make sure to validate that browsers are installed when running login (#269)

* make sure to validate that browsers are installed when running login

* Update linkedin_mcp_server/bootstrap.py

Co-authored-by: greptile-apps[bot] <165735046+greptile-apps[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* refactor: centralize browser install guard for all CLI modes

Move ensure_browser_installed() from get_profile_and_exit() into
main(), guarding both --login and --status paths. The --status path
also launches a browser (get_or_create_browser) and would crash
with the same opaque error if Chromium wasn't installed.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: greptile-apps[bot] <165735046+greptile-apps[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Daniel Sticker <daniel.sticker@rwth-aachen.de>

Author: 3 people

linkedin_mcp_server/bootstrap.py

@@ -217,6 +217,25 @@ async def _run_browser_setup() -> None:
     metadata_path.write_text(json.dumps(metadata, indent=2, sort_keys=True) + "\n")
 
 
+def ensure_browser_installed() -> None:
+    """Install Patchright Chromium synchronously if not already present.
+
+    Used by CLI modes (--login, --status) to guarantee the browser exists
+    before launching it.  The normal server path uses async background setup
+    instead (non-blocking).
+    """
+    configure_browser_environment()
+    if browser_setup_ready():
+        return
+    print("   Installing Patchright Chromium browser...")
+    try:
+        asyncio.run(_run_browser_setup())
+    except Exception as exc:
+        print(f"   ❌ Browser installation failed: {exc}")
+        raise
+    print("   Browser installed.")
+
+
 def _safe_task_done(task: asyncio.Task[None] | None) -> bool:
     return task is not None and task.done()
 

linkedin_mcp_server/cli_main.py

@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@
 
 import inquirer
 
-from linkedin_mcp_server.bootstrap import configure_browser_environment
+from linkedin_mcp_server.bootstrap import (
+    configure_browser_environment,
+    ensure_browser_installed,
+)
 from linkedin_mcp_server.core import AuthenticationError
 from linkedin_mcp_server.authentication import clear_auth_state
 from linkedin_mcp_server.config import get_config
@@ -284,6 +287,11 @@ def main() -> None:
         if config.server.logout:
             clear_profile_and_exit()
 
+        # Ensure browser is installed for CLI modes that need it.
+        # Normal server startup uses async background setup instead.
+        if config.server.login or config.server.status:
+            ensure_browser_installed()
+
         # Handle --login flag
         if config.server.login:
             get_profile_and_exit()