Test Websites on Microsoft Edge 79 and macOS Catalina
Learn what Edge 79 and macOS Catalina compatibility can—and cannot—be confirmed, then build a reliable browser test with a real Mac, automation, and clear test records.
Short answer: macOS Catalina is macOS 10.15, above Microsoft’s general macOS 10.12 minimum listed in its current troubleshooting guidance. That does not prove that a particular Microsoft Edge 79 build ran correctly on Catalina. The available sources do not provide a hands-on test or build-specific compatibility matrix for this combination.
To answer the question for your site, run it in the exact Edge 79 build and Catalina point release you need to support, on the relevant Mac hardware. Record the browser build, OS version, processor architecture, and whether the run used a real browser or an emulator. Use device emulation for viewport and user-agent checks, but not as a substitute for testing browser-engine behavior.
1. What “Edge 79 on Catalina” means
Edge 79 was an early release of Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge. In its November 4, 2019 announcement, Microsoft described Beta 79 as the final Beta before general availability and said it expected Stable on January 15. That was a planned release date in a 2019 announcement, not evidence of a specific Catalina compatibility result. Microsoft’s Edge 79 announcement.
Microsoft’s current troubleshooting page says Edge is available on macOS 10.12 Sierra or higher. Catalina is 10.15, so it is above that broad minimum. The statement is general and current; it does not establish that a specific historical Edge 79 build installs, launches, or behaves correctly on Catalina. Microsoft’s macOS requirement guidance.
Keep three questions separate:
- Can this build run? Verify by launching the exact build on the exact OS and Mac architecture.
- Does my site work in it? Exercise the flows and browser features that matter to your users.
- Is it currently supported and receiving updates? Historical compatibility and current support are different questions. Microsoft’s current OS support page describes newer Edge and macOS support ranges; it does not establish a Catalina/Edge 79 result. Microsoft Edge supported operating systems.
2. Prepare a reproducible test
- Identify the target build. Record the full version number and channel, such as Beta or Stable. “Edge 79” alone may not identify the exact build you need.
- Record the Mac environment. Write down the Catalina point release, Mac model, and processor architecture. Do not assume results from one architecture or point release apply to another.
- Obtain the intended browser build through an authorized source. The supplied research does not establish an official current Edge 79 installer or a verified legacy download path. Do not treat a current Edge download as a way to reproduce Edge 79.
- Check the environment before testing. Confirm the browser launches, note any installation or startup issue, and capture the version shown by the browser. If the required build cannot be obtained or started, report that as an environment limitation rather than a site failure.
- Use representative site states. Include the main landing page, a page with important interactive controls, a long or image-heavy page, and any critical authenticated flow you can test safely.
- Run the same steps in a current browser as a control. This helps distinguish a site-wide problem from a possible legacy-browser issue; it does not prove the root cause.
For each run, preserve the URL, date, browser channel and full build, Catalina point release, Mac model and architecture, real-browser or emulator status, manual or automated method, expected result, actual result, and a screenshot or relevant console/network evidence.
3. Test manually in the real browser
- Open the target site in the exact Edge 79 installation on the Catalina Mac.
- Test the key user journeys from a clean browser profile where practical: navigation, forms, sign-in, menus, dialogs, downloads, and any browser APIs your application depends on.
- Resize the window and test the page at the viewport sizes your product supports. Check for clipped content, unexpected wrapping, horizontal scrolling, and controls that become inaccessible.
- Open DevTools and inspect console errors, failed network requests, and layout or rendering problems. Microsoft’s developer overview describes DevTools for inspecting styles, debugging JavaScript, inspecting network traffic, and checking compatibility and performance. Microsoft Edge web development overview.
- Repeat important flows after refreshing and, where relevant, after clearing site data. A failure that disappears after a clean profile may involve stored state, extensions, or cached resources.
A screenshot documents appearance at a point in time; it does not establish that controls work, requests succeed, or browser APIs behave correctly. Pair visual evidence with interaction checks and browser diagnostics.
4. Automate a smoke test with WebDriver
WebDriver can automate browser interaction, but an automation setup must match the browser and driver versions. Microsoft’s 2019 Edge testing guidance says to select the matching MSEdgeDriver for the operating system. Do not assume a current driver or current automation package is compatible with Edge 79. Verify version compatibility before relying on results. Historical Edge testing guidance.
The following Python example is a minimal Selenium smoke test for an already-installed Edge and a compatible driver. It checks that a page title contains an expected phrase and saves a screenshot. Install Selenium in your test environment and make a compatible Edge WebDriver executable available to Selenium. The snippet deliberately does not claim that a current Selenium release or driver supports Edge 79; pin versions only after confirming compatibility for your target environment.
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.edge.options import Options
from selenium.webdriver.edge.service import Service
URL = "https://example.com/"
EXPECTED_TITLE_TEXT = "Example Domain"
options = Options()
# Keep the browser visible while diagnosing failures.
# For a headless run, enable headless only if the target build supports it.
service = Service() # Uses an available msedgedriver on PATH.
driver = webdriver.Edge(service=service, options=options)
try:
driver.set_page_load_timeout(45)
driver.get(URL)
title = driver.title
assert EXPECTED_TITLE_TEXT in title, f"Unexpected page title: {title!r}"
driver.save_screenshot("edge79-catalina.png")
print({"url": driver.current_url, "title": title})
finally:
driver.quit()For a useful automated check, replace the example URL and title assertion with a stable test page and meaningful outcome, such as a visible heading or successful navigation. Avoid relying on timing alone: wait for a specific condition in your actual test suite, and capture browser logs or a screenshot when an assertion fails. A smoke test cannot cover all rendering, accessibility, security, or API differences.
5. Use emulation for layout checks, with limits
Edge DevTools device emulation can approximate different screen sizes and resolutions and can override the user-agent string. That is useful for quick responsive-layout checks. Microsoft explicitly cautions that browser emulators do not reproduce differences in web API or CSS support between browsers and recommends real browsers on real devices for confidence in browser-specific behavior. Microsoft Edge DevTools emulation guidance.
- Good emulation use: checking responsive breakpoints, viewport-dependent layout, and code paths that inspect the user-agent string.
- Not enough for: claiming Edge 79 feature support, validating Catalina-specific behavior, or ruling out browser-engine differences.
- Report it accurately: label an emulated run as emulation and list the host browser and settings. Do not label it “tested on Edge 79 for macOS” unless that browser actually ran.
Current Microsoft materials list DevTools Protocol, Playwright, Puppeteer, WebDriver, and webhint among Edge development and automation tools. Those current recommendations are not a guarantee that a current tool version works with historical Edge 79; check version compatibility for the exact setup. Microsoft’s developer tooling overview.
6. What to test and how to report results
| Area | Checks | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Rendering | Typography, spacing, images, fixed and sticky elements, overflow, responsive breakpoints | Screenshots at named viewport sizes |
| Interaction | Navigation, forms, menus, keyboard operation, dialogs, validation, downloads | Steps, expected and actual outcomes, console messages |
| Network | Document, script, stylesheet, font, and API requests; redirects and failures | Failed request URL and status, where available |
| Browser capabilities | Only APIs and CSS features your application actually uses | Reproduction and feature-specific diagnostics |
| Environment | Browser version/channel, Catalina point release, Mac model and architecture | Test header or CI artifact metadata |
A concise result can read: “Tested manually in Microsoft Edge [full build and channel] on macOS Catalina [point release], [Mac model/architecture], real browser. Checked [flows and viewports]. Result: [pass/fail and reproducible detail].” If emulation was used, name the host browser and mark the result as an emulated layout check.
7. Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely interpretation | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Edge 79 cannot be found or downloaded | The supplied research does not identify a verified legacy installer or download URL. | Use an authorized archived release source available to your organization. Record the source and build. Do not substitute a current build and call it Edge 79. |
| Browser will not install or launch | Possible OS, architecture, installer, or environment issue; this alone says nothing about the site. | Record the exact error and environment. Verify the build and driver against the target OS and architecture. The general macOS minimum does not guarantee this historical build. |
| WebDriver session fails to start | Browser and driver may not match, or the driver may not support the target build. | Confirm the full browser and driver versions and OS-specific driver. Consult version-matched documentation; do not infer Edge 79 support from current automation docs. |
| Automation times out loading a page | The page may still be loading, an external dependency may be slow or blocked, or the navigation timeout may be too short. | Check the page manually, inspect network failures, set a realistic page-load timeout, and wait for the specific page condition your test needs. |
| Emulator looks correct but the real browser fails | Emulation does not reproduce all browser-engine or OS behavior. | Reproduce on the actual Edge 79/Catalina environment and gather console and network evidence. |
| Screenshot differs between runs | Content, viewport, fonts, animation, or loading state may vary. | Fix the viewport and test state, wait for the relevant content, and note dynamic content. A screenshot alone does not identify the cause. |
| A feature works in a newer browser but not the target | Could be a browser feature difference, a site bug, or a test setup difference. | Reduce the case, identify the specific API or CSS behavior, compare real-browser results, and avoid attributing the issue to Edge without evidence. |
8. Performance, reliability, and cost
For a small manual investigation, begin with the critical user journeys and the failures that would block release. For repeatable regression coverage, automate a compact smoke suite and run it against the precise environment; expand coverage only where the risk warrants it. Browser startup and page-load time vary with the machine, site, network, cache, and test setup, so use measurements from your own runs rather than assuming a universal benchmark.
Reliability depends on preserving the environment and evidence: pin or record browser and driver versions, keep test data predictable, identify dynamic content, and rerun failures to separate intermittent network or setup problems from reproducible defects. Historical browser availability is a practical constraint; the sources here do not establish a current Edge 79 Catalina installer, support status, or security status.
There is no defensible universal cost estimate for maintaining an old Mac/browser test environment from the available information. Count the time to locate and preserve the required browser build, maintain compatible automation, and rerun tests. If you need confidence in a real historical browser/OS combination, confirm that any remote testing environment explicitly provides that exact combination before relying on it.
Or skip the browser setup
For a quick visual capture of a public page, ScreenshotNeo returns a screenshot or PDF from one API request. It does not run Edge 79 on Catalina, so it cannot verify that exact browser/OS combination or replace the real-browser checks above. Its screenshot API can help document a page without installing a browser locally. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation.
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o shot.webpimport requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://example.com"},
timeout=90,
)
r.raise_for_status()
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)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}`);
await Bun.write('shot.webp', res);- Cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot.
- Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, and failed loads are never billed; responses identify the page verdict and billing status.
- An MCP server lets AI agents use screenshot, page-info, and PDF-capture tools.
- 1,000 screenshots a month are free with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000.
Sign up for ScreenshotNeo and get 1,000 free screenshots a month, with no card required.
FAQ
Does macOS 10.12 minimum support confirm Edge 79 works on Catalina?
No. It is a broad OS minimum in current troubleshooting guidance, not a verified result for a particular Edge 79 build.
Can device emulation prove my site works in Edge 79?
No. It helps inspect viewport behavior and user-agent paths; it does not reproduce all browser-engine differences.
Can ScreenshotNeo test Edge 79 on Catalina?
No. It captures a webpage through its screenshot API and does not claim to execute that historical browser and OS combination.
What should a bug report include?
The exact browser build and channel, Catalina point release, Mac model and architecture, real versus emulated execution, reproduction steps, expected and actual results, and supporting evidence.
