Selenium WebDriver TypeError: "executable_path" Argument

Encountering TypeError: WebDriver.__init__() got an unexpected keyword argument 'executable_path' in Selenium indicates a breaking change in how WebDrivers are initialized. This error arises because modern Selenium versions deprecated this parameter.

Why This Error Occurs

Starting with Selenium v4.10.0 (released mid-2023), the executable_path argument was removed from WebDriver.__init__(). The change aims to standardize driver management through the Service class.

WARNING

If using Selenium ≥4.6.0, executable_path is obsolete. Solutions below apply to version 4.10.0+.

Recommended Solutions

1. Use Service for Explicit Driver Path

Replace executable_path with a Service instance:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options

service = Service(executable_path='./chromedriver.exe')  # Specify driver path
options = Options()
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service, options=options)

driver.get('https://www.google.com/')
driver.quit()  # Always clean up resources

2. Automate Driver Management (No Manual Path)

For Selenium ≥4.6.0, omit executable_path entirely. Selenium Manager automatically handles driver binaries:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options

options = Options()
driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)  # Simplified initialization

driver.get('https://www.google.com/')
driver.quit()

TIP

Selenium Manager downloads/uses the correct driver version for your browser, provided it's installed system-wide.

3. Use webdriver_manager for Dynamic Driver Handling

Install the package to avoid manual driver downloads:

pip install webdriver-manager

Then initialize:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service as ChromeService
from webdriver_manager.chrome import ChromeDriverManager

options = webdriver.ChromeOptions()
driver = webdriver.Chrome(
    service=ChromeService(ChromeDriverManager().install()), 
    options=options
)

driver.get('https://www.google.com/')
driver.quit()

Key Takeaways

• Deprecation Rationale: Selenium replaced executable_path with dependency-injectable Service objects for better resource management.
• Best Practice: Use automatic driver management (Solution #2) unless explicit path control is necessary.
• Compatibility: Solutions apply to Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge). For Firefox, use FirefoxService from selenium.webdriver.firefox.service.

Avoid Outdated Patterns

Do not downgrade Selenium! Explicit paths increase maintainability issues. Modern workflows avoid hardcoded executable_path.

Adopting these patterns ensures compatibility with modern Selenium ecosystem changes.