Principle:Teamcapybara Capybara Browser Specialization
| Knowledge Sources | |
|---|---|
| Domains | Testing, Driver_Architecture |
| Last Updated | 2026-02-12 00:00 GMT |
Overview
An extension pattern that dynamically applies browser-specific behavior modules to the Selenium driver at runtime based on the detected browser type.
Description
Browser Specialization addresses the fact that different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari) require different workarounds for common operations like resetting state, going fullscreen, or building node wrappers. Instead of branching on browser type throughout the driver, Capybara uses Ruby's extend to dynamically mix in a browser-specific module when the driver initializes.
Each specialization module overrides specific methods:
- Chrome — Uses CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol) for storage clearing, builds ChromeNode instances
- Firefox — Has workarounds for geckodriver limitations
- Edge — Mirrors Chrome behavior (Chromium-based)
- Safari — Handles Safari-specific limitations
Usage
This is automatic — when Selenium::Driver initializes with a browser, it looks up the registered specialization and extends itself. Custom specializations can be registered for additional browsers.
Theoretical Basis
# Abstract specialization pattern (not actual code)
register_specialization(:chrome, ChromeDriver)
register_specialization(:firefox, FirefoxDriver)
# At driver initialization:
def specialize_driver:
specialization = self.class.specializations[browser_name]
extend(specialization) if specialization