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pythonseleniumfirefoxraspberry-pi3geckodriver

WebDriverException: Message: invalid argument: can't kill an exited process with GeckoDriver, Selenium and Python on RaspberryPi3

Server: Raspberry Pi 3
OS: Dietpi - version 159
Geckodriver version: 0.22 for arm
Firefox version: 52.9.0
Python version: 3.5
Selenium version: 3.14.1

Gecko is executable, and is located in /usr/local/bin/

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
from selenium.webdriver.firefox.options import Options
import time



options = Options()
options.set_headless(headless=True)
driver = webdriver.Firefox(firefox_options=options)

print('Need your login credential')
username = input('What is your username?:\n')
password = input('What is your password?:\n')
...
...

Output:

root@RPi3:~# python3.5 ITE-bot.py 
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "ITE-bot.py", line 12, in <module>
    driver = webdriver.Firefox(firefox_options=options)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/selenium/webdriver/firefox/webdriver.py", line 174, in __init__
    keep_alive=True)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/selenium/webdriver/remote/webdriver.py", line 157, in __init__
    self.start_session(capabilities, browser_profile)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/selenium/webdriver/remote/webdriver.py", line 252, in start_session
    response = self.execute(Command.NEW_SESSION, parameters)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/selenium/webdriver/remote/webdriver.py", line 321, in execute
    self.error_handler.check_response(response)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/selenium/webdriver/remote/errorhandler.py", line 242, in check_response
    raise exception_class(message, screen, stacktrace)
selenium.common.exceptions.WebDriverException: Message: invalid argument: can't kill an exited process

Any idea what is wrong? I've tried google without luck.

Solution

  • Thumb rule

    A common cause for Browsers to crash during startup is running WebDriver initiated Browsers as root user (administrator) on Linux. While it is possible to work around this issue by passing --no-sandbox flag when creating your WebDriver session, such a configuration is unsupported and highly discouraged. You need to configure your environment to run Browser as a regular user instead.

    This error message...

    selenium.common.exceptions.WebDriverException: Message: invalid argument: can't kill an exited process

    ...implies that the GeckoDriver was unable to initiate/spawn a new WebBrowsing Session i.e. Firefox Browser session.

    Your main issue is the incompatibility between the version of the binaries you are using as follows:

    • Your GeckoDriver version is 0.22.0.

    • Release Notes of GeckoDriver v0.21.0 (2018-06-15) clearly mentions the following:

    • Firefox 57 (and greater)

    • Selenium 3.11 (and greater)

    • Your Firefox version is 52.9.0.

    So there is a clear mismatch between GeckoDriver v0.22.0 and the Firefox Browser v57

    Solution

    • Upgrade GeckoDriver to GeckoDriver v0.22.0 level.
    • GeckoDriver is present in the specified location.
    • GeckoDriver is having executable permission for non-root users.
    • Upgrade Firefox version to Firefox v62.0.2 levels.
    • Clean your Project Workspace through your IDE and Rebuild your project with required dependencies only.
    • If your base Web Client version is too old, then uninstall it through Revo Uninstaller and install a recent GA and released version of Web Client.
    • Execute your Selenium Test as a non-root user.

    GeckoDriver, Selenium and Firefox Browser compatibility chart

    geckodriver_versions