Selenium Community Live - Episode 4

The fourth episode of Selenium Community Live happened on March 19th, 2025, with Michael Mintz, who is the creator of SeleniumBase. SeleniumBase is an all in one Browser Automation Framework, built over Selenium WebDriver Python bindings. The framework is well known and used in the WebDriver Ecosystem community for testing, web scraping, web crawling and stealth purposes.

You can watch the episode on YouTube here- Episode 4 on YouTube

Meet the Speakers:

1. Michael Mintz

Insights from the Session

In the fourth episode of Selenium Community Live, Michael Mintz, the creator of SeleniumBase, provides an in-depth look at his powerful web automation framework.

What is SeleniumBase?

SeleniumBase is an open-source framework built on top of Selenium Python bindings, currently boasting over 9,000 GitHub stars. It’s not just a testing framework, rather a complete ecosystem that provides powerful features for various scenarios for browser automation.

Key highlights include:

• Test recorder to record and playback tests
• Advanced dashboards and reporting capabilities
• Integration with pytest for powerful unit testing
• 500+ API methods for comprehensive web automation
• Multi-language support with translations in 10 languages

Core Features Demonstrated

Enhanced Pytest Integration

SeleniumBase seamlessly integrates with pytest, providing extensive command-line options. Michael demonstrated how you can:

• Run tests with --slow mode to visualize test execution
• Use --headless for faster execution without browser UI
• Enable --demo mode to highlight actions and show real-time test progress
• Implement --rs (reuse session) to run multiple tests in the same browser window

Advanced Browser Management

The framework provides sophisticated browser control options:

# Multiple browser support with easy switching
pytest my_test.py --edge
pytest my_test.py --firefox
pytest my_test.py --chrome-for-testing

# Mobile device emulation
pytest my_test.py --mobile

# Multi-threading capabilities
pytest my_test.py -n4  # Runs tests in 4 parallel browsers

Stealth Mode and Captcha Bypass

One of SeleniumBase’s standout features is its ability to bypass Cloudflare captchas and other anti-bot measures through UC Mode (Ultra-Chrome Mode) and CDP Mode (Chrome DevTools Protocol Mode). This makes it particularly valuable for web scraping applications.

Comprehensive Reporting and Debugging

SeleniumBase automatically generates detailed reports for failed tests, including:

• Screenshots of the last page visited
• Complete stack traces
• Browser and driver version information
• Detailed logs with timestamps
• Interactive HTML dashboards

The framework also offers powerful debugging capabilities:

• --pdb stops at failure points for interactive debugging
• --trace enables line-by-line debugging from the start
• Automatic screenshot capture on test failures

Multiple Syntax Formats

Michael showcased SeleniumBase’s flexibility by demonstrating different syntax formats, including:

1. Traditional pytest format with BaseCase inheritance
2. SB pytest fixture for fixture-based testing
3. Page Object Model integration
4. Python context manager for pure Python usage (no pytest required)
5. BDD/Gherkin syntax with behave runner
6. Multi-language support in Chinese, Dutch, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish

Example Test Structure

from seleniumbase import BaseCase

class TestExample(BaseCase):
    def test_swag_labs(self):
        self.open("https://www.saucedemo.com")
        self.type("#user-name", "standard_user")
        self.type("#password", "secret_sauce")
        self.click('input[type="submit"]')
        self.assert_element("div.inventory_list")
        self.assert_exact_text("Products", "span.title")

Advanced Capabilities

JavaScript Integration and Tours

SeleniumBase includes a JavaScript injector that allows you to modify any website and create interactive tours. This feature enables:

• Custom website tours using IntroJS
• Dynamic content modification
• Advanced interactions beyond standard Selenium capabilities

CI/CD Integration

The framework works seamlessly with GitHub Actions, providing XVFB support for headless Linux environments. Michael demonstrated running tests in the cloud with automatic secrets management for secure credential handling.

Multiple Use Cases

SeleniumBase serves various automation needs:

• Test Automation: Comprehensive testing with enhanced reporting
• Web Scraping: Captcha bypass and stealth capabilities
• Website Tours: Interactive user onboarding
• Data Collection: Automated information gathering
• UI Validation: Advanced element interaction and verification

Getting Started

SeleniumBase can be installed via pip and offers immediate value with its extensive command-line options and automatic waiting mechanisms. The framework eliminates many common Selenium pain points like flaky tests through built-in intelligent waits and retry mechanisms.

For those interested in exploring SeleniumBase further, Michael provides several channels for community support:

• GitHub repository with comprehensive documentation
• Selenium Slack workspace (#seleniumbase channel)
• Dedicated Discord server with 700+ members
• YouTube channel with detailed tutorials and examples

Community Impact

With its extensive feature set and active development, SeleniumBase represents a significant evolution in Python-based web automation. The framework’s ability to handle everything from simple test automation to complex web scraping with captcha bypass makes it a versatile tool for developers and QA professionals alike.

Watch the Recording

Couldn’t join us live? Watch the entire episode here - 📹 Recording Link: Watch the Event Recording on YouTube

You can find out more about Selenium Base here - Selenium Base

In case you were wondering what happened to episode 3, it was cancelled but will be scheduled in coming weeks. Thank you! Stay tuned as we bring the next! Subscribe here to the Selenium HQ Official YouTube Channel.

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