Why is katalon smart wait extension not working on latest chrome?

Product Forums Katalon Studio
,
1

I just got a small pop up window when chrome opens saying that the KATALON SMART WAIT EXTENSION no longer works in this version of chrome. ALL my cases failing.

Any solutions for this? what is going on?

1 Like
2

Why It’s Happening

  • Chrome Manifest V3 Migration: Chrome’s recent updates enforce Manifest V3 extensions, deprecating older extensions (Manifest V2) like Smart Wait. Google now blocks Manifest V2 extensions from running.
  • Extension Compatibility: Katalon’s Smart Wait hasn’t been updated for Manifest V3, causing incompatibility with Chrome 124+.
  • Impact: Tests relying on Smart Wait will fail with errors like Extension not supported or timeouts since waits aren’t applied.

Solutions to Fix Tests

1. Use Built-in Katalon Wait Commands
Replace Smart Wait with Katalon’s native waiting keywords:

WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('your_element'), 30)  
WebUI.waitForElementClickable(findTestObject('your_element'), 30)

2. Enable Katalon’s Auto-Wait

  • In your test case’s Execution Profile:
    • Set Default wait for element timeout (e.g., 30 seconds).
    • Check “Auto-wait for element to be visible/clickable” in Project Settings → Execution → Default.

3. Manual Waiting with WebDriver
Inject explicit waits via WebDriverWait:

import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait  
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions  
import com.kms.katalon.core.webui.driver.DriverFactory  

WebDriver driver = DriverFactory.getWebDriver()  
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 30)  
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(Your_By_Selector))

4. Downgrade Chrome (Temporary Fix)

  • Install Chrome 122 or earlier:
  • Disable auto-updates:
# Windows (admin command prompt)  
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Google\Update" /v AutoUpdateCheckPeriodMinutes /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

5. Switch Browsers
Use Firefox or Edge (Chromium) for testing until Katalon updates Smart Wait.

6. Update Katalon Studio
Upgrade to Katalon 9.10+ (some versions include Smart Wait patches):

  • Go to Help → Check for Updates.
  • Install the latest version if available.

7. Disable Smart Wait
If none work, turn off Smart Wait in Project Settings → Execution → Default → Uncheck “Use Smart Wait”.

  • Workaround Recommended: Use explicit waits and update Katalon to versions with enhanced native wait handling (9.10+).

Temporary Workarounds

  1. Portable Chrome: Use ungoogled-chromium-portable with Manifest V2 support.
  2. Selenium IDE: Export Katalon scripts to Selenium IDE (supports Manifest V3).
  3. TestCloud: Run tests via Katalon TestCloud (removes dependency on local Chrome).
4

Hi @mauri.figueroa.86,

Welcome to our community. Can you share Katalon version and Chrome version? As v10.0.0 has started to enable testing with Smart Wait without installing an extension. Thank you

5

Hello Elly,

I am using Katalon 8.6.9 and Chrome 135.0.7049.85.

Is katalon planning on make version 8 work without iunstalling an extension?

6

Hi @mauri.figueroa.86,

We will not do such with v8. If you want to do so, please upgrade to the latest version. Sorry for any inconvenience. Thank you

7

I installed Katalon Studio 8.6.9 and the latest version of Chrome+Chrome Driver. I ran the Sample project “healthcare”. Then yes, I could see the popup.

image
image2398×1758 361 KB

However, this popup just warned that the ‘Katalon Smart Wait Utility’ was turned off. The test case scripts ran fine because these don’t rely on the “Smart Wait” utility.

Are you sure that your test cases failed due to the Smart Wait being unfunctional?

I doubt it. I guess, your test cases failed due to some other reasons.