v0.7.0 – Browser Lifecycle Control

What's New in 0.7.0

🌐 Browser Lifecycle Control

Control when the WebDriver session is closed — one config line in selenium-boot.yml:

browser:
  lifecycle: per-suite   # per-test (default) | per-suite

per-test (default — existing behaviour)
Browser opens and closes for every test method. Full isolation, higher startup cost.

per-suite
Browser opens once per thread and stays alive for the entire suite.
Closed cleanly at suite end. Saves significant time on large sequential suites
where browser startup is a bottleneck.

Screenshots on failure still work — the browser is alive when the screenshot is taken.

Retry still works — the same browser is reused on retry, no restart needed.

Parallel-safe — each thread manages its own browser instance independently.

Notes for per-suite users

The browser retains state (cookies, URL, localStorage) from the previous test.
Reset state explicitly if your tests are independent:

@Test
public void myTest() {
    open(); // navigates to baseUrl — resets the page
}

Or rely on state intentionally for dependent test flows:

@Test(priority = 1)
public void login() { ... }          // authenticates once

@Test(priority = 2, dependsOnMethods = "login")
public void dashboard() { ... }     // reuses the session — no login overhead

Dependency

<dependency>
    <groupId>io.github.seleniumboot</groupId>
    <artifactId>selenium-boot</artifactId>
    <version>0.7.0</version>
</dependency>

Full Changelog

v0.6.0...v0.7.0