Selenium for testing browser plugins

Question

I have a webapp with browser plugins for firefox and chrome. Currently, my tests are created through Selenium IDE. Is it also possible to install, activate, and delete browser plugins for firefox and chrome using selenium (maybe with other browsers too)?

The biggest challenge now is that to install/ enable the plugin, I have to restart the browser, and I'm not sure if its possible without selenium. The plugin can be easily handled by visiting an internal site-link to a php-script that detects your browser.

Answer 1

Yup..Installing browser plugins is possible with Selenium. With Chrome and Firefox, WebDriver supports the installation of extensions, remotely. Sample code is below for Chrome and Firefox:

For Chrome

File file = new File("extension.crx"); // zip files are also accepted
ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions();
options.addExtensions(file);

// Option 1: Locally.
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(options);

// Option 2: Remotely
DesiredCapabilities capabilities = DesiredCapabilities.chrome();
capabilities.setCapability(ChromeOptions.CAPABILITY, options);
WebDriver driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new URL("http://localhost:4444/wd/hub"), capabilities);

For Firefox

File file = new File("extension.xpi");
FirefoxProfile firefoxProfile = new FirefoxProfile();
firefoxProfile.addExtension(file);

// Option 1: Locally
WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver(firefoxProfile);

// Option 2: Remotely
DesiredCapabilities capabilities = DesiredCapabilities.firefox();
capabilities.setCapability(FirefoxDriver.PROFILE, firefoxProfile);
WebDriver driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new URL("http://localhost:4444/wd/hub"), capabilities);