What is Cypress?

Cypress is a testing tool written in JavaScript which is a free and open-sourced library. It can test anything that runs in the browser and is built on top of very famous testing tools like

• Mocha, a JavaScript testing framework from which test structure describe(),context(),it()andspecify()and hooksbefore(), beforeEach(),after(),afterEach() are borrowed.

• Chai, a BDD & TDD assertion library.

• Sinon, a JavaScript library by which spies, stubs, and mocks can be created.

Since Cypress has everything that is required for testing, we can start writing tests right away after installing it.

Cypress consists of a free, open-source, locally installed Test Runner and a Dashboard Service for recording your tests. The framework is built on Mocha while the assertions are from chai.

Installing Cypress

Cypress is a desktop application that is installed on our computer. The desktop application supports these operating systems:

• macOS 10.9 and above (64-bit only)

• Linux Ubuntu 12.04 and above, Fedora 21, and Debian 8 (64-bit only)

• Windows 7 and above

Node.js

If you’re using npmto install Cypress, please make sure the below version of node.js

• Node.js12 or 14 and above

Then, install the cypress on the project path.

Cypress can be easily installed with npm and yarn by executing the following commands in the project folder.

• npm install cypress --save-dev

• yarn add cypress --dev

• Once Cypress is installed, we can open cypress by the following command

• /node_modules/.bin/cypress open

Cypress Test Runner will launch after executing the command mentioned above.

Cypress Test Runner is an interactive Desktop GUI which lists all the test files available in the cypress/integration folder. On the right top corner, we can select a browser instance in which we want our tests to run.

Cypress folders structures:-

• Fixtures: used to store all the external static data for your tests i.e. JSON data files, images, etc…

• Integration: this is where all your test files are stored

• Plugins: You can extend Cypress functionalities by taking advantage of Cypress built as well as community-built plugins

• Support: In the support folder, you can store custom commands which can be utilized by your tests

Advantages of Cypress:-

• Easy to setup as it does not need driver binaries

• It has built-in waits. Therefore no need to implement waits for tests

• Access and change JS code on the fly

• It has a dashboard for reporting

• Supports parallel execution

• Screen grabs to show how tests are executed. (Easy to debug)

Cypress includes the following features:-

• Time Travel: Cypress takes snapshots as your tests run. Hover over commands in the Command Log to see exactly what happened at each step.

• Debuggability: Stop guessing why your tests are failing. Debug directly from familiar tools like Developer Tools. Our readable errors and stack traces make debugging lightning fast.

• Automatic Waiting: Never add waits or sleeps to your tests. Cypress automatically waits for commands and assertions before moving on. No more async hell.

• Spies, Stubs, and Clocks: Verify and control the behavior of functions, server responses, or timers. The same functionality you love from unit testing is right at your fingertips.

• Network Traffic Control: Easily control, stub, and test edge cases without involving your server. You can stub network traffic however you like.

• Consistent Results: Our architecture doesn’t use Selenium or WebDriver. Say hello to fast, consistent and reliable tests that are flake-free.

• Screenshots and Videos: View screenshots were taken automatically on failure, or videos of your entire test suite when run from the CLI.

• Cross-browser Testing: Run tests within Firefox and Chrome-family browsers (including Edge and Electron) locally and optimally in a Continuous Integration pipeline.

Disadvantages of Cypress:-

• Cypress is made in JavaScript and it only supports JavaScript for test automation, it becomes a restriction, one should have good knowledge of JavaScript because no other language is supported by this.

• Cross-browser testing is limited as compared to other tools like Selenium.

• Mobile browser testing or native applications cannot be automated by Cypress.

Reference:- https://docs.cypress.io/