Selenium Google Search Automation

A simple script to automate web interactions using Selenium. This script demonstrates opening a Firefox browser, navigating to Google, and performing a search query.

Features

• Opens Firefox browser.
• Navigates to Google.
• Searches for "Hello, Google!".
• Displays search results.

Requirements

• Python 3.x
• Selenium

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/SagarBiswas-MultiHAT/selenium-google-search-automation.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd selenium-google-search-automation

3. Install Selenium:

   python -m venv .venv
   .\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
   
   pip install selenium

Usage

1. Run the script:

   python script.py

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Future Improvements (Recommended & Ethical)

✅ CAPTCHA-Safe & Legal Approach

Google Custom Search JSON API (Official)

Link: https://console.cloud.google.com/

Why this matters

• Zero CAPTCHA
• No IP bans
• Fully legal
• Interview-safe
• Production-grade

🔹 Free Tier

• 100 searches/day — FREE
• Credit card required for activation

🔹 Pros

• Official Google API
• Stable & predictable
• Ideal for portfolios and demos
• No browser automation required

🔹 Cons

• Requires API key + Custom Search Engine (CSE)
• Paid after free quota (~$5 per 1,000 searches)

🏆 Verdict

Best option for:

• Clean engineering
• Legal compliance
• Long-term reliability
• Professional projects

What you’ll get at the end

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How to escape the roboot checker?

You will have two things (both required):

• API Key (from Google Cloud)
• Search Engine ID (CX) (from Google Custom Search)

Only when you have both does the API work.

STEP 1 — Create a Google Cloud project

1. Open: https://console.cloud.google.com/

2. Log in with your Google account

3. At the top bar → click Select a project

4. Click NEW PROJECT

5. Set:

   • Project name: anything (e.g. custom-search-api)

6. Click Create

That project will own your API key.

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STEP 2 — Enable “Custom Search API”

1. Inside your project, go to: APIs & Services → Library
2. Search for Custom Search API
3. Click Custom Search API
4. Click Enable

API is now active for your project.

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STEP 3 — Create the API Key

1. Go to APIs & Services → Credentials
2. Click Create Credentials
3. Choose API key
4. Copy the key and save it somewhere safe

Example format:

AIzaSyDxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Don’t share this publicly.

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STEP 4 — Create a Custom Search Engine (CSE)

This is where many people get confused — follow exactly.

1. Open: https://programmablesearchengine.google.com/

2. Click Add

3. Fill the form:

   • Sites to search: Put www.google.com (temporary — we’ll change it)
   • Name: anything (e.g. my-search-engine)

4. Click Create

Now your search engine exists.

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STEP 5 — Allow searching the entire web

By default, CSE only searches selected sites — we must change this.

1. On the CSE page → click Edit
2. Go to Basics
3. Find Search the entire web
4. Turn it ON
5. Save changes

Now it behaves like Google Search.

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STEP 6 — Get the Search Engine ID (CX)

1. In CSE settings → Basics
2. Copy Search engine ID

Example:

a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i

This is your CX value.

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STEP 7 — Confirm your free quota

Google gives:

• 100 searches per day — FREE
• Paid after that (optional)

Check quota here: Google Cloud Console → APIs & Services → Quotas

What you should now have

Item	Example
API Key	AIzaSy...
Search Engine ID (CX)	a1b2c3...

If you have both, you’re ready.

Test URL (optional sanity check)

Paste this in your browser (replace values):

https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1?key=API_KEY&cx=CX&q=hello+google

If it returns JSON → SCCESS

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Feel free to contribute and enhance the script. Happy coding!