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ChromeDriver is Google's official WebDriver server for Chrome, a standalone executable that lets Selenium and the tools built on it drive a real browser, and it only works when its major version matches your Chrome.
ChromeDriver is the small program Selenium talks to when it opens a real Chrome window and clicks through your site.
It is one standalone executable, with no installer, no admin rights and nothing else to set up.
The rule that catches everybody is that its major version has to match the Chrome you already have.
Chrome 153 needs ChromeDriver 153, and Chrome 152 needs ChromeDriver 152. When the two drift apart, Selenium refuses to open the session and throws SessionNotCreatedException the moment your first test launches, which is why most broken suites are not broken code at all.
Quick version check
Open Chrome, click the three-dot menu, then Help and About Google Chrome. The first three digits are your major version, and that is the number the build you download has to start with.
What ChromeDriver Actually Does
It implements the W3C WebDriver protocol, so your test sends ordinary HTTP commands and ChromeDriver turns them into instructions a real Chrome understands. Nothing is simulated, which is why a passing test means the page really works.
That is also why it does not care what language you write in. Any Selenium binding speaks to it the same way, so Python, Java, JavaScript, C# and Ruby suites all use this identical file.
Other WebDriver-based tools use it too, including WebdriverIO, Nightwatch, Robot Framework through its Selenium library, and Appium when it drives hybrid Android apps. Cypress and Playwright are the exception - they drive Chrome their own way and never touch this file.
Matching It to Your Chrome
This page carries four build families side by side, so you can match a pinned older Chrome or test against one that has not shipped yet.
| Build on this page | Matches | Use this when |
|---|---|---|
| ChromeDriver 153 | Chrome 153, current stable | Everyday local runs and CI. Start here unless you know otherwise. |
| ChromeDriver 152 | Chrome 152 | Your Chrome is pinned a version back, or a container image has not been rebuilt yet. |
| ChromeDriver 154 Beta | Chrome Beta 154 | You want to know what breaks before it reaches your users. |
| ChromeDriver 155 Dev | Chrome Dev 155 | You are chasing a regression upstream, months ahead of stable. |
Only that first number has to match. The trailing build digits can differ by a few without breaking anything, because Google builds the driver from the Chrome for Testing channel and the browser on your desk does not always ship the same patch on the same day.
If Chrome auto-updates on your machine, expect to come back here roughly every four weeks. In CI, pin the Chrome version and the driver version explicitly instead, and neither one moves under you overnight.
The long version of all of this, including the container-specific failures, lives in our guide to fixing the ChromeDriver version mismatch.
Getting a First Test Running
Unzip the download and the whole thing is one file. Put it next to your test script, or anywhere on your PATH, and three lines of Python are enough.
- Import the pieces: from selenium import webdriver and from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service.
- Point Selenium at the file: service = Service(executable_path="./chromedriver.exe") on Windows, or "./chromedriver" on Linux.
- Open a browser and go somewhere: driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service), then driver.get("https://www.example.com").
On Selenium 4.6 and newer you can skip the download entirely, because Selenium Manager fetches a matching driver for you the first time it runs. Keeping a local copy is still faster, reproducible from one run to the next, and it survives a CI box with no outbound internet, which is why most production pipelines pin the file anyway.
Which Chrome Build to Point It At
Most people run it against the ordinary Google Chrome already installed on their machine, and that is the right default.
If one Chrome update breaking every environment at once is the problem, Google Chrome Portable keeps several versions side by side in their own folders. Point ChromeDriver at the portable executable through ChromeOptions and each suite gets a browser that only you move.
To see breakage before your users do, pair the beta or dev driver above with Google Chrome Dev, which tracks the same early channel. For an open-source build with no proprietary codecs or auto-updater attached, Chromium works with the same driver as long as the major versions line up.
Testing on a Mac is its own scope - Google Chrome for Mac covers the browser, and the mac-arm64 and mac-x64 drivers come from Google's Chrome for Testing channel rather than from this page.
Cross-Browser Testing Around It
WebDriver is a standard rather than a Chrome feature, so the suite you already have travels further than most people expect. Microsoft Edge needs its own EdgeDriver but speaks the identical protocol, and swapping the driver class is usually the whole migration.
Mozilla Firefox is the one genuinely different engine in the set and needs geckodriver instead, which is exactly why it is worth including - a rendering bug that only Gecko catches is the sort your users find first.
The other Chromium browsers behave like Chrome under automation and rarely need coverage of their own. Where they do, it is usually because something has been added on top that your test can see.
- Brave Browser blocks trackers and ads by default, so elements your test expects to click may never render.
- Opera Browser ships a built-in VPN and its own blocker, both of which change what the page sees.
- Vivaldi Browser layers heavy interface customisation over Chromium, which is worth a run if your users live in it.
Each of them takes an ordinary ChromeDriver, matched to the Chromium version it is built from rather than to its own release number, which the browser reports on its About page.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
- Your framework is Cypress or Playwright. Both drive Chrome through its own debugging protocol and ship their own browser handling, so this file does nothing for you.
- You are automating Firefox. That is geckodriver, a different project entirely.
- You want a browser to use rather than to test. Grab Chrome itself, or browse the Web Browsers category.
- You need a macOS driver. This page serves Windows and Linux only, and Google's Chrome for Testing channel is where the mac builds live.
- Your Chrome is a fork nobody supports upstream. Arc Browser and BrowserOS are Chromium underneath, but neither publishes a matched driver, so you are pinning by trial and error.
What Is in the Download
Each ZIP holds a single executable, chromedriver.exe on Windows or chromedriver on Linux. There is nothing to install and nothing to register, so it runs from whatever folder you drop it in.
The Windows builds come in both 32-bit and 64-bit, which is worth knowing because a 32-bit test agent is still a common thing to inherit. Linux is 64-bit only, and the Chrome online installer at the bottom of the list is there so you can put a matching browser on a fresh machine in the same visit.
Every build is taken from Google's Chrome for Testing channel, which has been the only supported source for ChromeDriver since version 115.
Quick questions
Which ChromeDriver do I need for Chrome 153?
The one whose version also starts with 153. The build digits after that can differ slightly from your browser without causing a problem, so do not go hunting for an exact four-part match.
Is there still a 32-bit ChromeDriver?
Yes, and it is on this page. Google publishes both win32 and win64 drivers through Chrome for Testing, so an older 32-bit test agent is still supported even though the browser itself is 64-bit.
Is ChromeDriver the same thing as Chrome WebDriver?
Yes, people use the names interchangeably. ChromeDriver is the executable, WebDriver is the W3C protocol it implements, and a search for either lands you on the same file.
How do I fix a session not created error about supported Chrome versions?
The message is telling you the driver and the browser disagree. Check Help and About Google Chrome for your real version, download the build here whose number matches, and replace the old file rather than adding a second one to your PATH.
Why does DevToolsActivePort file doesn't exist appear in Docker?
That is Chrome's sandbox failing inside the container, not a driver fault. Adding --no-sandbox and --disable-dev-shm-usage to your ChromeOptions clears it in almost every case.
Do I still need this file with Selenium 4?
Not strictly, since Selenium Manager has resolved drivers automatically since 4.6. A pinned local copy is still worth having for speed, for repeatable results, and for build agents with no internet access.
Download ChromeDriver 153 and see whether it clears your version mismatch, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.
