FirefoxOptions in Selenium API

In Selenium WebDriver, FirefoxOptions is a class that allows you to configure various settings for the Firefox browser before launching a test. It provides a way to set preferences, enable or disable features, and customize the behavior of the Firefox browser when running Selenium automation scripts.

Deprecated

Constructing a FirefoxDriver is by passing desired capabilities object like FirefoxDriver(Capabilities desiredCapabilities)  is deprecated now.

From Selenium 3.6.0 it is recommended to construct a FirefoxDriver with FirefoxOptions, like below:

FirefoxOptions options = new FirefoxOptions()
WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver(options);

Earlier we have used RemoteWebDriver with DesiredCapabilities object to define which browser, version of the browser and platform that we want to run our tests.

But now with Selenium version 3.6.0, you should start using:

DesiredCapabilities capabilities = DesiredCapabilities.firefox();
driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new URL("http://10.x.x.x:4444/wd/hub"), capabilities);

So now with the new FirefoxOptions, it should looks like below : –

FirefoxOptions options = new FirefoxOptions();
driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new URL("http://10.x.x.x:4444/wd/hub"), options);

FirefoxOptions for Running WebDriver Tests

When executing Selenium WebDriver tests on Firefox, you may need to configure specific settings like headless mode, proxy settings, or disabling notifications. The FirefoxOptions class helps achieve this by allowing you to pass customized settings to the FirefoxDriver instance.

Below is an example of how to use FirefoxOptions in Selenium:

import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxOptions;

public class FirefoxOptionsExample {
 public static void main(String[] args) {
 // Set Firefox options
 FirefoxOptions options = new FirefoxOptions();
 options.addArguments("--headless"); // Run Firefox in headless mode

 // Initialize WebDriver with options
 WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver(options);
 driver.get("https://www.example.com");

 // Print page title
 System.out.println("Page Title: " + driver.getTitle());

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

Uses of FirefoxOptions

The FirefoxOptions class is useful for various test scenarios, such as:

• Running Tests in Headless Mode: Allows executing tests without opening the browser UI, which speeds up execution.
• Disabling Browser Notifications: Prevents pop-ups and alerts from interfering with test execution.
• Setting Proxy Settings: Useful for testing applications behind a proxy server.
• Customizing Browser Preferences: Enables setting preferences such as disabling images or enabling specific browser features.
• Handling SSL Certificates: Helps in bypassing security warnings for self-signed certificates.

By using FirefoxOptions, you can have better control over the Firefox browser and make your Selenium tests more efficient and stable.