Category: Software testing

First released in 2004, Selenium is a powerful open-source framework used for automating interactions with web browsers. It allows developers and quality assurance engineers to simulate user actions, perform automated testing, and streamline repetitive web-based tasks, ultimately improving software quality and development efficiency.

According to industry reports, UI tests, which Selenium primarily automates, are notoriously slow and flaky. Knowing when not to use Selenium is crucial for preventing unreliable tests, reducing maintenance overhead, and choosing the right tool for the job.

Since the official release of Selenium 4 in 2021, which adopted the W3C WebDriver standard, the framework has seen significant evolution. This critical update forces testers and developers to evaluate which is the best version of Selenium for their current and future web automation projects.

Over a decade after its creation, the Cucumber framework is still frequently misunderstood and misused, leading to frustration and inefficiency among development teams. This article clarifies the common scenarios in which you should not use Cucumber, exploring the underlying reasons and proposing more suitable alternatives for specific testing needs.