selenium sessionnotcreatedexception: this version of chromedriver only sup

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Chromedriver and Chrome must share the same major version; when Chrome auto-updates, a pinned driver stops working. The durable fix is to stop pinning: let Selenium Manager (built into Selenium 4.6 and newer) download the matching driver automatically, or pin both versions together.

Error

selenium.common.exceptions.SessionNotCreatedException: Message: session not created: This version of ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version 120
Current browser version is 124.0.6367.60

Steps

1. Check both versions: chromedriver --version and google-chrome --version. Expected: you see the mismatch, e.g. driver 120 against browser 124.
2. Easiest fix: remove any hardcoded driver path from your code and let Selenium Manager resolve it (Selenium 4.6 and newer does this when no driver path or Service is given). Expected: the next run downloads the matching driver automatically.
3. If you manage the driver yourself, install the matching release: npm i -D chromedriver@124 to match Chrome 124, or fetch it from the Chrome for Testing distribution. Expected: chromedriver --version prints the same major as Chrome.
4. Pin both in CI: use a Docker image or setup action that installs a matched pair, so Chrome cannot drift ahead of the driver. Expected: CI stops breaking on Chrome auto-updates.
5. Re-run the suite. Expected: the session creates without SessionNotCreatedException.

When to use

• The error names the Chrome version chromedriver supports.
• It broke right after a Chrome update, with no code change.
• It fails in CI but works locally (different Chrome versions).

When not to use

• Renderer timeouts (the session exists; the page hangs).
• Element-not-found errors (selector issue).
• chromedriver executable needs to be in PATH (driver missing, not mismatched).

Tool compatibility

• Selenium 4.x; Chrome and Chromedriver 115 and newer (the Chrome for Testing era).
• Selenium Manager needs network access to the driver download endpoints.

Variant phrasings

Current browser version is X with a different number

Same fix regardless of which side is newer: align the majors.

chromedriver 114 against Chrome 115 or newer

Version 115 moved drivers to the Chrome for Testing distribution and broke old download URLs. Use the new distribution.

works locally, fails in CI

The CI image has a different Chrome than your laptop. Pin the pair in the image.

Why it happens

Chromedriver speaks the DevTools protocol of one Chrome major version. Chrome auto-updates silently, so a driver that worked yesterday mismatches today. Version 115 also moved drivers to the Chrome for Testing distribution, which broke old download URLs on top of the version skew.

Edge cases

• Selenium Manager caches drivers under the selenium cache dir in your home folder; clear it if it cached a stale one.
• Corporate proxies can block the driver download; then pin the driver manually instead.
• A chromedriver found on PATH shadows Selenium Manager's copy, so check PATH first when the auto-download seems ignored.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_8qKzt0PaWF-q3477tfOFsg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_8qKzt0PaWF-q3477tfOFsg

Thread query: selenium sessionnotcreatedexception: this version of chromedriver only supports chrome version

TL;DR: Chromedriver and Chrome must share the same major version; when Chrome auto-updates, a pinned driver stops working. The durable fix is to stop pinning: let Selenium Manager (built into Selenium 4.6 and newer) download the matching driver automatically, or pin both versions together.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Chrome auto-updates and ChromeDriver does not, so the driver falls behind the browser. Update the selenium-webdriver gem to a version whose Selenium Manager downloads the matching driver automatically, or pin Chrome to the driver's version. The session starts once driver and browser agree.

Error

rspec selenium-webdriver version incompatible with chrome: how to fix

Session creation fails: This version of ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version N, after Chrome auto-updated.

Steps

1. Read the session error: it states the ChromeDriver version and the Chrome version it supports. Expected output: you know which side is behind.
2. Update the selenium-webdriver gem to 4.6 or newer, where Selenium Manager fetches the right driver automatically. Expected output: bundle update installs a Manager-capable version.
3. Delete any manually managed chromedriver binary that could shadow the Manager's download. Expected output: only one driver resolution path remains.
4. If CI blocks driver downloads, pin Chrome to a fixed version matching a vendored driver instead. Expected output: deterministic browser and driver versions in CI.
5. Run a smoke spec that just starts a session. Expected output: the browser launches with no version error.

When to use

• Session creation fails with a ChromeDriver version mismatch.
• Chrome updated and specs broke overnight.
• Setting up Selenium in CI for the first time.

When not to use

• Elements are not found (the session works; the locators do not).
• Tests time out after launch (driver and browser already agree).
• You use Firefox (that is geckodriver, different versioning).

Variant phrasings

Session not created: this version of ChromeDriver only supports

The canonical mismatch error; update the gem first, pin Chrome second.

Selenium Manager download blocked in CI

Firewalled CI cannot fetch drivers; vendor the driver and pin the browser, or allow the download host.

Headless Chrome version skew

Headless shells sometimes resolve a different Chrome binary; print the binary path the driver actually launches.

Why it happens

Chrome ships on its own rapid schedule while ChromeDriver is version-locked to it. Any auto-update widens the gap until session creation fails, and Selenium Manager exists precisely to close that gap automatically.

Edge cases

• A stale chromedriver on PATH beats Selenium Manager's download; check which binary actually runs.
• Chrome for Testing changed download URLs; old driver-fetch scripts break silently and need updating.
• Major Chrome versions can change headless behavior, so a version fix can surface new rendering differences; re-baseline visual tests.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstcyr4R5FB2YYUIEAXxFSZQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstcyr4R5FB2YYUIEAXxFSZQ

Thread query: rspec selenium-webdriver version incompatible with chrome: how to fix

TL;DR: Chrome auto-updates and ChromeDriver does not, so the driver falls behind the browser. Update the selenium-webdriver gem to a version whose Selenium Manager downloads the matching driver automatically, or pin Chrome to the driver's version. The session starts once driver and browser agree.

Not specified by the original author.

undetected-chromedriver auto-downloaded a ChromeDriver that does not match your installed Chrome major version. Pass your Chrome's major version explicitly: uc.Chrome(version_main=114) (replace 114 with yours, from Chrome menu -> Help -> About Google Chrome). It then downloads the matching driver and the session starts.

The error

SessionNotCreatedException: This version of ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version 114

Fix it

1. Find your installed Chrome's major version

Open Chrome menu -> Help -> About Google Chrome, or run:

google-chrome --version

Expected: something like Google Chrome 138.0.7204.101. The major version is 138.

2. Pin the driver to it

import undetected_chromedriver as uc
driver = uc.Chrome(version_main=138)  # your major version from step 1

Expected: the session starts with no SessionNotCreatedException.

3. Alternative: update Chrome itself

If you would rather move Chrome forward than pin the driver, update Chrome to the latest and call uc.Chrome() with no arguments. Expected: auto-downloaded driver and fresh Chrome agree.

When this applies

• the error names two different Chrome versions (supported vs current)
• Chrome auto-updated overnight and the scraper broke
• undetected-chromedriver downloaded the driver itself (you never placed one manually)

When it does NOT apply

• cannot find Chrome binary means Chrome is not installed at all
• 'chromedriver' executable needs to be in PATH is plain selenium without undetected-chromedriver

Compatibility

undetected-chromedriver 3.x with any Chrome. The version_main parameter exists across 3.x releases.

Variant phrasings

selenium.common.exceptions.SessionNotCreatedException: Message: session not created: This version of ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version N

The same mismatch as wrapped by newer selenium. Same fix.

Why it happens

Chrome and ChromeDriver must share a major version. undetected-chromedriver downloads whatever driver is current at first run and caches it; when Chrome later updates (or the cache was built for a different Chrome), the cached driver refuses the session. version_main forces a download matching the Chrome you actually have.

Edge cases

• The driver cache lives in a user folder. Deleting the cached driver and re-running also forces a fresh download, but version_main is the deterministic fix.
• In CI, pin both: install a fixed Chrome version AND pass the same version_main, so neither side drifts.
• Brave and other Chromium forks report their own versions. Use the fork's major version the same way.

The bookmyshowseleniumscraper README documents exactly this failure (SessionNotCreatedException / ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version N) with undetected-chromedriver, and gives the fix: pass the installed Chrome's major version so the driver matches. The same versionmain fix is the accepted answer in the undetected-chromedriver issue tracker (e.g. ultrafunkamsterdam/undetected-chromedriver#1800). Source: https://github.com/stormothecyborg/bookmyshowselenium_scraper/blob/HEAD/README.md