Katalon 10.2.1 now using Chrome for Testing?

mateusz.mysliwiec · June 4, 2025, 1:13pm

I have just updated Katalon to version 10.2.1

now, when running tests against Chrome, Katalon start Chrome for Testing instead of regular Chrome.

I have looked into Katalon Studio Release Notes: Version 10.x | Katalon Docs but there is no mention about that, can that be changed? I am happy to use Chrome for Testing, but that needs to be whitelisted by our organisation first.

kazurayam · June 4, 2025, 1:46pm

using Katalon Studio 10.2.1 on macOS 14.7.6, I could also see Katalon Studio uses Chrome for Testing as default.

2025-06-04 22:39:40.457 INFO c.k.katalon.core.main.TestCaseExecutor - --------------------
2025-06-04 22:39:40.462 INFO c.k.katalon.core.main.TestCaseExecutor - START Test Cases/Main Test Cases/TC0_start_login
2025-06-04 22:39:42.489 INFO c.k.k.core.webui.driver.DriverFactory - Starting ‘Chrome’ driver
2025-06-04 22:39:42.530 INFO c.k.k.c.w.util.WebDriverPropertyUtil - User set preference: [‘prefs’, ‘{profile.password_manager_leak_detection=false}’]
2025-06-04 22:39:42.533 INFO c.k.k.c.w.util.WebDriverPropertyUtil - User set preference: [‘excludeSwitches’, ‘[enable-automation]’]
2025-06-04 22:39:42.625 INFO c.k.k.c.w.d.chrome.ChromeDriverBuilder - Use managed Chrome browser & driver
2025-06-04 22:39:42.631 INFO c.k.k.c.w.d.chrome.ChromeDriverUtil - Checking and download if needed Chrome browser and driver for Chrome for Testing version latest (This may take a while in case of downloading needed)

I don’t know if this change was a planned release or an accident.

But it was actually released. By mistake?

→ @Elly_Tran

kazurayam · June 4, 2025, 1:57pm

Automatically upgrading Chrome for Testing! — It is a poor joke. Don’t do that!

What is the benefit of Chrome for Testing? — I can fix its version in my environment. I can stay with a previous version as needed.

Ordinary Chrome browser automatically upgrade itself to the latest version, which sometimes causes problems like:

Chrome for Testing does NOT automatically upgrade itself. Therefore I have a chance to keep on using a previous version so that I can refrain from unplanned changes in the new Chrome affecting our tests. This is the whole reason why I prefer Chrome for Testing to the ordinary Chrome browser.

If Chrome for Testing is automatically upgraded by Katalon, it is no different from the ordinary Chrome browser.

I am afraid, Katalon’s developers do not understand the value of Chrome for Testing: I want to use Chrome for Testing when I want to stay with a previous version. Katalon Studio 10.2.1 spoiled Chrome for Testing.

Katalon tends to try automate everything — automation is their reason-d’etre, perhaps. But, in this case, their effort was wrongly directed.

I wouldn’t use v10.2.1.

kazurayam · June 4, 2025, 3:51pm

If Katalon is to support Chrome for Testing, I think that it should

add Chrome for Testing as a new type of browser, in addition to Chrome
the menu to choose browser type would be changed to have 2 more items as follows:

Also, the menu should show submenu of the versions of Chrome for Testing installed on the current machine.

The submenu of the available versions of “Chrome for Testing” makes it easy to choose the version to use for each test run. Many people have asked how to do it — e.g, @vasanthi.j, @gwryu

Finally, the “Test Suite Collection” should allow us to choose “Chrome for Testing, xxx.xxx.xx.xxx” as the value of “Run with” parameter.

How the GUI should support installing the versions of Chrome for Testing? — I don’t know, but Katalon would be able to develop a nice GUI for settings.

This change is fundamental for Katalon developers. It would require a lot of works. Version 11.x? “Chrome for Testing” deserves it, I think.

kazurayam · June 4, 2025, 10:43pm

I wrote:

However I may be wrong. See

This post implied that Chrome browser 137.0.715.55 didn’t work OK with Katalon but the Chrome for Testing 137.0.715.55 did work OK. These 2 seemed to be not equivalent. — this is against my understanding. I don’t know what’s true.

<<8th June 2025, this issue of the Selenium project clearly explains how Chrome (branded) and Chrome for Testing differ.>>

I guess that Katalon introduced Chrome for Testing at KS v10.2.1 just to fix the problem of “Unable to update chrome drivers/tests running too fast after latest updating Chrome Version 137.0.7151.41”.

Possibly, Katalon thinks that the issue is a small issue; it isn’t worth mentioning in the release note.

kazurayam · June 7, 2025, 9:44am

In the Recorder Fails to Launch on Chrome 137, Katalon wrote

Root Cause
Chrome 137 introduces internal changes that prevent the Katalon Studio Web Recorder from initiating browser control via standard automation protocols. As a result, the built-in recorder fails to launch when Chrome 137 is used as the execution environment.

This sentence does not explain the technical reason clearly.

Just adding an external reference:

Remove --load-extension command line switch back to top
To enhance the security and stability of the Chrome browser for our users, official Chrome branded builds will begin to deprecate the ability to load extensions using the --load-extension command-line flag, starting in Chrome 137. This change aims to mitigate the risks associated with harmful and unwanted extensions.
Unpacked extensions can be loaded with the Load unpacked button on the Extensions management page (chrome://extensions/) with Developer mode enabled.
Developers can still use the --load-extension switch in non-branded builds such as Chromium and Chrome For Testing.
Chrome 137 on ChromeOS, Linux, macOS, Windows

There seems to be a good reason that

Katalon Studio can no longer work with Chrome (branded) 137 and newer
Katalon Studio can only work with Chrome for Testing

Am I right?

→ @duyluong

To me, this change look very significant.

kazurayam · June 7, 2025, 10:20am

@duylong

Katalon Studio should be able to add --disable-features=DisableLoadExtensionCommandLineSwitch when it launches Chrome (branded) for Spy and Web Recording tool. This will fix the problem of Unable to update chrome drivers/tests running too fast after latest updating Chrome Version 137.0.7151.41; doesn’t it? This way Katalon can continue support for Chrome (branded) 137 and newer, can’t we? We don’t need to switch to Chrome for Testing as default, do we?

kazurayam · June 8, 2025, 12:15am

one more reference:

github.com/seleniumbase/SeleniumBase

Chrome 137 removed the "--load-extension" option. (Major situation!)

opened 10:22PM - 24 May 25 UTC

closed 11:55PM - 27 May 25 UTC

mdmintz

workaround exists Fun

## Chrome 137 removed the `--load-extension` option. (Major situation!) Specifi…cally, Chrome-branded Chromium removed the `--load-extension` option in Chrome 137. (This doesn't affect Chrome-for-Testing, unbranded Chromium, or other Chromium browsers such as Brave.) **Note that Chrome extensions are used for various functionality, such as auth proxy, the Recorder, and other major features!** Required reading on the situation: * https://github.com/SeleniumHQ/selenium/issues/15788 * https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7679408?sjid=11437610768047552203-NA#chromeBrsrE137 * https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/chromium-extensions/c/aEHdhDZ-V0E/m/UWP4-k32AgAJ * https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/290ed8046692651ce76088914750cb659b65fb17%5E%21/chrome/browser/extensions/extension_service.cc Obviously, this is a major problem because regular Chrome is the stealthiest for UC Mode / CDP Mode, and many users (including myself) use UC Mode / CDP Mode with an authenticated `proxy`, which is set via extension. Going to need to find a workaround for this. The good news is that the next version of Selenium will have BiDi-protocol, which should be able to work around this issue (https://github.com/SeleniumHQ/selenium/issues/15788#issuecomment-2906901575). However, the bad news is that that release may be a month away. If people can, hold onto Chrome 136 in the meantime so that you can set the auth `proxy` with regular Chrome. We appreciate your patience during this chaotic situation. If you're **not** using UC Mode / CDP Mode (and you need to set the `proxy`), then you can use `Chrome-for-Testing`, (which is a Chromium browser), and that can be activated via `--cft` / `cft=True`. And if you **are** using UC Mode / CDP Mode (and you need to set the `proxy`), then you may need to downgrade to Chrome 136 (if you can) in the meantime. I'll be working on a better workaround. You can also try using Brave by setting the `binary_location`. On a Mac, that would be `binary_location="/Applications/Brave Browser.app/Contents/MacOS/Brave Browser"`. (It'll be in a different location on Linux and Windows.) If you have other ideas, please add to this thread. Major situation unfolding... All hands on deck!

This post told me that the Chrome (branded) 137.x works clearly differently from Chrome for Testing v137.

Specifically, Chrome-branded Chromium removed the --load-extension option in Chrome 137. (This doesn’t affect Chrome-for-Testing, unbranded Chromium, or other Chromium browsers such as Brave.) Note that Chrome extensions are used for various functionality, such as auth proxy, the Recorder, and other major features!

kazurayam · June 8, 2025, 6:12am

Selenium 4.3.91 introduced --disable-features=DisableLoadExtensionCommandLineSwitch. With this change, even with Chrome (branded) v137, Extensions will be enabled as v136 and older.

Why not use the Selenium ４.３.91 in Katalon Studio?

duyluong · June 9, 2025, 7:36am

Hi @kazurayam ,

Katalon Studio should be able to add --disable-features=DisableLoadExtensionCommandLineSwitch when it launches Chrome (branded) for Spy and Web Recording tool.

Yes, we suggested user to do it manually as the #1 workaround for now in this article: https://katalon-inc.my.site.com/support/article/Recorder-Fails-to-Launch-on-Chrome-137

This way Katalon can continue support for Chrome (branded) 137 and newer, can’t we? We don’t need to switch to Chrome for Testing as default, do we?

For me, this is a workaround for now. Chrome dev team is trying to limit this capability --load-extension so we aren’t sure this workaround will work on further Chrome release or not. I tagged @Shin for the offical confirmation from KS team.

kazurayam · June 9, 2025, 8:13am

@duyluong

Please answer to @mateusz.mysliwiec who wrote in the original post:

gmarichal · June 11, 2025, 8:23pm

Hello there, I may not faced the same original issue as @kazurayam but in my case Katalon v10 was unable to execute test on Chrome browser because it was locating Chromedrive path from my Environmental Variables (pointing to an old Chromedriver installation) instead of downloading it.

To fix this I could update the ChromeDriver installation path on the Env. Variables, or I just could delete thar Variable and let Katalon to resolve this by itself.

At the end, I went for the second option, deleting the Env. variable and Katalon was able to automatically locate the other ChromeDriver instance. So now the test runs normally.

Well, that’s it.

Thanks!

kazurayam · June 11, 2025, 11:15pm

Which environmental variable do you mean?

Do you mean the PATH variable?

gmarichal · June 12, 2025, 2:07am

Yeah! inside Path Variable there was something like “C:/Drivers/Chromedriver”.

I delete it and then it worked for me.

Elly_Tran · June 19, 2025, 3:38am

Hi all,

We have recently released v10.2.2 that remove Chrome for Testing for recording and execution. Katalon Studio now reverts to using Chrome as usual.

And for other reference, v10.2.1 has fixed the issue: Katalon Studio’s Web Recorder failed to launch on Chrome version 137 due to changes in browser automation protocols, including the removal of the --load-extension flag.

Thank you

kazurayam · June 19, 2025, 6:46am

I checked

I noticed that Katalon hasn’t released the Free v10.2.2.

Are you going to add it later?
or is the Free version no longer available?

Shin · June 20, 2025, 4:32am

We released both the Enterprise and Free versions on the same day. The download link for the Free version has been changed; you can download it here: Katalon Studio Download | Katalon

Elly_Tran · June 20, 2025, 5:01am

You can also download 10.2.2 free via Git here: Release free-v10.2.2 · katalon-studio/katalon-studio · GitHub. Thank you!

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