If you do automated QA testing with Selenium WebDriver, you probably use Firefox Driver to run your tests in Firefox. If so, you may have noticed that these tests suddenly stopped working recently, with error messages relating to “firefox-bin.” If you’ve been tearing your hair out in frustration, fret no more! I’m happy to share the solution.
You may be surprised at how simple it is, after extensively searching without any luck. Are you ready? The answer is… Firefox 47! The latest version of Firefox, which most people have set to auto-update, introduced problems when opened with Eclipse/Selenium WebDriver/Firefox Driver.
These problems will likely be fixed soon (I hope!), but in the meantime, here’s what you need to do to get back to testing in Firefox:
First, make sure that your Firefox preferences are not set to auto-update:
- Open Firefox, and click the menu button at the top right (represented by three horizontal lines)
- Select “Preferences”
- In the left-hand menu, click “Advanced”
- Click “Updates”
- Select “Check for updates, but let me choose whether to install them”
- Navigate away and it will auto-save
Next, you need to uninstall Firefox.
If you’re on a Mac, simply open your Applications folder, and drag the “Firefox” app to the trash.
If you’re on Windows, go here and follow the recommended steps.
Once you’ve completely uninstalled it, it’s time to download the previous version of Firefox, which is Firefox 46. You can download it here – simply scroll down and click “Firefox 46.0.1” and download/install it, and you’re good to go.
Now, you should be able to run tests with Firefox Driver with none of the previous problems.
Happy testing!