Installation
Watir is a family of drivers for different browsers running on several operating systems. This page provides an overview of how to install the leading drivers on several operating systems, and also how to install a HTML Inspector.
Windows
Install Ruby
Install Ruby using the one-click installer for Windows. We recommend using Ruby 1.8.6-26 with Watir 1.6. More details.
Watir drivers are packaged as gems, Ruby libraries that can be installed over the internet.
Install Watir
Type these commands at a command prompt:
gem update --system
gem install watir
This installs drivers for both IE and Firefox (FireWatir).
Watir’s support for Firefox also requires a plugin.
If you run into trouble or are installing from behind a firewall, please see additional notes.
Mac
Check you have Ruby
Ruby is probably already installed on your machine. You can verify which version of Ruby is install by typing this command in a terminal window:
ruby -v
We recommend using Ruby 1.8.6 on all platforms.
Install Watir
Type these commands at a command prompt:
sudo gem update --system
sudo gem install firewatir
sudo gem install safariwatir
Watir’s support for Firefox also requires a plugin.
If you run into trouble or are installing from behind a firewall, please see additional notes.
Linux
Check you have Ruby
Ruby is probably already installed on your machine. You can verify which version of Ruby is install by typing this command in a terminal window:
ruby -v
We recommend using Ruby 1.8.6 on all platforms.
Install Watir
Type these commands at a command prompt:
sudo gem update --system
sudo gem install firewatir
Watir’s support for Firefox also requires a plugin.
If you run into trouble or are installing from behind a firewall, please see additional notes.
Install an HTML inspector
To use Watir effectively, you’ll need to be able to browse through the structure of your application’s HTML pages. These tools help you do that.
- On Firefox, use Firebug
- On Internet Explorer, use the IE Developer Toolbar
