Jenkins: ChromeDriver update PATH from shell script and use new version - selenium

Question

I am looking for a way to update the PATH in Jenkins for running Selenium tests with PyTest.
I need to run the latest version of chromedriver but due to an infrastructure deficiency (our base image is running Debian and the latest available version is 73 and I need to be running at least 83).
There is already a version of chromedriver installed on the image at /usr/bin and I need to be able to point to a different version
The jenkins chromedriver plugin appears that it will just use the latest available version for debian, which doesn't help me at all.
Until I have time to address the systemic issue, I'd like to just install chromedriver and update PATH - because Selenium requires chromedriver on the PATH
It seemed, for ease of use, that https://pypi.org/project/chromedriver-binary/ was a good solution - it installs just fine and the shell script chromedriver-path echoes the location, so I could just update path as the documentation shows: PATH=$PATH:chromedriver-path
This doesn't seem to jive in Jenkins - PATH is not updated
stages {
stage('build'){
steps {
withCredentials([...]) {
sh """
alias python=python3.8
python -m venv --system-site-packages venv # only for jenkins
python -u setup.py
. venv/bin/activate
which chromedriver #/usr/bin/chromedriver
chromedriver-path #path/to/python/lib/python3.8/site-packages/chromedriver_binary
export PATH=$PATH:`chromedriver-path`
which chromedriver #/usr/bin/chromedriver
"""
sh "python -m pytest"
}
}
}
}
I Have looked at the withEnv() option and environment{} step but I'm not sure how to access that binary and update PATH once chromedriver-binary has been set - because it appears that environment{} would not have access to shell scripts that are installed in the individual steps.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated

Answer 1

The issue may actually be in Jenkinsfile declaration.
Try using sh with single quotes '''. Also binaries are searched in directories defined in PATH from left to right, so to override system PATH, you must put your directory on the beginning, not on the end.
If I alter your code snippet:
stages {
stage('build'){
steps {
withCredentials([...]) {
sh '''
alias python=python3.8
python -m venv --system-site-packages venv # only for jenkins
python -u setup.py
. venv/bin/activate
which chromedriver #/usr/bin/chromedriver
chromedriver-path #path/to/python/lib/python3.8/site-packages/chromedriver_binary
export PATH=$(chromedriver-path):$PATH
echo $PATH # just to check the output, your path should be on the beginning
which chromedriver # this should now find the proper chromedriver
'''
sh "python -m pytest"
}
}
}
}