Each browser has custom capabilities and unique features.
Note : If your device's date and language settings are set to Arabic, you must change the localization settings of your Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to prevent startup failures. Add the following arguments to your JVM :-Duser.language=en -Duser.region=US
1 - Chrome specific functionality
These are capabilities and features specific to Google Chrome browsers.
By default, Selenium 4 is compatible with Chrome v75 and greater. Note that the version of
the Chrome browser and the version of chromedriver must match the major version.
Options
Capabilities common to all browsers are described on the Options page.
The args parameter is for a list of command line switches to be used when starting the browser.
There are two excellent resources for investigating these arguments:
The binary parameter takes the path of an alternate location of browser to use. With this parameter you can
use chromedriver to drive various Chromium based browsers.
Chromedriver has several default arguments it uses to start the browser.
If you do not want those arguments added, pass them into excludeSwitches.
A common example is to turn the popup blocker back on. A full list of default arguments
can be parsed from the
Chromium Source Code
Examples for creating a default Service object, and for setting driver location and port
can be found on the Driver Service page.
Log output
Getting driver logs can be helpful for debugging issues. The Service class lets you
direct where the logs will go. Logging output is ignored unless the user directs it somewhere.
File output
To change the logging output to save to a specific file:
Note: Java also allows setting console output by System Property; Property key: ChromeDriverService.CHROME_DRIVER_LOG_PROPERTY Property value: DriverService.LOG_STDOUT or DriverService.LOG_STDERR
There are 6 available log levels: ALL, DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, SEVERE, and OFF.
Note that --verbose is equivalent to --log-level=ALL and --silent is equivalent to --log-level=OFF,
so this example is just setting the log level generically:
Note: Java also allows setting log level by System Property: Property key: ChromeDriverService.CHROME_DRIVER_LOG_LEVEL_PROPERTY Property value: String representation of ChromiumDriverLogLevel enum
There are 2 features that are only available when logging to a file:
append log
readable timestamps
To use them, you need to also explicitly specify the log path and log level.
The log output will be managed by the driver, not the process, so minor differences may be seen.
Note: Java also allows toggling these features by System Property: Property keys: ChromeDriverService.CHROME_DRIVER_APPEND_LOG_PROPERTY and ChromeDriverService.CHROME_DRIVER_READABLE_TIMESTAMP Property value: "true" or "false"
Chromedriver and Chrome browser versions should match, and if they don’t the driver will error.
If you disable the build check, you can force the driver to be used with any version of Chrome.
Note that this is an unsupported feature, and bugs will not be investigated.
Note: Java also allows disabling build checks by System Property: Property key: ChromeDriverService.CHROME_DRIVER_DISABLE_BUILD_CHECK Property value: "true" or "false"
ChromiumNetworkConditionsnetworkConditions=newChromiumNetworkConditions();networkConditions.setOffline(false);networkConditions.setLatency(java.time.Duration.ofMillis(20));// 20 ms of latencynetworkConditions.setDownloadThroughput(2000*1024/8);// 2000 kbpsnetworkConditions.setUploadThroughput(2000*1024/8);// 2000 kbps((ChromeDriver)driver).setNetworkConditions(networkConditions);
network_conditions={"offline":False,"latency":20,# 20 ms of latency"download_throughput":2000*1024/8,# 2000 kbps"upload_throughput":2000*1024/8,# 2000 kbps}driver.set_network_conditions(**network_conditions)
See the Chrome DevTools section for more information about using Chrome DevTools
2 - Edge specific functionality
These are capabilities and features specific to Microsoft Edge browsers.
Microsoft Edge is implemented with Chromium, with the earliest supported version of v79. Similar to Chrome,
the major version number of edgedriver must match the major version of the Edge browser.
Options
Capabilities common to all browsers are described on the Options page.
The args parameter is for a list of command line switches to be used when starting the browser.
There are two excellent resources for investigating these arguments:
The binary parameter takes the path of an alternate location of browser to use. With this parameter you can
use chromedriver to drive various Chromium based browsers.
MSEdgedriver has several default arguments it uses to start the browser.
If you do not want those arguments added, pass them into excludeSwitches.
A common example is to turn the popup blocker back on. A full list of default arguments
can be parsed from the
Chromium Source Code
Examples for creating a default Service object, and for setting driver location and port
can be found on the Driver Service page.
Log output
Getting driver logs can be helpful for debugging issues. The Service class lets you
direct where the logs will go. Logging output is ignored unless the user directs it somewhere.
File output
To change the logging output to save to a specific file:
Note: Java also allows setting console output by System Property; Property key: EdgeDriverService.EDGE_DRIVER_LOG_PROPERTY Property value: DriverService.LOG_STDOUT or DriverService.LOG_STDERR
There are 6 available log levels: ALL, DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, SEVERE, and OFF.
Note that --verbose is equivalent to --log-level=ALL and --silent is equivalent to --log-level=OFF,
so this example is just setting the log level generically:
Note: Java also allows setting log level by System Property: Property key: EdgeDriverService.EDGE_DRIVER_LOG_LEVEL_PROPERTY Property value: String representation of ChromiumDriverLogLevel enum
There are 2 features that are only available when logging to a file:
append log
readable timestamps
To use them, you need to also explicitly specify the log path and log level.
The log output will be managed by the driver, not the process, so minor differences may be seen.
Note: Java also allows toggling these features by System Property: Property keys: EdgeDriverService.EDGE_DRIVER_APPEND_LOG_PROPERTY and EdgeDriverService.EDGE_DRIVER_READABLE_TIMESTAMP Property value: "true" or "false"
Edge browser and msedgedriver versions should match, and if they don’t the driver will error.
If you disable the build check, you can force the driver to be used with any version of Edge.
Note that this is an unsupported feature, and bugs will not be investigated.
Note: Java also allows disabling build checks by System Property: Property key: EdgeDriverService.EDGE_DRIVER_DISABLE_BUILD_CHECK Property value: "true" or "false"
Microsoft Edge can be driven in “Internet Explorer Compatibility Mode”, which uses
the Internet Explorer Driver classes in conjunction with Microsoft Edge.
Read the Internet Explorer page for more details.
Special Features
Some browsers have implemented additional features that are unique to them.
Casting
You can drive Chrome Cast devices with Edge, including sharing tabs
ChromiumNetworkConditionsnetworkConditions=newChromiumNetworkConditions();networkConditions.setOffline(false);networkConditions.setLatency(java.time.Duration.ofMillis(20));// 20 ms of latencynetworkConditions.setDownloadThroughput(2000*1024/8);// 2000 kbpsnetworkConditions.setUploadThroughput(2000*1024/8);// 2000 kbps
network_conditions={"offline":False,"latency":20,# 20 ms of latency"download_throughput":2000*1024/8,# 2000 kbps"upload_throughput":2000*1024/8,# 2000 kbps}driver.set_network_conditions(**network_conditions)
The args parameter is for a list of Command line switches used when starting the browser. Commonly used args include -headless and "-profile", "/path/to/profile"
The binary parameter takes the path of an alternate location of browser to use. For example, with this parameter you can
use geckodriver to drive Firefox Nightly instead of the production version when both are present on your computer.
const{Builder}=require("selenium-webdriver");constfirefox=require('selenium-webdriver/firefox');constoptions=newfirefox.Options();letprofile='/path to custom profile';options.setProfile(profile);constdriver=newBuilder().forBrowser('firefox').setFirefoxOptions(options).build();
Service settings common to all browsers are described on the Service page.
Log output
Getting driver logs can be helpful for debugging various issues. The Service class lets you
direct where the logs will go. Logging output is ignored unless the user directs it somewhere.
File output
To change the logging output to save to a specific file:
Note: Java also allows setting console output by System Property; Property key: GeckoDriverService.GECKO_DRIVER_LOG_PROPERTY Property value: DriverService.LOG_STDOUT or DriverService.LOG_STDERR
Note: Java also allows setting log level by System Property: Property key: GeckoDriverService.GECKO_DRIVER_LOG_LEVEL_PROPERTY Property value: String representation of FirefoxDriverLogLevel enum
The driver logs everything that gets sent to it, including string representations of large binaries, so
Firefox truncates lines by default. To turn off truncation:
Note: Java also allows setting log level by System Property: Property key: GeckoDriverService.GECKO_DRIVER_LOG_NO_TRUNCATE Property value: "true" or "false"
The default directory for profiles is the system temporary directory. If you do not have access to that directory,
or want profiles to be created some place specific, you can change the profile root directory:
When working with an unfinished or unpublished extension, it will likely not be signed. As such, it can only
be installed as “temporary.” This can be done by passing in either a zip file or a directory, here’s an
example with a directory:
These are capabilities and features specific to Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers.
As of June 2022, Selenium officially no longer supports standalone Internet Explorer.
The Internet Explorer driver still supports running Microsoft Edge in “IE Compatibility Mode.”
Special considerations
The IE Driver is the only driver maintained by the Selenium Project directly.
While binaries for both the 32-bit and 64-bit
versions of Internet Explorer are available, there are some
known limitations
with the 64-bit driver. As such it is recommended to use the 32-bit driver.
Additional information about using Internet Explorer can be found on the
IE Driver Server page
Options
Starting a Microsoft Edge browser in Internet Explorer Compatibility mode with basic defined options looks like this:
If IE is not present on the system (default in Windows 11), you do not need to
use the two parameters above. IE Driver will use Edge and will automatically locate it.
If IE and Edge are both present on the system, you only need to set attaching to Edge,
IE Driver will automatically locate Edge on your system.
Here are a few common use cases with different capabilities:
fileUploadDialogTimeout
In some environments, Internet Explorer may timeout when opening the
File Upload dialog. IEDriver has a default timeout of 1000ms, but you
can increase the timeout using the fileUploadDialogTimeout capability.
When set to true, this capability clears the Cache,
Browser History and Cookies for all running instances
of InternetExplorer including those started manually
or by the driver. By default, it is set to false.
Using this capability will cause performance drop while
launching the browser, as the driver will wait until the cache
gets cleared before launching the IE browser.
This capability accepts a Boolean value as parameter.
InternetExplorer driver expects the browser zoom level to be 100%,
else the driver will throw an exception. This default behaviour
can be disabled by setting the ignoreZoomSetting to true.
This capability accepts a Boolean value as parameter.
Whether to skip the Protected Mode check while launching
a new IE session.
If not set and Protected Mode settings are not same for
all zones, an exception will be thrown by the driver.
If capability is set to true, tests may
become flaky, unresponsive, or browsers may hang.
However, this is still by far a second-best choice,
and the first choice should always be to actually
set the Protected Mode settings of each zone manually.
If a user is using this property,
only a “best effort” at support will be given.
This capability accepts a Boolean value as parameter.
Internet Explorer includes several command-line options
that enable you to troubleshoot and configure the browser.
The following describes few supported command-line options
-private : Used to start IE in private browsing mode. This works for IE 8 and later versions.
-k : Starts Internet Explorer in kiosk mode.
The browser opens in a maximized window that does not display the address bar, the navigation buttons, or the status bar.
-extoff : Starts IE in no add-on mode.
This option specifically used to troubleshoot problems with browser add-ons. Works in IE 7 and later versions.
Note: forceCreateProcessApi should to enabled in-order for command line arguments to work.
Service settings common to all browsers are described on the Service page.
Log output
Getting driver logs can be helpful for debugging various issues. The Service class lets you
direct where the logs will go. Logging output is ignored unless the user directs it somewhere.
File output
To change the logging output to save to a specific file:
Note: Java also allows setting console output by System Property; Property key: InternetExplorerDriverService.IE_DRIVER_LOGFILE_PROPERTY Property value: DriverService.LOG_STDOUT or DriverService.LOG_STDERR
Note: Java also allows setting log level by System Property: Property key: InternetExplorerDriverService.IE_DRIVER_LOGLEVEL_PROPERTY Property value: String representation of InternetExplorerDriverLogLevel.DEBUG.toString() enum
These are capabilities and features specific to Apple Safari browsers.
Unlike Chromium and Firefox drivers, the safaridriver is installed with the Operating System.
To enable automation on Safari, run the following command from the terminal:
safaridriver --enable
Options
Capabilities common to all browsers are described on the Options page.
Those looking to automate Safari on iOS should look to the Appium project.
Service
Service settings common to all browsers are described on the Service page.
Logging
Unlike other browsers, Safari doesn’t let you choose where logs are output, or change levels. The one option
available is to turn logs off or on. If logs are toggled on, they can be found at:~/Library/Logs/com.apple.WebDriver/.
Note: Java also allows setting console output by System Property; Property key: SafariDriverService.SAFARI_DRIVER_LOGGING Property value: "true" or "false"