controller inactivity issue fixed (#20)

Author: shivammittal274

packages/controller-ext/manifest.json

@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@
     "tabGroups",
     "webNavigation",
     "downloads",
-    "browserOS"
+    "browserOS",
+    "alarms"
   ],
   "host_permissions": [
     "<all_urls>"

packages/controller-ext/src/background/index.ts

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ import type { ProtocolRequest, ProtocolResponse} from '@/protocol/types';
 import { ConnectionStatus } from '@/protocol/types';
 import { ConcurrencyLimiter } from '@/utils/ConcurrencyLimiter';
 import { getWebSocketPort } from '@/utils/ConfigHelper';
+import { KeepAlive } from '@/utils/KeepAlive';
 import { logger } from '@/utils/Logger';
 import { RequestTracker } from '@/utils/RequestTracker';
 import { RequestValidator } from '@/utils/RequestValidator';
@@ -302,6 +303,8 @@ chrome.runtime.onInstalled.addListener(() => {
 chrome.runtime.onStartup.addListener(async () => {
   logger.info('[BrowserOS Controller] Browser started');
 
+  await KeepAlive.start();
+
   if (!controller) {
     const port = await getWebSocketPort();
     controller = new BrowserOSController(port);
@@ -311,6 +314,9 @@ chrome.runtime.onStartup.addListener(async () => {
 
 // Start immediately (service worker context)
 (async () => {
+  // Start KeepAlive to prevent service worker from being terminated
+  await KeepAlive.start();
+
   if (!controller) {
     const port = await getWebSocketPort();
     controller = new BrowserOSController(port);
@@ -326,12 +332,13 @@ chrome.runtime.onStartup.addListener(async () => {
 })();
 
 // Cleanup on unload
-chrome.runtime.onSuspend?.addListener(() => {
+chrome.runtime.onSuspend?.addListener(async () => {
   logger.info('[BrowserOS Controller] Extension suspending');
   if (controller) {
     controller.stop();
     controller = null;
   }
+  await KeepAlive.stop();
 });
 
 // Export for debugging in console

packages/controller-ext/src/config/constants.ts

@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ export const WEBSOCKET_CONFIG: WebSocketConfig = {
   reconnectMultiplier: 1.5,
   maxReconnectAttempts: Infinity,
 
-  heartbeatInterval: 30000,
+  heartbeatInterval: 20000,
   heartbeatTimeout: 5000,
 
   connectionTimeout: 10000,

packages/controller-ext/src/utils/KeepAlive.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 BrowserOS
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+ */
+import { logger } from '@/utils/Logger';
+
+const KEEPALIVE_ALARM_NAME = 'browseros-keepalive';
+const KEEPALIVE_INTERVAL_MINUTES = 0.33; // ~20 seconds
+
+export class KeepAlive {
+  private static isInitialized = false;
+
+  static async start(): Promise<void> {
+    if (this.isInitialized) {
+      logger.debug('KeepAlive already started');
+      return;
+    }
+
+    chrome.alarms.onAlarm.addListener((alarm) => {
+      if (alarm.name === KEEPALIVE_ALARM_NAME) {
+        logger.debug('KeepAlive: ping (service worker alive)');
+      }
+    });
+
+    await chrome.alarms.create(KEEPALIVE_ALARM_NAME, {
+      periodInMinutes: KEEPALIVE_INTERVAL_MINUTES,
+    });
+
+    this.isInitialized = true;
+    logger.info(`KeepAlive started: alarm every ${KEEPALIVE_INTERVAL_MINUTES * 60}s`);
+  }
+
+  static async stop(): Promise<void> {
+    await chrome.alarms.clear(KEEPALIVE_ALARM_NAME);
+    this.isInitialized = false;
+    logger.info('KeepAlive stopped');
+  }
+}