I'm trying to run a headless Chrome process with an extension1. I'm using WSL.
For testing purposes I can use one of two browsers:
- Ubuntu:
Google Chrome 86.0.4240.183 - Windows:
Version 86.0.4240.183 (Official Build) (64-bit)
For production purposes the Ubuntu's Chrome is the only viable option2.
The rest of the stack:
- Python 3.6.9
- selenium: 3.141.0
In order to overcome Chrome not being able to start headlessly with extensions I use PyVirtualDisplay.
from selenium import webdriver
from pyvirtualdisplay import Display
display = Display(visible=0, size=(800, 600), backend='xvfb')
display.start()
options = ChromeOptions()
options.add_extension('/home/plonca/selenium_draft/extensions.crx')
options.add_argument('--no-sandbox')
windows_chrome_driver = '/home/plonca/python_virtual_environments/selenium_jupyter_venv/bin/chromedriver.exe'
ubuntu_chrome_driver = '/home/plonca/python_virtual_environments/selenium_jupyter_venv/bin/chromedriver'
chrome_driver = webdriver.Chrome(executable_path=ubuntu_chrome_driver
, options=options
)
The problem occurs in the last line: if the windows_chrome_driver is set as executable_path everything is fine. If I set ubuntu_chrome_driver instead, I get an error:
WebDriverException: Message: unknown error: failed to wait for extension background page to load: chrome-extension://bmlddehkgnjdalnfaecgflmmeknlbohi/_generated_background_page.html
from tab crashed
I wonder what the cause of the error might be. How to make chrome_driver work in the headless environment?
1 The extension is needed so that I can authenticate via a pop-up window. The extension has been created according to instructions found here. Other options such as sending username and password in the URL or automating the click with AutoIt doesn't work.
2 Please note that the Chrome seems to be the only option since using Firefox is a matter of an unresolved issue.
