Phantomjs not found on path

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PhantomJS not found on path

PhantomJS is a headless web browser that is used for automating web page interactions. If you are encountering the “PhantomJS not found on path” error, it means that the PhantomJS executable file cannot be located in the system’s PATH environment variable.

1. Download PhantomJS

The first step is to download the PhantomJS executable file for your operating system. You can visit the official PhantomJS website (http://phantomjs.org/download.html) and choose the appropriate version for your system.

2. Extract the downloaded file

After downloading, extract the contents of the downloaded file to a directory of your choice. Make note of the directory path as it will be needed for the next steps.

3. Add PhantomJS to the system’s PATH

In order for the system to locate the PhantomJS executable, it needs to be included in the system’s PATH environment variable. The exact steps to do this vary depending on your operating system:

  • Windows: Go to the Control Panel, search for “environment variables”, and click on “Edit the system environment variables”. In the System Properties window, click on the “Environment Variables” button. In the “System variables” section, scroll down and select the “Path” variable. Click on “Edit” and add the directory path of the extracted PhantomJS executable file to the list of paths. Click “OK” to save the changes.
  • Mac OS: Open a Terminal window and type the following command:
    sudo nano /etc/paths
    Enter your password when prompted. In the Nano editor, add the directory path of the extracted PhantomJS executable file to a new line. Press “Control” + “O” to save the changes and “Control” + “X” to exit the editor.
  • Linux: Open a Terminal window and type the following command:
    sudo nano /etc/environment
    In the Nano editor, locate the “PATH” variable and add the directory path of the extracted PhantomJS executable file to the existing string. Separate it from the rest of the paths with a colon (“:”). Press “Control” + “O” to save the changes and “Control” + “X” to exit the editor.

4. Verify the installation

To verify that PhantomJS is now correctly included in the system’s PATH, open a new Terminal or Command Prompt window and type the following command:

phantomjs --version

If the installation was successful, the command should display the version number of PhantomJS. If you still encounter the “PhantomJS not found on path” error, double-check the steps above to ensure that everything was performed correctly.

Example

Let’s assume that you have downloaded the PhantomJS executable file and extracted it to the directory C:\phantomjs on a Windows machine. After adding the directory to the system’s PATH as described in step 3, you should be able to open a Command Prompt window and run the following command:

phantomjs --version

If the installation was successful, the command should display the version number of PhantomJS.

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