Browser Use installed/enabled but node_repl JS tool is not exposed on macOS

What version of the Codex App are you using?

I could not locate a visible macOS Codex.app bundle from /Applications or ~/Applications in this session, but the local CLI/runtime state is:

• codex-cli 0.137.0
• ~/.codex/version.json: latest_version=0.137.0, last_checked_at=2026-06-04T10:16:24.822921Z
• Browser Use plugin: openai-bundled/browser-use/0.1.0-alpha2

What subscription do you have?

Unknown from the local diagnostics.

What platform is your computer?

• macOS 26.5, build 25F71
• Darwin 25.5.0, arm64

What issue are you seeing?

Browser Use is installed and enabled, but it cannot be used because the required Node REPL JavaScript execution tool is not exposed to the Codex session.

This happened in a fresh Codex thread after explicitly invoking Browser Use / @Browser-Use. The Browser skill loaded correctly, but its documented bootstrap path requires a Node REPL js tool, typically mcp__node_repl__js. Tool discovery did not expose that tool.

Observed in this session:

• @Browser-Use / Browser plugin is listed as available.
• The Browser Use skill exists and was loaded from:
• /Users/aflekkas/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser-use/0.1.0-alpha2/skills/browser/SKILL.md
• The plugin bundle exists and contains browser-client.mjs:
• /Users/aflekkas/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser-use/0.1.0-alpha2/scripts/browser-client.mjs
• ~/.codex/config.toml has:
• [plugins."browser-use@openai-bundled"] enabled = true
• codex features list shows:
• browser_use stable true
• browser_use_external stable true
• in_app_browser stable true
• plugins stable true
• computer_use stable true
• js_repl removed false
• js_repl_tools_only removed false

But discovery for all of these did not expose the required execution tool:

• node_repl js JavaScript execution
• mcp__node_repl__js
• js node repl javascript
• node_repl
• JavaScript runner execution eval repl node mcp

The discovered tools were unrelated app/connector tools such as GitHub, Slack, Notion, Google Drive, and Computer Use. No mcp__node_repl__js, node_repl js, js, or js_reset tool was made available.

Because of that, Browser Use cannot run the normal bootstrap from its own skill:

const { setupAtlasRuntime } = await import("<plugin root>/scripts/browser-client.mjs");
await setupAtlasRuntime({ globals: globalThis });
globalThis.browser = await agent.browsers.get("iab");

Steps to reproduce

1. Use Codex on macOS with Browser Use installed/enabled.
2. Start a new thread.
3. Ask Codex to use Browser Use / @Browser-Use to open or inspect a page.
4. Have Codex follow the Browser skill instructions, which require the Node REPL js tool.
5. Run tool discovery for node_repl js, mcp__node_repl__js, js, and node_repl.
6. Observe that no Node REPL JavaScript execution tool is exposed, so Browser Use cannot bootstrap.

Expected behavior

When Browser Use is installed/enabled and the browser_use and in_app_browser features are enabled, a Codex session that invokes Browser Use should expose the required Node REPL JavaScript execution tool, typically mcp__node_repl__js, so the Browser skill can import browser-client.mjs and connect to the in-app browser backend.

Actual behavior

Browser Use is available as a plugin/skill, but the required JS execution surface is absent from the session. The result is that Browser Use fails before it can even attempt to connect to the iab backend.

Local diagnostics

$ codex --version
codex-cli 0.137.0

$ sw_vers
ProductName:    macOS
ProductVersion: 26.5
BuildVersion:   25F71

$ uname -a
Darwin Mac 25.5.0 Darwin Kernel Version 25.5.0: Mon Apr 27 20:41:15 PDT 2026; root:xnu-12377.121.6~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T6041 arm64

$ codex features list | rg 'browser_use|browser_use_external|in_app_browser|js_repl|js_repl_tools_only|plugins|tool_search|computer_use'
browser_use                             stable             true
browser_use_external                    stable             true
computer_use                            stable             true
in_app_browser                          stable             true
js_repl                                 removed            false
js_repl_tools_only                      removed            false
plugins                                 stable             true
tool_search                             removed            false
tool_search_always_defer_mcp_tools      under development  false

Plugin config excerpt:

[marketplaces.openai-bundled]
last_updated = "2026-05-12T17:56:19Z"
source_type = "local"
source = "/Users/aflekkas/.codex/.tmp/bundled-marketplaces/openai-bundled"

[plugins."browser-use@openai-bundled"]
enabled = true

Plugin file check:

-rw-r--r--@ 1 aflekkas staff 744824 May 9 01:45 /Users/aflekkas/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser-use/0.1.0-alpha2/scripts/browser-client.mjs

Notes

This looks closely related to other Browser Use reports where the plugin bundle exists and is enabled, but the runtime dependency is missing or the iab backend cannot be discovered. In this case, the failure is specifically the first phase: no Node REPL JavaScript execution tool is exposed, so Browser Use never reaches backend discovery.