chromedriver version magic

[Zombiehamser]

I've spent over 12 hours trying to get this frustrating codebase to build a backend container from Windows 11, but I'm getting nowhere. This has become a real professional challenge for me, and honestly, I'm ready to throw in the towel. I've completely rewritten the code and physically removed every single reference to chromedriver, but this damn container still crashes during build with a browser and chromedriver version mismatch error. I'm absolutely baffled - I just can't figure out where it keeps getting this chromedriver version that's compatible with Chrome 138, when I'm manually feeding it the version for Chrome 134:

backend | Using ChromeDriver from project root: ./chromedriver backend | Failed to create Chrome driver: Message: session not created: cannot connect to chrome at 127.0.0.1:49847 backend | from session not created: This version of ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version 138 backend | Current browser version is 134.0.6998.88; For documentation on this error, please visit: https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/webdriver/troubleshooting/errors#sessionnotcreatedexception

[Fosowl]

are you sure the ./chromedriver you put at the root of the project is the correct version (you should use chromedriver version 134 and I see it use version 138 ) ? I am confused why you put it in the first place since the docker automatically download and build with the appropriate chromedriver/chrome version. I can make it work with no problem on windows.
One other possibility is you simply didn't do a full rebuild of the docker / that the file is cached by docker. Have you tried remove any containers and docker images related to AgenticSeek and do a full rebuiild ?

[Zombiehamser]

agenticSeek is some kind of concentrated madness. I decided to take about a month’s break so I could come back with a clear head and try again to make this project work. I brought in ChatGPT and DeepSeek to help me. We found and replaced an unsupported package with libayatana-appindicator3-1, and had some more fun fixing small stuff.

And in the end, with the help of two LLMs and God’s grace, all the containers were finally built — and of course, the backend immediately started failing again, for the exact same reason. No matter what I did, ChromeDriver was always installed with support for Chrome 139. I must have downloaded it a hundred times from this link:
https://storage.googleapis.com/chrome-for-testing-public/134.0.6998.88/linux64/chromedriver-linux64.zip

I even tried feeding it the .exe version. Nothing helps. From the project root it gets deleted every time and a new one is added. In Docker Desktop I wipe everything — images, volumes, containers. Then rebuild everything with:

docker build --progress=plain -f Dockerfile.backend -t agenticseek-backend .

After wasting another two nights on fruitless attempts, I’ve finally given up, losing all faith in this horrible code and in projects that try to replace commercial products.

I’m left with only one question: why wasn’t it possible to just provide prebuilt Docker containers from the start? All these builds with package compatibility issues and the rest — are they only there just to sneak a config.ini into the build?

[Zombiehamser]

So, and when I'm trying setup again:

1. git clone https://github.com/Fosowl/agenticSeek.git
2. cd agenticSeek
3. mv .env.example .env
4. correct .env
5. start start_services.cmd full
   Starting full deployment... Secret key generated successfully time="2025-08-25T01:42:48+03:00" level=warning msg="The \"BACKEND_PORT\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string." time="2025-08-25T01:42:48+03:00" level=warning msg="The \"GOOGLE_API_KEY\" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string." time="2025-08-25T01:42:48+03:00" level=warning msg="C:\\Users\\cascade\\Documents\\python_projects\\agenticSeek\\docker-compose.yml: the attribute version` is obsolete, it will be ignored, please remove it to avoid potential confusion"
   Add conversation history system. #1 [internal] load local bake definitions
   Add conversation history system. #1 reading from stdin 592B 0.0s done
   Add conversation history system. #1 DONE 0.0s

#2 [internal] load build definition from Dockerfile.backend
#2 transferring dockerfile: 2.59kB done
#2 WARN: FromPlatformFlagConstDisallowed: FROM --platform flag should not use constant value "linux/amd64" (line 2)
#2 DONE 0.0s

#3 [internal] load metadata for docker.io/library/python:3.11-slim
#3 DONE 0.7s

#4 [internal] load .dockerignore
#4 transferring context: 242B done
#4 DONE 0.0s

#5 [internal] load build context
#5 transferring context: 2.80kB 0.0s done
#5 DONE 0.0s

#6 [ 1/19] FROM docker.io/library/python:3.11-slim@sha256:1d6131b5d479888b43200645e03a78443c7157efbdb730e6b48129740727c312
#6 resolve docker.io/library/python:3.11-slim@sha256:1d6131b5d479888b43200645e03a78443c7157efbdb730e6b48129740727c312 0.1s done
#6 CACHED

#7 [ 2/19] RUN apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y wget gnupg2 ca-certificates unzip xvfb libxss1 libappindicator1 fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 xdg-utils dbus && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
#7 0.494 Hit:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie InRelease
#7 0.551 Get:2 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates InRelease [47.1 kB]
#7 0.611 Get:3 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security InRelease [43.4 kB]
#7 1.059 Get:4 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie/main amd64 Packages [9668 kB]
#7 1.506 Get:5 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates/main amd64 Packages [2432 B]
#7 1.557 Get:6 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security/main amd64 Packages [29.9 kB]
#7 2.207 Fetched 9790 kB in 2s (5114 kB/s)
#7 2.207 Reading package lists...
#7 2.723 Reading package lists...
#7 3.177 Building dependency tree...
#7 3.317 Reading state information...
#7 3.342 E: Unable to locate package libappindicator1
#7 ERROR: process "/bin/sh -c apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y wget gnupg2 ca-certificates unzip xvfb libxss1 libappindicator1 fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 xdg-utils dbus && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*" did not complete successfully: exit code: 100

[ 2/19] RUN apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y wget gnupg2 ca-certificates unzip xvfb libxss1 libappindicator1 fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 xdg-utils dbus && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*:
0.494 Hit:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie InRelease
0.551 Get:2 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates InRelease [47.1 kB]
0.611 Get:3 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security InRelease [43.4 kB]
1.059 Get:4 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie/main amd64 Packages [9668 kB]
1.506 Get:5 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates/main amd64 Packages [2432 B]
1.557 Get:6 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security/main amd64 Packages [29.9 kB]

3.342 E: Unable to locate package libappindicator1

Dockerfile.backend:6

---

5 | # Install essential packages and Chrome dependencies

6 | >>> RUN apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y \

7 | >>> wget \

8 | >>> gnupg2 \

9 | >>> ca-certificates \

10 | >>> unzip \

11 | >>> xvfb \

12 | >>> libxss1 \

13 | >>> libappindicator1 \

14 | >>> fonts-liberation \

15 | >>> libnss3 \

16 | >>> libatk1.0-0 \

17 | >>> libatk-bridge2.0-0 \

18 | >>> libcups2 \

19 | >>> libdrm2 \

20 | >>> libxcomposite1 \

21 | >>> libxdamage1 \

22 | >>> libxrandr2 \

23 | >>> xdg-utils \

24 | >>> dbus \

25 | >>> && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

26 |

---

failed to solve: process "/bin/sh -c apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y wget gnupg2 ca-certificates unzip xvfb libxss1 libappindicator1 fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 xdg-utils dbus && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*" did not complete successfully: exit code: 100

View build details: docker-desktop://dashboard/build/desktop-linux/desktop-linux/d5w5rwrfouiftz3h7hdva0fcr

time="2025-08-25T01:42:58+03:00" level=warning msg="The "BACKEND_PORT" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."
time="2025-08-25T01:42:58+03:00" level=warning msg="The "GOOGLE_API_KEY" variable is not set. Defaulting to a blank string."
time="2025-08-25T01:42:58+03:00" level=warning msg="C:\Users\cascade\Documents\python_projects\agenticSeek\docker-compose.yml: the attribute version is obsolete, it will be ignored, please remove it to avoid potential confusion"
[+] Running 6/6
✔ searxng Pulled 9.6s
✔ 7fd6c8f59fd5 Pull complete 0.4s
✔ d69c60700f03 Pull complete 3.1s
✔ bac4e2e73903 Pull complete 7.1s
✔ 2c383649777f Pull complete 6.8s
✔ 88768cd19ff5 Pull complete 0.3s
#1 [internal] load local bake definitions
#1 reading from stdin 1.12kB 0.0s done
#1 DONE 0.0s

#2 [backend internal] load build definition from Dockerfile.backend
#2 transferring dockerfile: 2.59kB done
#2 WARN: FromPlatformFlagConstDisallowed: FROM --platform flag should not use constant value "linux/amd64" (line 2)
#2 DONE 0.0s

#3 [frontend internal] load build definition from Dockerfile.frontend
#3 transferring dockerfile: 329B done
#3 DONE 0.0s

#4 [frontend internal] load metadata for docker.io/library/node:18
#4 ...

#5 [backend internal] load metadata for docker.io/library/python:3.11-slim
#5 DONE 0.3s

#6 [backend internal] load .dockerignore
#6 transferring context: 242B done
#6 DONE 0.0s

#7 [backend internal] load build context
#7 transferring context: 2.80kB done
#7 DONE 0.0s

#8 [backend 1/19] FROM docker.io/library/python:3.11-slim@sha256:1d6131b5d479888b43200645e03a78443c7157efbdb730e6b48129740727c312
#8 resolve docker.io/library/python:3.11-slim@sha256:1d6131b5d479888b43200645e03a78443c7157efbdb730e6b48129740727c312 0.0s done
#8 CACHED

#9 [backend 2/19] RUN apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y wget gnupg2 ca-certificates unzip xvfb libxss1 libappindicator1 fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 xdg-utils dbus && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
#9 ...

#4 [frontend internal] load metadata for docker.io/library/node:18
#4 DONE 0.8s

#10 [frontend internal] load .dockerignore
#10 transferring context: 2B done
#10 DONE 0.0s

#11 [frontend internal] load build context
#11 transferring context: 1.49kB done
#11 DONE 0.0s

#12 [frontend 1/5] FROM docker.io/library/node:18@sha256:c6ae79e38498325db67193d391e6ec1d224d96c693a8a4d943498556716d3783
#12 resolve docker.io/library/node:18@sha256:c6ae79e38498325db67193d391e6ec1d224d96c693a8a4d943498556716d3783 0.0s done
#12 DONE 0.1s

#13 [frontend 3/5] COPY agentic-seek-front/package.json agentic-seek-front/package-lock.json ./
#13 CACHED

#14 [frontend 4/5] RUN npm install
#14 CACHED

#15 [frontend 2/5] WORKDIR /app
#15 CACHED

#16 [frontend 5/5] COPY agentic-seek-front/ .
#16 CACHED

#17 [frontend] exporting to image
#17 exporting layers
#17 exporting layers done
#17 exporting manifest sha256:9b3f52259a33c79f3c01c6c93a1f6611563c65a8ddb73cb345727b174e6356cf done
#17 exporting config sha256:39b57b1de001bc87f3d4966b7686f7fa3d6a68fd65e863e9e04afa8fc84df72f done
#17 exporting attestation manifest sha256:56aee0d14b671bffa3c09ec64f002faecbec7b77b3d08a613388983e96b45a2b 0.1s done
#17 exporting manifest list sha256:37d5884bd42e232d1e5752934ad8cbae51089e96c195753006e909a0762aa123
#17 exporting manifest list sha256:37d5884bd42e232d1e5752934ad8cbae51089e96c195753006e909a0762aa123 0.0s done
#17 naming to docker.io/library/agenticseek-frontend:latest done
#17 unpacking to docker.io/library/agenticseek-frontend:latest
#17 ...

#9 [backend 2/19] RUN apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y wget gnupg2 ca-certificates unzip xvfb libxss1 libappindicator1 fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 xdg-utils dbus && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
#9 0.377 Hit:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie InRelease
#9 0.443 Get:2 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates InRelease [47.1 kB]
#9 0.517 Get:3 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security InRelease [43.4 kB]
#9 0.967 Get:4 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie/main amd64 Packages [9668 kB]
#9 1.365 Get:5 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates/main amd64 Packages [2432 B]
#9 1.414 Get:6 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security/main amd64 Packages [29.9 kB]
#9 2.162 Fetched 9790 kB in 2s (5201 kB/s)
#9 2.162 Reading package lists...
#9 2.757 Reading package lists...
#9 3.480 Building dependency tree...
#9 3.653 Reading state information...
#9 3.686 E: Unable to locate package libappindicator1
#9 ERROR: process "/bin/sh -c apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y wget gnupg2 ca-certificates unzip xvfb libxss1 libappindicator1 fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 xdg-utils dbus && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*" did not complete successfully: exit code: 100

#17 [frontend] exporting to image
#17 unpacking to docker.io/library/agenticseek-frontend:latest 3.9s done
#17 CANCELED

[backend 2/19] RUN apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y wget gnupg2 ca-certificates unzip xvfb libxss1 libappindicator1 fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 xdg-utils dbus && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*:
0.517 Get:3 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security InRelease [43.4 kB]
0.967 Get:4 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie/main amd64 Packages [9668 kB]
1.365 Get:5 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates/main amd64 Packages [2432 B]
1.414 Get:6 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security/main amd64 Packages [29.9 kB]
2.162 Fetched 9790 kB in 2s (5201 kB/s)
2.162 Reading package lists...
2.757 Reading package lists...
3.480 Building dependency tree...
3.653 Reading state information...
3.686 E: Unable to locate package libappindicator1

---

Dockerfile.backend:6

---

5 | # Install essential packages and Chrome dependencies

6 | >>> RUN apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y \

7 | >>> wget \

8 | >>> gnupg2 \

9 | >>> ca-certificates \

10 | >>> unzip \

11 | >>> xvfb \

12 | >>> libxss1 \

13 | >>> libappindicator1 \

14 | >>> fonts-liberation \

15 | >>> libnss3 \

16 | >>> libatk1.0-0 \

17 | >>> libatk-bridge2.0-0 \

18 | >>> libcups2 \

19 | >>> libdrm2 \

20 | >>> libxcomposite1 \

21 | >>> libxdamage1 \

22 | >>> libxrandr2 \

23 | >>> xdg-utils \

24 | >>> dbus \

25 | >>> && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

26 |

---

target backend: failed to solve: process "/bin/sh -c apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y wget gnupg2 ca-certificates unzip xvfb libxss1 libappindicator1 fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxrandr2 xdg-utils dbus && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*" did not complete successfully: exit code: 100

View build details: docker-desktop://dashboard/build/desktop-linux/desktop-linux/lv6yl4uy9e0tne0p0b7nwr137`

So first of all - we are getting an error because the package libappindicator1 is not available in the Debian repository (trixie) that the Python 3.11 slim image is using. Somebody else really dont have problems!? Damn, its another one stupid lap...

[Jog-Ming]

Seems like there are two issues present. The first issue is that the version of chromedriver, which is 138, doesn't match the version of chrome, which is actually older at 134. Although I don't know the cause of this issue, I knew that a workaround would be to change the line
ENV CHROME_TESTING_VERSION=134.0.6998.88
to
ENV CHROME_TESTING_VERSION=142.0.7444.59
in Dockerfile.backend, where 142.0.7444.59 should be replaced with the latest version number. Then delete the image agenticseek-backend from docker, and rebuild.
The second issue is that apt failed to find the package libappindicator1. This was fixed in commit edc0e69, so update your local repo to the latest version and build again.