Bug

/connect-chrome ($B connect) launches headed Chromium successfully, but the browser window auto-terminates after ~15 seconds when idle. The server falls back to headless mode with a new PID.

Repro

1. Run /connect-chrome
2. $B connect outputs Mode: headed with a PID
3. Wait ~15 seconds without running any browse commands
4. Run $B status — shows Mode: launched (headless) with a different PID

Tested 3 times, same result every time.

Cause

The parent process watchdog (added in v0.15.15.1) monitors the parent PID and self-terminates when the CLI exits. Since each $B invocation is a separate CLI process that exits after the command completes, the server detects the parent as dead and kills the headed browser.

This makes /connect-chrome unusable in practice — the browser dies before the user can interact with it or before the next command runs.

Expected

Headed Chrome should stay alive until explicitly disconnected via $B disconnect, regardless of CLI process lifecycle.

Environment

• gstack v0.17.0.0
• macOS Darwin 25.3.0 (arm64)
• Claude Code CLI

Related

v0.15.15.1 changelog: "Parent process watchdog for the browse server. When Claude Code exits, orphaned browser processes now self-terminate within 15 seconds."

The fix for orphan cleanup is breaking the headed mode use case where the server is supposed to persist between CLI invocations.