Actions API

A low-level interface for providing virtualized device input actions to the web browser.

In addition to the high-level element interactions, the Actions API provides granular control over exactly what designated input devices can do. Selenium provides an interface for 3 kinds of input sources: a key input for keyboard devices, a pointer input for a mouse, pen or touch devices, and wheel inputs for scroll wheel devices (introduced in Selenium 4.2). Selenium allows you to construct individual action commands assigned to specific inputs and chain them together and call the associated perform method to execute them all at once.

Action Builder

In the move from the legacy JSON Wire Protocol to the new W3C WebDriver Protocol, the low level building blocks of actions became especially detailed. It is extremely powerful, but each input device has a number of ways to use it and if you need to manage more than one device, you are responsible for ensuring proper synchronization between them.

Thankfully, you likely do not need to learn how to use the low level commands directly, since almost everything you might want to do has been given a convenience method that combines the lower level commands for you. These are all documented in keyboard, mouse, pen, and wheel pages.

Pause

Pointer movements and Wheel scrolling allow the user to set a duration for the action, but sometimes you just need to wait a beat between actions for things to work correctly.

        WebElement clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"));
        new Actions(driver)
                .moveToElement(clickable)
                .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
                .clickAndHold()
                .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
                .sendKeys("abc")
                .perform();
Show full example
package dev.selenium.actions_api;

import dev.selenium.BaseChromeTest;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.Keys;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.interactions.Actions;
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver;

import java.time.Duration;

public class ActionsTest extends BaseChromeTest {
    @Test
    public void pause() {
        driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html");

        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();

        WebElement clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"));
        new Actions(driver)
                .moveToElement(clickable)
                .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
                .clickAndHold()
                .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
                .sendKeys("abc")
                .perform();

        long duration = System.currentTimeMillis() - start;
        Assertions.assertTrue(duration > 2000);
        Assertions.assertTrue(duration < 3000);
    }

    @Test
    public void releasesAll() {
        driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html");

        WebElement clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"));
        Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
        actions.clickAndHold(clickable)
                .keyDown(Keys.SHIFT)
                .sendKeys("a")
                .perform();

        ((RemoteWebDriver) driver).resetInputState();

        actions.sendKeys("a").perform();
        Assertions.assertEquals("A", String.valueOf(clickable.getAttribute("value").charAt(0)));
        Assertions.assertEquals("a", String.valueOf(clickable.getAttribute("value").charAt(1)));
    }
}
View full example on GitHub
    clickable = driver.find_element(By.ID, "clickable")
    ActionChains(driver)\
        .move_to_element(clickable)\
        .pause(1)\
        .click_and_hold()\
        .pause(1)\
        .send_keys("abc")\
        .perform()
Show full example
from time import time

from selenium.webdriver import Keys, ActionChains
from selenium.webdriver.common.actions.action_builder import ActionBuilder
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By


def test_pauses(driver):
    driver.get('https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html')

    start = time()

    clickable = driver.find_element(By.ID, "clickable")
    ActionChains(driver)\
        .move_to_element(clickable)\
        .pause(1)\
        .click_and_hold()\
        .pause(1)\
        .send_keys("abc")\
        .perform()

    duration = time() - start
    assert duration > 2
    assert duration < 3


def test_releases_all(driver):
    driver.get('https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html')

    clickable = driver.find_element(By.ID, "clickable")
    ActionChains(driver)\
        .click_and_hold(clickable)\
        .key_down(Keys.SHIFT)\
        .key_down("a")\
        .perform()

    ActionBuilder(driver).clear_actions()

    ActionChains(driver).key_down('a').perform()

    assert clickable.get_attribute('value')[0] == "A"
    assert clickable.get_attribute('value')[1] == "a"
View full example on GitHub

Selenium v4.2

            IWebElement clickable = driver.FindElement(By.Id("clickable"));
            new Actions(driver)
                .MoveToElement(clickable)
                .Pause(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1))
                .ClickAndHold()
                .Pause(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1))
                .SendKeys("abc")
                .Perform();
Show full example
using System;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using OpenQA.Selenium;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Interactions;

namespace SeleniumDocs.ActionsAPI
{
    [TestClass]
    public class ActionsTest : BaseChromeTest
    {
        [TestMethod]
        public void Pause()
        {
            driver.Url = "https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html";

            DateTime start = DateTime.Now;

            IWebElement clickable = driver.FindElement(By.Id("clickable"));
            new Actions(driver)
                .MoveToElement(clickable)
                .Pause(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1))
                .ClickAndHold()
                .Pause(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1))
                .SendKeys("abc")
                .Perform();

            TimeSpan duration = DateTime.Now - start;
            Assert.IsTrue(duration > TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2));
            Assert.IsTrue(duration < TimeSpan.FromSeconds(3));
        }

        [TestMethod]
        public void ReleaseAll()
        {
            driver.Url = "https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html";
            
            IWebElement clickable = driver.FindElement(By.Id("clickable"));
            var actions = new Actions(driver);
            actions.ClickAndHold(clickable)
                .KeyDown(Keys.Shift)
                .SendKeys("a")
                .Perform();

            ((WebDriver)driver).ResetInputState();

            actions.SendKeys("a").Perform();
            var value = clickable.GetAttribute("value");
            Assert.AreEqual("A", value[..1]);
            Assert.AreEqual("a", value.Substring(1, 1));
        }
    }
}
View full example on GitHub

Selenium v4.2

    clickable = driver.find_element(id: 'clickable')
    driver.action
          .move_to(clickable)
          .pause(duration: 1)
          .click_and_hold
          .pause(duration: 1)
          .send_keys('abc')
          .perform
Show full example
# frozen_string_literal: true

require 'spec_helper'

RSpec.describe 'Actions' do
  let(:driver) { start_session }

  it 'pauses' do
    driver.get 'https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html'
    start = Time.now

    clickable = driver.find_element(id: 'clickable')
    driver.action
          .move_to(clickable)
          .pause(duration: 1)
          .click_and_hold
          .pause(duration: 1)
          .send_keys('abc')
          .perform

    duration = Time.now - start
    expect(duration).to be > 2
    expect(duration).to be < 3
  end

  it 'releases all' do
    driver.get 'https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html'

    clickable = driver.find_element(id: 'clickable')
    action = driver.action
                   .click_and_hold(clickable)
                   .key_down(:shift)
                   .key_down('a')
    action.perform

    driver.action.release_actions

    action.key_down('a').perform
    expect(clickable.attribute('value')[0]).to eq 'A'
    expect(clickable.attribute('value')[-1]).to eq 'a'
  end
end
View full example on GitHub
    const clickable = await driver.findElement(By.id('clickable'))
    await driver.actions()
      .move({ origin: clickable })
      .pause(1000)
      .press()
      .pause(1000)
      .sendKeys('abc')
      .perform()
Show full example
const { By, Key, Browser, Builder} = require('selenium-webdriver')
const assert = require('assert')

describe('Actions API - Pause and Release All Actions', function() {
  let driver

  before(async function() {
    driver = await new Builder().forBrowser('chrome').build();
  })

  after(async () => await driver.quit())

  it('Pause', async function() {
    await driver.get('https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html')

    const start = Date.now()

    const clickable = await driver.findElement(By.id('clickable'))
    await driver.actions()
      .move({ origin: clickable })
      .pause(1000)
      .press()
      .pause(1000)
      .sendKeys('abc')
      .perform()

    const end = Date.now() - start
    assert.ok(end > 2000)
    assert.ok(end < 4000)
  })

  it('Clear', async function() {
    await driver.get('https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html')

    const clickable = driver.findElement(By.id('clickable'))
    await driver.actions()
      .click(clickable)
      .keyDown(Key.SHIFT)
      .sendKeys('a')
      .perform()

    await driver.actions().clear()
    await driver.actions().sendKeys('a').perform()

    const value = await clickable.getAttribute('value')
    assert.deepStrictEqual('A', value.substring(0, 1))
    assert.deepStrictEqual('a', value.substring(1, 2))
  })
})
View full example on GitHub
        val clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"))
        Actions(driver)
            .moveToElement(clickable)
            .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
            .clickAndHold()
            .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
            .sendKeys("abc")
            .perform()
Show full example
package dev.selenium.actions_api

import dev.selenium.BaseTest
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test
import org.openqa.selenium.By
import org.openqa.selenium.Keys
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement
import org.openqa.selenium.interactions.Actions
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver

import java.time.Duration

class ActionsTest : BaseTest() {

    @Test
    fun pause() {
        driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html")

        val start = System.currentTimeMillis()

        val clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"))
        Actions(driver)
            .moveToElement(clickable)
            .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
            .clickAndHold()
            .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
            .sendKeys("abc")
            .perform() 

        val duration = System.currentTimeMillis() - start
        Assertions.assertTrue(duration > 2000)
        Assertions.assertTrue(duration < 4000)
    }

    @Test
    fun releasesAll() {
        driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html")

        val clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"))
        val actions = Actions(driver)
        actions.clickAndHold(clickable)
                .keyDown(Keys.SHIFT)
                .sendKeys("a")
                .perform()

        (driver as RemoteWebDriver).resetInputState()

        actions.sendKeys("a").perform()
        Assertions.assertEquals("A", clickable.getAttribute("value")!!.get(0).toString())
        Assertions.assertEquals("a", clickable.getAttribute("value")!!.get(1).toString())
    }
}
View full example on GitHub

Release All Actions

An important thing to note is that the driver remembers the state of all the input items throughout a session. Even if you create a new instance of an actions class, the depressed keys and the location of the pointer will be in whatever state a previously performed action left them.

There is a special method to release all currently depressed keys and pointer buttons. This method is implemented differently in each of the languages because it does not get executed with the perform method.

        ((RemoteWebDriver) driver).resetInputState();
Show full example
package dev.selenium.actions_api;

import dev.selenium.BaseChromeTest;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.Keys;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.interactions.Actions;
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver;

import java.time.Duration;

public class ActionsTest extends BaseChromeTest {
    @Test
    public void pause() {
        driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html");

        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();

        WebElement clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"));
        new Actions(driver)
                .moveToElement(clickable)
                .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
                .clickAndHold()
                .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
                .sendKeys("abc")
                .perform();

        long duration = System.currentTimeMillis() - start;
        Assertions.assertTrue(duration > 2000);
        Assertions.assertTrue(duration < 3000);
    }

    @Test
    public void releasesAll() {
        driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html");

        WebElement clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"));
        Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
        actions.clickAndHold(clickable)
                .keyDown(Keys.SHIFT)
                .sendKeys("a")
                .perform();

        ((RemoteWebDriver) driver).resetInputState();

        actions.sendKeys("a").perform();
        Assertions.assertEquals("A", String.valueOf(clickable.getAttribute("value").charAt(0)));
        Assertions.assertEquals("a", String.valueOf(clickable.getAttribute("value").charAt(1)));
    }
}
View full example on GitHub
    ActionBuilder(driver).clear_actions()
Show full example
from time import time

from selenium.webdriver import Keys, ActionChains
from selenium.webdriver.common.actions.action_builder import ActionBuilder
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By


def test_pauses(driver):
    driver.get('https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html')

    start = time()

    clickable = driver.find_element(By.ID, "clickable")
    ActionChains(driver)\
        .move_to_element(clickable)\
        .pause(1)\
        .click_and_hold()\
        .pause(1)\
        .send_keys("abc")\
        .perform()

    duration = time() - start
    assert duration > 2
    assert duration < 3


def test_releases_all(driver):
    driver.get('https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html')

    clickable = driver.find_element(By.ID, "clickable")
    ActionChains(driver)\
        .click_and_hold(clickable)\
        .key_down(Keys.SHIFT)\
        .key_down("a")\
        .perform()

    ActionBuilder(driver).clear_actions()

    ActionChains(driver).key_down('a').perform()

    assert clickable.get_attribute('value')[0] == "A"
    assert clickable.get_attribute('value')[1] == "a"
View full example on GitHub
            ((WebDriver)driver).ResetInputState();
Show full example
using System;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using OpenQA.Selenium;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Interactions;

namespace SeleniumDocs.ActionsAPI
{
    [TestClass]
    public class ActionsTest : BaseChromeTest
    {
        [TestMethod]
        public void Pause()
        {
            driver.Url = "https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html";

            DateTime start = DateTime.Now;

            IWebElement clickable = driver.FindElement(By.Id("clickable"));
            new Actions(driver)
                .MoveToElement(clickable)
                .Pause(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1))
                .ClickAndHold()
                .Pause(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1))
                .SendKeys("abc")
                .Perform();

            TimeSpan duration = DateTime.Now - start;
            Assert.IsTrue(duration > TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2));
            Assert.IsTrue(duration < TimeSpan.FromSeconds(3));
        }

        [TestMethod]
        public void ReleaseAll()
        {
            driver.Url = "https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html";
            
            IWebElement clickable = driver.FindElement(By.Id("clickable"));
            var actions = new Actions(driver);
            actions.ClickAndHold(clickable)
                .KeyDown(Keys.Shift)
                .SendKeys("a")
                .Perform();

            ((WebDriver)driver).ResetInputState();

            actions.SendKeys("a").Perform();
            var value = clickable.GetAttribute("value");
            Assert.AreEqual("A", value[..1]);
            Assert.AreEqual("a", value.Substring(1, 1));
        }
    }
}
View full example on GitHub
    driver.action.release_actions
Show full example
# frozen_string_literal: true

require 'spec_helper'

RSpec.describe 'Actions' do
  let(:driver) { start_session }

  it 'pauses' do
    driver.get 'https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html'
    start = Time.now

    clickable = driver.find_element(id: 'clickable')
    driver.action
          .move_to(clickable)
          .pause(duration: 1)
          .click_and_hold
          .pause(duration: 1)
          .send_keys('abc')
          .perform

    duration = Time.now - start
    expect(duration).to be > 2
    expect(duration).to be < 3
  end

  it 'releases all' do
    driver.get 'https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html'

    clickable = driver.find_element(id: 'clickable')
    action = driver.action
                   .click_and_hold(clickable)
                   .key_down(:shift)
                   .key_down('a')
    action.perform

    driver.action.release_actions

    action.key_down('a').perform
    expect(clickable.attribute('value')[0]).to eq 'A'
    expect(clickable.attribute('value')[-1]).to eq 'a'
  end
end
View full example on GitHub
    await driver.actions().clear()
Show full example
const { By, Key, Browser, Builder} = require('selenium-webdriver')
const assert = require('assert')

describe('Actions API - Pause and Release All Actions', function() {
  let driver

  before(async function() {
    driver = await new Builder().forBrowser('chrome').build();
  })

  after(async () => await driver.quit())

  it('Pause', async function() {
    await driver.get('https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html')

    const start = Date.now()

    const clickable = await driver.findElement(By.id('clickable'))
    await driver.actions()
      .move({ origin: clickable })
      .pause(1000)
      .press()
      .pause(1000)
      .sendKeys('abc')
      .perform()

    const end = Date.now() - start
    assert.ok(end > 2000)
    assert.ok(end < 4000)
  })

  it('Clear', async function() {
    await driver.get('https://selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html')

    const clickable = driver.findElement(By.id('clickable'))
    await driver.actions()
      .click(clickable)
      .keyDown(Key.SHIFT)
      .sendKeys('a')
      .perform()

    await driver.actions().clear()
    await driver.actions().sendKeys('a').perform()

    const value = await clickable.getAttribute('value')
    assert.deepStrictEqual('A', value.substring(0, 1))
    assert.deepStrictEqual('a', value.substring(1, 2))
  })
})
View full example on GitHub
        (driver as RemoteWebDriver).resetInputState()
Show full example
package dev.selenium.actions_api

import dev.selenium.BaseTest
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test
import org.openqa.selenium.By
import org.openqa.selenium.Keys
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement
import org.openqa.selenium.interactions.Actions
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver

import java.time.Duration

class ActionsTest : BaseTest() {

    @Test
    fun pause() {
        driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html")

        val start = System.currentTimeMillis()

        val clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"))
        Actions(driver)
            .moveToElement(clickable)
            .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
            .clickAndHold()
            .pause(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
            .sendKeys("abc")
            .perform() 

        val duration = System.currentTimeMillis() - start
        Assertions.assertTrue(duration > 2000)
        Assertions.assertTrue(duration < 4000)
    }

    @Test
    fun releasesAll() {
        driver.get("https://www.selenium.dev/selenium/web/mouse_interaction.html")

        val clickable = driver.findElement(By.id("clickable"))
        val actions = Actions(driver)
        actions.clickAndHold(clickable)
                .keyDown(Keys.SHIFT)
                .sendKeys("a")
                .perform()

        (driver as RemoteWebDriver).resetInputState()

        actions.sendKeys("a").perform()
        Assertions.assertEquals("A", clickable.getAttribute("value")!!.get(0).toString())
        Assertions.assertEquals("a", clickable.getAttribute("value")!!.get(1).toString())
    }
}
View full example on GitHub
Keyboard actions

A representation of any key input device for interacting with a web page.

Mouse actions

A representation of any pointer device for interacting with a web page.

Pen actions

A representation of a pen stylus kind of pointer input for interacting with a web page.

Scroll wheel actions

A representation of a scroll wheel input device for interacting with a web page.

Last modified August 4, 2024: refactor[js]: update code samples to use mocha and update docs (4e38f3fbcd)