## [<img src="https://seleniumbase.io/img/logo6.png" title="SeleniumBase" width="32">](https://github.com/seleniumbase/SeleniumBase/) How SeleniumBase Works 👁️
👁️🔎 At the core, SeleniumBase works by extending [pytest](https://docs.pytest.org/en/latest/) as a direct plugin. SeleniumBase automatically spins up web browsers for tests (using [Selenium WebDriver](https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/webdriver/)), and then gives those tests access to the SeleniumBase libraries through the [BaseCase class](https://github.com/seleniumbase/SeleniumBase/blob/master/seleniumbase/fixtures/base_case.py). Tests are also given access to [SeleniumBase command-line arguments](https://github.com/seleniumbase/SeleniumBase/blob/master/help_docs/customizing_test_runs.md) and [SeleniumBase methods](https://github.com/seleniumbase/SeleniumBase/blob/master/help_docs/method_summary.md), which provide additional functionality.
👁️🔎 ``pytest`` uses a feature called test discovery to automatically find and run Python methods that start with ``test_`` when those methods are located in Python files that start with ``test_`` or end with ``_test.py``.
<p>SeleniumBase methods automatically wait for page elements to finish loading before interacting with them (<i>up to a timeout limit</i>). This means <b>you no longer need random <span><code>time.sleep()</code></span> statements</b> in your scripts.</p>
<imgsrc="https://img.shields.io/badge/Flaky%20Tests%3F-%20NO%21-11BBDD.svg"alt="NO MORE FLAKY TESTS!"/>
**There are three layers of protection that provide reliability for tests using SeleniumBase:**
* **(1)**: Selenium's default ``pageLoadStrategy`` is ``normal``: This strategy causes Selenium to wait for the full page to load, with HTML content and sub-resources downloaded and parsed.
* **(2)**: SeleniumBase includes methods such as ``wait_for_ready_state_complete()`` and ``wait_for_angularjs()``, which run inside other SeleniumBase methods to ensure that it's safe to proceed with the next command.
* **(3)**: SeleniumBase methods automatically wait for elements to be visible and interactable before interacting with those elements.
**If you want to speed up your tests and you think the third level of protection is enough by itself, you can use command-line options to remove the first, the second, or both of those first two levels of protection:**
* ``--pls=none`` --> Set ``pageLoadStrategy`` to ``"none"``: This strategy causes Selenium to return immediately after the initial HTML content is fully received by the browser.
* ``--sjw`` --> Skip JS Waits, which include ``wait_for_ready_state_complete()`` and ``wait_for_angularjs()``.
(NOTE: Those command-line options were added in SeleniumBase ``4.2.0``. Using both could lead to a 15% increase in test speed, but it could also lead to flaky tests, so use with caution.)