WebdriverIO v9.28.0 brings important updates for QA engineers, focusing on new capabilities, stability improvements, and essential bug fixes. This minor release, dated 2026-04-21, enhances test automation workflows.

Key Changes

  • New Features: WebdriverIO v9.28.0 introduces support for BiDi network data, providing more granular control and observation of network requests during test execution. This release also adds log data redaction, allowing sensitive information to be masked in test logs for improved security.
  • Enhancements: A significant enhancement prevents shadow root memory leaks during Single Page Application (SPA) navigation. This improves test stability and performance when interacting with complex web components.
  • Bug Fixes: Several critical issues have been addressed. This includes a fix for disableElementImplicitWait not working when defined too early, resolving stale shadow elements, and correcting the Allure reporter’s historyId to use capability keys instead of cid. Visual Testing URL paths have also been fixed, ensuring accurate visual regression tests.
  • Security: Dependencies were updated to resolve high-severity vulnerabilities, ensuring a more secure testing environment.

Impact for QA Teams

QA teams will benefit from enhanced debugging capabilities with BiDi network data and improved test stability, especially when dealing with shadow DOM elements and SPAs. The security updates and reporter fixes contribute to more reliable and secure test automation workflows. For more on advanced WebdriverIO features, see our article on WebdriverIO extensibility and multiremote migration.

For a full list of changes, refer to the official changelog.