File download handling in Selenium Python - Test Execution Trace

Test Overview

This test automates downloading a file from a web page and verifies that the file is saved correctly in the specified download folder.

Test Code - Selenium

Selenium Python

import os
import time
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By

# Setup Chrome options to set download directory
download_dir = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), "downloads")
if not os.path.exists(download_dir):
    os.makedirs(download_dir)

chrome_options = Options()
chrome_options.add_experimental_option("prefs", {
    "download.default_directory": download_dir,
    "download.prompt_for_download": False,
    "download.directory_upgrade": True,
    "safebrowsing.enabled": True
})

driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=chrome_options)

try:
    driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/webdriver/browser/downloads/")

    # Find the download link for a sample file
    download_link = driver.find_element(By.LINK_TEXT, "sampleFile.txt")
    download_link.click()

    # Wait for the file to appear in the download directory
    file_path = os.path.join(download_dir, "sampleFile.txt")
    timeout = 15
    start_time = time.time()
    while not os.path.exists(file_path):
        time.sleep(1)
        if time.time() - start_time > timeout:
            break

    # Assert the file exists
    assert os.path.exists(file_path), "File was not downloaded successfully"

finally:
    driver.quit()

Execution Trace - 7 Steps

Step	Action	System State	Assertion	Result
1	Test starts and Chrome browser opens with download directory set	Chrome browser window is open with download preferences set to custom folder	-	PASS
2	Browser navigates to the Selenium downloads documentation page	Page loaded showing Selenium documentation with download links	-	PASS
3	Finds the link with text 'sampleFile.txt' on the page	Download link element is located	Element with link text 'sampleFile.txt' is found	PASS
4	Clicks the download link to start file download	Browser initiates file download to the specified folder	-	PASS
5	Waits up to 15 seconds for the file 'sampleFile.txt' to appear in download folder	File appears in the download folder within timeout	File exists at expected path	PASS
6	Asserts that the downloaded file exists	File is confirmed present in the download folder	assert os.path.exists(file_path) passes	PASS
7	Browser closes and test ends	Browser window closed, resources cleaned up	-	PASS

Failure Scenario

Failing Condition: File does not appear in the download folder within the timeout period

Execution Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the test verify after clicking the download link?

A That an alert pops up

B That the page URL changes

C That the file appears in the download folder

D That the browser refreshes

Key Result

Always configure the browser to download files automatically to a known folder and verify the file presence after download to ensure the download functionality works correctly.