diff --git a/gptme/tools/_browser_playwright.py b/gptme/tools/_browser_playwright.py
index 1d7cfb8d..9f841e18 100644
--- a/gptme/tools/_browser_playwright.py
+++ b/gptme/tools/_browser_playwright.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from playwright.sync_api import Browser, ElementHandle
+
 from ._browser_thread import BrowserThread
 
 _browser: BrowserThread | None = None
@@ -19,7 +20,6 @@
 def get_browser() -> BrowserThread:
     global _browser
     if _browser is None:
-        logger.info("Starting browser thread")
         _browser = BrowserThread()
         atexit.register(_browser.stop)
     return _browser
diff --git a/gptme/tools/_browser_thread.py b/gptme/tools/_browser_thread.py
index 503b34b4..d4044d39 100644
--- a/gptme/tools/_browser_thread.py
+++ b/gptme/tools/_browser_thread.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import importlib
 import logging
 import time
 from collections.abc import Callable
@@ -31,19 +32,35 @@ def __init__(self):
         self.results: dict[object, tuple[Any, Exception | None]] = {}
         self.lock = Lock()
         self.ready = Event()
+        self._init_error: Exception | None = None
         self.thread = Thread(target=self._run, daemon=True)
         self.thread.start()
         # Wait for browser to be ready
         if not self.ready.wait(timeout=TIMEOUT):
             raise TimeoutError("Browser failed to start")
-        logger.info("Browser thread started")
+        if self._init_error:
+            raise self._init_error
+
+        logger.debug("Browser thread started")
 
     def _run(self):
         try:
             playwright = sync_playwright().start()
-            browser = playwright.chromium.launch()
-            logger.info("Browser launched")
-            self.ready.set()
+            try:
+                browser = playwright.chromium.launch()
+                logger.info("Browser launched")
+            except Exception as e:
+                if "Executable doesn't exist" in str(e):
+                    pw_version = importlib.metadata.version("playwright")
+                    self._init_error = RuntimeError(
+                        f"Browser executable not found. Run: pipx run playwright=={pw_version} install chromium-headless-shell"
+                    )
+                else:
+                    self._init_error = e
+                self.ready.set()  # Signal init complete (with error)
+                return
+
+            self.ready.set()  # Signal successful init
 
             while True:
                 try:
@@ -88,6 +105,7 @@ def execute(self, func: Callable[..., T], *args, **kwargs) -> T:
                     result, error = self.results.pop(cmd_id)
                     if error:
                         raise error
+                    logger.info("Browser operation completed")
                     return result
             time.sleep(0.1)  # Prevent busy-waiting
 
diff --git a/gptme/tools/browser.py b/gptme/tools/browser.py
index 06887f2a..016301fa 100644
--- a/gptme/tools/browser.py
+++ b/gptme/tools/browser.py
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@
 
        pipx install 'gptme[browser]'
        # We need to use the same version of Playwright as the one installed by gptme
-       # when downloading the browser binaries.
+       # when downloading the browser binaries. gptme will attempt this automatically
        PW_VERSION=$(pipx runpip gptme show playwright | grep Version | cut -d' ' -f2)
-       pipx run playwright==$PW_VERSION install chromium
+       pipx run playwright==$PW_VERSION install chromium-headless-shell
 
 Lynx backend:
  - Text-only browser for basic page reading and searching
@@ -38,11 +38,13 @@
 """
 
 import importlib.util
+import importlib.metadata
 import logging
 import shutil
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Literal
 
+from ..util import console
 from .base import ToolSpec, ToolUse
 
 has_playwright = lambda: importlib.util.find_spec("playwright") is not None  # noqa
@@ -103,6 +105,10 @@ def examples(tool_format):
 
 
 def has_browser_tool():
+    if browser == "playwright":
+        console.log("Browser tool available (using playwright)")
+    elif browser == "lynx":
+        console.log("Browser tool available (using lynx)")
     return browser is not None