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https://github.com/propensive/tarantula

Drive a web browser with the WebDriver protocol for Scala
https://github.com/propensive/tarantula

browser-automation dom scala webdriver

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Drive a web browser with the WebDriver protocol for Scala

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# Tarantula



__Drive a web browser using the WebDriver protocol__



_Tarantula_ makes it possible to interact with a web browser through a programmatic interface. It

provides an immutable API for controlling the web browser from Scala, through the WebDriver

protocol.



## Features



- simulate keypresses and mouse clicks in a web browser

- automatically launch Chrome or Firefox programmatically

- uses the standard WebDriver protocol

- intuitive, but typesafe syntax



## Availability



## Getting Started



### Browser Sessions



_Tarantula_ makes it possible to control a web browser programmatically from Scala. Currently [Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/new/) and [Chrome](https://www.google.com/chrome/) are supported.



All browser operations take place in a _session_, which may be started by calling the `session` method, specifying a port number, on

a `Browser` object; either `Chrome` or `Firefox`. For example:

```scala

Firefox.session(8120):

  // Browser actions are carried out in this scope

```



### Simple navigation



Within the session body, the `browser` object, may be accessed and used to control the newly-launched browser.



The `browser` object is an instance of `WebDriver#Session`, and includes several navigational methods:

- `navigateTo(url)` - to send the browser to a particular URL

- `refresh()` - to refresh the page

- `back()` - to go back to the previous page

- `forward()` - to go forward (assuming we have already gone back at least once)



The `title()` method will also return the page title, and `url()` the current URL, as `Text` instances.



### Acessing Elements



Within a particular page, it's possible to access an element with the `element` method, which takes, as a parameter, a

way of locating that element, of which several different types are valid:

- `Text`: finds an element by its link text

- `Selector`: type from [Cataclysm](https://github.com/propensive/cataclysm), which find a value by CSS selection

- `TagType`, `DomId`, `Cls`: types from [Honeycomb](https://github.com/propensive/honeycomb), which finds a value by an HTML tag, DOM ID or CSS class



For example, the link containing the text `"here"` could be selected with, `browser.element(t"here")` or the element which is an

instance of an `` HTML tag could be found with `browser.element(Img)`, where the `Img` value is defined in Honeycomb. In both

cases an `Element` instance will be returned, or an exception will be thrown if no matching element exists on the page.



HTML has a tree-based structure, so it's possible to select one element within another with repeated applications of the

`Element#element` method, for example,

```scala

val link = browser.element(Nav).element(id"menu").element(t"About")

```

would find the link containing the text `About` in the element with ID `menu` which is inside a `` HTML element.



### Accessing multiple elements



Often it's useful to find all elements on a page, which is served by the `/` method of `browser`, `Element` and as an

extension on `List[Element]`. Although the method is defined on three types, it always returns a `List[Element]`, and since

this is one of the types defining `/`, it is easy to progressively filter a selection of elements to a single one, with

repeated applications. The infix syntax is particularly intuitive. For example,

```scala

for elem <- browser / id"menu" / Li / cls"checkbox" do elem.click()

```

would simulate a click on every element with the `checkbox` CSS class inside an `
  • ` tag in the element with ID `menu`.
    


    ## Status
    


    Tarantula is classified as __fledgling__. For reference, Soundness projects are

    categorized into one of the following five stability levels:
    


    - _embryonic_: for experimental or demonstrative purposes only, without any guarantees of longevity

    - _fledgling_: of proven utility, seeking contributions, but liable to significant redesigns

    - _maturescent_: major design decisions broady settled, seeking probatory adoption and refinement

    - _dependable_: production-ready, subject to controlled ongoing maintenance and enhancement; tagged as version `1.0.0` or later

    - _adamantine_: proven, reliable and production-ready, with no further breaking changes ever anticipated
    


    Projects at any stability level, even _embryonic_ projects, can still be used,

    as long as caution is taken to avoid a mismatch between the project's stability

    level and the required stability and maintainability of your own project.
    


    Tarantula is designed to be _small_. Its entire source code currently consists

    of 183 lines of code.
    


    ## Building
    


    Tarantula will ultimately be built by Fury, when it is published. In the

    meantime, two possibilities are offered, however they are acknowledged to be

    fragile, inadequately tested, and unsuitable for anything more than

    experimentation. They are provided only for the necessity of providing _some_

    answer to the question, "how can I try Tarantula?".
    


    1. *Copy the sources into your own project*

       

       Read the `fury` file in the repository root to understand Tarantula's build

       structure, dependencies and source location; the file format should be short

       and quite intuitive. Copy the sources into a source directory in your own

       project, then repeat (recursively) for each of the dependencies.
    


       The sources are compiled against the latest nightly release of Scala 3.

       There should be no problem to compile the project together with all of its

       dependencies in a single compilation.
    


    2. *Build with [Wrath](https://github.com/propensive/wrath/)*
    


       Wrath is a bootstrapping script for building Tarantula and other projects in

       the absence of a fully-featured build tool. It is designed to read the `fury`

       file in the project directory, and produce a collection of JAR files which can

       be added to a classpath, by compiling the project and all of its dependencies,

       including the Scala compiler itself.

       

       Download the latest version of

       [`wrath`](https://github.com/propensive/wrath/releases/latest), make it

       executable, and add it to your path, for example by copying it to

       `/usr/local/bin/`.
    


       Clone this repository inside an empty directory, so that the build can

       safely make clones of repositories it depends on as _peers_ of `tarantula`.

       Run `wrath -F` in the repository root. This will download and compile the

       latest version of Scala, as well as all of Tarantula's dependencies.
    


       If the build was successful, the compiled JAR files can be found in the

       `.wrath/dist` directory.
    


    ## Contributing
    


    Contributors to Tarantula are welcome and encouraged. New contributors may like

    to look for issues marked

    [beginner](https://github.com/propensive/tarantula/labels/beginner).
    


    We suggest that all contributors read the [Contributing

    Guide](/contributing.md) to make the process of contributing to Tarantula

    easier.
    


    Please __do not__ contact project maintainers privately with questions unless

    there is a good reason to keep them private. While it can be tempting to

    repsond to such questions, private answers cannot be shared with a wider

    audience, and it can result in duplication of effort.
    


    ## Author
    


    Tarantula was designed and developed by Jon Pretty, and commercial support and

    training on all aspects of Scala 3 is available from [Propensive

    OÜ](https://propensive.com/).
    


    ## Name
    


    __Tarantulas__ are spiders, known for making webs, and Tarantula is a library for the WebDriver protocol.
    


    In general, Soundness project names are always chosen with some rationale,

    however it is usually frivolous. Each name is chosen for more for its

    _uniqueness_ and _intrigue_ than its concision or catchiness, and there is no

    bias towards names with positive or "nice" meanings—since many of the libraries

    perform some quite unpleasant tasks.
    


    Names should be English words, though many are obscure or archaic, and it

    should be noted how willingly English adopts foreign words. Names are generally

    of Greek or Latin origin, and have often arrived in English via a romance

    language.
    


    ## Logo
    


    The logo represents the eight legs of a tarantula.
    


    ## License
    


    Tarantula is copyright © 2025 Jon Pretty & Propensive OÜ, and

    is made available under the [Apache 2.0 License](/license.md).
    


    •