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In Selenium 4, set browser capabilities with the browser’s Options class and pass that object to the WebDriver. “Desired Capabilities” remains a common name for the settings a WebDriver session requests, but the Selenium 3-style DesiredCapabilities-centered setup is not the recommended Selenium 4 pattern. For remote sessions, an Options object is required because it identifies the requested browser.

What capabilities do in Selenium

Capabilities describe the browser and session features requested when WebDriver creates a session. They matter especially with Remote WebDriver or Selenium Grid: the remote end uses the requested configuration to select a compatible browser environment. If a required capability cannot be provided, session creation can fail. The WebDriver capability model also supports alwaysMatch requirements and ordered firstMatch alternatives; most Selenium users set their request through the browser Options API rather than constructing those objects directly. See the MDN WebDriver capabilities reference.

Selenium’s current guidance is explicit: “As of Selenium 4, you must use the browser options classes.” See Selenium Browser Options.

Set capabilities with Selenium 4 Options

Choose the Options class for the browser you intend to start, set standard capability values on it, and pass it as options when creating the driver. For Python Remote WebDriver, the pattern is:

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from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.firefox.options import Options

options = Options()
options.set_capability("platformName", "windows")
options.browser_version = "142"

driver = webdriver.Remote(
    command_executor="http://grid.example:4444/wd/hub",
    options=options,
)

try:
    driver.get("https://example.com")
    print(driver.title)
finally:
    driver.quit()

Replace the example endpoint and requested browser version with values supported by your Grid or remote provider. The endpoint and version above illustrate the API pattern; they are not evidence that a particular Grid has that browser available. The browser Options class also varies by browser: use the matching class for Chrome, Firefox, or another supported browser. For local sessions, pass the Options object to that browser’s driver constructor; for remote sessions, pass it to webdriver.Remote.

What changed from Selenium 3

If older code creates a session from a DesiredCapabilities object, migrate the configuration into the appropriate browser Options object and pass that object to the driver. The Selenium 4 migration guide documents this change and the current W3C capability names: Upgrade to Selenium 4.

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Use current W3C capability names

Selenium 4 follows the W3C WebDriver standard. Use the standard names in the Options API instead of older spellings. Common standard capabilities include:

Capability What it requests
browserName The browser type, such as Firefox or Chrome.
browserVersion The requested browser version.
platformName The operating-system platform for the session.
acceptInsecureCerts Whether the session should accept insecure certificates.
pageLoadStrategy How navigation waits for the page to load.
proxy Proxy configuration for the session.
timeouts Session timeout settings.
unhandledPromptBehavior How WebDriver handles unhandled prompts.

In particular, replace legacy version with browserVersion, and legacy platform with platformName. A remote Grid must actually offer the requested browser and platform; using the current spelling does not make an unavailable configuration available.

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Choose a page-load strategy deliberately

pageLoadStrategy changes when WebDriver returns from navigation. Selenium documents three values:

Strategy When navigation returns Trade-off
normal (default) After the document ready state is complete and page resources have downloaded. Waits for more of the initial page load, which can take longer when resources are slow.
eager When the document is interactive. The DOM is ready, but resources such as images may still be loading.
none Without waiting for page loading to finish. Returns control earliest, but page content may not yet be ready for interaction.

Use a faster strategy only when your test can handle the resulting state. A page reaching complete does not mean a JavaScript-heavy single-page application has finished its later dynamic work. Keep explicit waits for the elements or conditions your test actually needs; changing the navigation strategy is not a substitute for waiting on application behavior.

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Pass browser-specific and provider-specific settings safely

Standard capabilities use the W3C names above. Browser-specific and remote-provider settings are extensions, so use the namespace and structure required by that browser or provider. Selenium’s migration documentation shows provider settings nested under a vendor key such as cloud:options; the actual prefix and accepted fields depend on the provider. Check the current documentation for your Grid or cloud service rather than placing an extension field at the top level and assuming it will be accepted.

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Troubleshoot session creation and capability errors

  • Session fails after migrating from Selenium 3: replace the DesiredCapabilities-centered setup with the matching browser Options class and pass it using the driver’s options argument.
  • Remote endpoint rejects a capability: check whether it is a standard W3C capability or an extension. Correct old version/platform spellings to browserVersion/platformName; put provider-specific settings in the provider’s required namespace.
  • No matching browser or session configuration is found: verify the requested browser name, exact version, operating-system platform, and that the remote endpoint actually supports that combination.
  • A requested option is ignored or session negotiation fails: confirm the capability name and extension format against the current Grid or cloud-provider documentation. A field accepted by one provider may not be accepted by another.
  • The test interacts before a page is ready: check the page-load strategy and add an explicit wait for the relevant element or application condition. Neither normal nor the faster strategies guarantee that later dynamic application work has completed.

For Python API details, see Selenium’s Desired Capabilities API documentation for Selenium 4.49.0. It documents the API surface; use browser Options for new Selenium 4 session setup.

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Or skip the browser setup

If your goal is a rendered website screenshot rather than browser automation or test interaction, ScreenshotNeo is a separate screenshot API and MCP server—not a Selenium driver or replacement for Selenium tests. One GET request can return a screenshot or PDF. Its capture flow can accept cookie banners and remove known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed. It also provides MCP tools for AI agents, including Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.

Example cURL request:

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card required; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account.

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