RemoteWebDriver usage in Selenium Java - Build an Automation Script

Verify login functionality using RemoteWebDriver

Preconditions (3)

Step 1: Open browser session using RemoteWebDriver connected to Selenium Grid hub

Step 2: Navigate to https://example.com/login

Step 3: Enter 'testuser' in the username input field with id 'username'

Step 4: Enter 'Test@123' in the password input field with id 'password'

Step 5: Click the login button with id 'loginBtn'

Step 6: Wait until the URL changes to https://example.com/dashboard

Step 7: Verify that the page contains an element with id 'welcomeMessage' displaying text 'Welcome, testuser!'

✅ Expected Result: User is successfully logged in and redirected to dashboard page with welcome message displayed

Automation Requirements - Selenium WebDriver with Java

Assertions Needed:

Verify current URL is https://example.com/dashboard after login

Verify welcome message text is 'Welcome, testuser!'

Best Practices:

Use RemoteWebDriver to connect to Selenium Grid hub

Use explicit waits to wait for URL change and element visibility

Use By.id locators for elements

Close the browser session after test

Handle exceptions gracefully

Automated Solution

Selenium Java

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.DesiredCapabilities;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;

import java.net.URL;
import java.time.Duration;

public class RemoteWebDriverLoginTest {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        WebDriver driver = null;
        try {
            // Set desired capabilities for browser (Chrome example)
            DesiredCapabilities capabilities = new DesiredCapabilities();
            capabilities.setBrowserName("chrome");

            // Connect to Selenium Grid hub
            driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new URL("http://localhost:4444/wd/hub"), capabilities);

            // Navigate to login page
            driver.get("https://example.com/login");

            // Enter username
            WebElement usernameInput = driver.findElement(By.id("username"));
            usernameInput.sendKeys("testuser");

            // Enter password
            WebElement passwordInput = driver.findElement(By.id("password"));
            passwordInput.sendKeys("Test@123");

            // Click login button
            WebElement loginButton = driver.findElement(By.id("loginBtn"));
            loginButton.click();

            // Wait for URL to change to dashboard
            WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
            wait.until(ExpectedConditions.urlToBe("https://example.com/dashboard"));

            // Verify welcome message
            WebElement welcomeMessage = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id("welcomeMessage")));
            String messageText = welcomeMessage.getText();

            if ("Welcome, testuser!".equals(messageText)) {
                System.out.println("Test Passed: Welcome message is correct.");
            } else {
                System.out.println("Test Failed: Welcome message is incorrect.");
            }

        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.out.println("Test Failed due to exception: " + e.getMessage());
        } finally {
            if (driver != null) {
                driver.quit();
            }
        }
    }
}

This test script uses RemoteWebDriver to connect to a Selenium Grid hub running at http://localhost:4444/wd/hub. We set the desired browser capabilities to Chrome.

The script navigates to the login page, enters the username and password using By.id locators, and clicks the login button.

We use an explicit wait (WebDriverWait) to wait until the URL changes to the dashboard page, ensuring the login was successful.

Then, we wait for the welcome message element to be visible and verify its text matches the expected greeting.

The test prints a pass or fail message based on the assertion and always closes the browser session in the finally block to clean up resources.

Common Mistakes - 3 Pitfalls

Using Thread.sleep() instead of explicit waits

Hardcoding XPath locators instead of using stable IDs

Not closing the RemoteWebDriver session after test

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing with 3 different username and password combinations to verify login functionality.

Show Hint