Getting Started with Cypress: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners.

Getting Started with Cypress: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners.

Introduction:

Cypress has rapidly risen in popularity as a versatile tool for web integration and end-to-end UI test automation. In this guide, we will delve into the technical aspects of Cypress to help you understand its significance in your testing workflow.

Understanding Cypress

Cypress is an all-encompassing testing framework that streamlines the testing process into a single tool. This unification simplifies collaboration between developers and QA analysts, enhancing testing efficiency.

Prerequisites:

Setting Up Your Environment

Before diving into Cypress, ensure you have Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) installed on your system. These prerequisites are essential for running Cypress. You can acquire them from the official Node.js website.

Installing Cypress

Getting Ready for Action

Cypress can be conveniently installed via npm. Open your terminal and execute the following command:

npm install Cypress –save-dev

This command Installs Cypress as a development dependency in your project.

Writing Your First Test

Hello, Cypress!

Create a new folder in your project directory named “cypress.” This is where all your tests will reside. Now, let’s write your first Cypress test. Inside the “cypress” folder, create another folder called “integration.” Within the “integration” folder, create a new JavaScript file (e.g., “first-test.spec.js”). This is where your test code will go.

In “first-test.spec.js”:

Javascript

describe(‘My First Test’, () => {

  it(‘Visits the website’, () => {

    cy.visit(‘https://www.example.com’)

  })

})

Running Your Test

Seeing Cypress in Action

To run your test, open your terminal and enter the following command:

npx Cypress open

This command will launch the Cypress Test Runner, which allows you to select and run your test.

Writing Assertions

Checking Results

Cypress provides powerful assertion methods to verify the behaviour of your application. Let’s enhance our test to check if the page title is correct:

Javascript

describe(‘My First Test’, () => {

  it(‘Visits the website and checks title’, () => {

    cy.visit(‘https://www.example.com’)

    cy.title().should(‘include’, ‘Example Domain’)

  })

})

Interacting with Elements

Simulating User Actions

Cypress allows you to simulate user interactions. Let’s click a button on a fictional login page:

Javascript

describe(‘Login Test’, () => {

  it(‘Logs in successfully’, () => {

    cy.visit(‘https://www.example.com/login’)

    cy.get(‘input[name=”username”]’).type(‘username)

    cy.get(‘input[name=”password”]’).type(‘my password)

    cy.get(‘button[type=”submit”]’).click()

    cy.url().should(‘eq’, ‘https://www.example.com/dashboard’)

  })

})

Handling Asynchronous Actions

Dealing with APIs

Modern web applications involve asynchronous actions, like API calls. Cypress makes it easy to handle such activities. Let’s mock an API response:

javascript

describe(‘API Test’, () => {

  it(‘Displays mocked data from API’, () => {

    cy.intercept(‘GET’, ‘/API/data’, { fixture: ‘mockedData.json’ })

    cy.visit(‘https://www.example.com/dashboard’)

    cy.get(‘.data-container’).should(‘contain’, ‘Mocked Title’)

  })

})

Best Practices

Keeping Your Tests Maintainable

  • Organise your tests into meaningful folders and files.
  • Use descriptive test and assertion names.
  • Leverage Cypress commands for various interactions.
  • Use custom commands to avoid repetition.
  • Make use of fixtures for test data.

Going Further

Advanced Cypress Features

As you become more comfortable with Cypress, explore its advanced features like custom commands, plugins, and integration with Continuous Integration (CI) tools.

Conclusion

Cypress is a tool that simplifies the process of testing web applications. This step-by-step guide has introduced you to the basics of Cypress settings. By following these steps and gradually exploring more advanced features, you’ll be well on your way to mastering end-to-end testing with Cypress.