java - Why is my IE browser getting launched twice with Selenium and Cucumber?

Question

I am writing very basic automation test with Selenium-Cucumber that is launching an IE browser and closing it at the end.

The problem is that the browser gets launched twice.

The test does not have much it other than few System.out statements. I am kind of new to both selenium-based automation testing and Cucumber and not able to understand why is it getting launched twice.

Please guide.

BrowserConfig.java

public class BrowserConfig {

    private static final String IE_DRIVER_EXE = "drivers/IEDriverServer.exe";
    private static final String WEBDRIVER_IE_DRIVER = "webdriver.ie.driver";
    private static final String BASE_URL = "https://www.google.com";

    public static WebDriver getIEWebDriver() {
        String filePath = ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader().getResource(IE_DRIVER_EXE).getFile();
        System.setProperty(WEBDRIVER_IE_DRIVER, filePath);
        InternetExplorerOptions options = new InternetExplorerOptions().requireWindowFocus();
        options.setCapability(INTRODUCE_FLAKINESS_BY_IGNORING_SECURITY_DOMAINS, true);
        options.setCapability(ENABLE_ELEMENT_CACHE_CLEANUP, true);
        options.setCapability(IE_ENSURE_CLEAN_SESSION, true);
        options.setCapability(ACCEPT_SSL_CERTS, true);
        options.setCapability("nativeEvents", false);
        options.setCapability(INITIAL_BROWSER_URL, BASE_URL);
        WebDriver driver = new InternetExplorerDriver(options);
        driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
        return driver;
    }

    public static void releaseResources(WebDriver driver) {
        if (null != driver) {
            driver.close();
            driver.quit();
        }
    }

}

TestRunner.java

@RunWith(Cucumber.class)
@CucumberOptions(
        plugin = {"pretty", "json:target/cucumber-reports/cucumber.json"},
        features = {"src/test/resources/features"})
public class TestRunner extends ApplicationTests {

}

LoginStep.java

@Ignore
public class LoginStep {

    WebDriver driver;

    @Before
    public void setup() {
        if (this.driver == null) {
            this.driver = BrowserConfig.getIEWebDriver();
        }
    }

    @After
    public void cleanUp() {
        BrowserConfig.releaseResources(driver);
    }

    @Given("^The user is on the Login page$")
    public void doLogin() {
        System.out.println("The user is on the Login page");
    }

    @When("^The user enters the correct credentials on the Login page$")
    public void setWelcomePage() {
        System.out.println("The user enter the correct credentials on the Login page");
    }

    @Then("^The user is displayed Welcome page$")
    public void validate() {
        System.out.println("The user is displayed Welcome page");
    }

}

HelpStep.java

@Ignore
public class HelpStep {

    WebDriver driver;

    @Before
    public void setup() {
        if (this.driver == null) {
            this.driver = BrowserConfig.getIEWebDriver();
        }
    }

    @After
    public void cleanUp() {
        BrowserConfig.releaseResources(driver);
    }

    @When("^The user clicks on the Help menu link from the Welcome page$")
    public void setWelcomePage() {
        System.out.println("The user clicks on the Help menu link from the Welcome page");
    }

    @Then("^The user is displayed Help page$")
    public void validate() {
        System.out.println("The user is displayed Help page");
    }

}

help.feature

Feature: Check that the user is able to navigate to Help page

  Background:
    Given The user is on the Login page
    When The user enters the correct credentials on the Login page
    Then The user is displayed Welcome page

  Scenario:
    When The user clicks on the Help menu link from the Welcome page
    Then The user is displayed Help page

pom.xml

<parent>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
        <version>2.1.4.RELEASE</version>
        <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
    </parent>
    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>cucumber-demo</artifactId>
    <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <name>cucumber-demo</name>
    <description>Demo project for Spring Boot</description>

    <properties>
        <java.version>1.8</java.version>
        <cucumber.version>4.2.3</cucumber.version>
    </properties>

    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.seleniumhq.selenium</groupId>
            <artifactId>selenium-java</artifactId>
            <version>3.141.59</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>io.cucumber</groupId>
            <artifactId>cucumber-java</artifactId>
            <version>${cucumber.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>io.cucumber</groupId>
            <artifactId>cucumber-junit</artifactId>
            <version>${cucumber.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>io.cucumber</groupId>
            <artifactId>cucumber-spring</artifactId>
            <version>${cucumber.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
                <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>2.19.1</version>
                <configuration>
                    <testFailureIgnore>true</testFailureIgnore>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>net.masterthought</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-cucumber-reporting</artifactId>
                <version>3.14.0</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>execution</id>
                        <phase>verify</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>generate</goal>
                        </goals>
                        <configuration>
                            <projectName>${project.artifactId}</projectName>
                            <outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/cucumber-reports</outputDirectory>
                            <cucumberOutput>${project.build.directory}/cucumber-reports/cucumber.json</cucumberOutput>
                        </configuration>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

Answer 1

Because you are initializing and call your driver twice in feature files.

Background part of your feature file are initializing browser firstly in LoginStep.java then your Scenario is also initialize browser in HelpStep.java.

I prefer using global Hooks.java class for @Before and @After hooks and inject driver between different .java classes.