Principle:Teamcapybara Capybara Selection Controls

Knowledge Sources	Capybara README
Domains	Testing, Form_Interaction
Last Updated	2026-02-12 00:00 GMT

Overview

A form interaction pattern for manipulating selection-based form controls including dropdowns, checkboxes, and radio buttons.

Description

Selection Controls covers three types of form elements that represent choices:

• Select boxes — Dropdowns where the user picks an option by its visible text. select finds the select box by label/name/id and then finds and selects the option.
• Checkboxes — Toggle elements for boolean or multi-select choices. check and uncheck find the checkbox by label/name/id and toggle its state. When the element is not visible, it attempts to click the associated label instead (automatic_label_click).
• Radio buttons — Mutually exclusive choices. choose finds the radio button and selects it, also supporting label clicking for hidden inputs.

Usage

Use select for dropdown menus, check/uncheck for checkboxes, and choose for radio buttons. All use semantic locators (label text, name, id) rather than CSS selectors.

Theoretical Basis

# Abstract selection flow (not actual code)
select(value, from: locator):
  box = find(:select, locator) or find(:datalist_input, locator)
  box.find(:option, value).select_option

check(locator):
  _check_with_label(:checkbox, true, locator)
  # attempts element.set(true), falls back to clicking label

choose(locator):
  _check_with_label(:radio_button, true, locator)

Related Pages

Implemented By

• Implementation:Teamcapybara_Capybara_Node_Actions_Selection