How to Download Chromedriver for Selenium (Step-by-Step Guide)

Last updated on April 9th, 2026 at 03:58 am

If you are trying to download ChromeDriver for Selenium but keep getting version mismatch or path errors, this guide will help you fix it quickly.

Many testers face issues like ChromeDriver not supporting the installed Chrome browser or Selenium failing to detect the driver file. These errors stop test execution and waste valuable time.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to download the latest ChromeDriver, match it with your Chrome browser version, and install it correctly on Windows, Linux, and macOS. This step-by-step guide also helps you fix ChromeDriver version mismatch errors and run Selenium tests smoothly.

Quick Answer: How to Download ChromeDriver

To download ChromeDriver for Selenium:

1. Check your Chrome browser version (chrome://settings/help)
2. Go to the official ChromeDriver download page
3. Download the matching ChromeDriver stable version for your operating system
4. Extract the ZIP file
5. Set the path in environment variables or code

Now let’s see step by step chrome driver download guide.

Step 1: Check Your Chrome Browser Version

Before you download ChromeDriver for Selenium, you must check your installed Chrome browser version.
ChromeDriver works only when its version matches the Chrome browser version. Skipping this step often causes execution failures.

How to Check Chrome Version

There are two simple ways to find your Chrome browser version.

Method 1:

• Open Google Chrome.
• Type chrome://settings/help in the address bar.
• Look for the version number shown on the screen
• Example: Chrome version 147.0.7727.56

Method 2:

• Click the three dots at the top right corner of the Chrome browser.

• Open Settings
• Scroll down and click About Chrome

• Your Chrome browser version will be displayed on the screen.

Why does this matter?

ChromeDriver must match your Chrome browser version.
If the versions do not match, Selenium tests can fail with session creation or driver compatibility errors.

This becomes more critical in CI CD pipelines and cloud-based test automation setups. A small ChromeDriver mismatch can cause test failures, slow execution, and wasted infrastructure resources.

Tip: Always use the latest stable version of Google Chrome and the corresponding stable ChromeDriver release.

Latest update: ChromeDriver version 145.0.7632.77 is available and matches the current stable Chrome browser.

Step 2: Download the Latest ChromeDriver for Your Browser

Now, let’s download the right and latest version of ChromeDriver.

• Visit the official ChromeDriver website to download the latest version of ChromeDriver.
• Navigate to the Stable version section.
• Download the ChromeDriver binary for your operating system from the Downloads section on the official ChromeDriver website.

Note: At the time of writing, the latest stable ChromeDriver version is 147.0.7727.56. Always download the version that matches your Chrome browser version.

Related Selenium Downloads

• Download EdgeDriver for Selenium step-by-step
• Download GeckoDriver for Firefox Selenium setup
• Download Selenium JARs and Set Up

Select Your Operating System

• Windows: chromedriver-win64.zip
• Mac (Intel or ARM): chromedriver-mac-x64.zip / chromedriver-mac-arm64.zip
• Linux: chromedriver-linux64.zip

Copy the URL from the table as per your OS and Chrome browser version, and open it in the browser.

It will download the Zip file.

Once downloaded, extract the ZIP file to get the chromedriver executable.

Open the extracted folder. You will get the chromedriver.exe (Executable file) inside it.

Tip: Store chromedriver in a folder from where you can access it easily, like D:/chromedriver/

How to fix ChromeDriver version mismatch?

The ChromeDriver version mismatch error occurs when the version of ChromeDriver and your Chrome browser do not match. To resolve this ChromeDriver compatibility error, follow these steps:

• Check Your Chrome Browser Version: Go to Chrome’s help section and check the version. Update it if needed.
• Download the Matching ChromeDriver: Visit the official download page and get the matching version.
• Update ChromeDriver in Your Project: Replace the ChromeDriver executable with the updated one in your test setup.

If you’re just getting started with Selenium and want a step-by-step beginner guide, check out our complete Selenium tutorial with Java.

Download ChromeDriver for Windows, Mac, and Linux

Download ChromeDriver for Windows

To download ChromeDriver for Windows, select the chromedriver-win64.zip file from the official download page. Extract the ZIP file and place the executable in a folder like C:\chromedriver\. Then add this folder to your system PATH or use it directly in your Selenium script.

Download ChromeDriver for Mac

For macOS, download either chromedriver-mac-x64.zip or chromedriver-mac-arm64.zip depending on your system. Extract the file and give execution permission using the terminal if required.

Download ChromeDriver for Linux

Linux users should download chromedriver-linux64.zip. After extracting the file, run chmod +x chromedriver to make it executable and then configure it in your Selenium setup.

Step 3: Install ChromeDriver and Configure It in Selenium

Now that you have ChromeDriver, Selenium doesn’t know where it is. You need to tell Selenium where to find it.

There are two options.

Option 1: Set ChromeDriver Path Using Environment Variables

• Search for Edit the system environment variables from Windows search.
• Click on the Environment Variable button from the Advanced tab.
• Select Path from the System Variables section and click on the Edit button.
• Click on the New button and set the Chromedriver Path as shown in the image below, and click OK.

That’s it.

Option 2: Specify ChromeDriver Path Directly in Code

If you don’t want to modify system settings, you can also manually set the path in Selenium code. Here is an example:

System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "D:\chromedriver.exe");
WebDriver driver= new ChromeDriver();		
driver.get("https://only-testing-blog.blogspot.com/");

System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "D:\chromedriver.exe");
WebDriver driver= new ChromeDriver();		
driver.get("https://only-testing-blog.blogspot.com/");

Note: Replace “D:\chromedriver.exe” with the path where you extracted ChromeDriver.

How to check the installed version of ChromeDriver?

Follow these steps:

• Open Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac/Linux).
• Type: chromedriver –version
• Press Enter to display the installed ChromeDriver version.

In modern automation projects, teams often move beyond Selenium and adopt tools like Playwright for faster execution, better reliability, and built-in browser handling. If you are planning this transition, you can follow this Playwright automation tutorial without driver setup

Automate ChromeDriver Download Using WebDriverManager (Optional)

It is annoying to download ChromeDriver and all other drivers manually every time the browser version updates. Instead of manually downloading ChromeDriver, let WebDriver Manager handle everything:

Automating driver management is especially useful for teams using cloud-based Selenium testing services, DevOps pipelines, and scalable test automation tools. It helps reduce maintenance effort, lowers test execution costs, and improves reliability in continuous integration workflows.

You can use WebDriverManager in Java to automate the ChromeDriver setup:

Here’s a way:

Install WebDriverManager in Eclipse

If you are using Java with Eclipse, you can create a Maven Project and add WebDriver Manager Dependencies in the pom.xml file:

• Install Maven in Eclipse
• Create a Maven project in Eclipse.
• Get the latest webdrivermanager dependency from MVN Repository.
• Add the webdrivermanager dependency in the pom.xml file.

Now, you can use WebDriver Manager in your Selenium tests.

// Automatically download and setup ChromeDriver
WebDriverManager.chromedriver().setup();
        
// Launch Chrome browser
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

// Automatically download and setup ChromeDriver
WebDriverManager.chromedriver().setup();
        
// Launch Chrome browser
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

ChromeDriver vs WebDriverManager vs Playwright

When working with browser automation, you can manage browsers in different ways. Here is a quick comparison:

• ChromeDriver: Requires manual download and setup. You must match the browser version manually.
• WebDriverManager: Automatically downloads and manages ChromeDriver for Selenium. Reduces manual effort.
• Playwright: No driver setup required. It automatically handles browser binaries, making test setup faster and more reliable.

If you want to avoid driver-related issues completely and simplify your automation setup, consider switching to Playwright automation tutorial.

Download Older or Previous Versions of ChromeDriver

Note: It is not recommended to use older versions of ChromeDriver.

Recently, I was looking to download the previous version of ChromeDriver to verify browser compatibility for one of our under-development websites.

I found a reliable source to download older versions of ChromeDriver after 2+ hours of Google search. So I thought, let me share it with all of you guys.

When you open that page, it contains direct download URLs of ChromeDriver for all previous version releases.

Example: If you are looking to download chromedriver 131.0.6724.0, you will find a URL like below on that page. You can open it in your browser to start the download.

https://storage.googleapis.com/chrome-for-testing-public/131.0.6724.0/win64/chromedriver-win64.zip

Similarly, you will find separate ChromeDriver download URLs for all older versions like 128, 129, 130, etc, for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Using ChromeDriver in Enterprise and Cloud Testing Setups

In enterprise Selenium projects, ChromeDriver is commonly used with cloud testing platforms, remote browsers, and parallel test execution tools. Proper driver configuration helps improve browser compatibility testing, reduce flaky tests, and optimize automated testing infrastructure.

Troubleshooting Common ChromeDriver Issues in Selenium

Issue 1: ChromeDriver Version Mismatch Error

Error: “This version of ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version XX”

Fix:

• Go back to the ChromeDriver download page.
• Download the version that matches your Chrome browser.
• Or use the Chrome for Testing version JSON API if you’re on M115+.

Issue 2: ChromeDriver Executable Not Found in PATH

Error: “chromedriver is not recognized as an internal or external command”

Fix:

• Either provide the full path in your script
• Or add the folder containing chromedriver.exe to your system’s PATH environment variable

Issue 3: Download ChromeDriver for Chrome 115 and Above

Google introduced a new delivery method using the Chrome for Testing (CfT) system.
Use the official JSON version endpoint:

https://googlechromelabs.github.io/chrome-for-testing/last-known-good-versions-with-downloads.json

Issue 4: SessionNotCreatedException Error in Selenium

Error: SessionNotCreatedException – ChromeDriver version mismatch

Fix: Download the correct ChromeDriver version matching your Chrome browser.

Issue 5: selenium.common.exceptions.WebDriverException Error

Error: selenium.common.exceptions.WebDriverException

Fix: Update ChromeDriver or use WebDriver Manager.

Conclusion

Downloading and setting up ChromeDriver for Selenium is simple when you follow the correct steps. The most important thing is to always match the ChromeDriver version with your installed Chrome browser to avoid common errors like version mismatch or session creation failures.

In this guide, you learned how to download the latest ChromeDriver, install it on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and configure it properly for Selenium automation. You also explored how to automate the setup using WebDriverManager, which is highly recommended for modern test automation frameworks and CI/CD pipelines.

If you are working on scalable automation projects, keeping your browser drivers updated and properly configured will save time, reduce failures, and improve execution reliability.

Download ChromeDriver FAQs

Aravind QA Automation Engineer & Technical Blogger

Aravind is a QA Automation Engineer and technical blogger specializing in Playwright, Selenium, and AI in software testing. He shares practical tutorials to help QA professionals improve their automation skills.

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