Problem in Selenium Browserstack session: loading existing Chrom

Problem in Selenium Browserstack session: loading existing Chrome profile

I am running a test with Selenium (Python) remotely on Browserstack Automate.

Goal: I want to start a session on Browserstack, with an existing Chrome profile logged in.

-- Underlying goal: I am trying to access Whatsapp Web without having to scan the QR code every single time. (Building an automated Whatsapp service)

So it would be ok to have a new profile made the first time - scan the QR code once and then re-use that profile afterwards.

Method: I try to use Chrome Options, and specify an argument for user-data-dir. This was inspired by several other StackOverflow answers.

Code:

desired_caps = {
    'browser': 'Chrome',
    'browser_version': '69.0 beta',
    'os': 'Windows',
    'os_version': '10',
    'resolution': '1024x768',
    'browserstack.debug': 'true',
}
desired_caps['browserstack.local'] = True
desired_caps['chromeOptions'] = {}       
desired_caps['chromeOptions']['args'] = [r'--user-data-dir=C:\Users\gille\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data']
driver = webdriver.Remote(command_executor='http://MYBROWSERSTACKHUB', desired_capabilities=desired_caps)

I am trying to run this on Browserstack (locally), but I am getting the following error when running:

"Could not initialize class org.openqa.selenium.os.Kernel32"

See image with Browserstack error

I have tried specifying a new random profile that did not exist yet, e.g.:

desired_caps['chromeOptions']['args'] = [r'--user-data-dir=C:\Users\gille\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\ProfileXXX']

But the same error pops up.

(I have also tried other methods that did not work for me: - Saving and re-loading cookies - Changing the session_id and session_url (does not work on Browserstack) )

I feel that: - or this could be a problem with Browserstack, - or I am including the wrong path for user-data-dir, and should go with a different, e.g. chrome_options.add_argument("user-data-dir=" + os.path.dirname(sys.argv[0])

But I am unfamiliar with the last one - So I am unsure what the next step to take is. Do you have any advice?

Answer

The error you're encountering ("Could not initialize class org.openqa.selenium.os.Kernel32") typically happens when a Selenium test tries to access a file system or a resource that isn't compatible with the current environment. In this case, it appears to be related to how you're attempting to load a specific Chrome user profile on BrowserStack. Here are a few things to check and alternative methods you can try:

1. Local Paths on BrowserStack:

When you're running Selenium tests remotely on BrowserStack, you cannot use local paths from your machine (such as C:\Users\gille\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data). BrowserStack runs tests in isolated virtual machines in the cloud, and it cannot access your local file system.

Solution:

You should upload your user data directory to BrowserStack or use a cloud storage service that BrowserStack can access. You can try uploading your profile as a part of your testing environment and refer to that specific path. BrowserStack supports file uploads through their Automate API, so one potential solution is to upload your Chrome profile and then specify the path to it in your desired_caps.

Uploading User Data Directory:

You can upload your Chrome user data to a publicly accessible server or use BrowserStack's local testing option to serve files.
If you have the user data on your local machine, you'll need to either use BrowserStack Local Testing or a cloud file storage to make it accessible remotely.

2. Using BrowserStack Local Testing:

If you have local files (like your Chrome user profile) that you want to use in a BrowserStack session, you must use BrowserStack Local. This allows your local machine to act as a server so that BrowserStack can access files or services running on your local machine.

Make sure to start BrowserStack Local on your machine before running your test.
You can then set the browserstack.local capability to true in your desired capabilities, and it will allow BrowserStack to access resources from your local machine.

3. Specifying User Data Directory in BrowserStack:

Even though you're using --user-data-dir, it may still be inaccessible in the way you're using it. Here are the steps to make sure the path is correctly set:

Store the Chrome Profile in a Known Location:
- First, ensure you have a Chrome profile set up and running on your local machine, logged into WhatsApp Web once (as you mentioned).
- Store this profile in a known directory (e.g., C:\ChromeProfiles\).
Upload the Profile Directory:
- Upload the profile to BrowserStack Local or another accessible location.
- In your script, point to the uploaded profile directory.
Update Desired Capabilities:
- After uploading the profile, you would modify your desired_caps to point to the profile's new location on BrowserStack.

For example:

desired_caps = {
    'browser': 'Chrome',
    'browser_version': '69.0 beta',
    'os': 'Windows',
    'os_version': '10',
    'resolution': '1024x768',
    'browserstack.debug': 'true',
}
desired_caps['browserstack.local'] = True
desired_caps['chromeOptions'] = {}
desired_caps['chromeOptions']['args'] = [
    r'--user-data-dir=/path/to/uploaded/chrome/profile'
]
driver = webdriver.Remote(command_executor='http://MYBROWSERSTACKHUB', desired_capabilities=desired_caps)

4. Alternative Approach – Using Cookies:

If uploading the profile is difficult or not possible, you could attempt saving and loading cookies to maintain the logged-in session. While you've mentioned that this approach did not work for you, it's still a valid alternative, and here's a brief explanation of how it works:

Save Cookies:
1. After logging into WhatsApp Web manually, extract the cookies from your browser.
2. Store the cookies in a file or a variable.
Load Cookies on BrowserStack:
1. Before starting the WebDriver session, create the session on BrowserStack.
2. Once the session starts, inject the cookies into the session using the add_cookie method in Selenium:
```
driver.get('https://web.whatsapp.com')
for cookie in cookies:
    driver.add_cookie(cookie)
driver.refresh()
```

However, keep in mind that this approach might be a bit less reliable than using the profile directly, since sessions could expire or cookies could become invalid.

5. Consider Using a Different Approach (e.g., Headless Automation or API):

Since you want to interact with WhatsApp Web automatically, another alternative (though not ideal for all use cases) would be to look for headless automation tools or official APIs to manage WhatsApp sessions.