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Chromedriver 2.32 change log states that "Changes to the way automation extension is loaded on Mac and Windows"(https://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/chromedriver/downloads).

My problem : We were not able to use Chromedriver 2.28 first, because the sutomation extension had to be white-listed in our organisation. We did the white-listing, and we were able to run Chromedriver 2.31. When I tried to use Chromedriver 2.32, I'm getting that same 'Loading of unpacked extensions is disabled' popup window error.

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Vignesh Kumar Rk
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1 Answers1

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Factually the Automation Extension issue with Chrome Browser surfaced a couple of builds earlier then ChromeDriver v2.32

From this last two discussion Chrome Browser-org.openqa.selenium.WebDriverException: unknown error: cannot get automation extension and Error:cannot get automation extension for chrome with selenium it was pretty much evident that the issue of Automation Extension is entirely due to compatibility mismatch between Chrome Driver and Chrome Browser .

As per the Release Notes of Chrome Driver 2.28 and Chrome Driver 2.32 there were some attempts to bridge the gap in almost all the OS variants as follows :

  • Chrome Driver 2.28 : Resolved issue 1625: Error: cannot get automation extension on Chrome57+ [['OS-All', 'Pri-1', 'merge-merged-2987']]
  • Chrome Driver 2.32 : Resolved issue 1900: LaunchApp command throws UnknownError: cannot get automation extension on Mac and Windows Chrome v62+ [['Pri-2']]

However there were also some reports about Automation Extension related error while trying to use driver.manage().window().maximize(); to maximize the Chrome Browser. An ideal way to maximize Chrome Browser will be to use ChromeOptions.addArguments("start-maximized"); instead.

Update A

As per your comments, I am not sure in which circumstances you had to white-list chrome extension installations . But in general if use compatible version of ChromeDriver and Chrome Browser binary versions and properly use the ChromeOptions Class you shouldn't face any such error.

You can find a detailed discussion of about compatible Chrome Driver and Chrome Browser versions in Selenium for ChromeDriver 2.35

Update B

I have already pointed you to the discussions where you need to use the ChromeOptions for maximizing, changing window size and changing window position

The Chromium Bug you are referring says the same and you can see that Chromium Dev Team have no intention to solve this issue and have marked with Status: WontFix

Apart from these functions if you still need the Chrome Automation extension in play then you have to whitelist Chrome automation extension for sure.

But in that case you have to showcase your distinct Usecase and your code trials so we can construct a working solution for you.

undetected Selenium
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  • We had this issue while switching from 2.27 to 2.28. We had to white-list chrome extension installations, and it worked till 2.31. Now we are facing the same issue when trying to switch to 2.32. I'm taking screenshots in my tests, and it does not work when I disable the automation extension. – Vignesh Kumar Rk Feb 12 '18 at 08:05
  • I am not sure in which circumstances you had to _white-list chrome extension installations_ . But in general if you keep _ChromeDriver_ and _Chrome Browser_ versions in sync and properly use the _ChromeOptions_ Class you shouldn't face any such error. – undetected Selenium Feb 12 '18 at 09:23
  • We did the white-listing to avoid having to do these workarounds for window maximizing, Screenshot capture etc. We need that extension to do these things. The white-listing worked till 2.31, but with 2.32 something has changed with how the unpacked extension is being installed. – Vignesh Kumar Rk Feb 12 '18 at 10:13
  • Then I must say you were not following the best practices. Please follow the guidelines mentioned out in the _ChromeDriver_ release notes for a efficient **Test Harness**. – undetected Selenium Feb 12 '18 at 10:16
  • Chromedriver uses Chrome Automation extension to perform various window operations like resize, capture screenshot etc. If this extension is not loaded, such error is expected. The white-listing was done because it was suggested in https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromedriver/issues/detail?id=1654 (Comment 8 by gmanikpure@chromium.org). It is the right way to solve this without any code changes. I guess that the problem we have with Chromedriver 2.32 is something to do with the way we are white-listing the extension. – Vignesh Kumar Rk Feb 12 '18 at 10:48
  • Added an update to my Answer. Let me know the status. – undetected Selenium Feb 12 '18 at 11:30