feat(connect): per-session Chrome tab groups on the shared real browser

Shared browser, separate tab groups: when an agent drives the user's real Chrome
via ab-connect, every tab it opens lands in a Chrome tab group named after its
--session (stable color per name). Each agent's tabs stay visually separated from
other agents' and from the user's own (ungrouped) tabs. Visibility is NOT
restricted — all agents still see all tabs (per design).

- CreateTargetParams gains an optional non-CDP `agentGroup` hint (skip-if-none),
  so a strict real-Chrome endpoint never receives it
- BrowserManager.agent_group(): Some(session) only when ws_url == the live
  ab-connect relay URL (never on launched/direct CDP); DAEMON_SESSION set at
  daemon start supplies the name; emitted at all createTarget sites (transient
  storage target stays None)
- ab-connect: +tabGroups permission; Target.createTarget reads agentGroup and
  groups the new tab (create/reuse by title, deterministic color), best-effort
- extension 0.3.0 -> 0.4.0; re-signed crx + zip (id unchanged)

Needs the v0.4.0 extension reloaded + a build with this change to take effect.

cli/src/native/browser.rs

@@ -12,6 +12,11 @@ use super::cdp::lightpanda::{launch_lightpanda, LightpandaLaunchOptions, Lightpa
 use super::cdp::types::*;
 use super::element::{resolve_element_object_id, RefMap};
 
+/// The daemon's session name, set once at daemon start. Names the Chrome tab
+/// group that abs-created tabs land in when driving the user's real Chrome via
+/// the `ab-connect` extension, so each agent/session gets its own group.
+pub static DAEMON_SESSION: std::sync::OnceLock<String> = std::sync::OnceLock::new();
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Launch validation
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -568,12 +573,14 @@ impl BrowserManager {
 
         if page_targets.is_empty() {
             // Create a new tab
+            let agent_group = self.agent_group();
             let result: CreateTargetResult = self
                 .client
                 .send_command_typed(
                     "Target.createTarget",
                     &CreateTargetParams {
                         url: "about:blank".to_string(),
+                        agent_group,
                     },
                     None,
                 )
@@ -958,12 +965,14 @@ impl BrowserManager {
             return Ok(());
         }
 
+        let agent_group = self.agent_group();
         let result: CreateTargetResult = self
             .client
             .send_command_typed(
                 "Target.createTarget",
                 &CreateTargetParams {
                     url: "about:blank".to_string(),
+                    agent_group,
                 },
                 None,
             )
@@ -1072,6 +1081,27 @@ impl BrowserManager {
         self.pages.iter().any(|p| p.label.as_deref() == Some(label))
     }
 
+    /// Chrome tab-group name for tabs this manager creates, or `None` when not
+    /// driving the user's real Chrome via the `ab-connect` extension relay.
+    ///
+    /// Grouping only makes sense on the shared real browser (one Chrome, many
+    /// agents): each session's tabs go into its own group. On a launched / direct
+    /// CDP browser the endpoint is strict, so we must NOT send the custom param —
+    /// hence `None` there. We detect the relay by matching our `ws_url` against
+    /// the live relay URL the native-messaging host published.
+    fn agent_group(&self) -> Option<String> {
+        let via_relay = crate::connect::relay_url().as_deref() == Some(self.ws_url.as_str());
+        if !via_relay {
+            return None;
+        }
+        let name = DAEMON_SESSION.get().map(String::as_str).unwrap_or("default");
+        if name.is_empty() {
+            None
+        } else {
+            Some(name.to_string())
+        }
+    }
+
     pub async fn tab_new(
         &mut self,
         url: Option<&str>,
@@ -1096,12 +1126,14 @@ impl BrowserManager {
 
         let target_url = url.unwrap_or("about:blank");
 
+        let agent_group = self.agent_group();
         let result: CreateTargetResult = self
             .client
             .send_command_typed(
                 "Target.createTarget",
                 &CreateTargetParams {
                     url: target_url.to_string(),
+                    agent_group,
                 },
                 None,
             )

cli/src/native/cdp/types.rs

@@ -141,6 +141,12 @@ pub struct SetDiscoverTargetsParams {
 #[serde(rename_all = "camelCase")]
 pub struct CreateTargetParams {
     pub url: String,
+    /// Non-CDP hint consumed only by the `ab-connect` extension: the Chrome
+    /// tab-group name to drop the new tab into (per-session grouping on the
+    /// shared real Chrome). `None` on the normal CDP path so a strict real-Chrome
+    /// endpoint never receives an unknown parameter.
+    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    pub agent_group: Option<String>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]

cli/src/native/daemon.rs

@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ use super::state;
 use super::stream::StreamServer;
 
 pub async fn run_daemon(session: &str) {
+    // Record this daemon's session so tabs it opens on the shared real Chrome
+    // (via the ab-connect extension) land in a per-session Chrome tab group.
+    let _ = super::browser::DAEMON_SESSION.set(session.to_string());
+
     let socket_dir = get_daemon_socket_dir();
     if !socket_dir.exists() {
         let _ = fs::create_dir_all(&socket_dir);

cli/src/native/state.rs

@@ -119,6 +119,8 @@ async fn collect_storage_via_temp_target(
             "Target.createTarget",
             &CreateTargetParams {
                 url: "about:blank".to_string(),
+                // Transient internal target (storage collection) — never grouped.
+                agent_group: None,
             },
             None,
         )

extensions/ab-connect/background.js

@@ -28,6 +28,46 @@ const tabs = new Map()
 const sessionToTab = new Map()
 /** child (OOPIF/worker) sessionId -> tabId */
 const childSessionToTab = new Map()
+/** tab-group name -> chrome tabGroups id (best-effort cache) */
+const groupIdByName = new Map()
+
+// Deterministic color per group name so a given session keeps the same color.
+const GROUP_COLORS = ['blue', 'cyan', 'green', 'yellow', 'orange', 'red', 'pink', 'purple', 'grey']
+function colorForName(name) {
+  let h = 0
+  for (let i = 0; i < name.length; i++) h = (h * 31 + name.charCodeAt(i)) >>> 0
+  return GROUP_COLORS[h % GROUP_COLORS.length]
+}
+
+// Put a freshly-created tab into the agent/session's own Chrome tab group, so
+// each agent's tabs are visually separated (from each other and from the user's
+// own tabs) on the shared real browser. Best-effort: grouping failures never
+// break tab creation.
+async function groupTabInto(tabId, name) {
+  if (!name || !chrome.tabGroups || !chrome.tabs.group) return
+  const tab = await chrome.tabs.get(tabId).catch(() => null)
+  if (!tab) return
+  let gid = groupIdByName.get(name)
+  if (gid != null) {
+    const ok = await chrome.tabGroups.get(gid).then(() => true).catch(() => false)
+    if (!ok) {
+      gid = null
+      groupIdByName.delete(name)
+    }
+  }
+  if (gid == null) {
+    // Reuse a same-titled group already in this window (survives SW restarts).
+    const found = await chrome.tabGroups.query({ windowId: tab.windowId, title: name }).catch(() => [])
+    if (found && found[0]) gid = found[0].id
+  }
+  if (gid == null) {
+    gid = await chrome.tabs.group({ tabIds: tabId })
+    await chrome.tabGroups.update(gid, { title: name, color: colorForName(name) }).catch(() => {})
+  } else {
+    await chrome.tabs.group({ groupId: gid, tabIds: tabId }).catch(() => {})
+  }
+  groupIdByName.set(name, gid)
+}
 
 function postToHost(msg) {
   try {
@@ -121,6 +161,13 @@ async function handleForwardCdpCommand(msg) {
     if (!tab.id) throw new Error('createTarget: no tab id')
     await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 100))
     const t = await attachTab(tab.id)
+    // Per-session tab grouping (non-CDP hint from the daemon). Best-effort.
+    const group = typeof params?.agentGroup === 'string' ? params.agentGroup.trim() : ''
+    if (group) {
+      try {
+        await groupTabInto(tab.id, group)
+      } catch {}
+    }
     return { targetId: t.targetId }
   }
   if (method === 'Target.closeTarget') {

extensions/ab-connect/manifest.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "manifest_version": 3,
   "name": "agent-browser connect",
-  "version": "0.3.0",
+  "version": "0.4.0",
   "description": "Let agent-browser drive your logged-in Chrome — install once, no token, no per-use confirmation.",
   "key": "MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEA6vQIyscGIPYPZdSpPwPL0+0gxUROyRgCpmvCSDoc8XUm4qm97VbKnD9Ijc1lV22lNWZtE78gaRjt6BeSfuMgnBymnhLKjN1gU6AI5QUU0mrJyeHdWKvrKQR5FmsM2A7Xr1ykE2SiiS8zNUS3Y/6O5l+Nva7wrVy6E4a2dkBVQkOsu+DV+nEZvhIyuDY5D5SPXqNwUTWTaglwj5mjvHz36xSwCWlPmrtJ+ED0AUyrb2z4GIOmvk4kqtBVrh/UD058klLo4CkYOnIybB5aV6WYuwarfPY4bF/dLggPem+ewLNTUNBuwrxj/A4nUv0LJTuRO8rR7f8WR9qnRCY0Ic5saQIDAQAB",
   "icons": {
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
   "permissions": [
     "debugger",
     "tabs",
+    "tabGroups",
     "nativeMessaging",
     "storage",
     "alarms",