Getting started with Selenium IDE

In modern web development, speed and reliability are combined you can deploy features quickly, but without proper testing, bugs might pass through and strike real users. That is where tools like Selenium IDE fit in - they enable you to automate browser interactions without writing a single line of code.

As a person who just tried Selenium IDE on a test login form, I was amazed at how simple it is to create repeatable test flows in a matter of a few clicks. This article walks you from Selenium IDE setup to automation tips - and even shows how it can be augmented by tools like Keploy for end-to-end test coverage. Jump in.

What is Selenium?

Selenium is a suite of open-source automated web browser tools. It is primarily used by developers and QA professionals to mimic real-user interactions - i.e., clicking buttons, entering text, and navigating pages to drive web application tests under ordinary anticipated action. It assists with early bug detection and achieving application quality during development.

One of Selenium's largest advantages is its flexibility. It is able to run with several programming languages such as Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript, enabling teams to author tests in the language they prefer. Whether you are testing locally or on multiple browsers and platforms, Selenium provides a scalable and versatile solution for creating stable automated test routines.

What is Selenium IDE?

Selenium IDE is an easy-to-use browser add-on that allows you to build and execute automated tests without needing to write any code. It's easy to use, making it suitable for novices or for anyone wanting to rapidly automate web interactions by recording navigation, form input, and clicks.

In contrast to Selenium WebDriver, which involves programming, Selenium IDE is a visual tool for developing and playing back tests. It's ideal for rapid test construction, regression testing, and learning browser automation within three clicks.

Selenium IDE Working Principle

Selenium IDE uses a straightforward but efficient record-and-playback process. As the user makes interactions with a web application - clicking buttons, typing text, or browsing pages - the IDE captures each step as a command. All such captured commands become a test script which can be replayed at any time to repeat the same steps automatically. This method allows one to write automated tests in a short time, without having to code anything, which makes it particularly suitable for quick test writing and simple functional testing.

How to Install Selenium IDE

Selenium IDE comes as an extension for Chrome and Firefox web browsers.

Steps to Install:

1. Open your browser (Chrome or Firefox).

2. Go to the extension store of your browser.

3. Search for "Selenium IDE".

4. Click on "Add to Chrome" or "Add to Firefox" and verify the installation.

How to Use Selenium IDE

Once installed, you can start using Selenium IDE to record and run tests.

Basic Usage:

1. Click on the Selenium IDE icon in your browser toolbar to launch it.

   

2. Create a new project and name it appropriately.

   

3. Set the base URL of the application you want to test.

4. Click on the "Record" button and perform the actions you want to test on your web application.

5. Click "Stop" to end the recording.

6. Review the recorded steps and run the test to see the results.

Creating the First Test Case with Selenium IDE

Let's walk through creating a simple test case:

• Open Selenium IDE create a new project name “Login Test”

• Set the Base URL

• Click on “Record”

  

  • Enter a username.

  • Enter a password.

  • Click the "Login" button.

• Click “Stop”

• Review the recorded steps

7 Selenium IDE Tips

• Use Assertions Properly Assertions enable your application to do what it needs to do when the testing time comes. Proper assertions such as assertText, assertElementPresent, or assertTitle enable your tests not just to execute but also to ensure data correctness and UI.

• Organize Tests Group your repeated test cases into test suites for logical organization, having an organized project, easier management of a large number of tests, and facilitating running particular sets of tests by requirement without running the entire test library.

• Parameterize Tests Make your test scripts reusable and more flexible by passing input values through variables. This enables you to run the same test logic but on different data sets, thus facilitating data-driven testing without having to re-run test steps.

• Use Waits Properly Web pages are dynamically loaded, and this creates flaky tests. Utilize waitFor methods like waitForElementPresent or waitForText properly so that you're waiting for elements to load before Selenium attempts to work upon the elements.

• Use Debugging Features Properly Utilize breakpoints and step-through execution to determine exactly where and why a test is not passing. This makes debugging much easier and results in overall more reliable tests.

• Export Tests to Code Exporting test cases to Java, Python, or JavaScript simplifies the integration with continuous integration (CI) tools and more sophisticated automation frameworks. It also closes the gap between usage of beginner-level IDEs and Selenium development.

• Extend Capabilities With Plugins

Find and install Selenium IDE compatible plugins to add more capabilities. From third-party tool integrations to custom commands, plugins can assist you in expanding Selenium IDE to your specific testing requirements

How to Convert your Curl commands to Selenium Test cases using Keploy

Selenium IDE is amazing we can record and replay the test cases, but let us see something different in this section, also in this section let us focus on API Testing. With Keploy API Testing agent you can create test cases with writing any code, no code platform to create test cases in just few minutes. Also the best part is Keploy will test the test cases which are generated by AI against your application by hitting your application url. You need to do three things for it.

1. Provide your Curl commands

2. Provide Your OpenAPI Schema

3. Make your application public, you can use Ngrok for that one.

That’s it. Go to app.keploy.io to try it.

Once you are log in to the Dashboard, you can see the Generate Tests section under API Test Generation, Once you provided all the details click generate test.

Once the Generate test start, you can see the test suite is created once it is done, Go to Test suite Section, Get the curl command for any of the test suite

Once you copied the curl commands let try that to change in to selenium test cases.

Here is my curl command:

curl -X POST 'https://f468-122-166-253-157.ngrok-free.app/petclinic/api/owners' -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"firstName":"VisitOwner","lastName":"Test","address":"Visit Street 1","city":"VisitCity","telephone":"8383838383"}'

we now have curl command and we can start writing selenium test case for this one.

You can see the below code we have cnoverted the curl command to selenium test case.

const axios = require('axios');
const assert = require('assert');

// The URL of the API
const url = 'https://f468-122-166-253-157.ngrok-free.app/petclinic/api/owners';

// The JSON data to send in the request
const requestBody = {
  firstName: "VisitOwner",
  lastName: "Test",
  address: "Visit Street 1",
  city: "VisitCity",
  telephone: "8383838383"
};

// Function to make the POST request and validate the response
async function testApiPostRequest() {
  try {
    // Step 1: Send the POST request using Axios
    const response = await axios.post(url, requestBody, {
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      },
    });

    // Step 2: Check if the response status is 201 (created)
    assert.strictEqual(response.status, 201, 'Response status is not 201');

    // Step 3: Validate the response body
    const responseBody = response.data;
    assert.strictEqual(responseBody.firstName, "VisitOwner", 'First name mismatch');
    assert.strictEqual(responseBody.lastName, "Test", 'Last name mismatch');
    assert.strictEqual(responseBody.address, "Visit Street 1", 'Address mismatch');
    assert.strictEqual(responseBody.city, "VisitCity", 'City mismatch');
    assert.strictEqual(responseBody.telephone, "8383838383", 'Telephone mismatch');
    assert.ok(responseBody.id, 'Owner ID is missing');

    console.log('API test passed!');
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('API test failed:', error);
  }
}

// Run the API test
testApiPostRequest();

Selenium IDE Features

Record and Playback

Selenium IDE provides the facility of recording actions that are done on a web application and playing them back as test cases. Test scripts can easily be written without coding, and thus you can automate testing even if you are not a programmer.

Cross-Browser Testing

The majority of the common browsers such as Chrome and Firefox are supported by Selenium IDE, and therefore, you can test your web application against various environments and identify browser-specific bugs at an early stage.

Control Flow

It also supports the control flow statements such as if-else, while, and do-while loop. This makes the users create more dynamic and flexible tests which can be modified in certain situations at runtime.

Debugging Tools

Selenium IDE supports debugging features like breakpoints and step-by-step execution of actions. The features help you debug test failures by viewing test flows step by step.

Plugins

The IDE can also be customized through the use of plugins to add additional commands or integrate with additional tools. This means that you can customize Selenium IDE to meet your own particular testing requirements.

Export Options

Test cases exported can also be exported in alternative programming languages such as Java, Python, or JavaScript. This assists with scalability and integration with enterprise-level, code-based Selenium projects.

Benefits of Using Selenium IDE

Easy-to-Use Interface

Selenium IDE boasts a very simple and intuitive UI that's ideal for novice test automation users who might not have any experience with coding. It allows them to begin automating tests immediately without learning anything.

Quick Test Creation

It is extremely easy to author test cases by simply browsing the site. It accelerates the test creation immensely, making it ideal for rapid testing of new functionality.

Open Source

Selenium IDE is absolutely free and driven by an active open-source community. That means regular updates, great community support, and humongous learning resources.

Integration Capabilities

Although it seems to be straightforward, Selenium IDE can be integrated with sophisticated tools such as Keploy for back-end API testing. What this implies is that there can be end-to-end test pipelines involving front-end as well as back-end systems.

What is Selenese?

Selenese is Selenium IDE's command language that is utilized to execute automated browser interaction. It is akin to the script that instructs the browser to do something - such as click on a button, type in a field, select values from a dropdown, or verify that some content exists on the page. The most commonly utilized commands are click, type, open, verifyText, etc.

These are the building blocks of every test case that you create with Selenium IDE. Every action that you record or manually key in is translated into a Selenese command, and they are editable and readable even by someone who is not technical. It's what makes Selenium IDE so easy to use for automated testing.

Examples of Selenese Commands

Two simple examples that I have entered manually are as follows:

Example 1: Open a web page

seleneseCopyEditCommand: open  
Target: https://example.com  
Value:

What it does: Opens the homepage of example.com.

Example 2: Enter a text into a search box

seleneseCopyEditCommand: type  
Target: name=q  
Value: Selenium IDE

What it does: Types “Selenium IDE” into a search box (like Google’s search input).

Limitations of Selenium IDE

While Selenium IDE is a great tool with which to start test automation, it does have some limitations that must be mentioned:

Limited Browser Support: Selenium IDE is currently available only as an extension for Chrome and Firefox. If your testing needs involve other browsers like Safari, Edge, or mobile platforms, you’ll need to explore other tools like Selenium WebDriver.

No Advanced Logic Support: Because Selenium IDE is codeless, it does not have any support for sophisticated test management based on conditional logic, loops, and data-driven testing. That is where Selenium WebDriver as a script using the assistance of a programming language becomes necessary.

Easily Broken Tests: Tests written easily for Selenium IDE test Selenium IDE tests are breakable and can be easily broken because of UI changes. Small things - like renaming or moving a button - easily break tests. Tests won't break until well calibrated. Test maintenance will be more and perhaps boredom.

Limited. Integration Capabilities: Selenium IDE is not integrated into CI/CD pipelines, improved reporting tools, or other test tools. It is therefore limited to meeting the needs of teams requiring integrating full and scalable automated tests in a DevOps pipeline.

Such limitations are only enough for small projects, proof-of-concepts tests, or rapid validations but cannot meet complex enterprise-level testing.

Conclusion

Selenium IDE is an excellent destination for an individual with little experience in automated web testing. Its ease of use, record-and-playback, and user-friendly UI make it excellent for novices as well as experienced testers looking to create prototypes quickly. Yes, it is maybe not the best tool to handle complex situations or enterprise cross-browser testing, but its value as a learning tool and basic automation tool cannot be discounted.

By combining Selenium IDE with other tools like Keploy and expanding to more advanced frameworks like Selenium WebDriver in the future, testers can build a proper and flexible test regime. Whether testing for a simple login form or constructing the roots of a CI/CD-featured test suite, Selenium IDE is an intermediate stepping stone to becoming proficient at web automation.

FAQs

1. Is Selenium IDE compatible with testing mobile applications?

No, Selenium IDE is compatible only with desktop web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox. For testing mobile applications, one can use tools such as Appium, a brother of the Selenium family.

2. What exactly is Selenium WebDriver?

Selenium WebDriver is the tool that lets you write code to control browsers like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. Unlike Selenium IDE, which is more about recording and playback, WebDriver gives you full control and works with languages like Java, Python, and more.

3. What does Selenium Grid do?

Selenium Grid helps you run your tests on multiple machines and browsers at the same time. It’s great when you want to speed things up or test across different environments. You just set up a central hub and connect different machines (nodes) to it - and you’re good to go.

4. What if my web application's UI gets modified after recording a test in Selenium IDE?

If the identifiers or the structure of the UI elements is modified, your Selenium IDE tests will break. The reason is that element locators are used in recorded commands. To avoid failure, use good locators and periodically update your tests to be able to accommodate UI changes.

5. Is Selenium IDE appropriate to be used in CI/CD pipelines?

Selenium IDE itself is not intended to be included in CI/CD. Nonetheless, you can check in your test cases to code and add them to a CI/CD pipeline using Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI.

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