Python Selenium Complete Cheat Sheet
Beginner to Advanced | With Code Examples & Descriptions
1. Introduction & Installation
2. Browser Setup & Opening Pages
3. Element Locators & Finding Elements
4. Element Interactions (click, type, clear)
5. Working with Forms & Dropdowns
6. Waits (Implicit & Explicit)
7. Navigations (back, forward, refresh)
8. Handling Multiple Windows & Tabs
9. Handling Alerts & Popups
10. Taking Screenshots
11. Working with Cookies
12. Executing JavaScript
13. Frames & iFrames
14. Advanced User Actions
15. Handling File Uploads & Downloads
16. Exception Handling in Selenium
17. Useful Tips & Best Practices
1. Introduction & Installation
Selenium is a popular Python library to automate web browsers for testing or
scraping.
It requires a WebDriver for your browser (e.g., ChromeDriver for Chrome).
Install Selenium using pip:
pip install selenium
Python Selenium Complete Cheat Sheet
Beginner to Advanced | With Code Examples & Descriptions
Download WebDriver:
- ChromeDriver: https://sites.google.com/chromium.org/driver/
- GeckoDriver: https://github.com/mozilla/geckodriver/releases
Add the driver executable to your system PATH or specify its location in code.
2. Browser Setup & Opening Pages
Create a browser instance and open a webpage.
Example:
from selenium import webdriver
# Launch Chrome browser (make sure chromedriver is in PATH)
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
# Open a webpage
driver.get("https://www.google.com")
# Close the browser
driver.quit()
3. Element Locators & Finding Elements
Locate elements using multiple strategies:
- By ID
- By Name
- By XPath
- By CSS Selector
- By Class Name
- By Tag Name
- By Link Text
- By Partial Link Text
Example:
# Find element by ID
Python Selenium Complete Cheat Sheet
Beginner to Advanced | With Code Examples & Descriptions
search_box = driver.find_element("id", "lst-ib")
# Find element by name
search_box = driver.find_element("name", "q")
# Find element by XPath
search_box = driver.find_element("xpath", "//input[@name='q']")
# Find multiple elements by class name
links = driver.find_elements("class name", "r")
4. Element Interactions (click, type, clear)
Interact with elements like buttons and input fields.
Example:
search_box = driver.find_element("name", "q")
# Type text into search box
search_box.send_keys("Selenium Python")
# Clear the input field
search_box.clear()
# Click a button or link
search_box.submit() # Submit form
5. Working with Forms & Dropdowns
Handle forms and select options in dropdown menus.
Example:
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import Select
select = Select(driver.find_element("id", "dropdown_id"))
# Select by visible text
select.select_by_visible_text("Option 1")
Python Selenium Complete Cheat Sheet
Beginner to Advanced | With Code Examples & Descriptions
# Select by value attribute
select.select_by_value("option1")
# Select by index (0-based)
select.select_by_index(1)
6. Waits (Implicit & Explicit)
Wait for elements to load before interacting.
Implicit wait:
driver.implicitly_wait(10) # waits up to 10 seconds
Explicit wait (recommended):
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)
element = wait.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.ID, "element_id")))
7. Navigations (back, forward, refresh)
Navigate browser history.
Example:
driver.back() # Go back
driver.forward() # Go forward
driver.refresh() # Refresh current page
8. Handling Multiple Windows & Tabs
Switch between browser tabs or windows.
Example:
Python Selenium Complete Cheat Sheet
Beginner to Advanced | With Code Examples & Descriptions
# Get current window handle
main_window = driver.current_window_handle
# Get all window handles
all_windows = driver.window_handles
# Switch to new window/tab
driver.switch_to.window(all_windows[1])
9. Handling Alerts & Popups
Handle JavaScript alerts, confirms, and prompts.
Example:
alert = driver.switch_to.alert
# Accept alert
alert.accept()
# Dismiss alert
alert.dismiss()
# Get alert text
print(alert.text)
# Send text to prompt alert
alert.send_keys("Some text")
10. Taking Screenshots
Capture screenshot of current page.
Example:
driver.save_screenshot("screenshot.png")
11. Working with Cookies
Get, add, and delete cookies.
Python Selenium Complete Cheat Sheet
Beginner to Advanced | With Code Examples & Descriptions
Example:
# Get all cookies
cookies = driver.get_cookies()
# Add cookie
driver.add_cookie({"name": "foo", "value": "bar"})
# Delete cookie
driver.delete_cookie("foo")
# Delete all cookies
driver.delete_all_cookies()
12. Executing JavaScript
Run JavaScript in browser context.
Example:
title = driver.execute_script("return document.title;")
print(title)
13. Frames & iFrames
Switch to iframe and back.
Example:
# Switch to iframe by name or id
driver.switch_to.frame("frame_name")
# Switch back to main content
driver.switch_to.default_content()
14. Advanced User Actions
Perform advanced actions like hover and drag-drop.
Python Selenium Complete Cheat Sheet
Beginner to Advanced | With Code Examples & Descriptions
Example:
from selenium.webdriver import ActionChains
actions = ActionChains(driver)
element = driver.find_element("id", "element_id")
# Hover over element
actions.move_to_element(element).perform()
# Drag and drop
source = driver.find_element("id", "source")
target = driver.find_element("id", "target")
actions.click_and_hold(source).move_to_element(target).release().perform()
15. Handling File Uploads & Downloads
Handle file uploads by sending file path to input.
Example:
file_input = driver.find_element("id", "upload")
file_input.send_keys("/path/to/file.txt")
Note: File downloads usually need browser profile adjustments.
16. Exception Handling in Selenium
Handle common Selenium exceptions to avoid crashes.
Example:
from selenium.common.exceptions import NoSuchElementException, TimeoutException
try:
element = driver.find_element("id", "does_not_exist")
except NoSuchElementException:
print("Element not found")
except TimeoutException:
print("Timed out waiting for element")
Python Selenium Complete Cheat Sheet
Beginner to Advanced | With Code Examples & Descriptions
17. Useful Tips & Best Practices
- Use explicit waits over implicit waits for reliability.
- Always quit() the driver after tests to free resources.
- Use Page Object Model for large projects (separate locators and logic).
- Use headless mode for running tests without UI.
