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Installation & Setup

Requirements

Before installing QWeb, ensure your environment meets the following requirements:

  • Python: Versions 3.10 – 3.13
  • Robot Framework: Version 5.0.1 or above

macOS Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)

Support for Macs with Apple Silicon requires macOS 12 (Monterey) or above. If you are on an older version, a custom installation may be required.

Installation

Select your operating system below for specific instructions.

Installing QWeb on Windows is straightforward via pip. Open your command prompt or PowerShell and run:

pip install QWeb

1. System Dependencies

On Linux (specifically Ubuntu/Debian), you may need to install system-level dependencies for image comparison and GUI support:

sudo apt-get install python3-tk python3-dev scrot

2. Install QWeb

Once dependencies are ready, install the library:

python3 -m pip install -U pip
python3 -m pip install QWeb

Avoid Snap Packages

Some Linux distributions (like Ubuntu) install browsers via Snap by default. This often causes issues with automation due to non-standard binary paths and sandboxing.

Recommendation: Install Google Chrome via the terminal instead: 

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get install -y ./google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

Browser Drivers

QWeb relies on Selenium Manager (available since Selenium 4.10.0) to automatically handle browser drivers.

Automatic Management (Preferred)

You do not need to manually download chromedriver or geckodriver.

  1. Ensure you have a supported browser installed (Chrome, Firefox, Edge).
  2. Run your test.
  3. Selenium Manager will detect your browser version and automatically download the correct driver to your cache.

Chrome for Testing

If you need a specific browser version for testing that doesn't match your installed version, QWeb supports Chrome for Testing. * If you specify a browser_version in OpenBrowser, and your local Chrome matches it, QWeb uses the local version. * If they do not match, QWeb will automatically download the standalone "Chrome for Testing" binary for that specific version.

Manual Driver Management

Manual driver management (downloading binaries and adding them to PATH) is supported but not recommended. It is brittle and requires constant maintenance as browsers update. Only use manual management in exceptional cases (e.g., air-gapped internal networks).