How to Handle Alerts in Selenium and Playwright

Introduction

JavaScript dialogs are browser-native popups that pause page execution. There are three types:

Simple Alert — shows a message with only an OK button
Confirm Dialog — shows OK and Cancel buttons
Prompt Dialog — shows a text input with OK and Cancel

Selenium uses switchTo().alert() to interact with them. Playwright uses event-based dialog listeners.

Key Methods Summary

Action	Selenium (Java)	Playwright (JS)	Playwright (Python)
Switch to alert	`driver.switchTo().alert()`	`page.on("dialog", ...)`	`page.on("dialog", ...)`
Accept (OK)	`alert.accept()`	`dialog.accept()`	`dialog.accept()`
Dismiss (Cancel)	`alert.dismiss()`	`dialog.dismiss()`	`dialog.dismiss()`
Read message	`alert.getText()`	`dialog.message`	`dialog.message`
Type in prompt	`alert.sendKeys("text")`	`dialog.accept("text")`	`dialog.accept("text")`

1. Simple Alert — accept it

Selenium (Java)

driver.findElement(By.id("simpleAlertBtn")).click();
 
Alert alert = driver.switchTo().alert();
System.out.println(alert.getText());
alert.accept();

Playwright (JS)

page.once("dialog", async (dialog) => {
  console.log(dialog.message());
  await dialog.accept();
});
await page.locator("#simpleAlertBtn").click();

Playwright (Python)

page.once("dialog", lambda dialog: dialog.accept())
page.locator("#simpleAlertBtn").click()

2. Confirm Dialog — accept and dismiss

Selenium (Java)

// Accept
driver.findElement(By.id("confirmAlertBtn")).click();
driver.switchTo().alert().accept();
 
// Dismiss
driver.findElement(By.id("confirmAlertBtn")).click();
driver.switchTo().alert().dismiss();

Playwright (JS)

// Accept
page.once("dialog", (dialog) => dialog.accept());
await page.locator("#confirmAlertBtn").click();
 
// Dismiss
page.once("dialog", (dialog) => dialog.dismiss());
await page.locator("#confirmAlertBtn").click();

Playwright (Python)

# Accept
page.once("dialog", lambda d: d.accept())
page.locator("#confirmAlertBtn").click()
 
# Dismiss
page.once("dialog", lambda d: d.dismiss())
page.locator("#confirmAlertBtn").click()

3. Prompt Dialog — type text and accept

Selenium (Java)

driver.findElement(By.id("promptAlertBtn")).click();
Alert prompt = driver.switchTo().alert();
System.out.println(prompt.getText());
prompt.sendKeys("QA Playground");
prompt.accept();

Playwright (JS)

page.once("dialog", async (dialog) => {
  console.log(dialog.defaultValue());
  await dialog.accept("QA Playground");
});
await page.locator("#promptAlertBtn").click();

Playwright (Python)

page.once("dialog", lambda d: d.accept("QA Playground"))
page.locator("#promptAlertBtn").click()

4. Verify result after alert interaction

Selenium (Java)

driver.findElement(By.id("confirmAlertBtn")).click();
driver.switchTo().alert().accept();
 
WebElement result = driver.findElement(By.id("alertResult"));
assertTrue(result.isDisplayed());
assertEquals("You clicked OK!", result.getText());

Playwright (JS)

page.once("dialog", (d) => d.accept());
await page.locator("#confirmAlertBtn").click();
await expect(page.locator("#alertResult")).toHaveText("You clicked OK!");

Playwright (Python)

page.once("dialog", lambda d: d.accept())
page.locator("#confirmAlertBtn").click()
expect(page.locator("#alertResult")).to_have_text("You clicked OK!")

5. Wait for alert to appear

Selenium (Java)

WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(5));
Alert alert = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.alertIsPresent());
alert.accept();

Playwright (JS)

// Playwright auto-waits — register handler before triggering
page.once("dialog", (d) => d.dismiss());
await page.locator("#triggerBtn").click();

Playwright (Python)

# Register before triggering
page.once("dialog", lambda d: d.dismiss())
page.locator("#triggerBtn").click()

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