| title | Troubleshooting |
|---|
Quick fixes for the most common issues.
The npm global bin directory isn't on your PATH. Either add it
(npm config get prefix will show you where), or skip the global install
entirely and use npx:
npx -y vibium go https://example.comIf you plan to use Vibium repeatedly in a session, alias it once:
alias vibium='npx -y vibium'By default Vibium runs a visible browser. If you don't see a window:
- You may be on a headless host (e.g. a CI runner or a remote server with no
display). That's expected; capture commands like
screenshotandtextstill work. - Google Chrome for Testing may still be downloading on first use. Re-run the command after it finishes.
Vibium matches semantically: visible text, label, placeholder, role. If nothing matches:
- The page may not be ready yet — try
vibium waitbefore finding. - The text may differ from what you expect —
vibium textwill show you the actual rendered content. - The element may be inside a closed
<details>, a hidden tab, or a shadow root that requires scrolling or expanding first.
References are stable while the page is unchanged, and each find or map
output defines the current @eN set. If the page navigated or re-rendered,
run vibium map (or vibium diff map)
to refresh. Get into the habit of running wait after any action that
triggers navigation.
The Python and Java clients honor VIBIUM_BIN_PATH if you need to point at a
locally built binary:
export VIBIUM_BIN_PATH=/path/to/your/vibiumRun the server directly to see the error message:
vibium mcpIf the bundled browser hasn't been downloaded yet, run any normal command
first (for example vibium go https://example.com) so the download
completes, then restart your MCP client.
vibium record captures a screenshot per step. Long sessions produce big
zips. If you only need a final snapshot, use vibium screenshot
instead of record.
- Bugs in the
vibiumbinary, library, or MCP server — file an issue at https://github.com/VibiumDev/vibium/issues. - Mistakes, gaps, or unclear writing in these docs — file an issue against this docs repository.
When reporting a runtime bug, please include:
- Your platform and architecture (
uname -aor equivalent). - The exact command you ran and the full output.
- The Vibium version (
vibium --version). - A
record.zipfrom avibium recordsession reproducing the problem, if you can.