---
title: How do I use the Brain's Live View browser?
question: show or use the Brain browser
area: brain
surface: desktop
audience: beginner
keywords: ["live view","globe","brain browser","tabs","mobile preview","annotation","browser missing"]
related: [manage-the-brain-drawer,claude-code-required,preview-covers-the-drawer]
updated: 2026-09-09
visibility: public
---

# How do I use the Brain's Live View browser?

The Brain's **Live View** shows the browser belonging to the selected Brain. Open **session**, then use the **globe** in the Brain header to show or hide it. You and that Brain can navigate the same browser. It is separate from a project's **web** preview.

## Before you start

Open the Brain drawer and choose an installed [coding provider](../quadrants/choose-provider-model-and-reasoning.md). Claude Code is not compulsory. An unavailable selected provider can show a setup card instead of the session and browser. Finish that setup or select an available provider.

## Open and use a page

1. Select the Brain tab you want, then **session**. Tasks, Done and Notes show records instead of the browser.
2. Click the **globe** if Live View is hidden. Codus remembers whether you collapsed it.
3. Type a web address in the **URL bar** and press **Enter**, or ask that Brain to open the page.
4. Use the browser tab strip to change pages. **+** adds a tab; **×** closes that browser tab. The tab limit is shown when **+** is unavailable.
5. Click **Reload** to reload. Right-click it for the hard-reload option, which bypasses the page cache.

An empty Brain browser can open Google as its starting page. This does not mean your project has been replaced.

## Preview and annotate

- **Native**, **Desktop**, **Tablet** and **Mobile** change the preview size. Native leaves device emulation off. These controls are unavailable while drawing annotations.
- **Annotate** lets you circle part of a page and add a note. Send the annotated screenshot when you want the Brain to act on it. **Clear annotations** removes the marks.
- **Brightness** dims the preview; **Reset** restores full brightness.
- The lock beside the address describes the connection. A certificate warning is not proof a page is safe to use; check the address before entering credentials.

Each Brain has its own browser. Switching Brain tabs changes the page you are watching. Hiding Live View is not the same as closing a browser tab.

## If the browser disappears

Close the Brain help card or Assets view if either is covering the session. Check **session**, the selected provider and the **globe** before assuming the page was lost. If a project preview actually overlaps the drawer, use [browser overlap recovery](preview-covers-the-drawer.md); a persistent overlap is not normal.

## How do I know it worked?

The requested page is visible in the selected Brain's Live View and the URL bar shows its address. A loaded page does not by itself prove the Brain is signed in to that website.