I’m working on a Python project using Selenium WebDriver with Chrome in headless mode. I set it up like this:
options = webdriver.ChromeOptions()
options.add_argument('--headless')
driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)
Now I’m wondering if it’s possible to make the browser visible later on when certain conditions are met. I tried removing the headless argument like this:
options.arguments.remove('--headless')
But it didn’t work. The browser stays invisible. Is there a way to switch from headless to visible mode while the script is running? Or do I need to create a new browser instance? Any tips or tricks would be really helpful. Thanks!
I’ve been working with Selenium for a while now, and I can tell you that switching from headless to visible mode on the fly isn’t really possible. The browser’s mode is set when it’s launched and can’t be changed mid-session. What I’ve found works best is to create two separate driver instances - one headless and one visible. Then, when you need to switch, you can transfer the necessary data (like cookies and local storage) from the headless instance to the visible one. It’s not ideal, but it gets the job done. Just make sure to properly close the unused instance to avoid resource leaks. This approach has saved me countless hours of debugging and frustration in my projects.
hey dancingbird, i haven’t found a mid-session fix. once headless is launched, it’s locked in. your best hack is to open a fresh instance without headless and move cookies over. not perfect, but it works!
I have encountered this issue before, and once Chrome is launched in headless mode, you cannot simply switch it to visible mode mid-session. The WebDriver instance is bound to its initial configuration and options. The only viable workaround is to start a new browser session without the headless setting. By saving and transferring essential session data such as cookies and local storage to the new instance, you can effectively continue your work in a visible browser. Although this approach is not perfect, it is the most practical solution available.