To capture all HTTP methods—including CORS preflight OPTIONS requests—with Selenium Wire in headless Chrome, enable Chrome’s headless mode and set Selenium Wire’s ignore_http_methods option to an empty list. Selenium Wire ignores OPTIONS by default, so headless mode alone does not capture every method.
Set up headless Chrome and capture requests
Pass Chrome’s options and Selenium Wire’s configuration to the Chrome driver together. This example enables the newer headless mode and captures OPTIONS as well as other HTTP methods:
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from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
chrome_options = Options()
chrome_options.add_argument("--headless=new")
seleniumwire_options = {
"ignore_http_methods": [],
"enable_har": True,
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(
options=chrome_options,
seleniumwire_options=seleniumwire_options,
)
try:
driver.get("https://example.com")
for request in driver.requests:
print(request.method, request.url)
finally:
driver.quit()The headless argument is a Chrome option; Selenium Wire’s Chrome integration accepts browser options and its own seleniumwire_options. The Selenium Wire documentation describes its capture mechanism as redirecting browser traffic through an internal proxy. That means “all requests” means requests routed through that proxy and retained under your capture settings—not every conceivable Chrome network event. See the Selenium Wire documentation and Selenium Chrome documentation.
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Make sure “all” really includes the traffic you need
Include preflight OPTIONS requests
Selenium Wire’s default ignore_http_methods value is ['OPTIONS']. Set it to [] to stop ignoring methods and capture preflight requests too. A preflight only appears if the page actually triggers one; it is not generated for every navigation or fetch.
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Review capture filters and bypasses
driver.scopesfilters which matching URLs are stored. An empty list is the default and leaves all URLs in scope.disable_capture=Truedisables interception and storage.exclude_hostsbypasses Selenium Wire for matching hosts, so their traffic will not appear in the capture.
Review these settings if requests are missing. URL scopes filter storage; they do not mean out-of-scope requests are necessarily blocked from continuing through the proxy.
Read, wait for, or retain captured requests
Choose an inspection interface
driver.requestsprovides captured requests in chronological order.driver.last_requestis useful when only the most recent request matters.driver.iter_requests()lets you iterate through a large capture.- With
enable_har=True, the HAR archive is available throughdriver.har.
Delete driver.requests to clear previously captured requests and HAR entries. Selenium Wire’s default storage is disk-based in a .seleniumwire folder under the system temporary directory. For in-memory storage, use request_storage='memory'; if you also set request_storage_max_size, older records are discarded when that limit is reached.
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Wait when the application makes requests later
A navigation can finish before a single-page application, user interaction, or delayed script makes the request you want. Trigger the relevant action or wait for the application state before inspecting the collection. wait_for_request(pattern, timeout=10) waits for a matching request that another action has already triggered; it does not create the request itself.
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- No requests appear: confirm the Chrome driver was created with Selenium Wire’s integration and that you passed both
optionsandseleniumwire_optionsto it. - OPTIONS is absent: set
"ignore_http_methods": []; the default ignores that method. - Only some URLs appear: inspect
driver.scopesfor filters, and check forexclude_hostsentries that bypass the proxy. - Capture is empty or disabled: check that
disable_captureis not set toTrue. - Earlier requests disappeared: check whether in-memory storage reached
request_storage_max_size; older records are discarded as new ones arrive. - HTTPS shows an unexpected trust warning: Selenium Wire uses its own root certificate to decrypt HTTPS traffic and documents custom certificate/key configuration. Its README warns that Chrome may show “Not Secure” when the certificate has not been installed as trusted. Treat captured sensitive data and certificate trust carefully, especially in real environments.
- Chrome fails to start: check Chrome and ChromeDriver major versions. Selenium’s general guidance says their major versions should match and that Selenium 4 is compatible with Chrome 75 and greater; this is not a Selenium Wire compatibility guarantee. Verify the complete Selenium Wire, Selenium, Python, Chrome, and ChromeDriver combination used in your runtime.
Or skip the browser setup
If your goal is a screenshot rather than inspecting network traffic, ScreenshotNeo can return a page capture through one GET request. It does not expose Selenium Wire’s request log or replace network inspection. Its screenshot API can remove cookie banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are not billed. It also provides an MCP server for AI agents to take screenshots.
Example using cURL (replace the target URL as needed):
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for parameters and setup. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Sign up for free ScreenshotNeo access.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Frequently Asked Questions
Does Selenium Wire capture OPTIONS requests by default?
No. Its default ignored-method list includes OPTIONS; set ignore_http_methods to an empty list to include them.
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Does wait_for_request trigger the request?
No. It waits for a matching request after your code or page has already triggered it.
Does ScreenshotNeo show captured network requests?
No. ScreenshotNeo returns screenshots or PDFs; use Selenium Wire when you need to inspect browser traffic.
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