Handle StaleElementReferenceException when clicking a dynamic button

Preconditions (2)

Step 1: Locate the button with id 'refresh-btn'

Step 2: Click the button

Step 3: Immediately try to click the same button again

Step 4: If a StaleElementReferenceException occurs, re-locate the button and click it again

✅ Expected Result: The button is clicked twice successfully without the test failing due to StaleElementReferenceException

Automation Requirements - Selenium with Python

Assertions Needed:

Verify no StaleElementReferenceException is unhandled during the test

Verify the button click triggers expected page behavior (e.g., a message with id 'status-msg' updates)

Best Practices:

Use explicit waits to wait for elements to be clickable

Use try-except block to catch StaleElementReferenceException and retry element lookup

Avoid hardcoded sleeps

Use By.ID locator for the button

Automated Solution

Selenium Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
from selenium.common.exceptions import StaleElementReferenceException


def test_handle_stale_element():
    driver = webdriver.Chrome()
    wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)
    try:
        driver.get('http://example.com/dynamic')

        # Locate the button
        button = wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, 'refresh-btn')))

        # Click the button first time
        button.click()

        # Try clicking the button again, handle StaleElementReferenceException
        try:
            button.click()
        except StaleElementReferenceException:
            # Re-locate the button and click again
            button = wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, 'refresh-btn')))
            button.click()

        # Verify the status message updated after clicks
        status_msg = wait.until(EC.visibility_of_element_located((By.ID, 'status-msg')))
        assert 'updated' in status_msg.text.lower(), f"Expected 'updated' in status message but got '{status_msg.text}'"

    finally:
        driver.quit()

This test opens the dynamic page and waits for the button with id 'refresh-btn' to be clickable. It clicks the button once. Then it tries to click the same button again. Because the page content may reload, the button reference can become stale, causing a StaleElementReferenceException. We catch this exception, re-find the button using an explicit wait, and click it again.

Finally, the test waits for a status message element to appear and checks that its text contains the word 'updated', confirming the clicks triggered the expected page behavior.

Using explicit waits ensures the element is ready before interacting. The try-except block handles the stale element gracefully without failing the test.

Common Mistakes - 3 Pitfalls

Not catching StaleElementReferenceException and letting the test fail

Using time.sleep instead of explicit waits

Locating the element only once before all interactions

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing to click the button multiple times with different expected status messages

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