Chapter 2 — Environment Setup for Selenium
with Java
2.1 Pre-requisites
Before writing Selenium scripts, you need to configure a development
environment.
Required tools:
1. Java JDK (Java 11 or later recommended, Java 17 is LTS)
2. IDE — IntelliJ IDEA Community (preferred) or Eclipse
3. Apache Maven — for dependency management
4. Web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge)
5. Browser driver (Chromedriver, Geckodriver, etc.)
2.2 Installing Java
Step 1: Download & Install
Download JDK from Oracle or Adoptium.
Install to default directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-17).
Step 2: Set Environment Variables
1. Open System Properties → Advanced → Environment Variables.
2. Add JAVA_HOME pointing to JDK folder (C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-
17).
3. Edit PATH → Add %JAVA_HOME%\bin.
Step 3: Verify Installation
Open Command Prompt and run:
java -version
javac -version
Both should show installed versions.
2.3 Installing an IDE
IntelliJ IDEA Community → Lightweight, modern.
Eclipse IDE → Common in enterprise.
👉 For this course, we’ll use IntelliJ IDEA.
Download: IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition.
2.4 Installing Maven
Why Maven?
Manages Selenium libraries & dependencies.
Handles versioning and project structure.
Runs tests from command line & integrates with CI/CD.
Step 1: Download
Get Maven from Maven Downloads.
Step 2: Extract
Extract to C:\Program Files\Maven.
Step 3: Set Environment Variables
Add MAVEN_HOME = C:\Program Files\Maven.
Edit PATH → Add %MAVEN_HOME%\bin.
Step 4: Verify Installation
mvn -v
Should display Maven version and Java version.
2.5 Creating a Maven Project in IntelliJ
Step 1: Open IntelliJ → New Project
Choose Maven.
Set GroupId: com.selenium.demo
Set ArtifactId: selenium-tutorial
Step 2: Project Structure
After creation, project will look like:
selenium-tutorial
├── src
│ ├── main
│ │ └── java
│ └── test
│ └── java
└── pom.xml
Step 3: Add Selenium Dependency
Open pom.xml and add:
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.seleniumhq.selenium</groupId>
<artifactId>selenium-java</artifactId>
<version>4.13.0</version>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
IntelliJ will auto-download the required jars.
2.6 Download Browser Drivers
Selenium requires browser-specific drivers: - ChromeDriver → Download -
GeckoDriver (Firefox) → Download - EdgeDriver → Download
Where to place drivers?
Option 1: Put in C:\drivers and set in code:
System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver",
"C:/drivers/chromedriver.exe");
Option 2: Add to PATH (no need to set property in code).
Option 3: Use WebDriverManager (automatically downloads drivers).
Example (with WebDriverManager):
<dependency>
<groupId>io.github.bonigarcia</groupId>
<artifactId>webdrivermanager</artifactId>
<version>5.9.1</version>
</dependency>
Usage:
WebDriverManager.chromedriver().setup();
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
2.7 First Test Project
Create a Java class under src/test/java:
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
public class OpenGoogleTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Option 1: Manual driver setup
System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver",
"C:/drivers/chromedriver.exe");
// Option 2: WebDriverManager (if added)
// WebDriverManager.chromedriver().setup();
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
driver.get("https://www.google.com");
System.out.println("Title: " + driver.getTitle());
driver.quit();
}
}
Run this file → Chrome should open, navigate to Google, print title, then
close.
2.8 Troubleshooting Common Errors
mvn not recognized → Add Maven bin folder to PATH.
Driver version mismatch → Update driver matching browser version.
Java class not found error → Check package name & project
structure.
IntelliJ not downloading dependencies → Right-click project →
Maven → Reload.
2.9 Exercise (Hands-On)
1. Install Java JDK & verify with java -version.
2. Install Maven & verify with mvn -v.
3. Create a Maven project with Selenium dependency.
4. Write a simple program to open Bing (https://www.bing.com) and print
its title.
5. Try running the same test with both manual driver setup and
WebDriverManager.
Challenge Exercise: Modify program to open Google, search for Selenium
WebDriver, print the number of results found (hint: locate the results stats
element by id or xpath).
2.10 Summary
In this chapter you learned: - Installing Java, Maven, and an IDE. - Creating a
Maven project with Selenium dependency. - Managing browser drivers. -
Running your first Selenium test.
Next chapter: Chapter 3 — First Selenium Test in Detail: Commands,
Navigation, and Lifecycle. We’ll dive deeper into WebDriver commands
and navigation methods.
