For most current Selenium projects on Ubuntu, you do not need to download ChromeDriver yourself: Selenium 4.6 and later can use Selenium Manager to obtain a compatible driver. Install Chrome or Chromium first, then let Selenium find the browser and manage its driver. If you need a pinned or explicitly located driver, match it to the browser version and configure it through PATH or Selenium’s Service API. The same Linux guidance applies in India; the official sources cited here do not establish a separate India-specific installation method.
What ChromeDriver does—and what it does not install
ChromeDriver is a separate executable that implements the WebDriver connection Selenium uses to control Chrome. It is not Selenium, and installing it alone does not install the browser. Chrome or Chromium must also be installed and discoverable to the driver. See Chrome’s ChromeDriver setup guide.
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A successful driver setup means Selenium can start a browser session; it does not by itself prove that screenshot rendering will work in a headless server environment. Browser discovery, browser/driver compatibility, and any headless or display-server configuration are separate concerns.
Choose an installation route
| Route | Driver setup | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Selenium Manager | Selenium 4.6 and later can download the appropriate driver when needed. | Most projects that want a compatible driver without managing a separate binary. |
| Manual driver | Download a matching Linux ChromeDriver and put it on PATH or give its location to Selenium’s Service object. | Environments that require an explicit path or pinned driver version. |
Selenium documents both approaches in its driver installation guidance. Avoid relying on old instructions that treat the former standalone driver repository as the primary source for current Chrome releases.
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Use Selenium Manager for the usual setup
- Install Selenium in your project’s language environment. Use the official installation instructions for that binding so the package is available to the program that will capture screenshots.
- Install Chrome or Chromium. Confirm that the browser is available on the Ubuntu machine and that Selenium can discover it. ChromeDriver cannot launch a browser that is absent or inaccessible.
- Create a WebDriver session without specifying a driver path. With Selenium 4.6 or newer, Selenium Manager can resolve and download the appropriate driver. Its documented role and behavior are described in the Selenium Manager documentation.
- Run a small browser session before building the screenshot workflow. If driver resolution fails, check the browser’s location and version, network access for driver metadata and binary downloads, and whether an old ChromeDriver earlier on PATH is being selected.
This route avoids routine manual downloads, but it is not an offline guarantee: automatic resolution may need access to download metadata or binaries. For diagnostics, follow Selenium’s Unable to Locate Driver guidance.
Install and pin ChromeDriver manually
- Check the browser version first. Record the installed Chrome or Chromium version; select a driver compatible with that browser rather than downloading an arbitrary “latest” binary.
- For Chrome 115 and newer, use Chrome for Testing release data. Chrome’s release process integrates ChromeDriver with Chrome for these versions. Use the official version-selection guidance and Chrome for Testing downloads and JSON endpoints to identify the matching build.
- Download the Linux driver and make it discoverable. Chrome’s setup guide describes downloading the platform driver and placing it on PATH. Alternatively, configure its exact location in the Service object supported by your Selenium language binding.
- Verify which executable will be used. Check the driver path and version available to your process, especially if another ChromeDriver is already installed on PATH.
If using a non-Chrome-for-Testing browser, consult Chrome’s version-selection instructions for matching version metadata rather than assuming a Chrome for Testing download is interchangeable with every browser package.
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Ubuntu Chromium packages vary by release
Do not assume that apt install chromium-chromedriver behaves the same on every Ubuntu release. The cited Ubuntu package page is specifically for Questing and identifies chromium-chromedriver as transitional to the Chromium snap: Ubuntu Questing package details. Check the package information for the Ubuntu release actually installed on your machine.
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Selenium’s October 2023 Selenium Manager status article gives a dated example in which Chromium was found at /snap/bin/chromium and a matching driver was resolved: Selenium Manager status in October 2023. That example is not a guarantee for every current Ubuntu release or Selenium Manager version. Verify the browser path and version locally.
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When setup fails
- “Unable to locate driver” or driver resolution fails: confirm Selenium is 4.6 or newer if you expect Selenium Manager to manage the driver; check browser discovery, network access for downloads, and stale binaries on PATH. If needed, configure a compatible driver explicitly through the language binding’s Service object.
- The browser starts, then the session fails: check that ChromeDriver matches the installed browser version. For Chrome 115+, use Chrome for Testing release data and the official version-selection guidance.
- Chromium is installed but Selenium does not find it: inspect the actual executable path for your Ubuntu release and package type. A snap-based installation may use a path such as
/snap/bin/chromium, as in Selenium’s dated 2023 example; do not assume that path without checking your machine. - Driver setup works but screenshots do not render as expected: treat this as a browser execution or rendering issue, not proof that driver installation failed. Headless flags and display-server requirements depend on the browser, Selenium, and Ubuntu environment; the official sources cited here do not verify one universal screenshot script for unspecified versions.
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