If Hindi text appears as empty squares or broken glyphs in Java Selenium screenshots on Linux, first check that the Linux runtime launching Chrome has a Devanagari-capable font. Selenium drives the browser; it does not provide fonts. If you control the page, set a Devanagari-aware CSS font stack and verify the result in the same container or CI environment that produces the screenshot.
Why Hindi characters appear as boxes or malformed glyphs
A screenshot records what the browser rendered. When Chrome cannot find a font with the required Devanagari glyphs—or cannot resolve an available font through CSS and system fallback—the result may be missing or incorrect characters. This is a font availability and fallback issue to investigate, not something Selenium repairs by itself.
The cause can be specific to the environment: a developer workstation may have suitable fonts while the Linux container or CI image running Chrome does not. Chromium’s Linux font fallback test data uses mock fontconfig and test fonts, illustrating that resolution depends on both fontconfig configuration and the fonts present in the runtime. Its Hindi test sample resolves to Lohit Devanagari in that test setup; that is not a universal production recommendation. Chromium font fallback test data
Diagnose the actual browser runtime first
- Record the environment. Note the Linux distribution or base image, Chrome or Chromium version, Selenium version, ChromeDriver version, and whether the session is headed or headless.
- Inspect fonts where Chrome runs. Check the installed font inventory and fontconfig resolution inside the same container or CI runtime as the browser process—not just on the machine that builds the image.
- Reproduce with a small Hindi sample. Use text containing the Devanagari letters, punctuation, digits, marks, and conjuncts present in the affected page. Capture it at a fixed viewport.
- Separate a font problem from a page-style problem. If the sample renders but the real page does not, preserve and inspect the page’s CSS, loaded web fonts, and font-family rules.
- Change one variable at a time. After changing the font inventory, CSS, or image, capture the same text again and compare the output.
Do not assume one package-manager command applies to every Linux distribution. Identify the image and use its official package repository to install a Devanagari-capable font if one is missing.
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Set a Devanagari-aware CSS font stack
If you can edit the page, specify script-aware families before generic fallback. Noto’s web guidance gives these stacks:
- Sans serif:
font-family: 'Noto Sans Devanagari', 'Noto Sans', sans-serif; - Serif:
font-family: 'Noto Serif Devanagari', 'Noto Serif', serif;
The browser tries later family names when an earlier one lacks a needed character. The general-script Noto family can also supply punctuation and digits alongside the Devanagari-specific family. The fonts still need to be accessible to the browser—through the runtime’s installed fonts or fonts served by the page. Noto: Use Noto fonts on the web
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Choose serif or sans serif to match the design; neither is inherently a universal fix. If only some characters remain broken, check whether the fallback families cover those exact characters.
Check Chrome and ChromeDriver separately
Font availability and browser automation compatibility are different checks. Selenium’s Chrome documentation says Selenium 4 is compatible with Chrome 75 and greater by default, and that Chrome and ChromeDriver major versions should match. A mismatch can interfere with automation, but matching versions does not install Devanagari fonts. Selenium: Chrome specific functionality
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For Java, Chrome options are the standard way to configure the Chrome session. For example, headless mode can be selected as follows:
ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions();
options.addArguments("--headless=new");
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(options);Use the mode appropriate to your test, but do not treat headless mode itself as the diagnosis. Chrome supports headless screenshot capture; a controlled comparison can help isolate a mode-specific difference. Chrome for Developers: New Headless in Selenium-WebDriver
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Compare headed and headless captures fairly
If both modes are available, compare them using the same image, Chrome version, font inventory, page state, viewport, and sample text. If both show the same missing glyphs, investigate font availability and fallback first. If only one differs, investigate differences in browser configuration and page state. This is a diagnostic comparison, not evidence that headless Chrome intrinsically breaks Hindi rendering.
Chrome’s command-line documentation demonstrates screenshot capture with --screenshot and a fixed --window-size. In Java Selenium, use the same viewport and wait for the page’s relevant content before taking the screenshot. Chrome headless screenshot guidance
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What the March 2026 Chromium change means
A Chromium source change dated March 4, 2026 added Linux default font-family mappings for Devanagari: Noto Sans Devanagari for standard and sans-serif mappings, Noto Serif Devanagari for serif, and Noto Sans Mono for fixed-width text. The change notes that Chromium had previously relied on generic system font resolution. This is a source-tree change at that revision; it does not establish that every Linux distribution, browser package, or older Chrome/Chromium build includes those defaults. Chromium: Devanagari default font mappings
Therefore, do not use the presence of a newer source mapping as a substitute for checking the deployed runtime. Confirm the actual browser build and available fonts in the image used for capture.
Common failures and fixes
| Symptom | Likely area to check | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Every Hindi character is a box | No usable Devanagari font, or fallback cannot resolve one | Inspect font availability and fontconfig inside the browser runtime; install a suitable font through the image’s distribution repository. |
| The minimal sample works, but the site does not | Page CSS, font loading, or a more specific font-family rule | Inspect the page’s computed font stack and confirm the intended web fonts have loaded; test an explicit Devanagari-aware stack. |
| Only punctuation, digits, or some glyphs fail | Coverage differs among the selected and fallback families | Check the exact affected characters and include an appropriate general-script fallback family. |
| The same page differs between machines or CI runs | Different runtime images, installed fonts, fontconfig, or browser builds | Compare the actual runtime font inventory and browser versions; make the capture image consistent. |
| WebDriver cannot start or behaves unreliably | Chrome/ChromeDriver compatibility rather than glyph coverage | Check that Chrome and ChromeDriver major versions match; then diagnose fonts independently. |
| Headed and headless outputs differ | Mode-specific configuration or page state may differ | Repeat with the same image, versions, fonts, viewport, and page state before attributing the difference to rendering mode. |
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Does Selenium provide Hindi or Devanagari fonts?
No. Selenium controls browser automation; the browser needs fonts available through the runtime or the page.
Does headless Chrome automatically cause missing Hindi glyphs?
The cited Chrome documentation supports headless screenshots but does not establish that headless mode inherently causes Devanagari rendering failures.
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