How to Solve ChromeDriver Errors in Selenium: "needs to be in PATH" and "session not created"

This guide addresses two common errors when using Selenium with ChromeDriver:

WebDriverException: Message: 'chromedriver' executable needs to be in PATH
selenium.common.exceptions.SessionNotCreatedException: Message: session not created: This version of ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version X

You'll learn the causes of these errors and the best solutions, primarily using the webdriver-manager package. We'll also briefly cover manual ChromeDriver installation and Selenium's built-in driver management (version 4.6+).

The Easy Solution: `webdriver-manager` (Recommended)

The webdriver-manager package automatically downloads and manages the correct ChromeDriver version for your installed Chrome browser. This is the recommended solution because it avoids manual downloads, PATH issues, and version mismatches.

Install:

pip install webdriver-manager selenium

Make sure to install selenium as well.

Selenium 4

If you're using Selenium 4 (the current version), the code is very simple:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service as ChromeService
from webdriver_manager.chrome import ChromeDriverManager
import time

service = ChromeService(executable_path=ChromeDriverManager().install())
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service)

driver.get("http://www.python.org")
time.sleep(2)
driver.quit() #Always quit the driver.

ChromeDriverManager().install(): This downloads the correct ChromeDriver version (if needed) and returns the path to the executable.
Service: The Service class manages the starting and stopping of ChromeDriver. You pass the path to the ChromeDriver executable to the Service constructor.
webdriver.Chrome(service=service): This creates a new Chrome instance, using the specified service.

Selenium 3 (if you must use it)

If you're using an older version of Selenium (version 3), the code is slightly different:

from selenium import webdriver
from webdriver_manager.chrome import ChromeDriverManager
import time

driver = webdriver.Chrome(ChromeDriverManager().install())
driver.get("http://www.python.org")
time.sleep(2)
driver.quit() #Always quit the driver.

You directly pass the result of ChromeDriverManager().install() to the webdriver.Chrome() constructor. No Service object is needed in Selenium 3. But you should upgrade to Selenium 4!

Using Chromium

If you're using Chromium (the open-source project behind Chrome) instead of Google Chrome, use ChromeType.CHROMIUM:

# Selenium 4
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service as ChromiumService
from webdriver_manager.chrome import ChromeDriverManager
from webdriver_manager.core.utils import ChromeType
import time

driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=ChromiumService(ChromeDriverManager(chrome_type=ChromeType.CHROMIUM).install()))
driver.get("http://www.python.org")
time.sleep(2)
driver.quit()

# Selenium 3 (older) - avoid if possible
from selenium import webdriver
from webdriver_manager.chrome import ChromeDriverManager
from webdriver_manager.core.utils import ChromeType
import time

driver = webdriver.Chrome(ChromeDriverManager(chrome_type=ChromeType.CHROMIUM).install())
driver.get("http://www.python.org")
time.sleep(2)
driver.quit()

Manual ChromeDriver Installation (Less Recommended)

While webdriver-manager is strongly recommended, here's how to install ChromeDriver manually if you must:

Download: Go to the official ChromeDriver downloads page (https://chromedriver.chromium.org/downloads) and download the version that matches your Chrome browser version. This is crucial.
Extract: Unzip the downloaded file.
Place in PATH (Option 1): Move the chromedriver executable (or chromedriver.exe on Windows) to a directory that's already on your system's PATH. Common locations include:
- /usr/local/bin (Linux/macOS - often requires sudo)
- /usr/bin (Linux - often requires sudo)
- A directory already on your Windows PATH (you can check this by running echo %PATH% in the command prompt)
Add to PATH (Option 2): Alternatively, you can add the directory containing chromedriver to your system's PATH environment variable. The process for this varies depending on your operating system (search online for "add directory to PATH" + your OS). This is generally less recommended than placing the executable in a standard location.

Specify Path in Code (Option 3): If you don't put ChromeDriver in your PATH, you must provide the full path to the executable in your code:

# Selenium 4 example, providing the path
import time
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service

chromedriver_path = r'C:/Users/tutorialreference/Documents/chromedriver.exe' # Replace with YOUR path

service = Service(executable_path=chromedriver_path) # Pass the path to Service.
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service)

driver.get("http://www.python.org")
time.sleep(2)
driver.quit()

# Selenium 3 example, providing the path
import time
from selenium import webdriver

chromedriver_path = r'C:/Users/tutorialreference/Documents/chromedriver.exe' # Replace with YOUR path
driver = webdriver.Chrome(executable_path=chromedriver_path) # Pass path directly

driver.get("http://www.python.org")
time.sleep(2)
driver.quit()

Selenium 4.6+ Built-in Driver Management

Starting with Selenium 4.6.0, Selenium has built-in support for managing ChromeDriver (and other drivers). If the driver is not found in PATH, Selenium will try to download it. This simplifies setup:

from selenium import webdriver
import time

# Selenium 4.6+ will attempt to download ChromeDriver if needed.
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get("http://www.python.org")
time.sleep(2)
driver.quit()

With Selenium 4.6+, you often don't need webdriver-manager or manual installation. However, webdriver-manager is still useful for managing specific driver versions or working with older Selenium versions.

Understanding the "session not created" Error

The selenium.common.exceptions.SessionNotCreatedException: Message: session not created: This version of ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version X error occurs when there's a version mismatch between your installed Chrome browser and the ChromeDriver executable.

Cause: ChromeDriver is very tightly coupled to the Chrome version. You must use a ChromeDriver version that matches your Chrome version.
Solution: webdriver-manager solves this problem automatically. If you're installing manually, you must download the correct version from the ChromeDriver website.

Conclusion

This guide explained how to resolve common ChromeDriver-related errors in Selenium.

The webdriver-manager package is the recommended solution for most users, as it automatically handles driver downloads and version compatibility.
Selenium 4.6+ has simplified this further with built-in driver management.
Manual installation is possible but requires careful attention to version matching and PATH configuration.
Always prefer the automated solutions (webdriver-manager or Selenium 4.6+) unless you have a very specific reason not to.
Always remember to close the driver with driver.quit().

How to Solve ChromeDriver Errors in Selenium: "needs to be in PATH" and "session not created"

The Easy Solution: webdriver-manager (Recommended)​

Selenium 4​

Selenium 3 (if you must use it)​

Using Chromium​

Manual ChromeDriver Installation (Less Recommended)​

Selenium 4.6+ Built-in Driver Management​

Understanding the "session not created" Error​

Conclusion​

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