SeleniumHQ/selenium · error · ValueError

The path is not a valid file: {path}

Error message

The path is not a valid file: {path}

What it means

`DriverFinder._binary_paths` checks that an explicit `service.path` (a driver path the user supplied to the Service class) points to an existing regular file via `Path(path).is_file()`. If it is not a file, it raises `ValueError`, which the surrounding try/except wraps into `NoSuchDriverException` ("Unable to obtain driver for {browser}"). So this message is the inner cause; the user-visible exception is NoSuchDriverException.

Source

Thrown at py/selenium/webdriver/common/driver_finder.py:64

    def get_browser_path(self) -> str:
        return self._binary_paths()["browser_path"]

    def get_driver_path(self) -> str:
        return self._binary_paths()["driver_path"]

    def _binary_paths(self) -> dict:
        if self._paths["driver_path"]:
            return self._paths

        browser = self._options.capabilities["browserName"]
        try:
            path = self._service.path
            if path:
                logger.debug(
                    "Skipping Selenium Manager; path to %s driver specified in Service class: %s", browser, path
                )
                if not Path(path).is_file():
                    raise ValueError(f"The path is not a valid file: {path}")
                self._paths["driver_path"] = path
            else:
                output = SeleniumManager().binary_paths(self._to_args())
                if Path(output["driver_path"]).is_file():
                    self._paths["driver_path"] = output["driver_path"]
                else:
                    raise ValueError(f"The driver path is not a valid file: {output['driver_path']}")
                if Path(output["browser_path"]).is_file():
                    self._paths["browser_path"] = output["browser_path"]
                else:
                    raise ValueError(f"The browser path is not a valid file: {output['browser_path']}")
        except Exception as err:
            msg = f"Unable to obtain driver for {browser}"
            raise NoSuchDriverException(msg) from err
        return self._paths

    def _to_args(self) -> list:
        args = ["--browser", self._options.capabilities["browserName"]]

View on GitHub (pinned to aa36b38e69)

Solutions

1. Verify the path: `pathlib.Path(p).is_file()` before constructing Service.
2. Omit `executable_path` and let Selenium Manager download the driver automatically.
3. Use an absolute path resolved from the install location.
4. Inspect the chained `NoSuchDriverException.__cause__` for the exact inner ValueError.

Example fix

// before
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
svc = Service(executable_path="/usr/local/chromedriver")  # not a file
// after
svc = Service()  # let Selenium Manager resolve it

from pathlib import Path
p = "/usr/local/chromedriver"
assert Path(p).is_file(), f"driver path is not a file: {p}"
svc = Service(executable_path=p)

from pathlib import Path
def is_valid_driver_file(path) -> bool:
    return Path(path).is_file()

from selenium.common.exceptions import NoSuchDriverException
try:
    driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=Service(executable_path=p))
except NoSuchDriverException as e:
    print("cause:", e.__cause__)
    driver = webdriver.Chrome()  # fall back to Selenium Manager

When it happens

Trigger: `Service(executable_path="/wrong/chromedriver")`, `Service("/usr/bin")` (a directory), `Service("chromedriver")` that does not resolve to a file, or a path on a broken mount.

Common situations: Hardcoded driver path that is stale after an upgrade. Path correct on dev machine but missing in CI/Docker. Symlink to a driver that no longer exists. Permissions making `is_file()` return False.

Related errors

• The driver path is not a valid file: {output['driver_path']}
• The browser path is not a valid file: {output['browser_path'
• Unable to obtain driver for {browser}
• Path to the extension doesn't exist
• Storage state file not found: {file_path}

AI-assisted analysis of SeleniumHQ/selenium@aa36b38e69 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d4c23f524c36125e. Report an issue: GitHub.