How to Run Your Tests Locally Against Chrome

Intro

It's straightforward to get your tests running locally against Firefox. But when you want to run them against a different browser like Chrome, you quickly run into configuration overhead that can seem overly complex and lacking in code examples for getting started.

With the introduction of WebDriver (circa Selenium 2) a lot of benefits were realized (e.g. more effective & faster browser execution, no more single host origin issues, etc.). But with it came some architectural & configuration differences that may not be widely known. Namely -- browser drivers.

A Solution

WebDriver works with each of the major browsers through a browser driver which is (ideally) maintained by the browser manufacturer. It is an executable file (consider it a thin layer or a shim) that acts as a bridge between Selenium and the browser.

ChromeDriver is Google Chrome's browser driver. In this specific use case is of using WebDriver with Chrome in testing locally.

Let's step through an example using ChromeDriver (download here).

About The Author

Dave Haeffner is the original writer of Elemental Selenium -- a free, once weekly Selenium tip newsletter that's read by thousands of testing professionals. He also created and maintains the-internet (an open-source web app that's perfect for writing automated tests against).

Dave has helped numerous companies successfully implement automated acceptance testing; including The Motley Fool, ManTech International, Sittercity, and Animoto. He is also an active member of the Selenium project and has spoken at numerous conferences and meetups around the world about automated acceptance testing.