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The short answer
Set the argument in your Chrome options object and let Selenium start Chrome in Headless mode:
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
options = Options()
options.add_argument("--headless")
driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)
try:
driver.get("https://example.com")
print(driver.title)
finally:
driver.quit()This is the current Chrome documentation’s Selenium pattern. The browser still uses the normal Chrome binary; Headless changes how it runs without a visible window. You can use the same session for navigation, DOM interaction, screenshots, downloads and other WebDriver operations, subject to the behavior of the page and your test.
What each spelling means
| Argument | Chrome era | What to do today |
|---|---|---|
--headless |
Current documented invocation | Use this with current Chrome and Selenium. Chrome documents Headless and headful as unified modes. |
--headless=chrome |
Transition syntax for Chrome 96–108, according to Selenium’s 2023 migration post | Keep it only when maintaining an environment deliberately pinned to that transition-era behavior. |
--headless=new |
Transition syntax used after Chrome 109 while the newer implementation rolled out | Recognize it in older projects, but do not choose it as the primary spelling for current Chrome documentation. |
The names describe a rollout, not three permanent current products. During the transition, Chrome exposed different arguments to select the newer implementation. Current Chrome documentation now presents the unified implementation through the bare flag.
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How Chrome’s Headless implementation changed
Chrome 96 through 108
Selenium’s January 2023 migration guidance records --headless=chrome as the spelling for the newer Headless implementation in Chrome versions 96–108. If a historical build, container image or test fixture explicitly targets one of those versions, that argument explains what the code is doing.
Chrome 109 and later during the rollout
The same Selenium guidance records --headless=new after Chrome 109. This was an opt-in name while the implementation was being integrated. Many examples copied during that period still contain it, which is why it appears in current code searches even though the latest Chrome example uses --headless.
Chrome 112: unified behavior
Chrome’s Headless documentation says the updated mode became unified with headful Chrome in the Chrome 112 update. In practical terms, the Headless browser is no longer a separate, reduced browser implementation selected by a special value-bearing flag; it is Chrome running without a visible UI.
Chrome 132.0.6793.0 and the old shell
Chrome’s documentation states that, since version 132.0.6793.0, the old Headless implementation is available only as the standalone chrome-headless-shell binary. It is not selected as an ordinary mode inside the regular Chrome binary. This matters when reading old deployment notes: “old Headless” and “new Headless” refer to implementation history, while the regular current Chrome invocation is the bare flag.
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Python: a complete Selenium setup
Minimal navigation test
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
options = Options()
options.add_argument("--headless")
driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)
try:
driver.set_window_size(1365, 900)
driver.get("https://example.com")
print({
"title": driver.title,
"url": driver.current_url,
})
finally:
driver.quit()Options.add_argument passes a Chrome command-line switch. The window size is independent of the Headless selection; set it when responsive layout or screenshot dimensions matter. Always quit in a finally block so a failed assertion does not leave Chrome processes behind.
Keeping a transition-era project running
If a pinned test image requires the historical argument, change only the option line:
options.add_argument("--headless=new")Do not add all three flags. They are alternative spellings for different rollout contexts, not settings that should be combined.
JavaScript with Selenium
Chrome’s official Selenium example uses the same bare argument in JavaScript:
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const { Builder } = require('selenium-webdriver');
const chrome = require('selenium-webdriver/chrome');
const options = new chrome.Options();
options.addArguments('--headless');
(async function run() {
const driver = await new Builder()
.forBrowser('chrome')
.setChromeOptions(options)
.build();
try {
await driver.get('https://example.com');
console.log(await driver.getTitle());
} finally {
await driver.quit();
}
})();The important detail is the argument list, not a deprecated convenience method. Selenium’s headless convenience method was deprecated in Selenium 4.8.0 and removed in 4.10.0; configure the mode through Chrome arguments instead.
Driver and version compatibility
Selenium’s Chrome documentation requires the Chrome and ChromeDriver major versions to match. Check both before changing Headless flags. A session that fails before your first navigation is often a driver/browser pairing problem rather than a Headless problem.
- Record the browser major version from the Chrome installation used by the test runner.
- Use a ChromeDriver with the same major version. Do not assume the driver on your workstation is the one inside CI.
- Confirm the binary path when multiple Chrome installations are present. A driver can match one installation while Selenium launches another.
- Log the exact arguments and versions in CI. This makes an image upgrade distinguishable from a test regression.
Selenium’s documentation lists --headless=new among commonly used arguments, while Chrome’s current page demonstrates --headless. Treat that apparent disagreement as version-era documentation, not evidence that three current modes remain available.
Choosing the right argument
Use the bare flag for a new project
For a newly created test, scraper or automation job using a current Chrome release, use --headless. It is the spelling shown by the current Chrome Headless documentation and avoids baking a migration-era alias into new code.
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Retain an alias only for a pinned environment
Use --headless=chrome or --headless=new only when the project intentionally pins a browser version or depends on a documented compatibility constraint from that era. Put the reason beside the argument and pin the browser and driver together; otherwise a future maintainer may “modernize” one part and create a mismatched environment.
Do not choose by presumed speed
The official material establishes version and implementation history, not a controlled speed, memory or visual-equivalence benchmark. A flag name is not evidence that one spelling is faster. Measure your own workload if performance is important, keeping the Chrome version, driver, page set, viewport and machine constant.
Troubleshooting Headless Chrome
“Chrome failed to start” or the session closes immediately
- Check that ChromeDriver and Chrome have the same major version.
- Verify that Selenium is launching the intended Chrome binary, especially on CI hosts with multiple installations.
- Run the smallest script first: create the driver, print the title of a simple page, and quit. Add test-specific arguments only after that works.
The code uses headless() and fails after a Selenium upgrade
Replace the removed or deprecated convenience call with options.add_argument("--headless") (or the equivalent JavaScript addArguments call). Selenium 4.8.0 deprecated the convenience method and Selenium 4.10.0 removed it.
An old tutorial says to use --headless=chrome
Identify the Chrome version that tutorial targets. That spelling belongs to the Chrome 96–108 transition documented by Selenium. For current Chrome, follow the bare-flag example instead.
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An old tutorial says to use --headless=new
It is probably describing the post-Chrome-109 rollout. The argument may still appear in legacy suites, but current Chrome documentation uses --headless. Do not infer that the value-bearing form is a separate modern browser mode.
The page looks different from a visible-browser run
Compare the inputs that affect rendering: Chrome version, viewport size, device scale, logged-in state, cookies, network conditions and timing. Headless mode alone does not establish pixel identity, and the cited documentation provides no cross-environment visual benchmark.
A test hangs on page load
Separate browser startup from page readiness. Add explicit waits for the condition your test needs, capture the current URL and title when a timeout occurs, and ensure the driver is always quit. A page that never finishes its own network activity can make an unrestricted load wait look like a Headless failure.
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Quick Recap
Operational checklist
- Choose the browser version you actually deploy.
- Match ChromeDriver’s major version to Chrome’s major version.
- Pass the bare
--headlessargument for current Chrome. - Keep an old value-bearing flag only when a pinned legacy environment requires it.
- Set the viewport explicitly when responsive layout affects assertions or images.
- Log versions, arguments, URL and failure details in CI.
- Quit every driver in cleanup code.
- Use measured, workload-specific tests for performance decisions; flag names do not supply a benchmark.
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