grafana/k6 · error

selecting text: %w

Error message

selecting text: %w

What it means

Wrapped failure from ElementHandle.SelectText (k6 browser API elementHandle.selectText()). The inner error comes from running the injected-script selectText in the page plus the action wrapper's actionability retry loop: the element is not a text-editable node, is hidden or detached, or the action exceeded its timeout. The wrapper adds the 'selecting text:' prefix so the failing step is identifiable in the script log.

Source

Thrown at internal/js/modules/k6/browser/common/element_handle.go:1446

	if err := convert(selectedOptions, &returnVal); err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unpacking selected options: %w", err)
	}

	applySlowMo(h.ctx)

	return returnVal, nil
}

// SelectText selects the text of the element.
func (h *ElementHandle) SelectText(opts *ElementHandleBaseOptions) error {
	selectText := func(apiCtx context.Context, handle *ElementHandle) (any, error) {
		return nil, handle.selectText(apiCtx)
	}
	selectTextAction := h.newAction(
		[]string{}, selectText, opts.Force, withRetry, opts.NoWaitAfter, opts.Timeout,
	)
	if _, err := call(h.ctx, selectTextAction, opts.Timeout); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("selecting text: %w", err)
	}

	applySlowMo(h.ctx)

	return nil
}

// SetInputFiles sets the given files into the input file element.
func (h *ElementHandle) SetInputFiles(files *Files, opts *ElementHandleSetInputFilesOptions) error {
	setInputFiles := func(apiCtx context.Context, handle *ElementHandle) (any, error) {
		return nil, handle.setInputFiles(apiCtx, files)
	}
	setInputFilesAction := h.newAction([]string{}, setInputFiles, opts.Force, withRetry, opts.NoWaitAfter, opts.Timeout)
	if _, err := call(h.ctx, setInputFilesAction, opts.Timeout); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("setting input files: %w", err)
	}

	return nil

View on GitHub (pinned to 93accf6570)

Solutions

1. Re-acquire the element with page.waitForSelector(sel, { state: 'visible' }) immediately before selectText
2. Increase the timeout: el.selectText({ timeout: '60s' })
3. Verify the target is an input/textarea/contenteditable element, not a div or span
4. If the element is intentionally not actionable yet, wait for it: el.waitForElementState('visible')

Example fix

// before
const el = page.$('#notes');
el.selectText(); // fails: element hidden or not editable

// after
const el = page.waitForSelector('#notes', { state: 'visible' });
if (el && el.isVisible()) {
  el.selectText({ timeout: '30s' });
}

const el = page.waitForSelector('#notes', { state: 'visible' });
if (!el || !el.isVisible()) {
  throw new Error('#notes is not visible; cannot select text');
}

try {
  el.selectText({ timeout: '30s' });
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e).includes('selecting text')) {
    // re-query once: handles can go stale after re-renders
    page.waitForSelector('#notes', { state: 'visible' }).selectText();
  } else {
    throw e;
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling handle.selectText() on an element that is not an <input>, <textarea> or [contenteditable] node (injected script returns error:notfillableelement); calling it on a display:none or detached element; the withRetry action loop hitting the timeout (default 30s, or opts.Timeout) while the element never becomes actionable.

Common situations: SPA frameworks (React/Vue) re-rendering and invalidating the handle between query and selectText; textareas hidden behind accordions/tabs opened later; slow CI machines where the default timeout is too short.

Related errors

• filling element: %w
• setting input files: %w
• waiting for element state %q: %w
• element is not attached to the DOM
• finding clickable point: %w

AI-assisted analysis of grafana/k6@93accf6570 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4dca02ba57109097. Report an issue: GitHub.