Docker container issue: Selenium headless browser failing to switch windows

Other Questions Headless Browser
1

Hey everyone, I’m stuck with a problem running Selenium tests in a Docker container. The tests work fine on my local machine, both in normal and headless modes. But when I run them in the container, I can’t switch between window tabs.

Here’s what I’ve set up:

ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions();
options.addArguments(
    "--headless=new",
    "--disable-extensions",
    "--disable-gpu",
    "--no-sandbox",
    "--incognito",
    "--disable-application-cache",
    "--disable-dev-shm-usage"
);

I’ve packed everything into a JAR file. The weird part is that other tests run okay in the container. It’s just the window switching that’s acting up.

I’ve got a Dockerfile set up with Chrome, Edge, and Java installed. But for some reason, the window switching won’t work in the container’s headless mode.

Any ideas on how to fix this? I’m really scratching my head here. Thanks in advance for any help!

2

Have you considered using a different browser for your tests? I’ve found Firefox to be more reliable in Docker containers, especially for window switching operations. You could try setting up a FirefoxOptions class instead of ChromeOptions and see if that resolves the issue.

Another approach worth exploring is explicitly waiting for the new window to be available before attempting to switch. You could implement a custom wait condition that checks for the number of window handles to increase. This might help if the problem is related to timing issues in the container environment.

Lastly, double-check your Docker image. Ensure it has all the necessary dependencies for Chrome to function properly in headless mode. Sometimes, missing libraries can cause unexpected behavior without clear error messages. Good luck troubleshooting!

3

I’ve encountered similar issues with Selenium in Docker containers before. One thing that helped me was adding the ‘–window-size’ argument to the ChromeOptions. Sometimes, the default window size in headless mode can cause unexpected behavior.

Try adding this to your options:

options.addArguments(“–window-size=1920,1080”);

Another thing to check is if you’re using the latest version of ChromeDriver that’s compatible with the Chrome version in your container. Mismatched versions can cause weird issues like this.

If those don’t work, you might want to look into using a remote WebDriver setup with something like Selenium Grid. It’s a bit more complex to set up, but it can help isolate browser issues from your test environment.

Lastly, make sure you’re giving your container enough resources. I’ve seen Selenium act up in resource-constrained environments, especially with multiple tabs.

4

hey laura, have u tried using seleniumwire instead? it can sometimes handle window switching better in docker. also, check if ur using the right chromedriver version for ur chrome. maybe try ‘–remote-debugging-port=9222’ in ur options too. it might help with the communication between selenium and chrome in the container.