# Why your links don't open in Firefox or Chrome, and the fix

Diagnosis, 2026-06-20. You click a link and it works about half the time. It is not random. One class of link is fine, another class is malformed by default.

## What I checked
- **Default browser is Firefox.** On this Mac, `https`, `http`, and `.html` all route to `org.mozilla.firefox` in LaunchServices. Both Firefox and Chrome binaries are present and healthy.
- **Three live pages return HTTP 200:** the landing index, `/chats`, and `/plans`.

## Why half open and half don't
1. **Relative-path links are the main offender.** The harness default writes file links as a bare relative path like `[page](some/local/path.html)`. No scheme in front of it, so a click has nowhere to land. It does nothing, or it pops the in-app preview pane. Fires every turn because the base instruction pushes it.
2. **Raw file links snap at the first space.** Real paths carry spaces and apostrophes (`IF YOU CAN'T FIND SOMETHING ITS HERE`, `New Desktop`). An unencoded `file://` link breaks at the first space.
3. **A clickable local-file link opens the preview pane, never a browser.**

## The fix locked in
- **Browser content gets the absolute live URL,** curl-verified 200 before handoff. No relative links, no local-file links for anything clickable.
- **Local files get a real `open` command that runs,** path shown as plain copyable text.
- **Written into memory** (`feedback_force_open_links.md`) so it overrides the harness default across every future chat.

## Click to confirm
- https://drwu-htmls.vercel.app/chats
- https://drwu-htmls.vercel.app/plans
- https://drwu-htmls.vercel.app/

## Two things in your control
- **Default browser stays Firefox,** because it works. Switching to Chrome is one command on request.
- **This page is the showcase,** live on Vercel so the link itself proves the fix.

Live HTML: https://drwu-htmls.vercel.app/link-open-fix/