selenium [🐛 Bug]: Selenium unable to connect to Chrome 128 when not directly installed

What happened?

We have .Net console application run as a Windows Service which uses Selenium to drive Chrome, through Selenium.WebDriver.ChromeDriver 128 and Selenium.WebDriver 4.23. So, it is run under Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022.

In our different environments, it has started to fail since last week, with the latest affected environment failing since yesterday (Sunday 25 of August). It appears to fail working with Chrome 128. The BrowserVersion option was set as stable. Forcing it to 127 restores the application, allowing it to operate normally. Switching back to stable or forcing it explicitly to 128 causes the trouble to appear again.

The trouble was originally seen while using ChromeDriver 127. Upgrading it to 128 changed nothing. Purging the .cache/selenium folder did not help.

The trouble is not reproducible on a machine on which Chrome 128 is directly installed. If it is not installed, or if only an older version is installed, the trouble occurs.

When there is the trouble, the application logs contain an error about a network service crash, then a "Sandbox cannot access executable" error, then timeouts from renderer.

Chrome-Error-Log.txt Chrome-Normal-Log.txt

Moreover, running the application locally in an interactive session show a blank window appearing, when the trouble occurs. Chrome-Blank-Windows

Of course it may be a Chrome or Chromedriver issue instead of a Selenium one, but I do not know. Still it makes Chrome 128 unusable with Selenium and Windows if there is no standalone installation of Chrome.

And maybe the CI troubles in #14429 are related since it seems to upgrade some things to the 128 version.

How can we reproduce the issue?

Make sure Chrome is not installed at all on the test machine.

In a new net8 Console app project, add Nuget references to Selenium.WebDriver 4.27, and paste this code into the Program.cs file:

using OpenQA.Selenium.Chrome;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Internal.Logging;

Log.SetLevel(LogEventLevel.Trace);
var driverOptions = new ChromeOptions()
{
    BrowserVersion = "128"
};
driverOptions.AddArgument("headless");
using var driver = new ChromeDriver(driverOptions);

Console.WriteLine("Press enter to leave");
Console.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine("Closing Chrome");
driver.Close();
Console.WriteLine("Exiting");

I have not added rendering calls, so that minimal example only shows the initialization troubles including the blank window, not the rendering timeouts. Using 127 as the BrowserVersion makes the initialization troubles disappear.

Relevant log output

14:08:59.501 TRACE SeleniumManager: Driver path: C:\Users\fdelaporte\.cache\selenium\chromedriver\win64\128.0.6613.84\chromedriver.exe
14:08:59.526 TRACE SeleniumManager: Browser path: C:\Users\fdelaporte\.cache\selenium\chrome\win64\128.0.6613.84\chrome.exe
Starting ChromeDriver 128.0.6613.84 (606aa55c7d687518d34b55accc5a71ea0bd28727-refs/branch-heads/6613@{#1335}) on port 51150
Only local connections are allowed.
Please see https://chromedriver.chromium.org/security-considerations for suggestions on keeping ChromeDriver safe.
ChromeDriver was started successfully on port 51150.
14:08:59.866 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Executing command: []: newSession {"capabilities":{"firstMatch":[{"browserName":"chrome","goog:chromeOptions":{"args":["headless"],"binary":"C:\\Users\\fdelaporte\\.cache\\selenium\\chrome\\win64\\128.0.6613.84\\chrome.exe"}}]}}
14:08:59.873 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: >> Method: POST, RequestUri: 'http://localhost:51150/session', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.ByteArrayContent, Headers:
{
  Accept: application/json; charset=utf-8
  User-Agent: selenium/4.23.0
  User-Agent: (.net windows)
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
  Content-Length: 194
}
{"capabilities":{"firstMatch":[{"browserName":"chrome","goog:chromeOptions":{"args":["headless"],"binary":"C:\\Users\\fdelaporte\\.cache\\selenium\\chrome\\win64\\128.0.6613.84\\chrome.exe"}}]}}
[24828:27152:0826/140900.126:ERROR:sandbox_win.cc(852)] Sandbox cannot access executable. Check filesystem permissions are valid. See https://bit.ly/31yqMJR.: Acc├¿s refus├®. (0x5)

DevTools listening on ws://127.0.0.1:51153/devtools/browser/c06b5642-48e8-49ae-b2b8-1c0c5e027cbf
[24828:3464:0826/140900.312:ERROR:network_service_instance_impl.cc(608)] Network service crashed, restarting service.
14:09:00.661 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: << StatusCode: 200, ReasonPhrase: 'OK', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionResponseContent, Headers:
{
  Cache-Control: no-cache
  Content-Length: 866
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
}
14:09:00.673 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Response: (c29a448d094106dcb43e27a4ee178b2d Success: System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[System.String,System.Object])
Press enter to leave
Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.

Closing driver
14:09:17.747 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Executing command: [c29a448d094106dcb43e27a4ee178b2d]: close {}
14:09:17.749 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: >> Method: DELETE, RequestUri: 'http://localhost:51150/session/c29a448d094106dcb43e27a4ee178b2d/window', Version: 1.1, Content: <null>, Headers:
{
  User-Agent: selenium/4.23.0
  User-Agent: (.net windows)
  Accept: application/json
  Accept: image/png
}
14:09:18.043 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: << StatusCode: 200, ReasonPhrase: 'OK', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionResponseContent, Headers:
{
  Cache-Control: no-cache
  Content-Length: 12
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
}
14:09:18.048 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Response: ( Success: System.Object[])
Exiting

Operating System

Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, run from Paris, France.

Selenium version

.net 8.0.8

What are the browser(s) and version(s) where you see this issue?

Chrome 128 (128.0.6613.84)

What are the browser driver(s) and version(s) where you see this issue?

ChromeDriver 128.0.6613.84 (and 127.0.6533.119)

Are you using Selenium Grid?

No

Aug 26 '24 12:08 fredericDelaporte

@fredericDelaporte, thank you for creating this issue. We will troubleshoot it as soon as we can.

Info for maintainers

Triage this issue by using labels.

If information is missing, add a helpful comment and then I-issue-template label.

If the issue is a question, add the I-question label.

If the issue is valid but there is no time to troubleshoot it, consider adding the help wanted label.

If the issue requires changes or fixes from an external project (e.g., ChromeDriver, GeckoDriver, MSEdgeDriver, W3C), add the applicable G-* label, and it will provide the correct link and auto-close the issue.

After troubleshooting the issue, please add the R-awaiting answer label.

Thank you!

Aug 26 '24 12:08 github-actions[bot]

Symptoms are similar to https://github.com/SeleniumHQ/docker-selenium/issues/2332 (adding --disable-search-engine-choice-screen chrome argument should resolve it).

Aug 26 '24 16:08 nvborisenko

This did not work. New test program:

using OpenQA.Selenium.Chrome;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Internal.Logging;

Log.SetLevel(LogEventLevel.Trace);
var driverOptions = new ChromeOptions()
{
    BrowserVersion = "stable"
};
driverOptions.AddArgument("headless=new");
driverOptions.AddArgument("--disable-search-engine-choice-screen");
var driver = new ChromeDriver(driverOptions);

Console.WriteLine("Press enter to leave");
Console.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine("Disposing");
driver.Dispose();
Console.WriteLine("Exiting");

New log:

09:08:05.217 TRACE SeleniumManager: Driver path: C:\Users\fdelaporte\.cache\selenium\chromedriver\win64\128.0.6613.84\chromedriver.exe
09:08:05.258 TRACE SeleniumManager: Browser path: C:\Users\fdelaporte\.cache\selenium\chrome\win64\128.0.6613.84\chrome.exe
Starting ChromeDriver 128.0.6613.84 (606aa55c7d687518d34b55accc5a71ea0bd28727-refs/branch-heads/6613@{#1335}) on port 49979
Only local connections are allowed.
Please see https://chromedriver.chromium.org/security-considerations for suggestions on keeping ChromeDriver safe.
ChromeDriver was started successfully on port 49979.
09:08:05.913 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Executing command: []: newSession {"capabilities":{"firstMatch":[{"browserName":"chrome","goog:chromeOptions":{"args":["headless=new","--disable-search-engine-choice-screen"],"binary":"C:\\Users\\fdelaporte\\.cache\\selenium\\chrome\\win64\\128.0.6613.84\\chrome.exe"}}]}}
09:08:05.926 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: >> Method: POST, RequestUri: 'http://localhost:49979/session', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.ByteArrayContent, Headers:
{
  Accept: application/json; charset=utf-8
  User-Agent: selenium/4.23.0
  User-Agent: (.net windows)
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
  Content-Length: 238
}
{"capabilities":{"firstMatch":[{"browserName":"chrome","goog:chromeOptions":{"args":["headless=new","--disable-search-engine-choice-screen"],"binary":"C:\\Users\\fdelaporte\\.cache\\selenium\\chrome\\win64\\128.0.6613.84\\chrome.exe"}}]}}
[3808:18404:0827/090806.187:ERROR:sandbox_win.cc(852)] Sandbox cannot access executable. Check filesystem permissions are valid. See https://bit.ly/31yqMJR.: Acc├¿s refus├®. (0x5)

DevTools listening on ws://127.0.0.1:49984/devtools/browser/07a6bc45-3286-4ae5-9062-950a834efc94
[3808:15248:0827/090806.434:ERROR:network_service_instance_impl.cc(608)] Network service crashed, restarting service.
09:08:06.757 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: << StatusCode: 200, ReasonPhrase: 'OK', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionResponseContent, Headers:
{
  Cache-Control: no-cache
  Content-Length: 867
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
}
09:08:06.769 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Response: (a2669725746fee118e4bf1d5897f8b01 Success: System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[System.String,System.Object])
Press enter to leave
Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.

Disposing
09:10:06.278 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Executing command: [a2669725746fee118e4bf1d5897f8b01]: quit {}
09:10:06.304 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: >> Method: DELETE, RequestUri: 'http://localhost:49979/session/a2669725746fee118e4bf1d5897f8b01', Version: 1.1, Content: <null>, Headers:
{
  User-Agent: selenium/4.23.0
  User-Agent: (.net windows)
  Accept: application/json
  Accept: image/png
}
09:10:06.576 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: << StatusCode: 200, ReasonPhrase: 'OK', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionResponseContent, Headers:
{
  Cache-Control: no-cache
  Content-Length: 14
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
}
09:10:06.577 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Response: ( Success: )
Exiting

D:\Temp\Tests\Chrome-Trouble\bin\Debug\net8.0\Chrome-Trouble.exe (process 21804) exited with code 0 (0x0).

I have tried setting the option before headless=new, using headless without the new value, combining both option in the same argument: same result.

But something work: headless=old, without the --disable-search-engine-choice-screen flag, makes the trouble go away, without forcing the 127 version.

That does not look as viable long term solution though.

Aug 27 '24 07:08 fredericDelaporte

I have also tried without the initial double dash just in case since headless works without, but that is still not working.

using OpenQA.Selenium.Chrome;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Internal.Logging;

Log.SetLevel(LogEventLevel.Trace);
var driverOptions = new ChromeOptions()
{
    BrowserVersion = "stable"
};
driverOptions.AddArgument("headless");
driverOptions.AddArgument("disable-search-engine-choice-screen");
var driver = new ChromeDriver(driverOptions);

Console.WriteLine("Press enter to leave");
Console.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine("Disposing");
driver.Dispose();
Console.WriteLine("Exiting");

Same log, same trouble.

Aug 27 '24 07:08 fredericDelaporte

If that is the search engine choice which is causing it, the trouble could be dependent on the location, from what I read elsewhere. So, these tests are run from France, Paris.

Aug 27 '24 07:08 fredericDelaporte

Another test: running the same program without the headless argument, and without the disable search engine choice option, does not show the search engine choice, but still fail.

Program:

using OpenQA.Selenium.Chrome;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Internal.Logging;

Log.SetLevel(LogEventLevel.Trace);
var driverOptions = new ChromeOptions()
{
    BrowserVersion = "stable"
};
var driver = new ChromeDriver(driverOptions);

Console.WriteLine("Press enter to leave");
Console.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine("Closing Chrome");
driver.Close();
Console.WriteLine("Disposing");
driver.Dispose();
Console.WriteLine("Exiting");

Same trouble, log:

12:33:35.019 TRACE SeleniumManager: Driver path: C:\Users\fdelaporte\.cache\selenium\chromedriver\win64\128.0.6613.84\chromedriver.exe
12:33:35.076 TRACE SeleniumManager: Browser path: C:\Users\fdelaporte\.cache\selenium\chrome\win64\128.0.6613.84\chrome.exe
Starting ChromeDriver 128.0.6613.84 (606aa55c7d687518d34b55accc5a71ea0bd28727-refs/branch-heads/6613@{#1335}) on port 53474
Only local connections are allowed.
Please see https://chromedriver.chromium.org/security-considerations for suggestions on keeping ChromeDriver safe.
ChromeDriver was started successfully on port 53474.
12:33:36.057 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Executing command: []: newSession {"capabilities":{"firstMatch":[{"browserName":"chrome","goog:chromeOptions":{"binary":"C:\\Users\\fdelaporte\\.cache\\selenium\\chrome\\win64\\128.0.6613.84\\chrome.exe"}}]}}
12:33:36.079 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: >> Method: POST, RequestUri: 'http://localhost:53474/session', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.ByteArrayContent, Headers:
{
  Accept: application/json; charset=utf-8
  User-Agent: selenium/4.23.0
  User-Agent: (.net windows)
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
  Content-Length: 174
}
{"capabilities":{"firstMatch":[{"browserName":"chrome","goog:chromeOptions":{"binary":"C:\\Users\\fdelaporte\\.cache\\selenium\\chrome\\win64\\128.0.6613.84\\chrome.exe"}}]}}
[11644:26956:0827/123336.644:ERROR:sandbox_win.cc(852)] Sandbox cannot access executable. Check filesystem permissions are valid. See https://bit.ly/31yqMJR.: Acc├¿s refus├®. (0x5)

DevTools listening on ws://127.0.0.1:53477/devtools/browser/dbee8aef-6858-4a4b-a838-495849dee70b
[11644:19656:0827/123336.952:ERROR:network_service_instance_impl.cc(608)] Network service crashed, restarting service.
12:33:37.321 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: << StatusCode: 200, ReasonPhrase: 'OK', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionResponseContent, Headers:
{
  Cache-Control: no-cache
  Content-Length: 866
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
}
12:33:37.334 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Response: (a314d7b0db11b02e2edb5755eaa64154 Success: System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[System.String,System.Object])
Press enter to leave
Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.

Closing Chrome
12:36:01.288 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Executing command: [a314d7b0db11b02e2edb5755eaa64154]: close {}
12:36:01.293 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: >> Method: DELETE, RequestUri: 'http://localhost:53474/session/a314d7b0db11b02e2edb5755eaa64154/window', Version: 1.1, Content: <null>, Headers:
{
  User-Agent: selenium/4.23.0
  User-Agent: (.net windows)
  Accept: application/json
  Accept: image/png
}
12:36:01.540 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: << StatusCode: 200, ReasonPhrase: 'OK', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionResponseContent, Headers:
{
  Cache-Control: no-cache
  Content-Length: 12
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
}
12:36:01.543 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Response: ( Success: System.Object[])
Disposing
12:36:01.546 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Executing command: [a314d7b0db11b02e2edb5755eaa64154]: quit {}
12:36:01.548 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: >> Method: DELETE, RequestUri: 'http://localhost:53474/session/a314d7b0db11b02e2edb5755eaa64154', Version: 1.1, Content: <null>, Headers:
{
  User-Agent: selenium/4.23.0
  User-Agent: (.net windows)
  Accept: application/json
  Accept: image/png
}
12:36:01.643 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: << StatusCode: 200, ReasonPhrase: 'OK', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionResponseContent, Headers:
{
  Cache-Control: no-cache
  Content-Length: 14
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
}
12:36:01.644 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Response: ( Success: )
Exiting

D:\Temp\Tests\Chrome-Trouble\bin\Debug\net8.0\Chrome-Trouble.exe (process 27468) exited with code 0 (0x0).

And screenshot of opened Chrome:

Quick translations if that helps:

Chrome for Testing v128.0.6613.84 est réservé aux tests automatisés. Pour une navigation normale, utilisez une version standard de Chrome qui se met à jour automatiquement. Téléchargez Chrome

Means:

Chrome for Testing v128.0.6613.84 is meant for automated testing. For regular browsing, use a standard Chrome version with automated updates. Download Chrome

And:

Chrome est contrôlé par un logiciel de test automatisé.

Means:

Chrome is controlled by automated testing software.

Aug 27 '24 10:08 fredericDelaporte

When Chrome is directly installed on the machine, here is the log of the same program, no more failing to connect to Chrome:

12:57:52.402 TRACE SeleniumManager: Driver path: C:\Users\fdelaporte\.cache\selenium\chromedriver\win64\128.0.6613.84\chromedriver.exe
12:57:52.519 TRACE SeleniumManager: Browser path: C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
Starting ChromeDriver 128.0.6613.84 (606aa55c7d687518d34b55accc5a71ea0bd28727-refs/branch-heads/6613@{#1335}) on port 52040
Only local connections are allowed.
Please see https://chromedriver.chromium.org/security-considerations for suggestions on keeping ChromeDriver safe.
ChromeDriver was started successfully on port 52040.
12:57:53.693 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Executing command: []: newSession {"capabilities":{"firstMatch":[{"browserName":"chrome","goog:chromeOptions":{"binary":"C:\\Program Files\\Google\\Chrome\\Application\\chrome.exe"}}]}}
12:57:53.719 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: >> Method: POST, RequestUri: 'http://localhost:52040/session', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.ByteArrayContent, Headers:
{
  Accept: application/json; charset=utf-8
  User-Agent: selenium/4.23.0
  User-Agent: (.net windows)
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
  Content-Length: 151
}
{"capabilities":{"firstMatch":[{"browserName":"chrome","goog:chromeOptions":{"binary":"C:\\Program Files\\Google\\Chrome\\Application\\chrome.exe"}}]}}

DevTools listening on ws://127.0.0.1:52052/devtools/browser/bf746c0d-1fd8-461b-a27c-34b7d499faac
12:57:55.226 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: << StatusCode: 200, ReasonPhrase: 'OK', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionResponseContent, Headers:
{
  Cache-Control: no-cache
  Content-Length: 885
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
}
12:57:55.259 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Response: (59379d364e0d8aa00fdcbbd32648e6ba Success: System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[System.String,System.Object])
Press enter to leave
Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.

Closing Chrome
13:00:12.403 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Executing command: [59379d364e0d8aa00fdcbbd32648e6ba]: close {}
13:00:12.406 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: >> Method: DELETE, RequestUri: 'http://localhost:52040/session/59379d364e0d8aa00fdcbbd32648e6ba/window', Version: 1.1, Content: <null>, Headers:
{
  User-Agent: selenium/4.23.0
  User-Agent: (.net windows)
  Accept: application/json
  Accept: image/png
}
13:00:12.485 TRACE HttpCommandExecutor: << StatusCode: 500, ReasonPhrase: 'Internal Server Error', Version: 1.1, Content: System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionResponseContent, Headers:
{
  Cache-Control: no-cache
  Content-Length: 1105
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
}
{"value":{"error":"disconnected","message":"disconnected: not connected to DevTools\n  (failed to check if window was closed: disconnected: not connected to DevTools)\n  (Session info: chrome=128.0.6613.85)","stacktrace":"\tGetHandleVerifier [0x00007FF7A057B632+29090]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A04EE6E9]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A03AB1CA]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A0391296]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A039231F]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A03AB7E3]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A037F5ED]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A0436497]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A0435A29]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A04266B0]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A03F09B1]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A03F1B11]\n\tGetHandleVerifier [0x00007FF7A089881D+3294093]\n\tGetHandleVerifier [0x00007FF7A08E4403+3604339]\n\tGetHandleVerifier [0x00007FF7A08DA2C7+3563063]\n\tGetHandleVerifier [0x00007FF7A0636F16+797318]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A04F986F]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A04F5454]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A04F55E0]\n\t(No symbol) [0x00007FF7A04E4A7F]\n\tBaseThreadInitThunk [0x00007FFBB091257D+29]\n\tRtlUserThreadStart [0x00007FFBB22AAF28+40]\n"}}
13:00:12.493 DEBUG HttpCommandExecutor: Response: ( UnhandledError: System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[System.String,System.Object])
Unhandled exception. OpenQA.Selenium.WebDriverException: disconnected: not connected to DevTools
  (failed to check if window was closed: disconnected: not connected to DevTools)
  (Session info: chrome=128.0.6613.85)
   at OpenQA.Selenium.WebDriver.UnpackAndThrowOnError(Response errorResponse, String commandToExecute)
   at OpenQA.Selenium.WebDriver.ExecuteAsync(String driverCommandToExecute, Dictionary`2 parameters)
   at OpenQA.Selenium.WebDriver.Execute(String driverCommandToExecute, Dictionary`2 parameters)
   at OpenQA.Selenium.WebDriver.Close()
   at Program.<Main>$(String[] args) in D:\Temp\Tests\Chrome-Trouble\Program.cs:line 16

But failing at the Close, which seems superfluous: Dispose seems enough to close Chromedrive.exe and Chrome.exe processes it has launched. For subsequent tests, I will remove that Close.

The Chrome screen then looks like this:

If adding the disable search engine choice option:

Aug 27 '24 11:08 fredericDelaporte

So, to summarize a bit:

Driving Chrome 128 through Selenium on a machine without Chrome installed fails connecting to Chrome, be it headless or not, unless asking for headless=old. The disable-search-engine-choice-screen argument does not change anything about this.

It works only if Chrome is directly installed on the machine when not setting --headless=old.

Aug 27 '24 11:08 fredericDelaporte

Try this https://pythoner.space/questions/here-is-a-possible-rewritten-version-of-the-text-trying-to-troubleshoot-the-maxretryerror-that-keeps-popping-up-with-the-message-httpconnectionpoolhostlocalhost-port48605-max-retries-exceeded-with-the

Aug 28 '24 13:08 pythonpro7

Please elaborate. Your message currently looks like a phishing bot message.

Aug 28 '24 17:08 fredericDelaporte

We've run into the search engine choice screen as well, and had to disable it manually in our specs (as objects in the center of the viewport would be obscured by that screen). Can that option be made standard for the chrome-headless and chrome drivers in Ruby?

Sep 09 '24 06:09 mamhoff

@fredericDelaporte I had the same issue with Chrome 129 as well. It seems that such error makes just the first browser tab stucked. My test indeed opens other tabs as well, and all of them work correctly. I use Python, and as a workaround, I press F5 automatically with pyautogui.press('f5') before loading the website where I want to go. This seems to unstack that tab and everything works again. You could try something like this. I also use:

chrome_options.add_experimental_option("excludeSwitches", ['enable-automation']) # to hide "Chrome est contrôlé par un logiciel de test automatisé."
chrome_options.add_argument("--disable-search-engine-choice-screen") # to hide the search engine choice option

Sep 18 '24 16:09 francecon

Thanks @francecon, that may help others. On our side, we have switched to Firefox, which happens to suit the needs of the app. We were not needing to stick to Chrome.

Sep 19 '24 17:09 fredericDelaporte

This issue is stale because it has been open 280 days with no activity. Remove stale label or comment or this will be closed in 14 days.

Mar 18 '25 20:03 github-actions[bot]

This issue was closed because it has been stalled for 14 days with no activity.

Apr 02 '25 10:04 github-actions[bot]

This issue has been automatically locked since there has not been any recent activity since it was closed. Please open a new issue for related bugs.

May 02 '25 22:05 github-actions[bot]