Disable all downloads with ChromeDriver and Selenium

Question

When accessing some static files such as hudoig.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016-FW-1007.pdf (random example) with Selenium using ChromeDriver, the file is automatically d

Answer 1

Preferences for ChromeDriver are an experimental options.

You could set download preferences explicitly and have PDF documents opened directly in the Chrome browser.

For example:

from selenium import webdriver

options = webdriver.ChromeOptions()

prefs = {
    "download.open_pdf_in_system_reader": False,
    "download.prompt_for_download": True,
    "plugins.always_open_pdf_externally": False
}
options.add_experimental_option(
    "prefs", prefs
)
driver = webdriver.Chrome(
    options=options
)
driver.get(
"https://www.hudoig.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016-FW-1007.pdf"
)
driver.close()

Or you could set the download location to write the document to a virtual device file as /dev/null effectively discarding it.

For example:

prefs = {
    "download.open_pdf_in_system_reader": False,
    "download.prompt_for_download": True,
    "download.default_directory": "/dev/null",
    "plugins.always_open_pdf_externally": False
}
options.add_experimental_option(
    "prefs", prefs
)

You could set download restrictions to block all downloads.

prefs = {
    "download_restrictions": 3,
}
options.add_experimental_option(
    "prefs", prefs
)

Answer 2

Another approach that you could take would be disabling the browser's ability to download. Namely, configure the DownloadRestrictions policy, discussed here.