Issue: Laravel Dusk + ChromeDriver “session not created: probably user data directory is already in use"

Hi everyone,

I’ve been struggling with an issue in Laravel 12 + Dusk 8 + PHP 8.4 on an EC2 Linux server. After many attempted fixes, I still get this recurring error:

"session not created: probably user data directory is already in use, please specify a unique value for --user-data-dir argument, or don't use --user-data-dir"

What I’ve Tried So Far:

• Commented out --user-data-dir logic (useCustomDir)
• Adjusted retry duration
• Cleaned tmp/prerender directory before runs
• chown + chmod on tmp/prerender to ensure correct permissions
• Verified Chrome + Chromedriver versions match
• Tried both --headless and --headless=new (Chrome 109+ syntax)
• Confirmed a simple php artisan dusk test runs fine on both EC2 and local
• Ensured unique ports per request
• Ensured unique data directories per request Added flags to reduce memory issues: --disable-dev-shm-usage --no-sandbox --ozone-platform=headless --use-gl=swiftshader
• Added logging with --log-level=0

Code:

protected function driver(int $port): RemoteWebDriver
{
    $args = [
        '--disable-gpu',
        '--headless=new',
        '--window-size=1920,1080',
        '--no-sandbox',
        '--disable-extensions',
        '--disable-crash-reporter',
        '--log-level=0', // Critical / Fatal log level
        '--user-agent=' . Str::replaceFirst(' Chrome', ' HeadlessChrome', UserAgent::chrome()),
        '--use-gl=swiftshader',
        '--ozone-platform=headless',
        '--disable-dev-shm-usage',
        '--hide-scrollbars',
        '--mute-audio',
    ];

    if ($this->useCustomDir) {
        $customDir = storage_path("tmp/prerender/{$port}");

        if (File::isDirectory($customDir)) {
            File::deleteDirectory($customDir);
        }

        $args[] = "--user-data-dir={$customDir}";
    }

    $options = (new ChromeOptions)->addArguments($args);
    $capabilities = DesiredCapabilities::chrome()->setCapability(ChromeOptions::CAPABILITY, $options);

    return retry(5, function () use ($capabilities, $port) {
        return RemoteWebDriver::create(sprintf($this->seleniumServerUrl, $port), $capabilities); 
    }, $this->sleepConnect);
}

Error Log:

session not created: probably user data directory is already in use, 
please specify a unique value for --user-data-dir argument, 
or don't use --user-data-dir 
{"exception":"[object] (Facebook\\WebDriver\\Exception\\SessionNotCreatedException(code: 0): 
session not created: probably user data directory is already in use 
at /vendor/php-webdriver/webdriver/lib/Exception/WebDriverException.php:130)

❔ Question

Even after ensuring unique ports and data directories, ChromeDriver still throws this error.

Has anyone else run into persistent --user-data-dir conflicts despite unique paths?

Is there a recommended pattern for handling ephemeral Chrome sessions in Laravel Dusk on a server (EC2)?

Any insights or working examples would be hugely appreciated 🙏