Writing Your First Selenium Script in Python

 Writing Your First Selenium Script in Python

Selenium is a popular tool for automating web browsers. It allows you to write scripts that can interact with websites just like a real user — clicking buttons, filling forms, and verifying content. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to write your first Selenium script using Python.


Step 1: Set Up Your Environment

Install Python

Make sure Python is installed on your machine. You can download it from python.org.


Install Selenium Package

Open your terminal or command prompt and run:


bash

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pip install selenium

Download WebDriver

Selenium needs a WebDriver to control the browser. For example:


ChromeDriver for Google Chrome


GeckoDriver for Firefox


Download the appropriate WebDriver and place it in a folder included in your system’s PATH or note its location for use in the script.


Step 2: Write Your First Selenium Script

Here’s a simple example that opens a browser, navigates to Google, searches for "Selenium Python," and prints the page title.


python

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from selenium import webdriver

from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By

from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys

import time


# Set up the WebDriver (change the path to your WebDriver if needed)

driver = webdriver.Chrome(executable_path='path/to/chromedriver')


# Open Google

driver.get('https://www.google.com')


# Find the search box using its name attribute value

search_box = driver.find_element(By.NAME, 'q')


# Type the search query

search_box.send_keys('Selenium Python')


# Press Enter

search_box.send_keys(Keys.RETURN)


# Wait for 3 seconds to see results (optional)

time.sleep(3)


# Print the page title

print(driver.title)


# Close the browser

driver.quit()

Step 3: Run Your Script

Save the above code in a file named first_selenium_script.py.


Run it from the terminal:


bash

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python first_selenium_script.py

Your Chrome browser will open, search on Google, and then close after printing the page title.


Step 4: Understand the Code

webdriver.Chrome() initializes the Chrome browser.


get() navigates to the specified URL.


find_element() locates HTML elements on the page.


send_keys() sends keystrokes to an element.


Keys.RETURN simulates pressing the Enter key.


time.sleep() pauses execution so you can see results.


quit() closes the browser.


Next Steps

Explore locating elements by different methods (ID, CSS_SELECTOR, XPATH).


Add waits to handle dynamic content.


Automate more complex user interactions.

Learn Selenium Python Training in Hyderabad

Read More

Installing Selenium WebDriver in Python: A Quick Guide

Why Use Python for Selenium Automation?

What is Selenium? A Beginner’s Guide for Python Developers

Comparing Selenium with Python vs Selenium with Java: Which One to Choose?

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