Getting element text in Selenium Python

Introduction

We get the text from a web element to check what the user sees on the page.

To verify a button label matches what is expected.

To check if a message or alert text appears correctly after an action.

To confirm that a heading or paragraph contains the right content.

To read the text inside a list or table cell for validation.

To capture dynamic text that changes after user interaction.

Syntax

Selenium Python

element_text = driver.find_element(By.LOCATOR_TYPE, "locator_value").text

Use By with the right locator type like ID, CSS_SELECTOR, or XPATH.

The .text property gets the visible text inside the element.

Examples

Get text from a button with ID 'submit-btn'.

Selenium Python

button_text = driver.find_element(By.ID, "submit-btn").text

Get text from a header using a CSS selector.

Selenium Python

header_text = driver.find_element(By.CSS_SELECTOR, "h1.main-title").text

Get text from an alert message using XPath.

Selenium Python

alert_text = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//div[@class='alert-message']").text

Sample Program

This script opens a webpage, finds the main heading <h1>, gets its visible text, prints it, then closes the browser.

Selenium Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By

# Setup driver (make sure chromedriver is in PATH)
driver = webdriver.Chrome()

# Open example page
url = "https://example.com"
driver.get(url)

# Find the heading and get its text
heading = driver.find_element(By.TAG_NAME, "h1")
heading_text = heading.text

print(f"Heading text is: '{heading_text}'")

# Close the browser
driver.quit()

Important Notes

The .text property only returns visible text, not hidden or script content.

If the element has child elements, .text returns combined visible text inside.

Always wait for the element to be present and visible before getting text to avoid errors.

Summary

Use .text to get visible text from a web element.

Locate the element first with a proper locator strategy.

Check the text to verify what the user sees on the page.