Selenium Internet Explorer and Edge Support: What You Need to Know

Direct answer: Selenium stopped officially supporting standalone Internet Explorer in June 2022. If a legacy application needs Internet Explorer behavior, Selenium documents running Microsoft Edge in IE Compatibility Mode with InternetExplorerOptions and InternetExplorerDriver. For ordinary Chromium-based Edge automation, use EdgeDriver and keep its major version aligned with the Edge browser’s major version. These are different testing paths: a standard Edge session does not validate IE Mode behavior.

Choose the browser path that matches the behavior under test

Path	Use it for	Driver	Key constraint
Current Edge	Testing modern Edge and Chromium behavior	`EdgeDriver`	EdgeDriver’s major version must match Edge’s major version.
IE behavior through Edge	Testing a site configured to run in Edge IE Compatibility Mode	`InternetExplorerDriver`	IE Mode must be configured, and Selenium’s IE Driver setup applies.
Standalone Internet Explorer	Legacy use only; not a supported current Selenium target	Legacy IE Driver	Selenium ended official standalone IE support in June 2022.

Use IE Mode only if the application actually depends on IE-specific behavior. A passing test in ordinary Edge does not establish that the same application works in IE Mode, and vice versa.

Run Selenium against Edge in IE Mode

Selenium’s documented approach creates InternetExplorerOptions and passes those options to InternetExplorerDriver. The exact attachment and browser-path configuration can depend on the environment and IE Driver version, so use the current example for your language binding and environment. Selenium documents that IE Driver v4.5.0 and later can locate Edge automatically when IE is absent, as on default Windows 11 installations. If both IE and Edge are present, automatic Edge location is available when configured to attach to Edge.

Java example

import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.ie.InternetExplorerDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.ie.InternetExplorerOptions;

public class IeModeSmokeTest {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        InternetExplorerOptions options = new InternetExplorerOptions();
        // Configure IE Mode attachment or browser location here when your
        // environment requires it, following the current Selenium example.

        WebDriver driver = new InternetExplorerDriver(options);
        try {
            driver.get("https://example.com");
            System.out.println("Title: " + driver.getTitle());
        } finally {
            driver.quit();
        }
    }
}

Have the Selenium Java binding available in your project. Selenium Manager can manage drivers automatically in supported Selenium versions; for a controlled environment, install the IE Driver Server and configure PATH or an explicit Service as described by Selenium.

Python example

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.ie.options import Options

options = Options()
# Add the IE Mode attachment or browser-location configuration required
# by your environment, following Selenium's current Python example.

driver = webdriver.Ie(options=options)
try:
    driver.get("https://example.com")
    print("Title:", driver.title)
finally:
    driver.quit()

Install the Selenium Python package in the environment running the script. Driver availability and IE Mode configuration still depend on the Windows machine and Selenium version.

JavaScript example

const { Builder } = require('selenium-webdriver');
const ie = require('selenium-webdriver/ie');

(async function run() {
  const options = new ie.Options();
  // Add IE Mode attachment or browser-location configuration required
  // by your environment, following the current Selenium JS example.

  const driver = await new Builder()
    .forBrowser('internet explorer')
    .setIeOptions(options)
    .build();

  try {
    await driver.get('https://example.com');
    console.log('Title:', await driver.getTitle());
  } finally {
    await driver.quit();
  }
})();

Check the JavaScript binding’s current API for option names supported by the version you install. Do not assume that an option snippet for another language binding can be copied unchanged.

Install and manage the IE Driver Server

Use a supported Windows machine and configure the target site for IE Mode in Edge where required.
Install Selenium 4.6 or later if you want Selenium Manager’s automatic driver-management behavior. Selenium says its bindings use Selenium Manager by default.
For manual or controlled setup, download the standalone IE Driver Server, put it on PATH, or configure its location using the language binding’s Service mechanism.
Start a small smoke test with one known URL, print the page title, and always close the session with quit().

Selenium recommends the 32-bit IE Driver because the 64-bit driver has known limitations. The downloads page reviewed for this article listed Selenium 4.49.0 dated September 9, 2026, and IE Driver Server 4.14.0.0, with the 32-bit Windows IE download marked as recommended. Check Selenium’s current downloads page before pinning versions.

Run a standard Edge session

For normal Edge automation, use EdgeDriver rather than the IE Driver classes. Keep the browser and driver major versions matched. Selenium Manager can help acquire the appropriate driver; manual PATH or Service configuration is also available.

from selenium import webdriver

# Selenium Manager can locate/manage EdgeDriver in supported Selenium versions.
driver = webdriver.Edge()
try:
    driver.get("https://example.com")
    print("Title:", driver.title)
finally:
    driver.quit()

This is a modern Edge smoke test. It does not turn the session into an IE Mode session.

Platform and maintenance limits

Selenium’s IE Driver Server documentation says it has been tested with IE 11 on Windows 10. Older Internet Explorer and Windows combinations may work, but are unsupported.
Using IE Driver in a Windows service process is expressly unsupported.
Selenium recommends the 32-bit IE Driver due to known limitations in the 64-bit driver.
A Selenium project post from January 2022 historically said Microsoft planned IE Mode support until 2029 in connection with Windows 10 retirement. That is a dated Selenium statement, not current deployment assurance; verify lifecycle scope with Microsoft before relying on it.

For projects with a long maintenance horizon, treat IE Mode as a compatibility path that needs an owner and an exit plan. Keep tests narrowly focused on behavior that requires IE compatibility, while testing the rest of the application in standard Edge or other current browsers.

Common errors and fixes

Symptom	Likely cause	What to check
Standalone IE session fails to start	Standalone Internet Explorer is no longer a supported Selenium target.	Move the legacy test to Edge IE Mode with IE Driver classes, if the application needs IE behavior.
IE Driver executable cannot be found	The server executable is missing from PATH or its configured Service path is wrong.	Install IE Driver Server and verify PATH or the explicit Service configuration.
EdgeDriver reports a version mismatch	The EdgeDriver and Edge browser major versions differ.	Align their major versions or use Selenium Manager in a supported setup.
IE Mode test opens the wrong browser behavior	The test is using EdgeDriver or IE Mode attachment/configuration is incomplete.	Use `InternetExplorerOptions` with `InternetExplorerDriver`; verify the site and Edge IE Mode configuration.
Session fails on a 64-bit IE Driver setup	Selenium documents known limitations with the 64-bit IE Driver.	Use the recommended 32-bit IE Driver and retry on a supported Windows configuration.
Tests fail when run as a Windows service	Selenium documents IE Driver in a Windows service process as unsupported.	Run the test in a supported interactive process instead.
Automatic driver setup is unavailable	The Selenium binding may be older than 4.6, or the environment may restrict automatic management.	Upgrade where suitable, or install the driver manually and configure PATH or Service.

Performance, reliability, and cost considerations

IE Mode tests carry extra setup and maintenance work because they depend on Windows configuration, a compatible IE Driver setup, and the application’s compatibility configuration. Keep the suite small and targeted, avoid running IE Driver inside a Windows service, and make the browser and driver versions explicit in reproducible environments. Selenium’s documentation does not provide a general performance benchmark for these paths, so measure your own page load and test duration rather than assuming one driver is faster.

Selenium itself is open-source browser automation software; your execution cost comes from the machines and infrastructure you use. Selenium Manager can reduce manual driver handling, while pinned manual drivers can make controlled environments more predictable. Neither removes the need to validate the browser mode that matches the behavior you intend to test.

Or skip the browser setup

If you need a page image rather than an interactive Selenium session, ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server from Yorker Media. It does not replace Selenium for browser interaction or IE-specific functional tests, but it can return a screenshot or PDF with one GET request. Its cookie-banner handling accepts consent and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each step can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, failed loads, timeouts, and cache hits are not billed, and response headers report the page verdict and billing state.

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o shot.webp

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for setup and options. Python:

import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://example.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

Node.js:

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://example.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Screenshot request failed: ${res.status}`);
const bytes = new Uint8Array(await res.arrayBuffer());
await import('node:fs/promises').then(fs => fs.writeFile('shot.webp', bytes));

ScreenshotNeo also offers an MCP server so AI agents can take screenshots. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots. Sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month, with no card.

FAQ

Does Selenium support Internet Explorer?

Not as a standalone browser target since June 2022. Selenium’s IE Driver documentation continues to describe Edge in IE Compatibility Mode.

Can Selenium run IE Mode in Edge?

Yes. Selenium documents using InternetExplorerOptions and InternetExplorerDriver, with environment-specific setup.

Do I need IEDriverServer for Edge IE Mode?

The IE Driver Server is the driver component for that path. Selenium Manager may manage drivers in supported versions; manual PATH or Service configuration remains available.

Which IE Driver should I use?

Selenium recommends the 32-bit IE Driver because of known limitations in the 64-bit version.

Does EdgeDriver test IE Mode?

No. EdgeDriver is the standard Edge path. Selenium documents IE Mode with IE Driver classes.