Closing browser (close vs quit) in Selenium Python - Practice Questions

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

What happens after calling driver.close() with multiple tabs?

Consider a Selenium WebDriver session with 3 browser tabs open. What is the state of the browser after driver.close() is called once?

Selenium Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By

service = Service()
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service)
driver.get('https://example.com')
driver.execute_script("window.open('https://example.org', '_blank');")
driver.execute_script("window.open('https://example.net', '_blank');")

# Current tabs: 3

driver.close()

# What happens next?

A An exception is thrown because close() cannot be called with multiple tabs open.

B All browser tabs are closed and the WebDriver session ends.

C The browser window is minimized but all tabs remain open.

D Only the current tab is closed; the other two tabs remain open and the WebDriver session continues.

💡 Hint

Think about what close() does compared to quit().

driver.close() closes only the current active tab or window. If multiple tabs are open, the others remain active and the WebDriver session continues. driver.quit() closes all tabs and ends the session.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Which assertion correctly verifies the browser is closed after driver.quit()?

After calling driver.quit(), which assertion correctly checks that the browser session is closed?

A assert driver.session_id is None

B assert driver.current_url == ''

C assert driver.title == ''

D assert driver.window_handles == []

💡 Hint

Check what happens to the session ID after quitting.

After driver.quit(), the WebDriver session ends and driver.session_id becomes None. Other properties like current_url or title will raise exceptions because the browser is closed.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does calling driver.close() twice cause an error?

Given this code snippet:

driver.get('https://example.com')
driver.close()
driver.close()

Why does the second driver.close() call raise an exception?

A The second close() call raises a WebDriverException because the driver object is None.

B The browser window is already closed after the first call, so the second call tries to close a non-existent window causing a NoSuchWindowException.

C The second close() call causes a TimeoutException because the browser is busy closing.

D Calling close() twice is allowed and does not raise any exception.

💡 Hint

Think about what happens to the browser window after the first close.

After the first driver.close(), the browser window is closed. The second call tries to close a window that no longer exists, causing a NoSuchWindowException.

🧠 Conceptual

advanced

Difference between driver.close() and driver.quit() in Selenium

Which statement best describes the difference between driver.close() and driver.quit()?

A <code>driver.close()</code> closes the current browser window or tab, while <code>driver.quit()</code> closes all browser windows and ends the WebDriver session.

B <code>driver.close()</code> ends the WebDriver session, while <code>driver.quit()</code> only closes the current tab.

C <code>driver.close()</code> minimizes the browser window, and <code>driver.quit()</code> closes the current tab.

D <code>driver.close()</code> refreshes the current page, and <code>driver.quit()</code> closes the browser window.

💡 Hint

Think about session lifecycle and window management.

driver.close() closes only the active window or tab, but the WebDriver session remains active if other windows are open. driver.quit() closes all windows and ends the session.

❓ framework

expert

Best practice to ensure browser closes after test failure in Selenium with pytest

In a pytest test using Selenium WebDriver, which approach best ensures the browser closes even if the test fails?

A Call <code>driver.quit()</code> only inside the test function after assertions.

B Call <code>driver.close()</code> at the end of the test function only.

C Use a pytest fixture with <code>yield</code> to initialize the driver and call <code>driver.quit()</code> after the test, regardless of outcome.

D Rely on the browser to close automatically when the Python script ends.

💡 Hint

Think about pytest fixtures and cleanup behavior.

Using a pytest fixture with yield allows setup before the test and guaranteed cleanup after, even if the test fails or raises an exception. Calling driver.quit() in the fixture's teardown ensures the browser closes properly.