openclaw/openclaw · error · Error

Refusing to overwrite foreign Chrome extension directory: ${

Error message

Refusing to overwrite foreign Chrome extension directory: ${target}

What it means

Thrown by installStableChromeExtension when an existing target directory is present but is not marked as owned by OpenClaw (no valid OWNED_COPY_MARKER with v:1). The installer will not overwrite a Chrome extension directory it did not create, to avoid clobbering a user's manually-installed extension or one owned by another tool.

Source

Thrown at extensions/browser/src/browser/extension-install-layout.ts:269

        await fs.chmod(targetPath, 0o600);
      }
    }
  }
}

/** Copy/update the bundled extension with rollback-safe same-directory renames. */
export async function installStableChromeExtension(
  bundledDir: string,
  deps: ExtensionInstallDeps = {},
): Promise<string> {
  const source = await fs.realpath(path.resolve(bundledDir));
  await assertOwnedPath(source, "directory", { allowRootOwner: true });
  const target = stableChromeExtensionDir(deps);
  await ensurePrivateDirectory(path.resolve(deps.stateDir ?? resolveStateDir(deps.env)));
  await ensurePrivateDirectory(path.dirname(target));
  const existing = await inspectInstalledCopy(target);
  if (existing.present && !existing.owned) {
    throw new Error(`Refusing to overwrite foreign Chrome extension directory: ${target}`);
  }
  const suffix = `${process.pid}-${crypto.randomBytes(6).toString("hex")}`;
  const temporary = `${target}.tmp-${suffix}`;
  const previous = `${target}.previous-${suffix}`;
  try {
    await copyRuntimeTree(source, temporary);
    await fs.writeFile(
      path.join(temporary, OWNED_COPY_MARKER),
      `${JSON.stringify({ v: 1, owner: "openclaw" })}\n`,
      { mode: 0o600, flag: "wx" },
    );
    if (existing.present) {
      await fs.rename(target, previous);
    }
    try {
      await fs.rename(temporary, target);
    } catch (error) {
      if (existing.present) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 01804a7531)

Solutions

Inspect the target directory; if it is safe to remove, delete it and rerun the installer.
If the directory should be owned by OpenClaw, recreate the OWNED_COPY_MARKER with {"v":1,"owner":"openclaw"}.
Point the state dir elsewhere to install into a fresh location.

Example fix

// before
$ openclaw browser extension install  # target dir exists, not owned
// after
$ rm -rf ~/.openclaw/browser/chrome-extension && openclaw browser extension install

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

const existing = await inspectInstalledCopy(target);
if (existing.present && !existing.owned) {
  throw new Error('target has foreign extension dir; remove it first');
}

Try / catch

try { await installStableChromeExtension(bundledDir); }
catch (err) {
  if (/foreign Chrome extension directory/.test(String(err))) {
    await fs.rm(target, { recursive: true, force: true });
    await installStableChromeExtension(bundledDir);
  } else throw err;
}

Prevention

Let OpenClaw own the extension directory exclusively.
Remove foreign extension dirs before first install.
Do not share the extension directory with other tools.

When it happens

Trigger: A previous manual install of the Chrome extension in the same target; a leftover directory from an older OpenClaw version that predated the ownership marker; a foreign tool that writes to the same path; a marker file that got corrupted or removed.

Common situations: Switching from a manual install to the managed installer; downgrading OpenClaw past the marker version; another Chrome extension manager claiming the same directory; partial cleanup that removed the marker.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of openclaw/openclaw@01804a7531 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c7e33b3acf8bec5b. Report an issue: GitHub.