Description
Chrome and Edge updates to version 149 scheduled for release on June 2, 2026 introduce an upstream Chromium change that restricts the capabilities of extensions force-installed via enterprise policy when Developer Tools access is not explicitly allowed.
As a result, starting with Chrome / Edge v149, the UiPath Extension for Chrome/Edge 24.10 installed via Group Policy will be impacted if DeveloperToolsAvailability policy was not explicitly set to 1 (Allow usage of the Developer Tools).
Affected scenarios:
-
Group Policy Offline installation using Self-hosted extension for Chrome/Edge:
ndmegdjihnhfmljjoaiimbipfhodnbgf -
Group Policy Online installation using UiPath Extension for Chrome 24.10: pgbnimfaaifjpebleldfhgcjdnaeafdi
-
Group Policy Online installation using UiPath Extension for Edge 24.10: cdfjcmjmgdnojgaojdnefhjjpaijapci
Not affected:
- Older UiPath extensions for Chrome and Edge, as they already required
DeveloperToolsAvailability = 1 - Per-user installations (Current User or All Users installation methods)
Impact
- UIAutomation 24.10 and newer will stop working completely
- UIAutomation 23.10 and older will continue to work, but the Inject Js Script activity will no longer work
Errors:
- At runtime, for **Use Application/Browser" or “Open Browser” activities:
Failed to start browser. Extension native host is running, but new opened tab not found.
- At design time when indicating a UI element:
Cannot communicate with browser
After clicking for more information:
The UiPath Web Automation browser extension cannot be used with the UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities <version> package. Use a compatible UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities package.
Available workarounds
#1. Use DeveloperToolsAvailabilityAllowlist and DeveloperToolsAvailabilityBlocklist
The DeveloperToolsAvailabilityAllowlist and DeveloperToolsAvailabilityBlocklist policies allow you to enable Developer Tools only for the UiPath extension ID, while keeping them disabled for all other extensions. This approach preserves your browser hardening posture and is the recommended option for managed or secured environments.
You can apply this by running .reg files with the following content or by manually configuring the policies in the registry:
- For Chrome:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\DeveloperToolsAvailabilityAllowlist]
"1"="chrome-extension://ndmegdjihnhfmljjoaiimbipfhodnbgf"
"2"="chrome-extension://pgbnimfaaifjpebleldfhgcjdnaeafdi"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\DeveloperToolsAvailabilityBlocklist]
"1"="https://uipath-devtools-blocklist-placeholder.invalid/"
- For Edge:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\DeveloperToolsAvailabilityAllowlist]
"1"="chrome-extension://ndmegdjihnhfmljjoaiimbipfhodnbgf"
"2"="chrome-extension://cdfjcmjmgdnojgaojdnefhjjpaijapci"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\DeveloperToolsAvailabilityBlocklist]
"1"="https://uipath-devtools-blocklist-placeholder.invalid/"
Notes:
- Both
DeveloperToolsAvailabilityAllowlistandDeveloperToolsAvailabilityBlocklistpolicy values must be applied for the changes to take effect. Configuring onlyDeveloperToolsAvailabilityAllowlistis not sufficient. - When these policy values are correctly configured, full UiPath extension functionality is restored even if
DeveloperToolsAvailability=2(Disallow usage of the Developer Tools).
#2. Re-install extensions using DriverExtensions.zip
This option lets you upgrade browser extensions using a standalone package and automatically writes the required Group Policy registry keys to the Windows Registry.
Steps:
-
Download DriverExtensions.zip.
-
Extract the content on the target machine anywhere on disk (for example:
C:\UiPathExtensions_v25.10). -
Open an elevated Command Prompt and navigate to the extracted folder.
-
Run
SetupExtension.exeusing the appropriate command for Chrome or Edge.
Example for Group Policy Offline installation for Chrome:
SetupExtensions.exe /chrome-policy-offline /silent
When to use:
- Use this approach if you are not managing Group Policies via GPO.
Note: This installs updated extensions for Group Policy Offline that allow UIAutomation 25.10 to continue working even if DeveloperToolsAvailability is not set.
#3. Set DeveloperToolsAvailability to 1
Configure the policy to 1 (Allow usage of the Developer Tools) in your GPO or directly in the Windows Registry on affected machines.
You can apply this by running .reg files with the following content or by manually configuring the policies in the registry:
- For Chrome:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome]
"DeveloperToolsAvailability"=dword:00000001
- For Edge:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge]
"DeveloperToolsAvailability"=dword:00000001
#4. Set the environment variable UIPATH_BROWSER_USE_DEVTOOLS with value 1
This will use the Chromium Automation method to automate the browser instead of the Browser Extension to automate the browser.
This approach is supported for both Chrome and Edge.
Limitation:
- This will NOT work if
DeveloperToolsAvailability=2. - This works only with the latest UIAutomation package version 25.10.33.
When to use:
- Use this approach if you are unable to configure the
DeveloperToolsAvailabilityAllowlistandDeveloperToolsAvailabilityBlocklistGroup Policies.
If you continue to experience issues after applying these changes, please share additional details so we can assist further.
Updated Chrome/Edge extensions in Web Store
As of yesterday, we released Studio patches 2024.10.22 and 2025.10.12, which include the changes described in Option 