Cookie management in Selenium Python

Introduction

Cookies help websites remember you. Managing cookies in tests lets us check if the website saves and uses this info correctly.

When testing if a website keeps you logged in after closing and reopening the browser.

When checking if user preferences are saved and loaded correctly.

When verifying that cookies are deleted after logout.

When testing how the website behaves with specific cookie values set.

When automating tests that require setting cookies to skip certain steps.

Syntax

Selenium Python

driver.get_cookies()
driver.get_cookie(name)
driver.add_cookie({'name': 'key', 'value': 'value'})
driver.delete_cookie(name)
driver.delete_all_cookies()

Use driver.get_cookies() to get all cookies as a list of dictionaries.

Cookies must have at least name and value when adding.

Examples

Get all cookies and print them as a list.

Selenium Python

cookies = driver.get_cookies()
print(cookies)

Get a specific cookie by name and print it.

Selenium Python

cookie = driver.get_cookie('session_id')
print(cookie)

Add a new cookie with name and value.

Selenium Python

driver.add_cookie({'name': 'test_cookie', 'value': '12345'})

Delete a cookie by its name.

Selenium Python

driver.delete_cookie('test_cookie')

Sample Program

This script opens a website, adds a cookie, prints it, prints total cookies, deletes the cookie, and checks it is gone.

Selenium Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
import time

options = Options()
options.add_argument('--headless=new')
service = Service()
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service, options=options)

try:
    driver.get('https://www.example.com')

    # Add a cookie
    driver.add_cookie({'name': 'mycookie', 'value': 'cookievalue'})

    # Get and print the cookie
    cookie = driver.get_cookie('mycookie')
    print(cookie)

    # Get all cookies
    all_cookies = driver.get_cookies()
    print(f"Total cookies: {len(all_cookies)}")

    # Delete the cookie
    driver.delete_cookie('mycookie')

    # Verify deletion
    cookie_after_delete = driver.get_cookie('mycookie')
    print(cookie_after_delete)

finally:
    driver.quit()

Important Notes

Cookies are domain-specific; you must be on the domain to add or get cookies.

Deleting a cookie removes it from the browser session immediately.

Use headless mode for faster tests without opening a browser window.

Summary

Cookies store small data for websites to remember you.

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

Managing cookies helps test login, preferences, and session behavior.