Install Selenium in the Python environment that will run your script, then start Chrome with webdriver.Chrome(). In a typical current setup, Selenium Manager can locate or obtain a compatible driver automatically, so you usually do not need to download ChromeDriver yourself.
Install Selenium in the right Python environment
Using a virtual environment helps ensure that Selenium is installed for the same Python interpreter that runs your script. From your project directory, create and activate one, then install or update Selenium:
python -m venv .venv
# Activate .venv using the command for your operating system
python -m pip install -U seleniumThe activation command varies by operating system and shell. After activation, python -m pip uses that environment’s interpreter. Selenium’s official Python documentation gives this installation approach: install Selenium for Python.
Run a complete Chrome example
Save this as selenium_chrome.py and run it with the Python interpreter where you installed Selenium:
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from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
try:
driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/web-form.html")
title = driver.title
text_box = driver.find_element(by=By.NAME, value="my-text")
submit_button = driver.find_element(by=By.CSS_SELECTOR, value="button")
text_box.send_keys("Selenium")
submit_button.click()
message = driver.find_element(by=By.ID, value="message")
print(title, message.text)
finally:
driver.quit()The script opens Selenium’s demonstration form, types into the field, submits it, and prints the page title and returned message. The finally block calls driver.quit() whether the steps succeed or raise an exception, closing the browser session. This follows the flow of Selenium’s first Python script.
How ChromeDriver setup works
When you call webdriver.Chrome() without providing a driver, Selenium can use Selenium Manager to handle driver discovery. Selenium Manager is shipped with Selenium releases starting at 4.6 and is invoked by the language bindings when a driver has not otherwise been supplied. It is a fallback, not a requirement: a driver already available on PATH or one configured explicitly can also be used. See Selenium Manager documentation.
For most first runs, start with the default constructor rather than downloading ChromeDriver and maintaining a machine-specific path. For tightly controlled environments, explicitly managing versions can make the browser and driver combination more reproducible, but it also means you must keep that configuration compatible as Chrome changes.
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Wait for the browser state you need
A browser command can finish before a dynamic page has rendered the element your next step needs. Selenium’s documentation calls synchronizing automation with browser state one of its biggest challenges and notes that doing it well is an advanced topic. Its first-script page presents a short implicit wait only as a simple placeholder and says implicit waits are rarely the best solution.
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from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
message = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(
EC.visibility_of_element_located((By.ID, "message"))
)
print(message.text)Place this in the session’s try block after the action that causes the result to appear. Choose a condition that matches the next operation: visibility before reading text, clickability before clicking. Avoid mixing implicit and explicit waits unless you understand how their timing interacts. Selenium’s guidance is in its first-script synchronization notes.
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Use a manual driver path only when needed
If automatic driver management does not suit your environment, Selenium supports passing a specific driver executable through Chrome’s Service object. This can be useful where driver binaries are provisioned centrally, but a hard-coded local path is less portable than the default setup.
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
service = Service(executable_path="/path/to/chromedriver")
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service)Replace the example path with the actual executable location for your system. Selenium documents driver configuration and service options in its driver location troubleshooting guide.
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Troubleshoot common startup and interaction failures
Chrome does not start or Selenium reports a driver error
- Confirm that Chrome is installed and can launch on the machine running the script.
- Update Selenium in the active environment with
python -m pip install -U selenium. - Record the Selenium and Python versions, operating system, Chrome version, and full error text. Inspect Selenium Manager’s output for driver discovery or download problems.
- If your environment blocks or cannot use automatic driver management, configure an explicit driver using
Serviceand check the driver-location guidance.
The script says an element cannot be found
The page may not have reached the state where that element exists, or the locator may not match the current page. Confirm the locator against the page’s actual markup and wait for the element or relevant state before using it.
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The browser remains open after an error
Put browser actions inside a try block and call driver.quit() in finally, as in the complete example. This closes the WebDriver session even if navigation, lookup, or interaction raises an exception.
Compatibility is unclear
Selenium’s Chrome documentation says Selenium 4 is compatible with Chrome version 75 and greater, but that broad statement does not guarantee every platform or feature combination. For version-specific issues, check the current Chrome browser guidance and the full error details.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to download ChromeDriver separately to run Selenium with Chrome?
Usually not: for a typical setup, Selenium Manager can handle driver discovery when you use webdriver.Chrome().
How do I close Chrome when my Selenium script finishes?
Call driver.quit(); putting it in a finally block also ensures cleanup if an earlier step raises an error.
