chrome, Chromium, Brave, and Edge while preserving Chrome-first selection. Retry candidate launch failures instead of giving up after the first executable.

Update /browser CLI and TUI messaging, docs, and tool descriptions from Chrome-only wording to Chromium-family browser support. Add regression coverage for Brave/Edge paths, Chrome-first precedence, fallback launches, and CDP endpoint probing.

hermes_cli/browser_connect.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""Shared helpers for attaching Hermes to a local Chrome CDP port."""
+"""Shared helpers for attaching Hermes to a local Chromium-family CDP port."""
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -21,23 +21,53 @@ _DARWIN_APPS = (
     "/Applications/Microsoft Edge.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Edge",
 )
 
-_WINDOWS_INSTALL_PARTS = (
-    ("Google", "Chrome", "Application", "chrome.exe"),
-    ("Chromium", "Application", "chrome.exe"),
-    ("Chromium", "Application", "chromium.exe"),
-    ("BraveSoftware", "Brave-Browser", "Application", "brave.exe"),
-    ("Microsoft", "Edge", "Application", "msedge.exe"),
+_WINDOWS_BROWSER_GROUPS = (
+    (("chrome.exe", "chrome"), (("Google", "Chrome", "Application", "chrome.exe"),)),
+    (
+        ("chromium.exe", "chromium"),
+        (("Chromium", "Application", "chrome.exe"), ("Chromium", "Application", "chromium.exe")),
+    ),
+    (("brave.exe", "brave"), (("BraveSoftware", "Brave-Browser", "Application", "brave.exe"),)),
+    (("msedge.exe", "msedge"), (("Microsoft", "Edge", "Application", "msedge.exe"),)),
 )
 
-_LINUX_BIN_NAMES = (
-    "google-chrome", "google-chrome-stable", "chromium-browser",
-    "chromium", "brave-browser", "microsoft-edge",
+_WINDOWS_BIN_NAMES = tuple(name for names, _ in _WINDOWS_BROWSER_GROUPS for name in names)
+_WINDOWS_INSTALL_PARTS = tuple(parts for _, group in _WINDOWS_BROWSER_GROUPS for parts in group)
+
+_LINUX_BROWSER_GROUPS = (
+    (
+        ("google-chrome", "google-chrome-stable"),
+        ("/opt/google/chrome/chrome", "/usr/bin/google-chrome", "/usr/bin/google-chrome-stable"),
+    ),
+    (
+        ("chromium-browser", "chromium"),
+        ("/usr/bin/chromium-browser", "/usr/bin/chromium"),
+    ),
+    (
+        ("brave-browser", "brave-browser-stable", "brave"),
+        (
+            "/usr/bin/brave-browser",
+            "/usr/bin/brave-browser-stable",
+            "/usr/bin/brave",
+            "/snap/bin/brave",
+            "/opt/brave.com/brave/brave-browser",
+            "/opt/brave.com/brave/brave",
+            "/opt/brave-bin/brave",
+        ),
+    ),
+    (
+        ("microsoft-edge", "microsoft-edge-stable", "msedge"),
+        (
+            "/usr/bin/microsoft-edge",
+            "/usr/bin/microsoft-edge-stable",
+            "/opt/microsoft/msedge/microsoft-edge",
+            "/opt/microsoft/msedge/msedge",
+        ),
+    ),
 )
 
-_WINDOWS_BIN_NAMES = (
-    "chrome.exe", "msedge.exe", "brave.exe", "chromium.exe",
-    "chrome", "msedge", "brave", "chromium",
-)
+_LINUX_BIN_NAMES = tuple(name for names, _ in _LINUX_BROWSER_GROUPS for name in names)
+_LINUX_INSTALL_PATHS = tuple(path for _, paths in _LINUX_BROWSER_GROUPS for path in paths)
 
 
 def get_chrome_debug_candidates(system: str) -> list[str]:
@@ -53,10 +83,14 @@ def get_chrome_debug_candidates(system: str) -> list[str]:
         candidates.append(path)
         seen.add(normalized)
 
-    def add_install_paths(bases: tuple[str | None, ...]) -> None:
-        for base in filter(None, bases):
-            for parts in _WINDOWS_INSTALL_PARTS:
-                add(os.path.join(base, *parts))
+    def add_windows_install_paths(
+        bases: tuple[str | None, ...],
+        install_groups: tuple[tuple[tuple[str, ...], tuple[tuple[str, ...], ...]], ...],
+    ) -> None:
+        for _, group in install_groups:
+            for base in filter(None, bases):
+                for parts in group:
+                    add(os.path.join(base, *parts))
 
     if system == "Darwin":
         for app in _DARWIN_APPS:
@@ -64,18 +98,25 @@ def get_chrome_debug_candidates(system: str) -> list[str]:
         return candidates
 
     if system == "Windows":
-        for name in _WINDOWS_BIN_NAMES:
-            add(shutil.which(name))
-        add_install_paths((
+        install_bases = (
             os.environ.get("ProgramFiles"),
             os.environ.get("ProgramFiles(x86)"),
             os.environ.get("LOCALAPPDATA"),
-        ))
+        )
+        for names, install_parts in _WINDOWS_BROWSER_GROUPS:
+            for name in names:
+                add(shutil.which(name))
+            for base in filter(None, install_bases):
+                for parts in install_parts:
+                    add(os.path.join(base, *parts))
         return candidates
 
-    for name in _LINUX_BIN_NAMES:
-        add(shutil.which(name))
-    add_install_paths(("/mnt/c/Program Files", "/mnt/c/Program Files (x86)"))
+    for names, paths in _LINUX_BROWSER_GROUPS:
+        for name in names:
+            add(shutil.which(name))
+        for path in paths:
+            add(path)
+    add_windows_install_paths(("/mnt/c/Program Files", "/mnt/c/Program Files (x86)"), _WINDOWS_BROWSER_GROUPS)
     return candidates
 
 
@@ -92,6 +133,42 @@ def _chrome_debug_args(port: int) -> list[str]:
     ]
 
 
+def is_browser_debug_ready(url: str, timeout: float = 1.0) -> bool:
+    """Return True when ``url`` exposes a reachable Chrome DevTools endpoint."""
+    import socket
+    import urllib.request
+    from urllib.parse import urlparse
+
+    parsed = urlparse(url if "://" in url else f"http://{url}")
+    try:
+        port = parsed.port or (443 if parsed.scheme in {"https", "wss"} else 80)
+    except ValueError:
+        return False
+
+    if parsed.scheme in {"ws", "wss"} and parsed.path.startswith("/devtools/browser/"):
+        if not parsed.hostname:
+            return False
+        try:
+            with socket.create_connection((parsed.hostname, port), timeout=timeout):
+                return True
+        except OSError:
+            return False
+
+    scheme = {"ws": "http", "wss": "https"}.get(parsed.scheme, parsed.scheme)
+    if scheme not in {"http", "https"} or not parsed.netloc:
+        return False
+
+    root = f"{scheme}://{parsed.netloc}".rstrip("/")
+    for probe in (f"{root}/json/version", f"{root}/json"):
+        try:
+            with urllib.request.urlopen(probe, timeout=timeout) as resp:
+                if 200 <= getattr(resp, "status", 200) < 300:
+                    return True
+        except Exception:
+            continue
+    return False
+
+
 def manual_chrome_debug_command(port: int = DEFAULT_BROWSER_CDP_PORT, system: str | None = None) -> str | None:
     system = system or platform.system()
     candidates = get_chrome_debug_candidates(system)
@@ -126,13 +203,15 @@ def try_launch_chrome_debug(port: int = DEFAULT_BROWSER_CDP_PORT, system: str |
         return False
 
     os.makedirs(chrome_debug_data_dir(), exist_ok=True)
-    try:
-        subprocess.Popen(
-            [candidates[0], *_chrome_debug_args(port)],
-            stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
-            stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
-            **_detach_kwargs(system),
-        )
-        return True
-    except Exception:
-        return False
+    for candidate in candidates:
+        try:
+            subprocess.Popen(
+                [candidate, *_chrome_debug_args(port)],
+                stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+                stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+                **_detach_kwargs(system),
+            )
+            return True
+        except Exception:
+            continue
+    return False

hermes_cli/commands.py

@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ COMMAND_REGISTRY: list[CommandDef] = [
                aliases=("reload_mcp",)),
     CommandDef("reload-skills", "Re-scan ~/.hermes/skills/ for newly installed or removed skills",
                "Tools & Skills", aliases=("reload_skills",)),
-    CommandDef("browser", "Connect browser tools to your live Chrome via CDP", "Tools & Skills",
+    CommandDef("browser", "Connect browser tools to your live Chromium-family browser via CDP", "Tools & Skills",
                cli_only=True, args_hint="[connect|disconnect|status]",
                subcommands=("connect", "disconnect", "status")),
     CommandDef("plugins", "List installed plugins and their status",

hermes_cli/tips.py

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ TIPS = [
     "/skin changes the CLI theme — try ares, mono, slate, poseidon, or charizard.",
     "/statusbar toggles a persistent bar showing model, tokens, context fill %, cost, and duration.",
     "/tools disable browser temporarily removes browser tools for the current session.",
-    "/browser connect attaches browser tools to your running Chrome instance via CDP.",
+    "/browser connect attaches browser tools to your running Chromium-family browser via CDP.",
     "/plugins lists installed plugins and their status.",
     "/cron manages scheduled tasks — set up recurring prompts with delivery to any platform.",
     "/reload-mcp hot-reloads MCP server configuration without restarting.",
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ TIPS = [
     "Container mode: place .container-mode in HERMES_HOME and the host CLI auto-execs into the container.",
     "Ctrl+C has 5 priority tiers: cancel recording → cancel prompts → cancel picker → interrupt agent → exit.",
     "Every interrupt during an agent run is logged to ~/.hermes/interrupt_debug.log with timestamps.",
-    "BROWSER_CDP_URL connects browser tools to any running Chrome — accepts WebSocket, HTTP, or host:port.",
+    "BROWSER_CDP_URL connects browser tools to any running Chromium-family browser — accepts WebSocket, HTTP, or host:port.",
     "BROWSERBASE_ADVANCED_STEALTH=true enables advanced anti-detection with custom Chromium (Scale Plan).",
     "The CLI auto-switches to compact mode in terminals narrower than 80 columns.",
     "Quick commands support two types: exec (run shell command directly) and alias (redirect to another command).",