Fix Userorbit initialization errors on localhost in Chrome

When testing Userorbit on localhost in Chrome, you may see an error like:

[Userorbit] "Could not initialize userorbit" Error: Could not initialize userorbit

This usually means Chrome blocked one of the SDK initialization requests from your local app to Userorbit's API. It is more common during local development because Chrome can apply stricter privacy, sandboxing, or managed browser policies to requests from localhost to external domains.

Why this happens

During initialization, the SDK connects to Userorbit to load your workspace configuration and identify the current visitor. If Chrome blocks that request, the SDK cannot finish initializing.

This can be caused by Chrome privacy settings, a managed company browser policy, blocked third-party requests, or local site data for localhost.

How to check

Open Chrome DevTools.
Go to the Network tab.
Reload the page.
Filter for userorbit or api.userorbit.com.

Check the failed request. You may see a blocked request, CORS error, 401, 403, or another network error.

Workarounds

Try the page in Chrome Incognito with default settings.
Allowlist api.userorbit.com and cdn.userorbit.com in Chrome or your company browser policy.
Clear site data for localhost and reload the app.
Test from a local HTTPS domain instead of plain localhost if your browser policy restricts local-to-external requests.

If the same integration works in another browser, the issue is usually specific to that Chrome profile or browser policy rather than the Userorbit install code.

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