Troubleshoot the UiPath Chrome Extension Setup Issues

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What can I do if the UiPath Chrome Extension fails to work despite ChromeNativeMessaging.exe running?

Issue Description

The UiPath Browser Extension may not function properly if its registry configurations, GPO, or manual installation setups are incorrect. Even if the Native Host (ChromeNativeMessaging.exe) is active, issues with the extension's setup can prevent browser automation. This article does not cover issues with Safari.

Root Cause

In most cases when the extension 'disappears' or is corrupted, it is due to a conflict with the domain policy that gets applied when the machines group policy or the users group policy is corrupted. The extension installation commands cannot apply group policies at the domain level. It can only apply the group policy locally. As such, when the domain contains its own browser group policies an admin must add the extension policies at the domain level in order for the installation to persist. If this is not done, when the domain policy is applied, windows will remove the extensions.

Resolution

  1. We strongly recommend that extensions are installed by using the policy method. If the extension was not installed by policy then we recommend doing so. See Installation
    1. For chrome, use: /Chrome-Enterprise
    2. For Edge, use: /Edge-Enterprise
    3. For Firefox, use: /Firefox-Policy-Offline
  2. Make sure all domain level group policies are applied to the machine: 
    1. gpupdate.exe /force
    2. NOTE: If the extension is currently working, this will most likely break the extension. After troubleshooting is complete, the extension can be re-installed to temporarily fix the issue.
  3. Open the browser and check that that the polices are applied:
    1. Open the browser and browse to
      1. Chrome: chrome://policies
      2. Edge: edge://policies
      3. Firefox: about:policies
    2. We should see the chrome policies specified here:
      1. Chrome Group Policies
      2. Edge Group Policies
      3. Firefox Group Policies - The settings correspond to the registry settings.
        1. The settings will look like the below screenshot:
          1. kb-0EMPa00000RhYjf.png2052×378 29.3 KB
    3. Make sure to export this page for data collection.
  4. If the policies are not applied, this means the domain policies conflict with the extension. Your AD admin must be contacted and create a group policy that applies the settings specified in the corresponding browser link here:
    1. Chrome Group Policies
    2. Edge Group Policies
    3. Firefox Group Policies
    4. If this is not done, every time the user group policy or machine group policy is refreshed, the extension settings will be removed. This is because the domain policy will override what is set locally.
  5. If the policies are present and the extension is not working, or there are questions about how to apply the policy at the domain level please raise a ticket with support. On the ticket make sure to include:
    1. The commands or method used to install the extension
    2. The output of the policy settings captured from the browser.
    3. Run the following command from a command prompt and share the output from the gpresults.html file from the %TEMP% directory: 
      1. gpresult /h %TEMP%/gpresults.html
      2. The above command will capture the group policies for the domain. Sometimes this has to be ran as an admin. It should be equivalent to the output of the browser policy display. However capturing this allows us to see if there are not standard registry settings being applied that affect the browser.