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I’m building a normal React project (not related to blockchain, crypto, or MetaMask).
However, Chrome gives this uncaught error in the console:

Failed to connect to MetaMask  
at Object.connect (chrome-extension://nkbihfbeogaeaoehlefnkodbefgpgknn/scripts/inpage.js)

The strange part:

• My app does NOT use Web3, ethers, crypto libs, or MetaMask.

• Opera browser works fine.

• I’m not calling window.ethereum anywhere.

• MetaMask is installed on Chrome, but I don’t want it to interfere.

The error happens on page load or during hot reload.

I suspect that one of my dependencies might be checking for window.ethereum, and Chrome MetaMask auto-injects inpage.js, causing a connection attempt that fails.

My question:

• Why does Chrome MetaMask auto-inject into non-crypto projects and cause this error?

• Which libraries commonly trigger this?

• How can I completely disable or sandbox MetaMask injection ONLY for my local dev site or only for this project?

Any help or debugging ideas are appreciated.