[Bug / UX] Kimi WebBridge agent navigation steals focus and overwrites the active tab

[Bug / UX] Kimi WebBridge agent navigation steals focus and overwrites the active tab

Product

Kimi WebBridge browser extension + local daemon

Environment

• Browsers: Google Chrome latest stable, Microsoft Edge latest stable
• OS: macOS (likely all platforms)
• Setup: local agent mode via the official install script

Current behavior

When an agent asks WebBridge to open a URL, the extension currently navigates the active tab instead of opening a background tab. Commands that include newTab: true also open the new tab in the foreground, stealing focus from the user.

Expected behavior

Agent-driven navigation should open pages in a new, inactive background tab so the user can keep using the browser while the agent works.

Steps to reproduce

1. Open Chrome and focus any tab with content.
2. From a connected agent, send:

   {"action":"navigate","args":{"url":"https://example.com"}}
   

3. The active tab is navigated away to example.com, replacing the user's current page.

For newTab commands, the new tab opens with focus instead of staying in the background.

Impact

• Risk of losing unsaved state in the active tab.
• Constant interruption of the user's workflow.
• Unusable in Agent Swarm scenarios where multiple sub-agents open tabs concurrently.
• Feels intrusive despite the local-first architecture.

Suggested fix

1. Default all chrome.tabs.create calls to active: false for agent tabs.
2. Make navigate create a new inactive tab when no explicit target is provided, instead of reusing the active tab.
3. Optionally group agent tabs under a collapsible Kimi Agent group.
4. Clean up agent tabs when the session ends.

Why posted here

Kimi WebBridge itself does not appear to have a public issue tracker. I am posting this in the closest public Moonshot AI repository so other users can confirm the behavior and so the team has a public record to reference.

Related

• https://www.kimi.com/help/kimi-webbridge/kimi-webbridge-introduction
• https://www.kimi.com/zh-cn/features/webbridge

No repository files or tests are named, and the report notes that WebBridge lacks a public issue tracker. First verify that this repository contains the extension or daemon, then locate the navigation handler and chrome.tabs.create calls. Done means agent navigation no longer replaces the active tab and new tabs remain inactive, verified using the reproduction steps.