Cookie management in Selenium Java

Introduction

Cookies help websites remember you. Managing cookies in tests lets you check if your site handles user data right.

When you want to test if a website remembers a logged-in user.

When you need to clear cookies to test a fresh user session.

When you want to add a cookie to simulate a user preference.

When you want to check if cookies are set correctly after an action.

When you want to delete specific cookies to test site behavior.

Syntax

Selenium Java

driver.manage().getCookies();
driver.manage().getCookieNamed("cookieName");
driver.manage().addCookie(new Cookie("name", "value"));
driver.manage().deleteCookieNamed("cookieName");
driver.manage().deleteAllCookies();

Use driver.manage() to access cookie methods.

Cookies have a name and value, and can have other details like domain and expiry.

Examples

Get all cookies stored by the browser for the current site.

Selenium Java

Set<Cookie> allCookies = driver.manage().getCookies();

Get a specific cookie by its name.

Selenium Java

Cookie sessionCookie = driver.manage().getCookieNamed("session_id");

Add a new cookie to the browser.

Selenium Java

Cookie newCookie = new Cookie("user", "John");
driver.manage().addCookie(newCookie);

Delete a cookie by its name.

Selenium Java

driver.manage().deleteCookieNamed("user");

Sample Program

This test opens a website, adds a cookie, checks it, lists all cookies, deletes the cookie, and confirms deletion.

Selenium Java

import org.openqa.selenium.Cookie;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import java.util.Set;

public class CookieManagementTest {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "path/to/chromedriver");
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
        try {
            driver.get("https://example.com");

            // Add a cookie
            Cookie cookie = new Cookie("testCookie", "testValue");
            driver.manage().addCookie(cookie);

            // Get the cookie
            Cookie retrieved = driver.manage().getCookieNamed("testCookie");
            System.out.println("Cookie value: " + retrieved.getValue());

            // Get all cookies
            Set<Cookie> cookies = driver.manage().getCookies();
            System.out.println("Total cookies: " + cookies.size());

            // Delete the cookie
            driver.manage().deleteCookieNamed("testCookie");
            Cookie deleted = driver.manage().getCookieNamed("testCookie");
            System.out.println("Cookie after deletion: " + deleted);

        } finally {
            driver.quit();
        }
    }
}

Important Notes

Always quit the driver to close the browser after tests.

Deleting a cookie removes it from the browser session immediately.

Cookie names are case-sensitive.

Summary

Cookies store small data for websites to remember users.

Selenium lets you add, get, and delete cookies during tests.

Managing cookies helps test user sessions and preferences.