I am currently executing tests using Python-Selenium that log into a website, entering username and password, along with additional actions. It functions correctly with the Firefox browser; however, I encounter an error when switching to PhantomJS. The error I receive is as follows:
2016-01-29 16:18:29 - ERROR - An exception occurred Message: {"errorMessage":"Unable to find element with id 'user_email'"...}
Upon further inspection, the HTML content retrieved is:
DEBUG -
Here is how I initialize the Selenium driver in my code:
def __init__(self, browser="phantomjs"):
if browser == "phantomjs":
self.driver = webdriver.PhantomJS()
self.driver.set_window_size(1120, 550)
# Additional browser initializations
Could someone guide me on resolving this issue? I need a headless solution as I plan to run this on an AWS node.
It looks like the issue stems from PhantomJS not rendering the DOM correctly. Since PhantomJS is outdated and hasn't been actively maintained, I recommend switching to headless Chrome, which offers better support and compatibility. Here's how you can modify your implementation to use Chrome in headless mode:
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
class Browser:
def __init__(self, browser="chrome"):
if browser == "chrome":
chrome_options = Options()
chrome_options.add_argument('--headless')
chrome_options.add_argument('--disable-gpu')
chrome_options.add_argument('window-size=1120x550')
self.driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=chrome_options)
# Add other browser setups as needed
This approach maintains a headless setup suitable for AWS nodes, offering both reliability and efficiency.
As FlyingLeaf suggested, using PhantomJS can be problematic due to its lack of maintenance. Transitioning to headless Chrome is usually the best move in such scenarios.
However, if you still want to pursue headless browsing with PhantomJS, there are a few additional steps you can consider to diagnose and possibly fix the issue:
- Ensure Resources Are Ready: Use explicit waits to ensure that Javascript is fully loaded and elements are present on the page. Adding a wait can sometimes reveal hidden loading delays.
<pre><code>from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
Example usage
WebDriverWait(self.driver, 10).until(
EC.presence_of_element_located((By.ID, “user_email”))
)
Check for Dynamic Content: The empty body in the HTML you received suggests the page might use JavaScript to render content. If that's the case, make sure you've configured your script to wait for JavaScript execution.
Log the HTML Content: Regularly log the HTML content you retrieve during different phases of load to identify where the rendering stops.
print(self.driver.page_source)
Upgrading to Headless Chrome: If PhantomJS still causes issues, using headless Chrome as described by FlyingLeaf is the ideal solution due to its active development and robustness.
Using these techniques should help you resolve most issues or at least give you a clearer understanding of what adjustment your script needs for PhantomJS or to justify the switch to headless Chrome.