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.

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.