selenium-wire
Extends Selenium's Python bindings to give you the ability to inspect requests made by the browser.
Top Related Projects
A browser automation framework and ecosystem.
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JavaScript API for Chrome and Firefox
Fast, easy and reliable testing for anything that runs in a browser.
Ghost Driver is an implementation of the Remote WebDriver Wire protocol, using PhantomJS as back-end
Cross-platform automation framework for all kinds of apps, built on top of the W3C WebDriver protocol
Quick Overview
Selenium Wire is an extension to Selenium WebDriver that provides additional functionality for intercepting and modifying browser requests and responses. It allows developers to capture network traffic, manipulate HTTP headers, and modify request/response content during automated web testing and scraping tasks.
Pros
- Seamless integration with existing Selenium WebDriver code
- Ability to intercept and modify both HTTP and HTTPS traffic
- Support for various browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge
- Powerful request/response manipulation capabilities
Cons
- May introduce additional complexity to Selenium-based projects
- Potential performance overhead due to traffic interception
- Limited documentation for advanced use cases
- Requires additional setup compared to standard Selenium WebDriver
Code Examples
- Intercepting and modifying a request:
from seleniumwire import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get('https://example.com')
def interceptor(request):
if request.url == 'https://api.example.com/data':
request.headers['Custom-Header'] = 'Modified'
driver.request_interceptor = interceptor
- Accessing captured requests:
driver.get('https://example.com')
for request in driver.requests:
if request.response:
print(f"URL: {request.url}")
print(f"Status: {request.response.status_code}")
print(f"Body: {request.response.body}")
- Modifying a response:
def response_interceptor(request, response):
if request.url == 'https://api.example.com/data':
response.body = b'{"modified": true}'
del response.headers['Content-Length']
driver.response_interceptor = response_interceptor
Getting Started
To get started with Selenium Wire:
-
Install the library:
pip install selenium-wire
-
Import and use Selenium Wire instead of regular Selenium:
from seleniumwire import webdriver driver = webdriver.Chrome() driver.get('https://example.com') # Access requests for request in driver.requests: print(request.url) # Clean up driver.quit()
-
Configure Selenium Wire options if needed:
options = { 'disable_encoding': True, 'verify_ssl': False } driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
Competitor Comparisons
A browser automation framework and ecosystem.
Pros of Selenium
- Widely adopted and supported by a large community
- Comprehensive documentation and extensive resources available
- Supports multiple programming languages (Java, Python, C#, etc.)
Cons of Selenium
- Lacks built-in network traffic interception capabilities
- More complex setup for advanced use cases
- Steeper learning curve for beginners
Code Comparison
Selenium:
from selenium import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get("https://example.com")
element = driver.find_element_by_id("example-id")
element.click()
Selenium-Wire:
from seleniumwire import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get("https://example.com")
for request in driver.requests:
print(request.url, request.response.status_code)
Selenium-Wire extends Selenium's functionality by adding network interception capabilities, allowing users to access and manipulate HTTP requests and responses. This feature is particularly useful for testing APIs, monitoring network traffic, and modifying requests on the fly. However, Selenium-Wire is specific to Python and has a smaller community compared to the main Selenium project.
While Selenium offers broader language support and extensive documentation, Selenium-Wire provides a more streamlined approach for developers who need to work with network traffic in their automated tests. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of the project and the developer's familiarity with each tool.
Playwright is a framework for Web Testing and Automation. It allows testing Chromium, Firefox and WebKit with a single API.
Pros of Playwright
- Cross-browser support for Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit
- Built-in auto-waiting and retry-ability for more stable tests
- Powerful API for modern web automation, including mobile emulation
Cons of Playwright
- Steeper learning curve for those familiar with Selenium
- Limited support for older browsers compared to Selenium-Wire
Code Comparison
Playwright:
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
with sync_playwright() as p:
browser = p.chromium.launch()
page = browser.new_page()
page.goto("https://example.com")
page.screenshot(path="example.png")
browser.close()
Selenium-Wire:
from seleniumwire import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get('https://example.com')
driver.save_screenshot('example.png')
driver.quit()
Key Differences
- Playwright offers a more modern and feature-rich API
- Selenium-Wire provides easier integration with existing Selenium-based projects
- Playwright's auto-waiting mechanism reduces the need for explicit waits
- Selenium-Wire allows for more granular control over network requests and responses
Use Cases
- Choose Playwright for new projects requiring cross-browser testing and modern web features
- Opt for Selenium-Wire when working with legacy systems or when detailed network traffic analysis is needed
JavaScript API for Chrome and Firefox
Pros of Puppeteer
- Built-in support for headless Chrome/Chromium, offering better performance and stability
- More comprehensive API for modern web interactions and JavaScript execution
- Actively maintained by Google, ensuring regular updates and improvements
Cons of Puppeteer
- Limited to Chrome/Chromium browsers, reducing cross-browser testing capabilities
- Steeper learning curve for those familiar with Selenium-based tools
- May require more setup and configuration for certain use cases
Code Comparison
Selenium-wire:
from seleniumwire import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get('https://example.com')
for request in driver.requests:
print(request.url)
Puppeteer:
const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');
(async () => {
const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com');
const requests = await page.evaluate(() => performance.getEntriesByType('resource').map(r => r.name));
console.log(requests);
})();
Both examples demonstrate how to capture network requests, but Puppeteer offers a more JavaScript-centric approach, while Selenium-wire extends Selenium's Python API.
Fast, easy and reliable testing for anything that runs in a browser.
Pros of Cypress
- Built-in automatic waiting and retry mechanisms, reducing flaky tests
- Integrated test runner with time-travel debugging and real-time reloads
- Extensive documentation and active community support
Cons of Cypress
- Limited cross-browser testing capabilities (primarily focused on Chrome)
- Cannot interact with multiple browser tabs or windows
- Lacks native support for handling network requests and responses
Code Comparison
Selenium-wire:
from seleniumwire import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get('https://example.com')
for request in driver.requests:
if request.response:
print(request.url, request.response.status_code)
Cypress:
cy.intercept('GET', 'https://example.com').as('exampleRequest')
cy.visit('https://example.com')
cy.wait('@exampleRequest').then((interception) => {
console.log(interception.response.statusCode)
})
Key Differences
- Selenium-wire is Python-based, while Cypress uses JavaScript
- Selenium-wire provides direct access to network requests, while Cypress requires interception
- Cypress offers a more user-friendly interface for test writing and debugging
- Selenium-wire integrates with Selenium WebDriver, allowing for broader browser support
Ghost Driver is an implementation of the Remote WebDriver Wire protocol, using PhantomJS as back-end
Pros of ghostdriver
- Native PhantomJS integration, providing headless browsing capabilities
- Lightweight and faster execution compared to full browser-based solutions
- Better support for JavaScript-heavy applications
Cons of ghostdriver
- Limited maintenance and updates (last commit in 2017)
- Lack of support for modern web technologies and standards
- Fewer features compared to Selenium Wire's extensive capabilities
Code Comparison
ghostdriver:
var driver = new webdriver.Builder()
.withCapabilities(webdriver.Capabilities.phantomjs())
.build();
driver.get('http://example.com');
Selenium Wire:
from seleniumwire import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get('http://example.com')
request = driver.wait_for_request('/api/data')
Key Differences
- Selenium Wire focuses on intercepting and modifying HTTP requests/responses
- ghostdriver is primarily a WebDriver implementation for PhantomJS
- Selenium Wire supports multiple browsers, while ghostdriver is PhantomJS-specific
- Selenium Wire is actively maintained, whereas ghostdriver has been inactive
Use Cases
- Choose ghostdriver for lightweight, headless testing of JavaScript-heavy applications
- Opt for Selenium Wire when detailed HTTP traffic analysis or manipulation is required
- Selenium Wire is better suited for modern web application testing and development
Cross-platform automation framework for all kinds of apps, built on top of the W3C WebDriver protocol
Pros of Appium
- Supports multiple mobile platforms (iOS, Android) and desktop applications
- Allows testing of native, hybrid, and web apps on real devices and simulators
- Large community support and extensive documentation
Cons of Appium
- Steeper learning curve compared to Selenium-Wire
- Setup process can be more complex, especially for iOS testing
- May have slower execution times for certain test scenarios
Code Comparison
Selenium-Wire (Python):
from seleniumwire import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get('https://example.com')
for request in driver.requests:
print(request.url)
Appium (Python):
from appium import webdriver
desired_caps = {
'platformName': 'Android',
'deviceName': 'Android Emulator',
'app': '/path/to/app.apk'
}
driver = webdriver.Remote('http://localhost:4723/wd/hub', desired_caps)
driver.find_element_by_id('element_id').click()
Key Differences
- Selenium-Wire focuses on intercepting and modifying browser requests, while Appium is designed for mobile and desktop app testing
- Selenium-Wire is an extension of Selenium, whereas Appium is a separate framework built on top of WebDriver protocol
- Appium offers cross-platform mobile testing capabilities, while Selenium-Wire is primarily used for web browser automation
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Selenium Wire is no longer being maintained. Thank you for your support and all your contributions.
Selenium Wire
Selenium Wire extends Selenium's <https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/en/>
_ Python bindings to give you access to the underlying requests made by the browser. You author your code in the same way as you do with Selenium, but you get extra APIs for inspecting requests and responses and making changes to them on the fly.
.. image:: https://github.com/wkeeling/selenium-wire/workflows/build/badge.svg :target: https://github.com/wkeeling/selenium-wire/actions
.. image:: https://codecov.io/gh/wkeeling/selenium-wire/branch/master/graph/badge.svg :target: https://codecov.io/gh/wkeeling/selenium-wire
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.7%2C%203.8%2C%203.9%2C%203.10-blue.svg :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/selenium-wire
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/selenium-wire.svg :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/selenium-wire
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/l/selenium-wire.svg :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/selenium-wire
.. image:: https://pepy.tech/badge/selenium-wire/month :target: https://pepy.tech/project/selenium-wire
Simple Example
.. code:: python
from seleniumwire import webdriver # Import from seleniumwire
# Create a new instance of the Chrome driver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
# Go to the Google home page
driver.get('https://www.google.com')
# Access requests via the `requests` attribute
for request in driver.requests:
if request.response:
print(
request.url,
request.response.status_code,
request.response.headers['Content-Type']
)
Prints:
.. code:: bash
https://www.google.com/ 200 text/html; charset=UTF-8
https://www.google.com/images/branding/googlelogo/2x/googlelogo_color_120x44dp.png 200 image/png
https://consent.google.com/status?continue=https://www.google.com&pc=s×tamp=1531511954&gl=GB 204 text/html; charset=utf-8
https://www.google.com/images/branding/googlelogo/2x/googlelogo_color_272x92dp.png 200 image/png
https://ssl.gstatic.com/gb/images/i2_2ec824b0.png 200 image/png
https://www.google.com/gen_204?s=webaft&t=aft&atyp=csi&ei=kgRJW7DBONKTlwTK77wQ&rt=wsrt.366,aft.58,prt.58 204 text/html; charset=UTF-8
...
Features
~~~~~~~~
* Pure Python, user-friendly API
* HTTP and HTTPS requests captured
* Intercept requests and responses
* Modify headers, parameters, body content on the fly
* Capture websocket messages
* HAR format supported
* Proxy server support
Compatibilty
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Python 3.7+
* Selenium 4.0.0+
* Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Remote Webdriver supported
Table of Contents
-
Installation
_-
Browser Setup
_ -
OpenSSL
_
-
-
Creating the Webdriver
_ -
Accessing Requests
_ -
Request Objects
_ -
Response Objects
_ -
Intercepting Requests and Responses
_Example: Add a request header
_Example: Replace an existing request header
_Example: Add a response header
_Example: Add a request parameter
_Example: Update JSON in a POST request body
_Example: Basic authentication
_Example: Block a request
_Example: Mock a response
_Unset an interceptor
_
-
Limiting Request Capture
_ -
Request Storage
_In-Memory Storage
_
-
Proxies
_-
SOCKS
_ -
Switching Dynamically
_
-
-
Bot Detection
_ -
Certificates
_Using Your Own Certificate
_
-
All Options
_ -
License
_
Installation
Install using pip:
.. code:: bash
pip install selenium-wire
If you get an error about not being able to build cryptography you may be running an old version of pip. Try upgrading pip with ``python -m pip install --upgrade pip`` and then re-run the above command.
Browser Setup
-------------
No specific configuration should be necessary except to ensure that you have downloaded the relevent webdriver executable for your browser and placed it somewhere on your system PATH.
- `Download <https://sites.google.com/chromium.org/driver/>`__ webdriver for Chrome
- `Download <https://github.com/mozilla/geckodriver/>`__ webdriver for Firefox
- `Download <https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/webdriver/>`__ webdriver for Edge
OpenSSL
-------
Selenium Wire requires OpenSSL for decrypting HTTPS requests. This is probably already installed on your system (you can check by running ``openssl version`` on the command line). If it's not installed you can install it with:
**Linux**
.. code:: bash
# For apt based Linux systems
sudo apt install openssl
# For RPM based Linux systems
sudo yum install openssl
# For Linux alpine
sudo apk add openssl
**MacOS**
.. code:: bash
brew install openssl
**Windows**
No installation is required.
Creating the Webdriver
Ensure that you import webdriver
from the seleniumwire
package:
.. code:: python
from seleniumwire import webdriver
Then just instantiate the webdriver as you would if you were using Selenium directly. You can pass in any desired capabilities or browser specific options - such as the executable path, headless mode etc. Selenium Wire also has it's own options
_ that can be passed in the seleniumwire_options
attribute.
.. code:: python
# Create the driver with no options (use defaults)
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
# Or create using browser specific options and/or seleniumwire_options options
driver = webdriver.Chrome(
options = webdriver.ChromeOptions(...),
seleniumwire_options={...}
)
.. _own options
: #all-options
Note that for sub-packages of webdriver
, you should continue to import these directly from selenium
. For example, to import WebDriverWait
:
.. code:: python
# Sub-packages of webdriver must still be imported from `selenium` itself
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
Remote Webdriver
Selenium Wire has limited support for using the remote webdriver client. When you create an instance of the remote webdriver, you need to specify the hostname or IP address of the machine (or container) running Selenium Wire. This allows the remote instance to communicate back to Selenium Wire with its requests and responses.
.. code:: python
options = {
'addr': 'hostname_or_ip' # Address of the machine running Selenium Wire. Explicitly use 127.0.0.1 rather than localhost if remote session is running locally.
}
driver = webdriver.Remote(
command_executor='http://www.example.com',
seleniumwire_options=options
)
If the machine running the browser needs to use a different address to talk to the machine running Selenium Wire you need to configure the browser manually. This issue <https://github.com/wkeeling/selenium-wire/issues/220>
_ goes into more detail.
Accessing Requests
Selenium Wire captures all HTTP/HTTPS traffic made by the browser [1]_. The following attributes provide access to requests and responses.
``driver.requests``
The list of captured requests in chronological order.
``driver.last_request``
Convenience attribute for retrieving the most recently captured request. This is more efficient than using ``driver.requests[-1]``.
``driver.wait_for_request(pat, timeout=10)``
This method will wait until it sees a request matching a pattern. The ``pat`` attribute will be matched within the request URL. ``pat`` can be a simple substring or a regular expression. Note that ``driver.wait_for_request()`` doesn't *make* a request, it just *waits* for a previous request made by some other action and it will return the first request it finds. Also note that since ``pat`` can be a regular expression, you must escape special characters such as question marks with a slash. A ``TimeoutException`` is raised if no match is found within the timeout period.
For example, to wait for an AJAX request to return after a button is clicked:
.. code:: python
# Click a button that triggers a background request to https://server/api/products/12345/
button_element.click()
# Wait for the request/response to complete
request = driver.wait_for_request('/api/products/12345/')
``driver.har``
A JSON formatted HAR archive of HTTP transactions that have taken place. HAR capture is turned off by default and you must set the ``enable_har`` `option`_ to ``True`` before using ``driver.har``.
``driver.iter_requests()``
Returns an iterator over captured requests. Useful when dealing with a large number of requests.
``driver.request_interceptor``
Used to set a request interceptor. See `Intercepting Requests and Responses`_.
``driver.response_interceptor``
Used to set a response interceptor.
**Clearing Requests**
To clear previously captured requests and HAR entries, use ``del``:
.. code:: python
del driver.requests
.. [1] Selenium Wire ignores OPTIONS requests by default, as these are typically uninteresting and just add overhead. If you want to capture OPTIONS requests, you need to set the ``ignore_http_methods`` `option`_ to ``[]``.
.. _`option`: #all-options
Request Objects
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Request objects have the following attributes.
``body``
The request body as ``bytes``. If the request has no body the value of ``body`` will be empty, i.e. ``b''``.
``cert``
Information about the server SSL certificate in dictionary format. Empty for non-HTTPS requests.
``date``
The datetime the request was made.
``headers``
A dictionary-like object of request headers. Headers are case-insensitive and duplicates are permitted. Asking for ``request.headers['user-agent']`` will return the value of the ``User-Agent`` header. If you wish to replace a header, make sure you delete the existing header first with ``del request.headers['header-name']``, otherwise you'll create a duplicate.
``host``
The request host, e.g. ``www.example.com``
``method``
The HTTP method, e.g. ``GET`` or ``POST`` etc.
``params``
A dictionary of request parameters. If a parameter with the same name appears more than once in the request, it's value in the dictionary will be a list.
``path``
The request path, e.g. ``/some/path/index.html``
``querystring``
The query string, e.g. ``foo=bar&spam=eggs``
``response``
The `response object`_ associated with the request. This will be ``None`` if the request has no response.
``url``
The request URL, e.g. ``https://www.example.com/some/path/index.html?foo=bar&spam=eggs``
``ws_messages``
Where the request is a websocket handshake request (normally with a URL starting ``wss://``) then ``ws_messages`` will contain a list of any websocket messages sent and received. See `WebSocketMessage Objects`_.
Request objects have the following methods.
``abort(error_code=403)``
Trigger immediate termination of the request with the supplied error code. For use within request interceptors. See `Example: Block a request`_.
``create_response(status_code, headers=(), body=b'')``
Create a response and return it without sending any data to the remote server. For use within request interceptors. See `Example: Mock a response`_.
.. _`response object`: #response-objects
WebSocketMessage Objects
------------------------
These objects represent websocket messages sent between the browser and server and vice versa. They are held in a list by ``request.ws_messages`` on websocket handshake requests. They have the following attributes.
``content``
The message content which may be either ``str`` or ``bytes``.
``date``
The datetime of the message.
``from_client``
``True`` when the message was sent by the client and ``False`` when sent by the server.
Response Objects
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Response objects have the following attributes.
``body``
The response body as ``bytes``. If the response has no body the value of ``body`` will be empty, i.e. ``b''``. Sometimes the body may have been compressed by the server. You can prevent this with the ``disable_encoding`` `option`_. To manually decode an encoded response body you can do:
.. code:: python
from seleniumwire.utils import decode
body = decode(response.body, response.headers.get('Content-Encoding', 'identity'))
``date``
The datetime the response was received.
``headers``
A dictionary-like object of response headers. Headers are case-insensitive and duplicates are permitted. Asking for ``response.headers['content-length']`` will return the value of the ``Content-Length`` header. If you wish to replace a header, make sure you delete the existing header first with ``del response.headers['header-name']``, otherwise you'll create a duplicate.
``reason``
The reason phrase, e.g. ``OK`` or ``Not Found`` etc.
``status_code``
The status code of the response, e.g. ``200`` or ``404`` etc.
Intercepting Requests and Responses
As well as capturing requests and responses, Selenium Wire allows you to modify them on the fly using interceptors. An interceptor is a function that gets invoked with requests and responses as they pass through Selenium Wire. Within an interceptor you can modify the request and response as you see fit.
You set your interceptor functions using the driver.request_interceptor
and driver.response_interceptor
attributes before you start using the driver. A request interceptor should accept a single argument for the request. A response interceptor should accept two arguments, one for the originating request and one for the response.
Example: Add a request header
.. code:: python
def interceptor(request):
request.headers['New-Header'] = 'Some Value'
driver.request_interceptor = interceptor
driver.get(...)
# All requests will now contain New-Header
How can I check that a header has been set correctly? You can print the headers from captured requests after the page has loaded using driver.requests
, or alternatively point the webdriver at https://httpbin.org/headers which will echo the request headers back to the browser so you can view them.
Example: Replace an existing request header
Duplicate header names are permitted in an HTTP request, so before setting the replacement header you must first delete the existing header using del
like in the following example, otherwise two headers with the same name will exist (request.headers
is a special dictionary-like object that allows duplicates).
.. code:: python
def interceptor(request):
del request.headers['Referer'] # Remember to delete the header first
request.headers['Referer'] = 'some_referer' # Spoof the referer
driver.request_interceptor = interceptor
driver.get(...)
# All requests will now use 'some_referer' for the referer
Example: Add a response header
.. code:: python
def interceptor(request, response): # A response interceptor takes two args
if request.url == 'https://server.com/some/path':
response.headers['New-Header'] = 'Some Value'
driver.response_interceptor = interceptor
driver.get(...)
# Responses from https://server.com/some/path will now contain New-Header
Example: Add a request parameter
Request parameters work differently to headers in that they are calculated when they are set on the request. That means that you first have to read them, then update them, and then write them back - like in the following example. Parameters are held in a regular dictionary, so parameters with the same name will be overwritten.
.. code:: python
def interceptor(request):
params = request.params
params['foo'] = 'bar'
request.params = params
driver.request_interceptor = interceptor
driver.get(...)
# foo=bar will be added to all requests
Example: Update JSON in a POST request body
.. code:: python
import json
def interceptor(request):
if request.method == 'POST' and request.headers['Content-Type'] == 'application/json':
# The body is in bytes so convert to a string
body = request.body.decode('utf-8')
# Load the JSON
data = json.loads(body)
# Add a new property
data['foo'] = 'bar'
# Set the JSON back on the request
request.body = json.dumps(data).encode('utf-8')
# Update the content length
del request.headers['Content-Length']
request.headers['Content-Length'] = str(len(request.body))
driver.request_interceptor = interceptor
driver.get(...)
Example: Basic authentication
If a site requires a username/password, you can use a request interceptor to add authentication credentials to each request. This will stop the browser from displaying a username/password pop-up.
.. code:: python
import base64
auth = (
base64.encodebytes('my_username:my_password'.encode())
.decode()
.strip()
)
def interceptor(request):
if request.host == 'host_that_needs_auth':
request.headers['Authorization'] = f'Basic {auth}'
driver.request_interceptor = interceptor
driver.get(...)
# Credentials will be transmitted with every request to "host_that_needs_auth"
Example: Block a request
You can use request.abort()
to block a request and send an immediate response back to the browser. An optional error code can be supplied. The default is 403 (forbidden).
.. code:: python
def interceptor(request):
# Block PNG, JPEG and GIF images
if request.path.endswith(('.png', '.jpg', '.gif')):
request.abort()
driver.request_interceptor = interceptor
driver.get(...)
# Requests for PNG, JPEG and GIF images will result in a 403 Forbidden
Example: Mock a response
You can use request.create_response()
to send a custom reply back to the browser. No data will be sent to the remote server.
.. code:: python
def interceptor(request):
if request.url == 'https://server.com/some/path':
request.create_response(
status_code=200,
headers={'Content-Type': 'text/html'}, # Optional headers dictionary
body='<html>Hello World!</html>' # Optional body
)
driver.request_interceptor = interceptor
driver.get(...)
# Requests to https://server.com/some/path will have their responses mocked
Have any other examples you think could be useful? Feel free to submit a PR.
Unset an interceptor
To unset an interceptor, use del
:
.. code:: python
del driver.request_interceptor
del driver.response_interceptor
Limiting Request Capture
Selenium Wire works by redirecting browser traffic through an internal proxy server it spins up in the background. As requests flow through the proxy they are intercepted and captured. Capturing requests can slow things down a little but there are a few things you can do to restrict what gets captured.
``driver.scopes``
This accepts a list of regular expressions that will match the URLs to be captured. It should be set on the driver before making any requests. When empty (the default) all URLs are captured.
.. code:: python
driver.scopes = [
'.*stackoverflow.*',
'.*github.*'
]
driver.get(...) # Start making requests
# Only request URLs containing "stackoverflow" or "github" will now be captured
Note that even if a request is out of scope and not captured, it will still travel through Selenium Wire.
``seleniumwire_options.disable_capture``
Use this option to switch off request capture. Requests will still pass through Selenium Wire and through any upstream proxy you have configured but they won't be intercepted or stored. Request interceptors will not execute.
.. code:: python
options = {
'disable_capture': True # Don't intercept/store any requests
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``seleniumwire_options.exclude_hosts``
Use this option to bypass Selenium Wire entirely. Any requests made to addresses listed here will go direct from the browser to the server without involving Selenium Wire. Note that if you've configured an upstream proxy then these requests will also bypass that proxy.
.. code:: python
options = {
'exclude_hosts': ['host1.com', 'host2.com'] # Bypass Selenium Wire for these hosts
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``request.abort()``
You can abort a request early by using ``request.abort()`` from within a `request interceptor`_. This will send an immediate response back to the client without the request travelling any further. You can use this mechanism to block certain types of requests (e.g. images) to improve page load performance.
.. code:: python
def interceptor(request):
# Block PNG, JPEG and GIF images
if request.path.endswith(('.png', '.jpg', '.gif')):
request.abort()
driver.request_interceptor = interceptor
driver.get(...) # Start making requests
.. _`request interceptor`: #intercepting-requests-and-responses
Request Storage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Captured requests and responses are stored in the system temp folder by default (that's ``/tmp`` on Linux and usually ``C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp`` on Windows) in a sub-folder called ``.seleniumwire``. To change where the ``.seleniumwire`` folder gets created you can use the ``request_storage_base_dir`` option:
.. code:: python
options = {
'request_storage_base_dir': '/my/storage/folder' # .seleniumwire will get created here
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
In-Memory Storage
-----------------
Selenium Wire also supports storing requests and responses in memory only, which may be useful in certain situations - e.g. if you're running short lived Docker containers and don't want the overhead of disk persistence. You can enable in-memory storage by setting the ``request_storage`` option to ``memory``:
.. code:: python
options = {
'request_storage': 'memory' # Store requests and responses in memory only
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
If you're concerned about the amount of memory that may be consumed, you can restrict the number of requests that are stored with the ``request_storage_max_size`` option:
.. code:: python
options = {
'request_storage': 'memory',
'request_storage_max_size': 100 # Store no more than 100 requests in memory
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
When the max size is reached, older requests are discarded as newer requests arrive. Keep in mind that if you restrict the number of requests being stored, requests may have disappeared from storage by the time you come to retrieve them with ``driver.requests`` or ``driver.wait_for_request()`` etc.
Proxies
~~~~~~~
If the site you are accessing sits behind a proxy server you can tell Selenium Wire about that proxy server in the options you pass to the webdriver.
The configuration takes the following format:
.. code:: python
options = {
'proxy': {
'http': 'http://192.168.10.100:8888',
'https': 'https://192.168.10.100:8888',
'no_proxy': 'localhost,127.0.0.1'
}
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
To use HTTP Basic Auth with your proxy, specify the username and password in the URL:
.. code:: python
options = {
'proxy': {
'https': 'https://user:pass@192.168.10.100:8888',
}
}
For authentication other than Basic, you can supply the full value for the ``Proxy-Authorization`` header using the ``custom_authorization`` option. For example, if your proxy used the Bearer scheme:
.. code:: python
options = {
'proxy': {
'https': 'https://192.168.10.100:8888', # No username or password used
'custom_authorization': 'Bearer mytoken123' # Custom Proxy-Authorization header value
}
}
More info on the ``Proxy-Authorization`` header can be found `here <https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Proxy-Authorization>`__.
The proxy configuration can also be loaded through environment variables called ``HTTP_PROXY``, ``HTTPS_PROXY`` and ``NO_PROXY``:
.. code:: bash
$ export HTTP_PROXY="http://192.168.10.100:8888"
$ export HTTPS_PROXY="https://192.168.10.100:8888"
$ export NO_PROXY="localhost,127.0.0.1"
SOCKS
-----
Using a SOCKS proxy is the same as using an HTTP based one but you set the scheme to ``socks5``:
.. code:: python
options = {
'proxy': {
'http': 'socks5://user:pass@192.168.10.100:8888',
'https': 'socks5://user:pass@192.168.10.100:8888',
'no_proxy': 'localhost,127.0.0.1'
}
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
You can leave out the ``user`` and ``pass`` if your proxy doesn't require authentication.
As well as ``socks5``, the schemes ``socks4`` and ``socks5h`` are supported. Use ``socks5h`` when you want DNS resolution to happen on the proxy server rather than on the client.
**Using Selenium Wire with Tor**
See `this example <https://gist.github.com/woswos/38b921f0b82de009c12c6494db3f50c5>`_ if you want to run Selenium Wire with Tor.
Switching Dynamically
---------------------
If you want to change the proxy settings for an existing driver instance, use the ``driver.proxy`` attribute:
.. code:: python
driver.get(...) # Using some initial proxy
# Change the proxy
driver.proxy = {
'https': 'https://user:pass@192.168.10.100:8888',
}
driver.get(...) # These requests will use the new proxy
To clear a proxy, set ``driver.proxy`` to an empty dict ``{}``.
This mechanism also supports the ``no_proxy`` and ``custom_authorization`` options.
Bot Detection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selenium Wire will integrate with `undetected-chromedriver`_ if it finds it in your environment. This library will transparently modify ChromeDriver to prevent it from triggering anti-bot measures on websites.
.. _`undetected-chromedriver`: https://github.com/ultrafunkamsterdam/undetected-chromedriver
If you wish to take advantage of this make sure you have undetected_chromedriver installed:
.. code:: bash
pip install undetected-chromedriver
Then in your code, import the ``seleniumwire.undetected_chromedriver`` package:
.. code:: python
import seleniumwire.undetected_chromedriver as uc
chrome_options = uc.ChromeOptions()
driver = uc.Chrome(
options=chrome_options,
seleniumwire_options={}
)
Certificates
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selenium Wire uses it's own root certificate to decrypt HTTPS traffic. It is not normally necessary for the browser to trust this certificate because Selenium Wire tells the browser to add it as an exception. This will allow the browser to function normally, but it will display a "Not Secure" message (and/or unlocked padlock) in the address bar. If you wish to get rid of this message you can install the root certificate manually.
You can download the root certificate `here <https://github.com/wkeeling/selenium-wire/raw/master/seleniumwire/ca.crt>`__. Once downloaded, navigate to "Certificates" in your browser settings and import the certificate in the "Authorities" section.
Using Your Own Certificate
--------------------------
If you would like to use your own root certificate you can supply the path to the certificate and the private key using the ``ca_cert`` and ``ca_key`` options.
If you do specify your own certificate, be sure to manually delete Selenium Wire's `temporary storage folder <#request-storage>`_. This will clear out any existing certificates that may have been cached from previous runs.
All Options
~~~~~~~~~~~
A summary of all options that can be passed to Selenium Wire via the ``seleniumwire_options`` webdriver attribute.
``addr``
The IP address or hostname of the machine running Selenium Wire. This defaults to 127.0.0.1. You may want to change this to the public IP of the machine (or container) if you're using the `remote webdriver`_.
.. code:: python
options = {
'addr': '192.168.0.10' # Use the public IP of the machine
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
.. _`remote webdriver`: #creating-the-webdriver
``auto_config``
Whether Selenium Wire should auto-configure the browser for request capture. ``True`` by default.
``ca_cert``
The path to a root (CA) certificate if you prefer to use your own certificate rather than use the default.
.. code:: python
options = {
'ca_cert': '/path/to/ca.crt' # Use own root certificate
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``ca_key``
The path to the private key if you're using your own root certificate. The key must always be supplied when using your own certificate.
.. code:: python
options = {
'ca_key': '/path/to/ca.key' # Path to private key
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``disable_capture``
Disable request capture. When ``True`` nothing gets intercepted or stored. ``False`` by default.
.. code:: python
options = {
'disable_capture': True # Don't intercept/store any requests.
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``disable_encoding``
Ask the server to send back uncompressed data. ``False`` by default. When ``True`` this sets the ``Accept-Encoding`` header to ``identity`` for all outbound requests. Note that it won't always work - sometimes the server may ignore it.
.. code:: python
options = {
'disable_encoding': True # Ask the server not to compress the response
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``enable_har``
When ``True`` a HAR archive of HTTP transactions will be kept which can be retrieved with ``driver.har``. ``False`` by default.
.. code:: python
options = {
'enable_har': True # Capture HAR data, retrieve with driver.har
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``exclude_hosts``
A list of addresses for which Selenium Wire should be bypassed entirely. Note that if you have configured an upstream proxy then requests to excluded hosts will also bypass that proxy.
.. code:: python
options = {
'exclude_hosts': ['google-analytics.com'] # Bypass these hosts
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``ignore_http_methods``
A list of HTTP methods (specified as uppercase strings) that should be ignored by Selenium Wire and not captured. The default is ``['OPTIONS']`` which ignores all OPTIONS requests. To capture all request methods, set ``ignore_http_methods`` to an empty list:
.. code:: python
options = {
'ignore_http_methods': [] # Capture all requests, including OPTIONS requests
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``port``
The port number that Selenium Wire's backend listens on. You don't normally need to specify a port as a random port number is chosen automatically.
.. code:: python
options = {
'port': 9999 # Tell the backend to listen on port 9999 (not normally necessary to set this)
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``proxy``
The upstream `proxy server <https://github.com/wkeeling/selenium-wire#proxies>`__ configuration if you're using a proxy.
.. code:: python
options = {
'proxy': {
'http': 'http://user:pass@192.168.10.100:8888',
'https': 'https://user:pass@192.168.10.100:8889',
'no_proxy': 'localhost,127.0.0.1'
}
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``request_storage``
The type of storage to use. Selenium Wire defaults to disk based storage, but you can switch to in-memory storage by setting this option to ``memory``:
.. code:: python
options = {
'request_storage': 'memory' # Store requests and responses in memory only
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``request_storage_base_dir``
The base location where Selenium Wire stores captured requests and responses when using its default disk based storage. This defaults to the system temp folder (that's ``/tmp`` on Linux and usually ``C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp`` on Windows). A sub-folder called ``.seleniumwire`` will get created here to store the captured data.
.. code:: python
options = {
'request_storage_base_dir': '/my/storage/folder' # .seleniumwire will get created here
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``request_storage_max_size``
The maximum number of requests to store when using in-memory storage. Unlimited by default. This option currently has no effect when using the default disk based storage.
.. code:: python
options = {
'request_storage': 'memory',
'request_storage_max_size': 100 # Store no more than 100 requests in memory
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``suppress_connection_errors``
Whether to suppress connection related tracebacks. ``True`` by default, meaning that harmless errors that sometimes occur at browser shutdown do not alarm users. When suppressed, the connection error message is logged at DEBUG level without a traceback. Set to ``False`` to allow exception propagation and see full tracebacks.
.. code:: python
options = {
'suppress_connection_errors': False # Show full tracebacks for any connection errors
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
``verify_ssl``
Whether SSL certificates should be verified. ``False`` by default, which prevents errors with self-signed certificates.
.. code:: python
options = {
'verify_ssl': True # Verify SSL certificates but beware of errors with self-signed certificates
}
driver = webdriver.Chrome(seleniumwire_options=options)
License
~~~~~~~
MIT
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