Implementation:Teamcapybara Capybara Driver Node Interface

Knowledge Sources	Teamcapybara_Capybara
Domains	Testing, Web_Automation
Last Updated	2026-02-12 06:00 GMT

Overview

The Capybara::Driver::Node class defines the abstract interface that all Capybara driver-specific node implementations must satisfy, with every method raising NotImplementedError by default.

Description

Capybara::Driver::Node serves as the base class and contract definition for all driver node implementations in Capybara. It stores references to the driver instance, the native element object (whose type varies by driver), and an optional initial_cache hash. The class declares the full set of methods that a node must support -- including text extraction (all_text, visible_text), attribute access ([], value, style), mutation (set, select_option, unselect_option), user interaction (click, right_click, double_click, send_keys, hover, drag_to, drop, scroll_by, scroll_to), state queries (visible?, obscured?, checked?, selected?, disabled?, readonly?, multiple?), identity (tag_name, path, rect), and advanced features (trigger, shadow_root). The only methods with default implementations are readonly? (checks the readonly attribute), multiple? (checks the multiple attribute), inspect (returns a human-readable string), and == (compares native elements). All other methods raise NotImplementedError or NotSupportedByDriverError, forcing concrete subclasses to provide their own implementations.

Usage

Driver authors subclass Capybara::Driver::Node and override the abstract methods to implement element interactions for their specific driver (e.g., Capybara::RackTest::Node, Capybara::Selenium::Node). End users do not interact with this class directly; it is used internally by Capybara's driver system.

Code Reference

Source Location

Repository: Teamcapybara_Capybara
File: lib/capybara/driver/node.rb
Lines: 1-143

Signature

module Capybara
  module Driver
    class Node
      attr_reader :driver, :native, :initial_cache

      def initialize(driver, native, initial_cache = {})
      def all_text                          # raises NotImplementedError
      def visible_text                      # raises NotImplementedError
      def [](name)                          # raises NotImplementedError
      def value                             # raises NotImplementedError
      def style(styles)                     # raises NotImplementedError
      def set(value, **options)             # raises NotImplementedError
      def select_option                     # raises NotImplementedError
      def unselect_option                   # raises NotImplementedError
      def click(keys = [], **options)       # raises NotImplementedError
      def right_click(keys = [], **options) # raises NotImplementedError
      def double_click(keys = [], **options)# raises NotImplementedError
      def send_keys(*args)                  # raises NotImplementedError
      def hover                             # raises NotImplementedError
      def drag_to(element, **options)       # raises NotImplementedError
      def drop(*args)                       # raises NotImplementedError
      def scroll_by(x, y)                   # raises NotImplementedError
      def scroll_to(element, alignment, position = nil) # raises NotImplementedError
      def tag_name                          # raises NotImplementedError
      def visible?                          # raises NotImplementedError
      def obscured?                         # raises NotImplementedError
      def checked?                          # raises NotImplementedError
      def selected?                         # raises NotImplementedError
      def disabled?                         # raises NotImplementedError
      def readonly?                         # => !!self[:readonly]
      def multiple?                         # => !!self[:multiple]
      def rect                              # raises NotSupportedByDriverError
      def path                              # raises NotSupportedByDriverError
      def trigger(event)                    # raises NotSupportedByDriverError
      def shadow_root                       # raises NotSupportedByDriverError
      def inspect
      def ==(other)
    end
  end
end

Import

require 'capybara/driver/node'

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
driver	Capybara::Driver::Base	Yes	The driver instance that owns this node.
native	Object	Yes	The underlying native element object (type varies by driver implementation).
initial_cache	Hash	No	An optional hash of pre-computed values to cache on initialization. Defaults to `{}`.
value (for `set`)	String, Array	Yes	The value to set on the element. Arrays are only allowed if the node has the multiple attribute.
options (for `set`)	Hash	No	Driver-specific options controlling how the value is set.
keys (for `click`)	Array	No	Modifier keys to hold during the click. Defaults to `[]`.

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
NotImplementedError	Exception	Raised by all unimplemented abstract methods, signaling that the concrete subclass must provide an implementation.
NotSupportedByDriverError	Exception	Raised by methods that a particular driver may legitimately not support (rect, path, trigger, shadow_root).
readonly?	Boolean	Returns true if the element has a readonly attribute.
multiple?	Boolean	Returns true if the element has a multiple attribute.
inspect	String	A human-readable representation of the node including tag name and path.
==	Boolean	Returns true if both nodes wrap the same native element.

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

# Implementing a custom driver node:
class MyDriver::Node < Capybara::Driver::Node
  def all_text
    native.text_content
  end

  def visible_text
    native.inner_text
  end

  def [](name)
    native.get_attribute(name.to_s)
  end

  def tag_name
    native.tag_name.downcase
  end

  def visible?
    native.displayed?
  end

  def click(keys = [], **options)
    native.click
  end

  def set(value, **options)
    native.clear
    native.send_keys(value.to_s)
  end

  def find_xpath(locator)
    native.find_elements(:xpath, locator).map { |el| self.class.new(driver, el) }
  end

  def find_css(locator)
    native.find_elements(:css, locator).map { |el| self.class.new(driver, el) }
  end
end

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