> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.boat.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Browser-only view

> Stream only Chrome from a sandbox, without the desktop, and choose which Chrome profile to open.

Use the browser-only view when a person must see and control Chrome, but not the sandbox desktop.

## Open the browser view

* In the dashboard, open the sandbox menu and select **Browser**.
* In the CLI, run one of these commands:

```bash theme={null}
boat browser bx_f7k2q9hd
boat browser bx_f7k2q9hd --profile /data/chrome-profile
```

## Use a Chrome profile

Add `--profile <absolute path on the sandbox>` to stream a specific Chrome user data directory. One sandbox can then hold several signed-in profiles. You choose which one to open.

| Rule | Detail |
| - | - |
| Creation | Boat creates the directory for you. |
| Location | Outside system directories and outside `/home/user`. |
| Snapshots | The directory goes with the snapshots and forks of the sandbox. |
| Old sandboxes | Sandboxes created before this feature return `chrome_profile_unsupported`. |

## How the browser view works

The browser view is a separate browser surface on the same running sandbox. It does not create another sandbox. It never falls back to the desktop or to VNC.

| Topic | Behavior |
| - | - |
| Stream quality | 1920x1080 at 60 fps, the same as the default desktop. |
| Chrome | Chrome keeps its tabs and its address bar. |
| Close controls | Boat hides the window-close controls on purpose. |
| Minimize | Chrome's minimize cannot leave the stream on a blank desktop. |
| Last tab | When you close the last tab, Chrome opens a new tab. The stream stays up. |
| Run `boat browser` again | The live stream stays up. The command prints a new URL. |
| Second viewer tab | Two browser viewer tabs cannot share the stream. The new tab takes the stream from the first tab. |
| Desktop at the same time | The desktop and the browser view can run together. |
| Viewer controls | Mute, reconnect and fullscreen, the same as the desktop stream. |

The browser view has its own Moonlight process, streaming identity, active-stream slot and clipboard policy. These are separate from the desktop stream. Thus a browser URL cannot attach to the desktop stream.

New sandboxes get the browser-view files when Boat provisions them. The guest image must already have Chrome, X, Openbox, Sunshine and Moonlight.

<Warning>
  The browser-only view limits the stream to Chrome. It does not show controls to close Chrome. It is not a security boundary against code that already runs inside the sandbox. A Boat user who can run any code, or who has root, can read or change the browser process and its data. Keep the returned URL secret.
</Warning>


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