Selenium – Python – AttributeError: 'WebDriver' object has no attribute 'find_element_by_name'
Question:
I am trying to get Selenium working with Chrome, but I keep running into this error message (and others like it):
AttributeError: ‘WebDriver’ object has no attribute ‘find_element_by_name’
The same problem occurs with find_element_by_id(), find_element_by_class(), etc.
I also could not call send_keys().
I am just running the test code provided at ChromeDriver – WebDriver for Chrome – Getting started.
import time
from selenium import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome("C:/Program Files/Chrome Driver/chromedriver.exe") # Path to where I installed the web driver
driver.get('http://www.google.com/');
time.sleep(5) # Let the user actually see something!
search_box = driver.find_element_by_name('q')
search_box.send_keys('ChromeDriver')
search_box.submit()
time.sleep(5) # Let the user actually see something!
driver.quit()
I am using Google Chrome version 103.0.5060.53 and downloaded ChromeDriver 103.0.5060.53 from Downloads.
When running the code, Chrome opens and navigates to google.com, but it receives the following output:
C:UsersAdminProgramming ProjectsPython ProjectsClock Inclock_in.py:21: DeprecationWarning: executable_path has been deprecated, please pass in a Service object
driver = webdriver.Chrome("C:/Program Files/Chrome Driver/chromedriver.exe") # Optional argument, if not specified will search path.
DevTools listening on ws://127.0.0.1:58397/devtools/browser/edee940d-61e0-4cc3-89e1-2aa08ab16432
[9556:21748:0627/083741.135:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.131] USB: usb_service_win.cc:415 Could not read device interface GUIDs: The system cannot find the file specified. (0x2)
[9556:21748:0627/083741.149:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.148] USB: usb_device_handle_win.cc:1048 Failed to read descriptor from node connection: A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x1F)
[9556:21748:0627/083741.156:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.155] USB: usb_device_handle_win.cc:1048 Failed to read descriptor from node connection: A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x1F)
[9556:21748:0627/083741.157:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.156] USB: usb_device_handle_win.cc:1048 Failed to read descriptor from node connection: A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x1F)
[9556:21748:0627/083741.157:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.156] USB: usb_device_handle_win.cc:1048 Failed to read descriptor from node connection: A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x1F)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:[REDACTED]", line 27, in <module>
search_box = driver.find_element_by_name('q')
AttributeError: 'WebDriver' object has no attribute 'find_element_by_name'
[21324:19948:0627/083937.892:ERROR:gpu_init.cc(486)] Passthrough is not supported, GL is disabled, ANGLE is
Note: I replaced the file path for this post.
I don’t think that the DevTools listening section is related to the issue, but I thought I would include it, just in case.
Answers:
Selenium just removed that method in version 4.3.0. See the CHANGES: https://github.com/SeleniumHQ/selenium/blob/a4995e2c096239b42c373f26498a6c9bb4f2b3e7/py/CHANGES
Selenium 4.3.0
* Deprecated find_element_by_* and find_elements_by_* are now removed (#10712)
* Deprecated Opera support has been removed (#10630)
* Fully upgraded from python 2x to 3.7 syntax and features (#10647)
* Added a devtools version fallback mechanism to look for an older version when mismatch occurs (#10749)
* Better support for co-operative multi inheritance by utilising super() throughout
* Improved type hints throughout
You now need to use:
driver.find_element("name", "q")
In your example, it would become:
search_box = driver.find_element("name", "q")
search_box.send_keys('ChromeDriver')
search_box.submit()
For improved reliability, you should consider using WebDriverWait in combination with element_to_be_clickable.
find_element_by_* and find_elements_by_* are deprecated. You can use find_element() instead.
First you have to import:
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
Then you can use it with:
driver.find_element(By.XPATH, " ")
driver.find_elements(By.XPATH, " ")
driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, " ")
driver.find_elements(By.CLASS_NAME, " ")
etc.. see find_element() API for all usage
Thank you michael-mintz and federikowsky for giving the clue to the root cause.
In my case, I couldn’t edit the code to be compatible with the latest Selenium version. So, as a workaround, I downgraded my Selenium to 4.2.0.
For Python 3:
-
Make sure that your Selenium is 4.3.0 or higher.
Start a Python interactive session and run:
>>> import selenium
>>> selenium.__version__
-
Downgrade your Selenium
-
Either edit dependencies file (requirements.txt) and mention a specific version:
selenium==4.2.0
-
Or, if you can’t change dependencies file (requirements.txt), run these commands:
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
pip3 uninstall selenium
pip3 install selenium==4.2.0
You need to import Selenium WebDriver using this code:
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
Next use this API:
Old API
New API
find_element_by_id(‘id’)
find_element(By.ID, ‘id’)
find_element_by_name(‘name’)
find_element(By.NAME, ‘name’)
find_element_by_xpath(‘xpath’)
find_element(By.XPATH, ‘xpath’)
and so on.
Source: Fixing Selenium AttributeError: ‘WebDriver’ object has no attribute ‘find_element_by_xpath’
I am trying to get Selenium working with Chrome, but I keep running into this error message (and others like it):
AttributeError: ‘WebDriver’ object has no attribute ‘find_element_by_name’
The same problem occurs with find_element_by_id(), find_element_by_class(), etc.
I also could not call send_keys().
I am just running the test code provided at ChromeDriver – WebDriver for Chrome – Getting started.
import time
from selenium import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome("C:/Program Files/Chrome Driver/chromedriver.exe") # Path to where I installed the web driver
driver.get('http://www.google.com/');
time.sleep(5) # Let the user actually see something!
search_box = driver.find_element_by_name('q')
search_box.send_keys('ChromeDriver')
search_box.submit()
time.sleep(5) # Let the user actually see something!
driver.quit()
I am using Google Chrome version 103.0.5060.53 and downloaded ChromeDriver 103.0.5060.53 from Downloads.
When running the code, Chrome opens and navigates to google.com, but it receives the following output:
C:UsersAdminProgramming ProjectsPython ProjectsClock Inclock_in.py:21: DeprecationWarning: executable_path has been deprecated, please pass in a Service object
driver = webdriver.Chrome("C:/Program Files/Chrome Driver/chromedriver.exe") # Optional argument, if not specified will search path.
DevTools listening on ws://127.0.0.1:58397/devtools/browser/edee940d-61e0-4cc3-89e1-2aa08ab16432
[9556:21748:0627/083741.135:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.131] USB: usb_service_win.cc:415 Could not read device interface GUIDs: The system cannot find the file specified. (0x2)
[9556:21748:0627/083741.149:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.148] USB: usb_device_handle_win.cc:1048 Failed to read descriptor from node connection: A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x1F)
[9556:21748:0627/083741.156:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.155] USB: usb_device_handle_win.cc:1048 Failed to read descriptor from node connection: A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x1F)
[9556:21748:0627/083741.157:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.156] USB: usb_device_handle_win.cc:1048 Failed to read descriptor from node connection: A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x1F)
[9556:21748:0627/083741.157:ERROR:device_event_log_impl.cc(214)] [08:37:41.156] USB: usb_device_handle_win.cc:1048 Failed to read descriptor from node connection: A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x1F)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:[REDACTED]", line 27, in <module>
search_box = driver.find_element_by_name('q')
AttributeError: 'WebDriver' object has no attribute 'find_element_by_name'
[21324:19948:0627/083937.892:ERROR:gpu_init.cc(486)] Passthrough is not supported, GL is disabled, ANGLE is
Note: I replaced the file path for this post.
I don’t think that the DevTools listening section is related to the issue, but I thought I would include it, just in case.
Selenium just removed that method in version 4.3.0. See the CHANGES: https://github.com/SeleniumHQ/selenium/blob/a4995e2c096239b42c373f26498a6c9bb4f2b3e7/py/CHANGES
Selenium 4.3.0
* Deprecated find_element_by_* and find_elements_by_* are now removed (#10712)
* Deprecated Opera support has been removed (#10630)
* Fully upgraded from python 2x to 3.7 syntax and features (#10647)
* Added a devtools version fallback mechanism to look for an older version when mismatch occurs (#10749)
* Better support for co-operative multi inheritance by utilising super() throughout
* Improved type hints throughout
You now need to use:
driver.find_element("name", "q")
In your example, it would become:
search_box = driver.find_element("name", "q")
search_box.send_keys('ChromeDriver')
search_box.submit()
For improved reliability, you should consider using WebDriverWait in combination with element_to_be_clickable.
find_element_by_* and find_elements_by_* are deprecated. You can use find_element() instead.
First you have to import:
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
Then you can use it with:
driver.find_element(By.XPATH, " ")
driver.find_elements(By.XPATH, " ")
driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, " ")
driver.find_elements(By.CLASS_NAME, " ")
etc.. see find_element() API for all usage
Thank you michael-mintz and federikowsky for giving the clue to the root cause.
In my case, I couldn’t edit the code to be compatible with the latest Selenium version. So, as a workaround, I downgraded my Selenium to 4.2.0.
For Python 3:
-
Make sure that your Selenium is 4.3.0 or higher.
Start a Python interactive session and run:>>> import selenium >>> selenium.__version__ -
Downgrade your Selenium
-
Either edit dependencies file (requirements.txt) and mention a specific version:
selenium==4.2.0 -
Or, if you can’t change dependencies file (requirements.txt), run these commands:
pip3 install -r requirements.txt pip3 uninstall selenium pip3 install selenium==4.2.0
You need to import Selenium WebDriver using this code:
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
Next use this API:
| Old API | New API |
|---|---|
| find_element_by_id(‘id’) | find_element(By.ID, ‘id’) |
| find_element_by_name(‘name’) | find_element(By.NAME, ‘name’) |
| find_element_by_xpath(‘xpath’) | find_element(By.XPATH, ‘xpath’) |
and so on.
Source: Fixing Selenium AttributeError: ‘WebDriver’ object has no attribute ‘find_element_by_xpath’