As of October 3, 2026, Selenium’s official blog archive lists Selenium 4.49, released September 9, as its latest release. The project has also announced a Java compatibility change planned for 4.51, mirrored its official Grid images to GitHub Container Registry, and pointed users toward WebDriver BiDi as the future direction for browser-protocol support.
What’s new in Selenium?
The clearest current update is the 4.49 release. Selenium’s project blog announced it on September 9, 2026; the archive also lists 4.48 on August 27 and 4.47 on August 10. Those dates show recent release activity, not a guaranteed release schedule. The archive’s latest listed release was 4.49 at the time of this article’s October 3, 2026 cutoff.
The other important items are announcements and ecosystem developments, not features that should be assumed to have shipped in 4.49: a planned change to Java’s ExpectedCondition beginning with 4.51, an official GitHub Container Registry mirror for Selenium Grid images, and the project’s emphasis on WebDriver BiDi.
What Java maintainers should prepare for in Selenium 4.51
In a September 21, 2026 announcement, Selenium said that starting with version 4.51, Java’s ExpectedCondition will stop implementing Guava’s Function interface. This is a planned compatibility change, not a claim that it is already present in 4.49.
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Before upgrading to 4.51, check application and test code for places where an ExpectedCondition is used as a Guava Function, or passed to an API that expects that interface. Review Selenium’s migration detail and adjust affected code to the supported types and APIs before updating. The announcement identifies who may be affected and how to prepare; the project’s migration guidance should be treated as authoritative for specific code changes.
Where to pull Selenium Grid container images
Selenium announced that its official Grid Docker images are mirrored to GitHub Container Registry (GHCR), describing GHCR as an official alternative to Docker Hub. Teams can consider the mirror when selecting a registry source for Grid images, particularly where their infrastructure or image-pull policy is configured around a specific registry.
This announcement establishes the availability of an official mirror; it does not establish that GHCR is faster, cheaper, or preferable for every deployment. Check the current Selenium Grid documentation and your organization’s registry policies before changing image references.
WebDriver BiDi is the direction to watch
Selenium’s archive says Chrome DevTools support for Firefox was removed and describes WebDriver BiDi as the way forward. The archive also reports that Puppeteer has moved to support WebDriver BiDi in Chromium browsers and Firefox. Together, these updates make BiDi relevant to teams planning cross-browser automation and evaluating protocol-specific tooling.
That direction should not be mistaken for full feature parity. Browser and implementation coverage can differ, so verify that the particular BiDi commands and browser behaviors your tests require are supported in your target Selenium and browser versions.
Other project updates and historical context
AI-assisted Selenium code
On September 29, 2026, Selenium announced a documentation page addressing recurring errors in Selenium code written by coding agents. Developers using AI-generated tests can use the project’s guidance as a review aid, but should still verify generated code against the APIs and browser behavior in their own environment.
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Grid and browser release announcements
The 2026 archive also lists a Grid 4.41.0 update and Selenium 4.41 release in February, a March announcement that Chrome was moving to two-week releases, and the April 9 Selenium 4.42 release. These are dated announcements; they do not by themselves describe the current status of each browser or deployment.
Python support and a past Chrome telemetry observation
Selenium’s 2025 archive includes an announcement that its Python WebDriver bindings were ending support for Python 3.9. If you maintain an older Python test environment, consult the relevant Selenium release and support information before upgrading; the archive item is a dated notice, not a statement of today’s supported Python versions.
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A separate 2025 Selenium post reported telemetry indicating over 28 million users locked to Chrome version 127.0.6533.99. This is a historical project-reported observation about a particular browser version. It is not a current count of Selenium users or an independently verified estimate.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this means for a Selenium team
- On Selenium 4.49 or earlier: treat the Java 4.51 change as upgrade preparation, not as a change already included in 4.49.
- On Grid: GHCR is an official image source option alongside Docker Hub; choose based on your operational requirements.
- On cross-browser tests: assess WebDriver BiDi support for the specific browsers and capabilities you use rather than assuming implementations are interchangeable.
- Using coding agents: include the Selenium project’s agent-focused documentation in your review process for generated code.
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