Troubleshooting Guide – Common errors and fixes - Nytrotype/Selenium-with-Java-automation-work GitHub Wiki

Automation testing with Selenium + Java can introduce unexpected errors related to WebDriver compatibility, element identification, execution environments, and CI/CD integrations. This guide provides common Selenium errors with detailed fixes, helping ensure stable test execution across environments.

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✅ Cause:

• The installed browser version is incompatible with the WebDriver version.
• Outdated ChromeDriver/GeckoDriver.

✅ Fix:

• Update ChromeDriver/GeckoDriver to match the browser version.
• Download the latest ChromeDriver from: [ChromeDriver Downloads](https://chromedriver.chromium.org/downloads)
• Example setup:

  System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "C:\\path\\to\\chromedriver.exe");
  WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

• If running headless, ensure WebDriver supports the version:

  ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions();
  options.addArguments("--headless");
  WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(options);

✅ Cause:

• Missing WebDriver path in system properties or incorrect location.

✅ Fix:

• Ensure WebDriver binary (chromedriver.exe, geckodriver.exe) is placed in the correct folder.
• Set driver path explicitly:

  System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "C:\\path\\to\\chromedriver.exe");

• If using Docker, confirm Selenium WebDriver binaries exist in the container.

✅ Cause:

• WebDriver may not have sufficient permissions or may be blocked by firewall policies.

✅ Fix:

• Ensure administrator privileges are enabled for WebDriver execution.
• Run WebDriver as an administrator (Right-click → Run as Administrator).
• Check antivirus/firewall settings, as they might block the execution.

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✅ Cause:

• Incorrect XPath/CSS selectors.
• The element is not visible or not present in the DOM.

✅ Fix:

• Verify selectors using browser Inspect Tool (F12).
• Use Explicit Waits instead of direct element interaction:

  WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
  WebElement element = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id("submit")));

• If inside an iframe, switch context:

  driver.switchTo().frame("frameName");

✅ Cause:

• The element was dynamically updated or removed from the DOM before interaction.

✅ Fix:

• Relocate the element before interacting:

  WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("button"));
  element.click(); // Re-fetch before clicking

• Use Explicit Waits:

  WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(5));
  wait.until(ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(By.id("button"))).click();

✅ Cause:

• Another element is blocking the clickable element (e.g., pop-ups, overlays).

✅ Fix:

• Scroll into view before clicking:

  JavascriptExecutor js = (JavascriptExecutor) driver;
  js.executeScript("arguments[0].scrollIntoView();", element);
  element.click();

• Handle pop-ups using JavaScript Executor:

  js.executeScript("document.getElementById('button').click();");

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✅ Cause:

• The element took too long to load due to a slow application response.

✅ Fix:

• Increase Explicit Wait duration:

  new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(15))
      .until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id("searchBox")));

• Use Fluent Waits for better handling:

  Wait<WebDriver> fluentWait = new FluentWait<>(driver)
      .withTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(20))
      .pollingEvery(Duration.ofSeconds(2))
      .ignoring(NoSuchElementException.class);

✅ Cause:

• Insufficient memory allocation for Java execution.

✅ Fix:

• Increase JVM memory allocation:

  java -Xmx4G -Xms2G -jar selenium-tests.jar

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✅ Cause:

• Selenium Grid or Cloud Execution (Sauce Labs, LambdaTest) isn't reachable.

✅ Fix:

• Ensure Selenium Hub URL is correct in remote WebDriver setup:

  String hubUrl = "http://localhost:4444/wd/hub";
  WebDriver driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new URL(hubUrl), new ChromeOptions());

• Check firewall/network configurations that may block execution.

✅ Cause:

• Dependency issues, missing browser drivers, or unsupported execution environment.

✅ Fix:

• Verify browser drivers exist in CI/CD environment.
• Run tests in headless mode:

  ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions();
  options.addArguments("--headless");
  WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(options);

• Configure GitHub Actions pipeline to cache dependencies:

  - name: Cache Maven dependencies
    uses: actions/cache@v2
    with:
      path: ~/.m2/repository
      key: ${{ runner.os }}-maven-${{ hashFiles('**/pom.xml') }}
      restore-keys: ${{ runner.os }}-maven-

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✅ Cause:

• High CPU usage, improper waits, or redundant operations.

✅ Fix:

• Disable animations in Windows (Search "Performance Options" → Disable Visual Effects).
• Optimize test execution with Parallel Testing:

  <suite name="Automation Suite" parallel="methods" thread-count="4">

✅ Fix:

• Implement retry logic for unstable elements:

  @Test(retryAnalyzer = RetryAnalyzer.class)
  public void testExample() { ... }

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This expanded troubleshooting guide provides fixes for common Selenium errors, ensuring smooth automation execution. By applying wait strategies, debugging browser issues, optimizing test execution, and improving CI/CD configurations, QA engineers/SDETs can maintain reliable test environments.