zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · error · anyhow::Error

file:// URLs are not allowed in browser automation

Error message

file:// URLs are not allowed in browser automation

What it means

Error "file:// URLs are not allowed in browser automation" thrown in zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw.

Source

Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-tools/src/browser.rs:448

                anyhow::bail!(
                    "browser.backend='auto' needs agent-browser CLI, browser-native, or computer-use sidecar"
                )
            }
        }
    }

    /// Validate URL against allowlist
    fn validate_url(&self, url: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
        let url = url.trim();

        if url.is_empty() {
            anyhow::bail!("URL cannot be empty");
        }

        // Block file:// URLs — browser file access bypasses all SSRF and
        // domain-allowlist controls and can exfiltrate arbitrary local files.
        if url.starts_with("file://") {
            anyhow::bail!("file:// URLs are not allowed in browser automation");
        }

        if !url.starts_with("https://") && !url.starts_with("http://") {
            anyhow::bail!("Only http:// and https:// URLs are allowed");
        }

        let parsed = reqwest::Url::parse(url)
            .map_err(|e| anyhow::Error::msg(format!("Invalid URL format: {e}")))?;

        if !parsed.username().is_empty() || parsed.password().is_some() {
            anyhow::bail!("URL userinfo is not allowed");
        }

        if self.allowed_domains.is_empty() && self.allowed_private_hosts.is_empty() {
            anyhow::bail!(
                "Browser tool enabled but no allowed_domains configured. \
                Add [browser].allowed_domains in config.toml"
            );

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

1. Use an http(s) URL; file:// URLs are not allowed in browser automation.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-tools/src/browser.rs:448 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/92a09fa63c5f62d7. Report an issue: GitHub.