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Short answer: the official Selenium Docker recorder cannot capture a browser running in pure headless mode. Run Chrome or Chromium with the display-backed X server path (Xvfb) inside the container, then pair that browser container with one selenium/video FFmpeg container. Enable recording with se:recordVideo, persist /videos to the host, and collect the MP4 after the session closes. For Chrome/Chromium 127 and later, set SE_START_XVFB=true when using --headless=new; from Chrome 132, plain --headless selects that new mode too.
Why pure headless recording fails
There are two different meanings of “headless” in Docker discussions. A pure headless browser renders without a display server. A display-backed run starts an X server (normally Xvfb) in the container but still runs unattended, with no physical monitor. The SeleniumHQ Docker documentation states: “Video recording for headless browsers is not supported.” The official recorder captures the display-backed path, not the output of a pure headless browser process.
Therefore, adding an FFmpeg container does not make a pure headless session recordable. Keep the test unattended, but provide the virtual display that the recorder can read.
The recording architecture
The supported design has separate services:
- Browser container: runs the Selenium session and its Xvfb display.
- Video container: a matching
selenium/videoimage running FFmpeg. - Shared network and session visibility: the recorder must reach the browser/Grid endpoints used by your topology.
- Persistent storage: bind the recorder’s
/videosdirectory (or the documented Grid assets directory) to the CI worker or an artifact volume.
Use one video container for each browser container. In parallel CI, do not point several recorders at an unplanned shared output path unless you also give every session a distinct file name.
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Set up a browser and recorder pair
1. Prepare Docker and storage
Create a directory that will survive container removal and give the browser enough shared memory. The official examples use --shm-size='2g'; choose a value appropriate for your pages and concurrency.
mkdir -p videos
chmod 0775 videos
docker network create selenium-netPin a video image tag that you have validated instead of using latest. The official examples include selenium/video:ffmpeg-8.1-20260905.
2. Start the display-backed browser
Use the browser image and version that match your Selenium Grid deployment. The important settings are shared memory and an Xvfb display. For current Chrome images, set SE_START_XVFB=true whenever the browser is launched with --headless=new. Chrome/Chromium 132 and later use the new mode for plain --headless, so keep the variable enabled there as well.
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--name selenium-browser
--network selenium-net
--shm-size='2g'
-e SE_START_XVFB=true
selenium/standalone-chromePin the browser image in real CI and keep its Chrome, Selenium and video-recorder versions under change control. If your deployment uses a Hub/Node or Dynamic Grid topology, start the browser node through that orchestration instead of this standalone example.
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3. Start the matching FFmpeg recorder
docker run -d
--name selenium-video
--network selenium-net
-v "$PWD/videos:/videos"
selenium/video:ffmpeg-8.1-20260905The exact connection options differ between Standalone, Hub/Node and Dynamic Grid. In every topology, verify that the recorder can discover the browser session and that the pairing remains one-to-one. If your Grid example uses /opt/selenium/assets rather than /videos, bind-mount that documented assets directory and collect it as the CI artifact.
Request a recording from the WebDriver session
Add the Selenium vendor capabilities below when creating the session:
{
"browserName": "chrome",
"platformName": "linux",
"se:recordVideo": true,
"se:screenResolution": "1920x1080",
"se:name": "checkout_regression"
}What each capability controls
se:recordVideo: trueasks the Grid/browser service to record the session.se:screenResolutionrequests deterministic capture dimensions. Use it when pixel comparisons or stable review output matter.se:namesupplies a readable label. The Docker Selenium README describes sanitizing the value, replacing spaces with underscores, restricting characters, and enforcing a 255-character limit before the session identifier is appended.
Keep names short and unique for parallel jobs, for example checkout_chrome_linux_042. If your recorder writes a fixed filename, set SE_VIDEO_FILE_NAME distinctly or provide another per-session naming mechanism supported by your Grid deployment.
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Runnable Python example
The following test creates a recording-enabled Chrome session, performs a small workflow, and always quits the session so the recorder receives a close event.
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from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
options = Options()
# The container supplies Xvfb; do not add a pure-headless argument here.
options.set_capability('browserName', 'chrome')
options.set_capability('platformName', 'linux')
options.set_capability('se:recordVideo', True)
options.set_capability('se:screenResolution', '1920x1080')
options.set_capability('se:name', 'checkout_regression')
driver = webdriver.Remote(
command_executor='http://localhost:4444/wd/hub',
options=options,
)
try:
driver.get('https://example.com')
print(driver.title)
finally:
driver.quit()Point command_executor at the address exposed by your standalone server or Grid. If the browser is behind a Hub, use the Hub URL and ensure the video service is associated with the node that receives the session.
Make the MP4 survive CI cleanup
- Wait for the test process to call
quit()even when an assertion fails; afinallyblock or test-fixture teardown is essential. - Allow the recorder to observe session closure. Grid 4.41.0’s documented event-driven recorder starts on
session-createdand stops onsession-closed, avoiding timer-based cutoffs. - Collect the host directory mapped to
/videos(or the Grid assets directory) after the recorder has stopped. - Upload the MP4 as a CI artifact before the worker is destroyed. For longer retention, the official README also documents rclone-based uploads to S3/GCS-compatible storage; credentials, encryption, bucket policy and retention are your deployment decisions.
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Troubleshooting missing or empty videos
The file is empty or no file appears
- Confirm the browser is not running in pure headless mode. The official recorder documents that mode as unsupported.
- Check that Xvfb is running and that
SE_START_XVFB=trueis set for Chrome/Chromium 127+ with--headless=new, and for Chrome/Chromium 132+ where plain--headlessselects the new mode. - Verify that the recorder can reach the browser/Grid session endpoint and that exactly one recorder is assigned to the browser.
The recording starts or stops at the wrong time
Ensure the test closes the WebDriver session and that the recorder sees the close event. On Grid 4.41.0, prefer the event-driven lifecycle over timer heuristics. A force-killed test process may leave no clean session-closed signal.
The host directory is empty
Inspect the container mount with docker inspect selenium-video, confirm that the host path is writable, and collect artifacts only after the recorder exits. In Grid examples that use /opt/selenium/assets, mounting only /videos will not retrieve those files.
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Several jobs overwrite one another
Use a unique se:name for every session and configure SE_VIDEO_FILE_NAME or an equivalent per-session filename. Give parallel recorder containers separate output directories when possible.
Chrome fails before the test starts
Increase shared memory; the official examples use --shm-size='2g'. Also check that the Chrome mode and Xvfb setting agree. A container that starts Chrome in a new headless mode without the required X server can fail before any recording begins.
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Plan CPU, storage and retention
Video is not free operationally. SeleniumHQ recommends estimating about one CPU for each video container and one CPU for each browser container. Multiply that estimate by your maximum parallel sessions, then reserve additional storage for the expected recording duration and resolution.
- Record selectively: enable video for failed tests, nightly diagnostics or suites where visual timing matters.
- Retain intentionally: keep failure artifacts longer than passing-run videos, and enforce a storage lifecycle in your CI or object store.
- Measure your workload: page complexity, resolution and test duration affect CPU and file size; the one-CPU guidance is a planning estimate, not a guarantee.
Standalone, Hub/Node or Dynamic Grid?
The browser-plus-recorder rule remains the same, but wiring changes by topology. Standalone deployments keep the services close together. Hub/Node deployments must route the recorder to the node hosting the session. Dynamic Grid provisions browsers and needs a recorder alongside each browser allocation, with shared access to the session events and asset location.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I record a Selenium session with Chrome’s pure --headless flag?
Not with the official Docker Selenium recorder. Use the display-backed Xvfb path instead; current Chrome versions require SE_START_XVFB=true for the new headless mode used by recording setups.
How many video containers do I need for parallel tests?
Plan on one selenium/video container per browser container, with distinct output names or directories for concurrent sessions.
Where should recordings be stored in CI?
Bind-mount /videos, or the documented Grid assets directory when that topology uses it, to a host path and upload the files after the recorder has stopped.
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