How can I start my react app using a specific browser?

[AFCMS]

I saw in the online documentation that it is possible to use a specific browser then starting my app with npm start using the BROWSER environment variable.

I tried many times with different configurations targeting different installed browsers .

BROWSER=~/dev/firefox-dev/firefox/firefox npm start

BROWSER=brave npm start

Everytime, it just started with my default browser without any additional output.
Any idea why this isn't working?

Edit: Ubuntu 20.04 if it helps

[ephraimduncan]

You can use whereis or which to get the browser path. Then set an environmental variable on your system.

export BROWSER="/path/to/browser"

You can add it your .bashrc or .zshrc

Exit the terminal and open it again. Run npm start to check if it opens in the specified browser.

[AFCMS]

I can use directly my terminal to launch both of brave and ~/dev/firefox-dev/firefox/firefox using exactly these commands.

I tried also with a full path without the ~ but same result.

[ephraimduncan]

Try clearing your cache and try again.

[AFCMS]

What does "clear your cache" exactly means?

[ephraimduncan]

Run:

npm cache clean –force

[AFCMS]

Doesn't work :(

[karprabha]

You can update start in package.json to
"start": "set \"BROWSER=none\" && start chrome http://localhost:3000 -incognito && react-scripts start",
here instead of chrome you can put any of your browser name and remove -incognito if you don't want it to open in incognito

credits: #11873 (comment)

[lucas21-dev]

THANK YOU 2 YEARS LATER

[KiranKishore05]

This usually happens when the BROWSER environment variable is not picked up correctly.

Try this depending on your system:

For Linux (Ubuntu):
BROWSER=firefox npm start

For a custom path:
BROWSER="/usr/bin/firefox" npm start

Also make sure:

• The browser is installed and accessible in your PATH
• You are running the command in the same terminal session

If it still opens the default browser, try creating a .env file in your project root:

BROWSER=firefox

Then restart your app.

This should force React to open in the specified browser.

Let me know if this works 👍

[felipetjmg1-bit]

Hello! This issue typically occurs when the development environment fails to correctly pick up the BROWSER environment variable.
To force React to open in your preferred browser, please try the following methods:

1. Direct Terminal Command
   Depending on your operating system or if you need to point to a specific executable, run:
   For Linux (Ubuntu):
   BROWSER=firefox npm start
   For a Custom Path:
   BROWSER="/usr/bin/firefox" npm start
2. Project-Level Configuration (Recommended)
   To make this setting permanent and avoid typing it every time, create a file named .env in your project's root directory and add the following line:
   BROWSER=firefox
   After saving the file, restart your application by running npm start again.
   Quick Checklist:
   Ensure the browser is correctly installed and accessible in your system's PATH.
   Make sure you are running the command in the same terminal session where any manual variables were set.
   This should override the system default and force React to use your specified browser. Let me know if this works for you! 👍