Testing local dev servers on BrowserCat - set exposeNetwork so the cloud browser can reach your machine

TL;DR

Set exposeNetwork to the loopback address in your connectOptions: connectOptions: { wsEndpoint: 'wss://api.browsercat.com/connect', headers: { 'Api-Key': [key] }, exposeNetwork: 'the loopback address' }. BrowserCat browsers run in the cloud, so they cannot reach a server on your own machine unless you tell them to.

Fix

1. Set exposeNetwork to the loopback address in your connectOptions: connectOptions: { wsEndpoint: 'wss://api.browsercat.com/connect', headers: { 'Api-Key': [key] }, exposeNetwork: 'the loopback address' }. Expected: You get the expected result; the problem is gone.

When to use

• You are dealing with this situation.
• The symptom matches: Testing local dev servers on BrowserCat - set exposeNetwork so the cloud browser can reach your machine.

When NOT to use

• Unrelated issues with a different cause.
• You need general documentation for the tool; check the official docs instead.

Compatibility

Reported per the linked source.

Variant phrasings

Testing local dev servers on BrowserCat - set exposeNetwork so the cloud browser can reach your machine

Why it happens

Official BrowserCat docs (Playwright Testing): connectOptions supports exposeNetwork set to the loopback address to proxy a local/non-public address requests to BrowserCat's cloud browsers, and the docs note it is not needed for testing public domains. The gotcha agents hit: the cloud browser cannot reach a local/non-public address servers you run on your own machine unless you set exposeNetwork, so page.goto to a dev server hangs or refuses the connection.

Edge cases

• If your error message differs even slightly, this is probably a different issue; search the exact text.
• If the fix does not help, capture the full error output and check the source link for updates.