Selenium 4.27, the latest version of the world’s most popular browser automation tool has been released. Available for JavaScript, Ruby, Python, .NET, Java, and Selenium Grid, this update brings several new features, critical deprecations, and significant improvements across all supported languages.

Selenium 4.27 is packed with updates to enhance performance, functionality, and compatibility, ensuring a smoother automation experience. Here’s a quick overview of what’s new and what’s changed.

General Highlights

• Chrome DevTools Support: This version includes updates to Chrome DevTools, supporting versions v131, v128, and v127. Firefox still uses v85 across all versions.
• Active Users: Selenium continues to grow, with over 5.1 million active users in the past 30 days—300K more than last month!
• Deprecation of CDP Methods for Firefox: To align with evolving automation standards, CDP methods for Firefox have been deprecated across multiple bindings.
• Selenium Grid Enhancements: The Grid now features improved session handling, distributed retry logic, and faster server shutdown processes.
• Exception Handling Updates: The latest versions of .NET and Java bring improvements to exception handling and BiDi (Bidirectional) support.
• Deprecation of getAttribute: The getAttribute method has been deprecated in several languages as part of Selenium’s ongoing evolution.

Language-Specific Updates

Python

• Deprecation of CDP methods for Firefox.
• Replaced imghdr with filetype for better compatibility.
• Moved project metadata from setup.py to pyproject.toml.
• Added FedCM (Federated Credential Management) command support.
• Improved compatibility with AppiumConnection.
• Added user agent and extra headers via ClientConfig.
• Addressed DetachedShadowRoot exception handling.

Ruby

• CDP Methods Deprecation for Firefox.
• Fixed deprecation warnings for the uri gem.
• Added support for BiDi navigation commands and network interception.

Java

• Enhanced error messages for NoSuchElementException.
• Deprecated WebElement.getAttribute().
• Introduced new methods for selecting options containing specific text.
• Added Firefox CDP deprecation warnings.

.NET

• Added CDP deprecation warnings for Firefox.
• Improved BiDi and async support.
• Enabled nullability annotations for better type safety.
• Improved compatibility for actions with clashing device names.
• Deprecated the GetAttribute method for WebElements.

JavaScript

• Enabled BiDi tests for locating nodes with Chrome and Edge.
• Improved support for authentication handlers in BiDi commands.
• Updated dependencies to resolve security alerts.

Rust

• Selenium Manager now honors full browser versions.
• Improved logic to prioritize stable versions of Firefox management.

Selenium Grid Updates

• Session Creation Retry Logic: The Grid now retries session creation in distributed grids to improve reliability.
• Improved Session Handling: This update reduces test flakiness and enhances session stability.
• Server Shutdown: Faster termination of the server backend with graceful shutdown of stale sessions.
• Client Timeout Handling: Selenium Grid now cancels pending requests when a client times out and ensures smoother session ownership checks.

Selenium Docker and Kubernetes (K8s) Updates

• Multiple Nodes Support: You can now configure multiple nodes of the same type in your Helm configuration.

New Features in Selenium v4.27.0

• Chrome CDP Support for version 131.
• Firefox CDP deprecation warnings across bindings.
• Improved error messages for NoSuchElementException.
• Support for canceling pending HTTP requests.
• Case-insensitive header names in HTTP requests.
• Network request handler APIs for BiDi.
• Updates to Selenium Grid: Better session creation handling, faster shutdown, and improved error handling.

Get the Latest Version

To download Selenium 4.27, visit the official downloads page, where you can find everything you need for JavaScript, Ruby, Python, .NET, Java, Rust, and Selenium Grid.

Until next time, happy automating! ✨