Configuring a Selenium Firefox profile

While performing our tests, we came across an issue with how FireFox handles events when the browser is not in focus.

We discovered that this problem can be resolved by setting up a FireFox profile with the preference "focusmanager.testmode" set to true (https://github.com/seleniumhq/selenium-google-code-issue-archive/issues/157).

I am curious if you are aware of any other preferences/capabilities/settings that would be beneficial to include in our webdriver profile/configuration?

This could potentially save us a significant amount of time in the future by helping us identify and troubleshoot unexpected issues or behaviors. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated.

javascriptseleniumselenium-webdrivercucumber

Answer №1

Firefox offers a variety of preferences that can be adjusted to enhance test stability. However, it's important to note, as highlighted by Andrew Regan, that making changes may impact your tests negatively, so it might not be the best approach.

Nevertheless, here are some preferences I use to reduce the frequency of test failures caused by unexpected browser behavior:

// Turn off default browser check
lockPref('browser.shell.checkDefaultBrowser', false);

// Disable session restore
lockPref('browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash', false);

// Stop auto-updates
lockPref("app.update.enabled", false);
// Double-check that updates are disabled
lockPref("app.update.auto", false);
lockPref("app.update.mode", 0);
lockPref("app.update.service.enabled", false);

// Prevent closing dialogs
lockPref("browser.showQuitWarning", false);
lockPref("browser.warnOnQuit", false);
lockPref("browser.tabs.warnOnClose", false);
lockPref("browser.tabs.warnOnCloseOtherTabs", false);

// Turn off Add-ons compatibility check
clearPref("extensions.lastAppVersion");

// Hide 'know your rights' on first run
pref("browser.rights.3.shown", true);

//Disable plugin checking
lockPref("plugins.hide_infobar_for_outdated_plugin", true);
clearPref("plugins.update.url");

// Disable health reporting
lockPref("datareporting.healthreport.service.enabled", false);

// Stop all data uploads (Telemetry and FHR)
lockPref("datareporting.policy.dataSubmissionEnabled", false);

// Turn off crash reporter
lockPref("toolkit.crashreporter.enabled", false);
Components.classes["@mozilla.org/toolkit/crash-reporter;1"].getService(Components.interfaces.nsICrashReporter).submitReports = false;

// Enable Browser Console command line
pref("devtools.chrome.enabled", true);

To streamline the process of setting up preferences, you may want to consider using a Firefox autoconfig file. Example configuration: https://github.com/cliqz-oss/firefox-autoconfigs

Answer №2

After considering my previous comment, I strongly oppose the idea of having a custom set of preferences or profile settings:

  • to ensure consistency between what's tested and what an average user would experience
  • to avoid the need for browser-specific code
  • as it can complicate troubleshooting issues on platforms like this

In simpler terms, I believe Firefox (and similar browsers) should operate as a black box.

I support the resolution of Firefox bugs and perhaps even the gradual evolution of default behaviors, as long as everyone is in agreement. Testing is already complex without individuals using different workarounds.

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