Run Selenium on a Heroku dyno by adding Heroku’s heroku-community/chrome-for-testing buildpack, installing the selenium-webdriver JavaScript package, and launching Chrome with --headless and --no-sandbox. The buildpack places matching Chrome and ChromeDriver binaries on PATH, while your Node.js code controls the browser, enables JavaScript by default, and closes the session in a finally block.
What the setup contains
A working deployment has four separate parts:
- Heroku dyno or Heroku CI: the environment that runs your application or test command.
- Chrome for Testing buildpack: installs Chrome and the matching ChromeDriver together.
- Node.js and selenium-webdriver: the JavaScript binding that creates and controls the browser session.
- Chrome options: flags suited to a containerized Heroku process.
JavaScript is enabled in Chrome by default. You do not add a “JavaScript enabled” switch; avoid disabling it with a preference or command-line flag. The binding does not install a browser by itself, so the buildpack remains necessary on Heroku even though current Selenium documentation describes Selenium Manager as able to handle driver installation in other environments.
1. Add the current Heroku buildpack
Use heroku-community/chrome-for-testing. It installs Chrome and ChromeDriver as an aligned pair and exposes both commands on PATH. Resolve the executables through PATH rather than hard-coding an absolute location; buildpack layouts can change.
For an application dyno
- Open the Heroku Dashboard, select your app, and go to Settings.
- In Buildpacks, click Add buildpack and add
https://github.com/heroku-community/chrome-for-testing. Keep your language buildpack in the list as well; Heroku runs buildpacks in order. - Alternatively, configure it with the Heroku CLI:
heroku buildpacks:add https://github.com/heroku-community/chrome-for-testing --app YOUR_APP. - Redeploy so the buildpack downloads the browser and driver. The default channel is Stable. Set the configuration variable
GOOGLE_CHROME_CHANNELtoBeta,Dev, orCanaryonly when your test suite specifically needs that channel.
For Heroku CI
Add the same Chrome for Testing buildpack to the CI test environment alongside the language buildpack. Your CI command still needs the selenium-webdriver dependency and Chrome options in test code; installing the buildpack does not create tests or choose a test runner.
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2. Prepare the Node.js project
Selenium’s current JavaScript API documentation specifies Node.js 22 or newer. Set an appropriate engine in package.json, then install the binding:
npm install selenium-webdriverCommit the resulting package-lock.json. A minimal package.json can define a worker or test command:
{
"engines": { "node": ">=22" },
"scripts": { "start": "node screenshot.js", "test": "node test.js" },
"dependencies": { "selenium-webdriver": "latest" }
}Use a pinned dependency range for production after confirming the version that your application supports. Heroku’s Node.js buildpack supplies Node; the Chrome buildpack supplies the browser and driver.
3. Launch headless Chrome from JavaScript
This complete example navigates to a URL, reads the page title, and always terminates Chrome. It relies on PATH resolution, so no buildpack-specific filesystem path is embedded.
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const { Builder } = require('selenium-webdriver');
const chrome = require('selenium-webdriver/chrome');
async function main() {
const options = new chrome.Options();
options.addArguments(
'--headless',
'--no-sandbox',
'--window-size=1365,1024'
);
// JavaScript remains enabled because we do not set a disabling preference.
const driver = await new Builder()
.forBrowser('chrome')
.setChromeOptions(options)
.build();
try {
await driver.get(process.env.TARGET_URL || 'https://example.com');
console.log('Title:', await driver.getTitle());
console.log('URL:', await driver.getCurrentUrl());
} finally {
await driver.quit();
}
}
main().catch((error) => {
console.error(error);
process.exitCode = 1;
});--headless runs without a display, and --no-sandbox is typically required by Chrome inside a Heroku dyno. The application should not assume that a visible desktop is available. Add --disable-gpu only if your workload shows rendering problems, and add --remote-debugging-port=9222 only when a diagnostic or integration workflow requires a DevTools endpoint. They are conditional troubleshooting flags, not defaults for every app.
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Wait for JavaScript-rendered content
Calling get() waits for the navigation to reach its normal completion, but a single-page application may render important content afterward. Use an explicit wait for a stable condition instead of a long arbitrary sleep:
const { By, until } = require('selenium-webdriver');
await driver.get('https://your-app.example/dashboard');
await driver.wait(until.elementLocated(By.css('[data-testid="dashboard"]')), 15000);
const text = await driver.findElement(By.css('[data-testid="dashboard"]')).getText();Choose a selector that represents the finished state. If content is loaded by an API, wait for the resulting element or an application-specific readiness marker.
4. Configure a Heroku process
For a web process, keep the HTTP server responsive and run browser work inside a request or a queued worker. For a one-off job, define a separate process type in Procfile:
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web: node server.js
browser: node screenshot.jsRun the browser job with heroku run browser --app YOUR_APP. Avoid starting one Chrome process per incoming request without limits; concurrent sessions consume dyno memory and CPU quickly. Reuse no driver across unrelated jobs unless you deliberately isolate cookies, local storage, and failure recovery.
5. Heroku CI test configuration
In Heroku CI, put the Chrome for Testing buildpack in the test environment’s buildpack list. Configure the test script in package.json, for example:
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{ "scripts": { "test": "node --test test/**/*.test.js" } }Your test files create and quit their own driver. A failed test must still execute cleanup; otherwise a hanging browser can make the CI command exceed its timeout. Keep test data and target URLs in environment variables rather than committing credentials.
6. Buildpack choices: current and legacy
| Approach | Chrome and driver relationship | Flag behavior | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
heroku-community/chrome-for-testing |
Installs a matched Chrome/ChromeDriver pair | Set flags in Selenium options | Current default for dynos and Heroku CI |
| Old separate Google Chrome and ChromeDriver buildpacks | Versions can drift apart | Older shims may inject flags | Do not use for a new setup |
| Archived standalone ChromeDriver buildpack | Not maintained as the preferred route | Depends on legacy configuration | Avoid |
The old Google Chrome buildpack documentation described a shim that added flags automatically and advised Selenium users not to install it. Chrome for Testing behaves differently: configure the flags where Chrome is launched.
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“Unable to obtain driver” or a missing Chrome binary
Confirm the Chrome for Testing buildpack is attached to the same app or CI environment as the language buildpack, then redeploy. In a dyno, inspect availability with which google-chrome and which chromedriver. Do not paste a path from an old buildpack release into code.
Chrome exits immediately or reports a sandbox error
Ensure --headless and --no-sandbox are present in the chrome.Options object before building the driver. If rendering still fails, try --disable-gpu and capture the complete driver log.
The page is blank or elements never appear
Check the target URL from the dyno, authentication requirements, outbound access, and application logs. Replace fixed sleeps with an explicit wait for a selector. A successful navigation does not guarantee that a client-rendered component has finished loading.
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Tests pass locally but fail in Heroku CI
Compare Node.js versions, browser channel selection, environment variables, viewport size, and test timing. Ensure the CI buildpacks include Chrome for Testing and that the test command actually runs the files containing Selenium code.
The process times out or memory is exhausted
Always call quit(), limit concurrent sessions, avoid unnecessarily large full-page captures, and split long suites into smaller CI jobs. Browser memory use depends on the pages and number of tabs; the setup itself does not establish a universal capacity.
Cookies or login state leak between tests
Create a fresh driver per isolated test group, or explicitly clear cookies and storage before the next case. Never share a driver containing credentials between unrelated users.
8. Reliability and maintenance checklist
- Pin and review Node and npm dependency updates.
- Use the Stable Chrome channel unless a different channel is a deliberate test target.
- Keep browser and driver supplied by the same Chrome for Testing buildpack.
- Use explicit waits and bounded timeouts for asynchronous UI states.
- Log the failing URL, browser error, and test name, but never secrets or session cookies.
- Recheck Heroku and Selenium documentation when buildpack releases, Chrome channels, or Node requirements change.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Selenium disable JavaScript in headless mode?
No. Headless Chrome executes JavaScript unless your code or browser preferences explicitly disable it.
Can I use a non-Stable Chrome channel on Heroku?
Yes. Set the GOOGLE_CHROME_CHANNEL configuration variable to Beta, Dev, or Canary, then redeploy.
Is Heroku CI the same as a production dyno?
No. Both can use the Chrome for Testing buildpack, but CI runs your test command while a dyno runs the process types declared for the application.
The Bottom Line
For a new JavaScript Selenium deployment, use Heroku’s Chrome for Testing buildpack, resolve Chrome and ChromeDriver from PATH, pass the headless dyno flags in code, and close every driver session reliably.
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