Selenium 4 WebDriver commands operate inside a browser session: create it with browser options, navigate, locate and interact with elements, wait for the state your test needs, switch context for tabs or frames, capture evidence, and quit. The runnable examples below use the Python binding documented as Selenium 4.50.0; method names and feature availability differ across language bindings and releases.
Install Selenium and start a browser session
Install the Python package with python -m pip install selenium. This example uses Chrome and the Selenium 4 Python API. It does not assume a particular browser version or operating system; use a locally available compatible Chrome installation. Recent Selenium versions can use Selenium Manager to obtain a driver when one is not found locally, but setup behavior depends on the environment.
In Selenium 4, configure the browser through its Options class rather than reusing Selenium 3 Desired Capabilities examples. Creating the driver starts a WebDriver session, which is the context in which subsequent commands run.
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
options = Options()
# Uncomment for headless operation:
# options.add_argument("--headless")
driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)
try:
driver.get("https://example.com")
print(driver.title)
finally:
driver.quit()For a remote WebDriver session, provide an options instance that identifies the browser, along with the remote command endpoint appropriate to your infrastructure. See Selenium’s browser options documentation for supported configuration and page-load strategies.
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Navigate and inspect the current page
Python’s get(url) opens a URL in the current tab and waits for the page load event under the configured page-load strategy. The other core navigation commands move through browser history or reload the current page:
driver.back()goes back.driver.forward()goes forward.driver.refresh()reloads the current page.
Use page properties to check what Selenium is addressing and to diagnose a failure:
driver.current_urlreturns the current URL.driver.titlereturns the document title.driver.page_sourcereturns a page-source snapshot.
Page source is useful for inspection, but it is not a replacement for locating and operating on live WebElements. A document reaching its readiness state does not guarantee that a single-page app has finished rendering the component a test needs.
Choose a page-load strategy deliberately
Selenium documents three page-load strategies. The default is normal; choosing a less blocking strategy can return control earlier, but leaves the test responsible for synchronizing with application state.
| Strategy | Readiness target | What the test still needs to handle |
|---|---|---|
normal |
Waits for document readiness state complete. |
JavaScript may still add or change page content after that state. |
eager |
Waits for interactive. |
Later loading and application updates may still be in progress. |
none |
Does not block on page readiness. | Explicit synchronization is essential before operations that depend on the page. |
For example, configure a strategy with options.page_load_strategy = "eager" before creating the driver. Confirm the available syntax for the selected binding and release in the options reference.
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Find elements and perform interactions
Use find_element when one matching element is expected: if none is found, Selenium raises an exception. Use find_elements when zero or more matches are valid; it returns a list, which may be empty. Python locator strategies include ID, name, CSS selector, XPath, class name, tag name, and link text. Choose a stable locator tied to the page’s meaning and structure; no single strategy is universally best for every application.
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
search = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "q")
search.clear()
search.send_keys("Selenium WebDriver")
search.submit()
links = driver.find_elements(By.CSS_SELECTOR, "a")
print(f"Found {len(links)} links")Common WebElement operations include:
element.click()to click.element.clear()andelement.send_keys("text")to edit text fields.element.textto read rendered text.element.get_attribute("href")to read an attribute.element.is_displayed()andelement.is_enabled()to check state.
For changing interfaces, check the state needed for the next action rather than assuming a located element is already ready. Selenium’s Web elements guide and browser interactions guide document the interaction model.
Wait for application state, not a guessed duration
Race conditions occur when a test issues a command before the page has reached the state the command requires. Selenium’s Waiting Strategies documentation calls this “one of the primary causes of flaky tests.” A navigation wait covers a document readiness target; it does not guarantee that a dynamic component has appeared or become usable.
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An explicit wait polls for a specific condition and returns when it becomes true or raises a timeout error. This is generally the clearest choice for dynamic UI steps:
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)
button = wait.until(
EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "continue"))
)
button.click()The 10-second value is an example timeout, not a measured recommendation. Other useful conditions include presence or visibility of an element, and changes to a URL. Match the condition to what the next command needs.
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Implicit wait: session-wide lookup timeout
An implicit wait applies to element-location calls throughout the session. Its documented default is zero; configure it only when a session-wide lookup policy is intentional:
driver.implicitly_wait(5)A failed lookup can then take up to the configured timeout to fail. Selenium warns that mixing implicit and explicit waits can produce unpredictable durations, so avoid combining them casually. The examples here use explicit waits and leave the implicit wait at its default.
Fixed sleep: elapsed-time delay
time.sleep(seconds) always consumes the chosen delay, even if the page becomes ready sooner, and can still be too short on a slow run. Use it when waiting for a fixed interval is itself part of the behavior under test, not as a general substitute for a condition.
Switch between tabs, windows, frames, and dialogs
Commands apply to the current browsing context. Before interacting with a new tab, iframe, or JavaScript dialog, switch to the relevant context.
Switch tabs or windows by handle
Track the handles before and after an action that opens a tab, then switch to the newly observed handle rather than assuming a fixed ordering:
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before = set(driver.window_handles)
# Perform the action that opens a tab or window here.
wait.until(lambda d: len(set(d.window_handles) - before) == 1)
new_handle = (set(driver.window_handles) - before).pop()
driver.switch_to.window(new_handle)
print(driver.current_url)
# Return to the original window when needed:
driver.switch_to.window(driver.window_handles[0])If the operation may open more than one window, identify the intended handle using the application’s expected state rather than selecting arbitrarily. See Working with windows and tabs.
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Enter and leave an iframe
Switch into the frame before locating elements inside it. Switch back to the top-level document with default_content(), or to the containing frame with parent_frame().
frame = wait.until(
EC.presence_of_element_located((By.CSS_SELECTOR, "iframe.payment"))
)
driver.switch_to.frame(frame)
submit = wait.until(
EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "submit-payment"))
)
submit.click()
driver.switch_to.default_content()The Python API also supports switching by frame name or index. Refer to Selenium’s frames guide for context-switching details.
Accept, dismiss, or read an alert
JavaScript alerts, prompts, and confirmations are browser dialogs. Switch to the alert and resolve it before continuing with page commands that depend on the dialog being closed:
alert = wait.until(EC.alert_is_present())
print(alert.text)
alert.accept() # Use alert.dismiss() to cancel instead.For a prompt, enter text with alert.send_keys("value") before accepting. See JavaScript alerts, prompts and confirmations.
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Capture evidence and end the session
A screenshot can preserve visual evidence at the point it is captured. Save it alongside a clear test name and failure details; a screenshot captured after the page has changed may not represent the state that caused the failure.
# Save a PNG screenshot to a file:
driver.save_screenshot("failure.png")
# Or obtain PNG bytes:
png_bytes = driver.get_screenshot_as_png()To close only the current window, call driver.close(). To end the WebDriver session and close its associated windows, call driver.quit(). Put quit() in a finally block or your test framework's teardown hook so it also runs after an exception. The Selenium 4.50.0 Python WebDriver API documents these methods and screenshot formats.
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Use newer BiDi APIs with version care
The Selenium 4.50.0 Python API reference includes WebDriver BiDi-related modules for browsing contexts, input, browser, network, and script interfaces, including APIs to create, navigate, and close a tab. These are advanced, binding- and release-sensitive interfaces; check the documentation for the exact language binding and Selenium version you use rather than copying syntax across bindings.
Python WebDriver API reference, Selenium 4.50.0
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does `find_elements()` return an empty list instead of an error?
It is designed to return all matches and returns an empty list when none are present. Use `find_element()` when the test requires one match and should fail if it is absent.
Can I use these Python command examples unchanged in Java or JavaScript?
No. Selenium command names, imports, and feature availability vary by binding and release; consult the API documentation for the binding and version in your project.
Quick Recap
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