How to solve the error "Not a valid XPath expression"

Question

In selenium on Java, im try to find an element and select it on a webpage but it keep getting the error:

The string '//*[@id='app']/article/div[2]/section/div[1]/div[5]/div/section[2]/div[2]/div[1]/' is not a valid XPath expression. 

How can I get it at all??

Varnado

you have an extra '/' at the end, remove it and it's fine. – Spatola

Can't you select div[1] directly with CSS selector? – Lactalbumin

share the html for which you want to have xpath. – Lotion

Answer 1

The reason you are seeing an error as not a valid XPath expression because you have exactly 2 issues in it as follows:

• As you are passing the xpath within single quotes i.e. '' you can't use the same for the attribute values.
• Ideally an xpath shouldn't end with a /

• So your effective xpath will be either of the following:

  '//*[@id="app"]/article/div[2]/section/div[1]/div[5]/div/section[2]/div[2]/div[1]'
  

  or

  "//*[@id='app']/article/div[2]/section/div[1]/div[5]/div/section[2]/div[2]/div[1]"
  

Cham

Based chad dev, you just solved my problem. upvoted sir. – Eyde