GBrowser: Troubleshooting and support
This page lists common GBrowser problems and their solutions, the data GBrowser sends and stores, and how to report a bug or contact the author.
Common problems
The tool window stays blank
GBrowser needs the IDE's embedded Chromium browser (JCEF). Check that the bundled Web Browser (JCEF) plugin is enabled in , and that the IDE runs on the bundled JetBrains Runtime. Then restart the IDE. See Requirements.
The same checks apply when the IDE reports the error JCEF is not supported in this env or failed to initialize. To check or switch the runtime, press Ctrl+Shift+A (macOS: ⌘ ⇧ A) and run Choose Boot Java Runtime for the IDE….
A site blocks GBrowser or keeps showing a check
Some sites refuse to work in embedded browsers. GBrowser has built-in compatibility handling for perplexity.ai, Cloudflare checks, ChatGPT and claude.ai; see Browser Compatibility Mode. You can add other domains to Compatible sites and open the site in a new tab, but this does not change the User-Agent that GBrowser sends to that site, so it may not help. If the site still blocks GBrowser, use Open in Default Browser (Ctrl+O).
A page shows an error
When a page cannot be loaded, GBrowser shows an error page with the error and the address. Check the address, your network connection, and, for a local server, that the server is running.
You were signed out of sites
Clear Cookies deletes all cookies of the IDE's embedded browser; see Clear history and cookies. Sign in again.
A shortcut runs a different action
Several GBrowser shortcuts are also assigned to IDE actions. Assign a different shortcut in . See GBrowser: Keyboard shortcuts.
Device emulation reports an error
The Emulation device error notification means that no browser tab is open. Open a tab in the GBrowser tool window and turn on device emulation again.
Links open in a separate window
Links that a page opens in a new window open in a separate window while Life Span in new tab is on, which is the default. To open them in a new GBrowser tab, clear the option in Search Settings and try the link again.
Data and privacy
GBrowser loads site icons from Google's favicon service, which receives the domain names of the pages you visit and bookmark.
To get page titles, GBrowser can also request a page directly from the IDE, outside the embedded browser and without its cookies. It does this for new tabs and for pages that you bookmark from the page context menu.
When Enable suggestion search is on, the text you type in the address field is sent to Google to get suggestions. The option is off by default.
Settings, bookmarks, history and request headers are stored in the project, in .idea/gbrowsers.xml. See Where GBrowser stores its data.
Report a bug or request a feature
GBrowser is open source. Report bugs and request features in the GBrowser issue tracker on GitHub. Include your IDE version, the GBrowser version, your operating system and the steps to reproduce the problem.
If the IDE shows a GBrowser error, open the error details and click Report Exception. This opens a new GitHub issue with the error details filled in.
Contact
For other questions, write to jgafner@dorkag.com.