Have you considered the possibility of dynamic content loading? Sometimes headless browsers handle JavaScript execution differently, which can affect element visibility. Try implementing a more robust wait strategy. Something like this might help:
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(20));
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.presenceOfElementLocated(By.id(“yourElementId”)));
Also, double-check your CSS selectors. I’ve seen cases where slight differences in rendering can throw off element location. If you’re using complex selectors, try simplifying them.
Another trick is to take screenshots in headless mode. You can use driver.getScreenshotAs() to capture the page state. This can be incredibly helpful for debugging what’s actually being rendered.
If all else fails, try running with --disable-gpu flag. It’s solved mysterious element disappearances for me before. Good luck troubleshooting!
I’ve dealt with similar headless mode gremlins before, and it can be seriously frustrating. One thing that’s saved my bacon a few times is adjusting the viewport size. Headless Chrome sometimes defaults to a tiny viewport, which can hide elements. Try adding this to your options:
options.addArguments(“–window-size=1920,1080”);
If that doesn’t do the trick, you might need to get craftier with your waits. I’ve had success using explicit waits with ExpectedConditions, like:
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.cssSelector(“yourElementSelector”)));
This gives the page a bit more time to load everything properly. Also, don’t forget to check if your element is being dynamically loaded by JavaScript. Headless mode can sometimes be finicky with JS-heavy sites.
Lastly, if you’re still stuck, try enabling Chrome’s debugging tools in headless mode. You can use --dump-dom to save the page’s HTML and see if your element is actually there. It’s helped me spot some sneaky issues before.