ChromeDriver is an essential tool for automating web applications for testing purposes. It is a standalone server that implements the WebDriver protocol for Chrome. This article will guide you through the process of setting up and running ChromeDriver via the Command Prompt (CMD) on a Windows environment. ChromeDriver is crucial for developers and testers who need to automate browser interactions in their testing workflows.

Examples:

1. Download ChromeDriver:

• Visit the official ChromeDriver download page: https://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/chromedriver/downloads


• Download the ChromeDriver version that matches your installed version of Chrome.


• Extract the downloaded ZIP file to a directory of your choice (e.g., C:\ChromeDriver).

2. Set Up Environment Variables:

• Open the Start Menu, search for "Environment Variables", and select "Edit the system environment variables".


• In the System Properties window, click the "Environment Variables" button.


• In the Environment Variables window, find the "Path" variable in the "System variables" section and click "Edit".


• Click "New" and add the path to the directory where you extracted ChromeDriver (e.g., C:\ChromeDriver).


• Click "OK" to close all dialog boxes.

3. Verify Installation:

• Open Command Prompt by pressing Win + R, typing cmd, and pressing Enter.


• Type chromedriver and press Enter. You should see output indicating that ChromeDriver is running and listening on a port.

4. Running ChromeDriver with a Script:

• Create a simple Python script to use ChromeDriver. Ensure you have Python and the Selenium package installed (pip install selenium).


• 
  

  Save the following script as test_chromedriver.py:

  
  

   from selenium import webdriver
  
  
  
   # Set the path to the ChromeDriver executable
  
   driver = webdriver.Chrome(executable_path='C:\\ChromeDriver\\chromedriver.exe')
  
  
  
   # Open a webpage
  
   driver.get('https://www.google.com')
  
  
  
   # Print the title of the webpage
  
   print(driver.title)
  
  
  
   # Close the browser
  
   driver.quit()

  
  


• Open Command Prompt and navigate to the directory where your script is saved.


• Run the script by typing python test_chromedriver.py and pressing Enter. This will launch Chrome, open Google's homepage, print the title, and then close the browser.