# How to Run Selenium Tests on Chrome Using ChromeDriver

- Canonical: https://33rdsquare.com/how-to-run-selenium-tests-on-chrome-using-chromedriver/
- Published: 2024-03-06
- Author: Brian Lucas
- Categories: [App & Browser Testing Automation](https://33rdsquare.com/category/browser/browser-testing/)

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In my over 10+ years in test automation, I‘ve executed tests on thousands of real desktop and mobile devices. And without doubt, the Chrome browser is one of the most important targets for testing web applications.

This comprehensive guide will teach you how to leverage Selenium for automating tests on Chrome using ChromeDriver. I‘ll share the exact techniques my team and I follow to ensure maximum browser test coverage and reliability for our clients.

## The Growing Need for Test Automation

First, let‘s understand why test automation is becoming critical for web apps and browsers like Chrome.

According to Gartner, the average cost of a critical software failure is $1 million per hour. At the same time, markets demand rapid delivery of software innovations.

This creates immense pressure on developers to release high-quality web apps faster without breaking things.

Test automation addresses this need for speed while maintaining quality and confidence. The open source Selenium framework lets teams automate UI testing for web browsers in an affordable and flexible manner.

Combined with ChromeDriver for Google Chrome testing, Selenium accelerates repetitive test cycles to achieve:

- Faster feedback on code changes
- More tests in parallel across browser versions
- 72% reduction in test maintenance costs

Let‘s now see how ChromeDriver works hand-in-hand with Selenium to drive test automation on the Chrome browser.

## Introducing ChromeDriver

ChromeDriver is an executable file required by Selenium to automate Chrome browser testing.

It acts as a server accepting commands from the Selenium code you write for navigating to websites, interacting with page elements and validating browser behavior.

![ChromeDriver architecture](https://33rdsquare.com/chromedriver_architecture.png)

_ChromeDriver enables Selenium to control Chrome during test automation_

Key aspects to note:

- ChromeDriver is maintained by the Chromium project which also maintains the Chrome browser
- It translates Selenium commands into Chrome DevTools Protocol to communicate with the browser
- Works on Windows, macOS and Linux + supports latest Chrome versions

Now I‘ll guide you through downloading and configuring ChromeDriver properly on your machine before writing Selenium test scripts.

## Downloading the Correct ChromeDriver

The most common pitfall teams face is version mismatches between Chrome browser and ChromeDriver.

So you must first download the ChromeDriver release that matches the Chrome version installed on your system…

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Source: [How to Run Selenium Tests on Chrome Using ChromeDriver](https://33rdsquare.com/how-to-run-selenium-tests-on-chrome-using-chromedriver/)