How to Run Gecko Driver in Selenium Using Java?

Selenium is a well-known software used for software testing purposes. It consists of three parts: Selenium IDE, Selenium WebDriver, and Selenium Grid. Selenium WebDriver is the most important. Using WebDriver, online website testing can be done. There are three main WebDriver implementations:

• ChromeDriver for Chrome
• GeckoDriver for Firefox
• MS EdgeDriver for Microsoft Edge

In this article, the process of running Gecko WebDriver is implemented. This simple Java program can be run.

What is GeckoDriver in Selenium?

GeckoDriver is a WebDriver implementation for Mozilla Firefox. It translates Selenium commands into actions performed by Firefox, enabling automated browser interactions. GeckoDriver ensures compatibility with Firefox and supports modern web features.

How Does GeckoDriver Work?

GeckoDriver acts as a bridge between Selenium WebDriver and the Firefox browser. Here’s how it works in simple terms:

1. Selenium sends a command: For example, to click a button or open a page.
2. GeckoDriver processes the command: It takes this instruction and translates it into a language Firefox understands.
3. Firefox performs the action: GeckoDriver sends the translated command to Firefox’s engine to execute the action.
4. Response is sent back: Once Firefox completes the task, it sends a response to GeckoDriver.
5. Selenium gets the result: GeckoDriver passes this response to Selenium, which continues running the test script.

In short, GeckoDriver ensures your Selenium tests can control Firefox smoothly.

How to Download and Install GeckoDriver in Selenium

1. Add Maven Dependencies: To use GeckoDriver with Selenium, you first need to add the necessary dependencies to your Maven project.
2. Modify Your pom.xml: Open your pom.xml file and add the following dependencies:

Project Setup:

pom.xml

<project xmlns="https://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="https://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
  xsi:schemaLocation="https://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

  <groupId>GeeksorGeeks</groupId>
  <artifactId>SeleniumAutomationGFG</artifactId>
  <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
  <packaging>jar</packaging>

  <name>SeleniumAutomationGFG</name>
  <url>http://maven.apache.org</url>

  <properties>
    <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
  </properties>

  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>junit</groupId>
      <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
      <version>3.8.1</version>
      <scope>test</scope>
    </dependency>
    
    <dependency>
    	<groupId>org.seleniumhq.selenium</groupId>
   		<artifactId>selenium-java</artifactId>
    	<version>4.23.1</version>
	</dependency>
	
	    <dependency>
        <groupId>io.github.bonigarcia</groupId>
        <artifactId>webdrivermanager</artifactId>
        <version>5.5.0</version>
    </dependency>
    
  </dependencies>
</project>

• Note: Replace the version numbers with the latest versions if necessary.
• Save pom.xml: After saving, Maven will automatically download the required dependencies and add them to your project.
• Ways to Initialize GeckoDriver Using WebDriverManager (Recommended): WebDriverManager simplifies the process by automatically managing the GeckoDriver binary.

import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;
import io.github.bonigarcia.wdm.WebDriverManager;

public class FirefoxTest {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Setup GeckoDriver using WebDriverManager
        WebDriverManager.firefoxdriver().setup();

        // Create an instance of FirefoxDriver
        WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();

        // Open a website
        driver.get("https://www.example.com/");

        // Close the browser
        driver.quit();
    }
}

Code for Launching Firefox Using GeckoDriver

Here’s a complete example of a Java Selenium script to launch Firefox and navigate to a website:

GoogleSearchTest.java

package basicweb;

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import io.github.bonigarcia.wdm.WebDriverManager;

public class GoogleSearchTest {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Set up ChromeDriver using WebDriverManager
        WebDriverManager.chromedriver().setup();

        // Create an instance of ChromeDriver
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

        try {
            // Navigate to Google
            driver.get("https://www.google.com/");

            // Find the search box and enter a search term
            WebElement searchBox = driver.findElement(By.name("q"));
            searchBox.sendKeys("Selenium WebDriver");

            // Submit the search
            searchBox.submit();

            // Find the first result and click on it
            WebElement firstResult = driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("h3"));
            firstResult.click();

        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } finally {
            // Close the browser
            driver.quit();
        }
    }
}

Output:

Launch the Firefox Browser Using GeckoDriver in Selenium

Pre-Requisites:

• For running GeckoDriver, the Java jdk version must be installed in the machine previously.
• The latest version of Firefox should be installed.
• It is preferable to install Eclipse IDE on the machine so that running this code will be easier.
• The most important prerequisite is latest GeckoDriver should be downloaded on the machine.

Approach:

• Store the URL: Start by saving Google’s homepage URL in a string variable.
• Set up the browser property: Use the setProperty() method to configure the browser.
• The first argument specifies the WebDriver being used (in this case, GeckoDriver).
• The second argument is the file path to the geckodriver.exe.

Note: If the geckodriver.exe is in your Eclipse project, the path might look different. Alternatively, you can provide the complete path from File Explorer.

• Create a driver instance: Create a new WebDriver object for GeckoDriver.
• Open the URL: Use the get() method of the WebDriver object to open the Google homepage by passing the URL string. This will launch Firefox and load the page.
• Add a delay: Use the sleep() method to pause the program briefly, allowing the output to remain visible for a while.
• Close the browser: Finally, use the quit() method to close the Firefox window and end the program.

By following these steps, you’ll successfully open Google’s homepage in Firefox using Selenium and GeckoDriver:

// Importing All Necessary Items
import java.io.*;
import java.lang.Thread;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;

public class FirefoxHomePage {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        // Try-Catch Block For Implementing Sleep Method
        try {
            // String Where Home Page URL Is Stored
            String baseUrl = "https://www.google.com//";
          
            // Implementation of SetProperty Method
            System.setProperty(
                "webdriver.gecko.driver",
                "test/resources/geckodriver.exe");
          
            // Creating New Object driver Of Webdriver
            WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();
          
            // Calling the Home Page By Using Get() Method
            driver.get(baseUrl);
          
            // Delaying The Output
            Thread.sleep(2000);
          
            // Closing The Opened Window
            driver.quit();
        }
        catch (Exception e) {
            // Catching The Exception
            System.out.println(e);
        }
    }
}

Output:

If the above code is run, then a new Firefox window will be opened. This open window will be controlled by GeckoDriver.exe. In this new window, a golden color stripe can be visible in the search bar of Firefox.

Hence, the program runs successfully.

Conclusion

GeckoDriver is key to automating the Firefox browser with Selenium WebDriver. Setting it up and configuring it properly allows you to test Firefox effectively. With this knowledge, you can easily run automated tests in Java-based Selenium projects, ensuring reliable cross-browser testing for your web applications.