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

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

• Python 3.x
• Selenium

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

1. Run the script:

   python script.py

✅ CAPTCHA-Safe & Legal Approach

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

If you have both, you’re ready.

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