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chrome-service: run real Google Chrome (H.264/AAC codecs) for the browser
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Point the chrome-service container at the new chrome-service-browser image and
launch /opt/google/chrome/chrome instead of the bundled Chromium. Fixes
MEDIA_ERR_SRC_NOT_SUPPORTED on H.264/AAC video (Instagram Reels etc.) in the
noVNC view — bundled Chromium has those codecs compiled out; only real Chrome
carries them. connect_over_cdp callers (tripit fare scrape, homelab browser,
snapshot-harvester) attach over raw CDP (version-tolerant) — validated after
rollout. Image is built off-infra on GHA (prior commit) → public ghcr.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Viktor Barzin 2026-06-22 21:15:36 +00:00
parent df1ec1879d
commit 59f2beda21
2 changed files with 38 additions and 19 deletions
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33
docs/architecture/chrome-service.md
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@ -112,17 +112,32 @@ External caller (dev box):
@playwright/mcp --isolated --storage-state ~/.cache/...storage-state.json
```
## Browser binary — real Google Chrome (for proprietary codecs)
The chrome-service container runs **real Google Chrome**, not the bundled
Chromium, via the infra-owned image `ghcr.io/viktorbarzin/chrome-service-browser`
(`files/chrome/Dockerfile` = `mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.48.0-noble` +
`google-chrome-stable`, built by `.github/workflows/build-chrome-service-browser.yml`).
The launch resolves `CHROMIUM=/opt/google/chrome/chrome`.
**Why:** the Playwright-bundled Chromium has proprietary codecs **compiled out**,
so H.264/AAC video (Instagram Reels, X, most `.mp4`) fails in the noVNC view with
`MEDIA_ERR_SRC_NOT_SUPPORTED` (the bytes download `200 video/mp4` but there's no
decoder — NOT a GPU issue). Royalty-free codecs (VP9/VP8/AV1 → YouTube) always
worked. Swapping `libffmpeg.so` does NOT help (codecs are compiled out, not just
the lib stripped) and Chrome-for-Testing is also codec-less — only
`google-chrome-stable` carries them.
## Image pin
Both the server image (`mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.48.0-noble` in
`stacks/chrome-service/main.tf`) and the Python client
(`playwright==1.48.0` in callers' `requirements.txt`) **must match
minor-versions**. Bump in lockstep — Playwright protocol changes between
minors and the client cannot connect to a mismatched server.
The harvester + snapshot-server sidecar use
`mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/python:v1.48.0-noble` — same playwright
minor, with Python-side bindings pre-installed.
The Playwright base + the Python client (`playwright==1.48.0` in callers'
`requirements.txt`) and the snapshot sidecars
(`mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/python:v1.48.0-noble`) historically had to match
minor-versions. The chrome-service browser is now real Google Chrome (a newer
milestone than the 1.48 Chromium), but the `connect_over_cdp` callers (tripit
fare scrape, `homelab browser`, snapshot-harvester) attach over raw CDP, which is
version-tolerant — verified working against this Chrome. If a future Chrome
milestone breaks a caller, pin Chrome in the Dockerfile or bump the clients.
## Storage