Tutorials

Tutorials

Reading, Writing, and Clearing Browser Storage

GPALUrl carries storage definitions - cookies, localStorage, sessionStorage, cache, and indexedDb - that you describe up front with WithStorageType and friends, then execute against the active browser with RunGet, RunSet, and RunDelete. This tutorial walks a cookie and a localStorage entry through a full get/set/delete cycle, then shows how the same verbs extend to indexedDb.

Complete Program

Here's the whole workflow, start to finish. Each piece is broken down and explained below.

using GenerallyPositive;

using GenerallyPositive.Browser;

using static GenerallyPositive.Enums;

GPAL

.WithPublishToConsole()

.WithDriverLocation(@"C:drivers")

.WithUseOttoMagic(@"C:OttoMagic");

IBrowser browser = GPAL.Browser

.WithBrowserType(BrowserType.Chrome)

.WithUseAutomationEngine(AutomationEngine.OttoMagic)

.ToGPALObject();

GPALUrl youtubeUrl = "www.youtube.com";

youtubeUrl.WithStorageType(WebsiteStorageType.cookie).WithStorageDomain("youtube.com").WithStorageKey("VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA");

youtubeUrl.WithStorageType(WebsiteStorageType.localStorage).WithStorageKey("ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY");

browser.GoTo(youtubeUrl).WaitFor(3_000);

string outData;

browser

.WithStorageDomain("youtube.com")

.WithStorageKey("VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA")

.RunGet(WebsiteStorageType.cookie)

.GetStorageData(out outData);

browser

.WithStorageDomain("youtube.com")

.WithStorageKey("VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA")

.WithStorageData("hello there")

.RunSet(WebsiteStorageType.cookie);

browser

.WithStorageDomain("youtube.com")

.WithStorageKey("VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA")

.RunDelete(WebsiteStorageType.cookie);

browser

.WithStorageKey("ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY")

.RunGet(WebsiteStorageType.localStorage)

.GetStorageData(out outData);

browser

.WithStorageKey("ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY")

.WithStorageData("{"data":{"hasSucceededOnce":false}}")

.RunSet(WebsiteStorageType.localStorage);

browser

.WithStorageKey("ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY")

.RunDelete(WebsiteStorageType.localStorage);

browser.Close(true);

GPALUrl Carries Storage Definitions

youtubeUrl is a GPALUrl - assign it from a string and it reads like one, but it can also carry storage definitions you attach before ever navigating. Each WithStorageType call describes what to look at later: a cookie named VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA on youtube.com, and a localStorage entry named ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY. Neither line performs an action yet - they just describe targets.

GPALUrl youtubeUrl = "www.youtube.com";

youtubeUrl.WithStorageType(WebsiteStorageType.cookie).WithStorageDomain("youtube.com").WithStorageKey("VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA");

youtubeUrl.WithStorageType(WebsiteStorageType.localStorage).WithStorageKey("ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY");

browser.GoTo(youtubeUrl).WaitFor(3_000);

TIP

Once you GoTo (or Get) a GPALUrl, it becomes the browser's active URL - and the storage definitions attached to it are what RunGet, RunSet, and RunDelete operate against for the rest of the workflow. See Value Objects: More Than a String.

RunGet Reads, GetStorageData Retrieves It

WithStorageDomain and WithStorageKey narrow which definition to act on - useful once a URL has more than one. RunGet(cookie) executes the read against the live browser, and GetStorageData(out outData) copies the result into a variable you can use however you like.

browser

.WithStorageDomain("youtube.com")

.WithStorageKey("VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA")

.RunGet(WebsiteStorageType.cookie)

.GetStorageData(out outData);

RunSet Writes, RunDelete Clears

RunSet and RunDelete follow the same shape as RunGet: set up the With* parameters that identify what you're targeting, supply WithStorageData for a write, then call the Run* verb for the storage type you're working with.

browser

.WithStorageDomain("youtube.com")

.WithStorageKey("VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA")

.WithStorageData("hello there")

.RunSet(WebsiteStorageType.cookie);

browser

.WithStorageDomain("youtube.com")

.WithStorageKey("VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA")

.RunDelete(WebsiteStorageType.cookie);

WARNING

Once a RunGet, RunSet, or RunDelete call executes, the With* parameters that scoped it are cleared. If your next Run* call needs the same domain, key, path, or store name, set them again with With* first - otherwise that call falls back to its broadest scope.

The Same Verbs Reach indexedDb Too

WebsiteStorageType has five values - cookie, localStorage, sessionStorage, cache, and indexedDb - and all five use the same WithStorageType / RunGet / RunSet / RunDelete / GetStorageData verbs. cache and indexedDb add WithStorageStoreName (and, for indexedDb, WithStoragePath for the database name) to address a specific store inside the browser's structured storage, but the pattern doesn't change.

youtubeUrl.WithStorageType(WebsiteStorageType.indexedDb)

.WithStoragePath("YtIdbMeta") // database name

.WithStorageStoreName("databases") // object store within that database

.WithStorageKey("ServiceWorkerLogsDatabase");

browser

.WithStoragePath("YtIdbMeta")

.WithStorageStoreName("databases")

.WithStorageKey("ServiceWorkerLogsDatabase")

.RunGet(WebsiteStorageType.indexedDb)

.GetStorageData(out outData);

TIP

Whether you're clearing a single cookie or reading an entry out of a nested indexedDb object store, the workflow is always: describe it with WithStorageType and its With* parameters, then act on it with RunGet, RunSet, or RunDelete.

On this page

Tutorials
Reading, Writing, and Clearing Browser Storage
  • Complete Program
  • GPALUrl Carries Storage Definitions
  • RunGet Reads, GetStorageData Retrieves It
  • RunSet Writes, RunDelete Clears
  • The Same Verbs Reach indexedDb Too