A Beginner’s Guide To Cypress Test Automation

The filed of informational technology is stormed with novelties everyday. Software testers and QA professionals are taking notice of the new open-source testing tool known as the Cypress. It has a variety of characteristics, including compatibility for both browser-based and Node.js apps, that make it an intriguing option for automated UI testing. Additionally, Cypress test automation offers an easy-to-use interface that is straightforward and intuitive. Due to its capabilities and usability, it is becoming more and more popular. You can create tests fast and simply, and because the tests run in your browser, any problems are simple to troubleshoot. 

Read this blog-post to have in-depth information about Cypress test automation. 

Cypress: What Is It?

A contemporary automation tool called cypress framework runs on NodeJS and supports JavaScript/Typescript as its programming language. Both Cypress’s benefits and drawbacks are many. Despite its recency in the market, it swiftly established itself as the most well-liked and user-friendly tool in the automation sector, winning both developers and testers.

Cypress is simple to incorporate into your current workflow because to its robust command-line interface. Additionally, Cypress has a huge selection of plugins created by the community that let you increase its capabilities. It is a fantastic tool for automating your tests, and its use will only increase. Cypress is a fantastic choice if you’re searching for a test automation solution that is user-friendly and packed with capabilities.

If test automation is new to you, you may be unsure of how to begin using Cypress. We will provide a brief introduction to using the Cypress testing tool in this post.

Basic Features Of Cypress

Have a look below to learn more about the basic features of Cypress:

• Introduction and Architecture: Designed for cutting-edge online applications, Cypress is a next-generation front-end testing tool. The majority of testing tools function by operating outside of the browser and sending networked remote instructions. However, Cypress runs directly within the browser. By modifying the DOM and adjusting network requests and replies instantly, it allows Cypress to listen and change the browser behavior while it is running. Cypress Instruction
• Installation and configuration of Node.js: It (Node.js) is a server-side runtime environment which is based on the V8 JavaScript engine used by Chrome. Millions of developers use it worldwide, and it is open-source and completely free. It’s a runtime setting. Additionally, it comes with everything required to execute a JavaScript application. Before beginning to construct your Node.js application, you must install the Node JS framework.
• Install VS Code: The Visual Studio Code editor runs on your desktop and is compatible with macOS, Windows, and Linux. It is a compact yet capable source code editor. JavaScript, TypeScript, and Node.js are supported natively by Visual Studio Code, which also offers a robust ecosystem of extensions for additional languages and runtimes.
• Installation of Cypress and project setup are both possible via the Cypress CDN:  The most recent version for your platform will always be downloaded through direct download. It will download a zip file that the user may extract. and npm may be used to get it as well. Additionally, it describes how to put up a simple project using a package. 
• Cypress Test: Based on one of the well-known assertion libraries in JavaScript, Mocha, and Chai, Cypress conforms to the same standards for developing test cases as any other JavaScript-based framework. 
• Get and Find Command: Cypress offers the two fundamental methods get() and find(), to search for web items based on locators. Both of these strategies get almost similar outcomes. However, each has a specific function and setting. 
• Deal with non-Cypress async promises: We are aware that Cypress manages the asynchronous nature of its instructions internally while continuing to provide a smooth, sequential, and reliable execution of the test cases. We may still need to explicitly handle async promises or commands in certain circumstances, such as when merging Cypress commands with those from other libraries like JavaScript. We will discover how Cypress may assist in explicitly handling these Non-Cypress Async Promises.
• Asynchronous Cypress Nature: Asynchronous programming is a parallel programming technique in which a task is executed independently of the main application thread. It also alerts the caller thread whether it succeeds, fails, or completes. These applications are referred to be “non-blocking.” Synchronous execution means that you wait for a job to complete before moving on to the next one. The ability to switch to another job before something has finished is available when anything is executed asynchronously.
• Interaction with DOM elements: Each UI automation tool offers a few APIs or methods to interact with the DOM elements, allowing the specified action to be carried out on the UI element. These techniques also help with the necessary user trip simulation. Following suit, Cypress offers a number of instructions that may mimic how a user might interact with the program.
• Cypress Assertions: Assertions are the checks that indicate whether or not the automated test case’s given step was successful. Assertions really verify the expected state of your test application’s parts, objects, or other components. As an example, assertions allow you to verify conditions like whether an element is visible or has a certain property, CSS class, or state. All automated test cases should always include assertion phases; otherwise, it would be impossible to verify whether the program has achieved the desired state or not. Cypress Instruction

Benefits of Incorporating Cypress

Cypress testing may be used in place of or in addition to other web testing frameworks for a variety of reasons. Here are a few of the main advantages.

1. Cypress Has a Wider Appeal: Cypress is a more all-encompassing automation framework than previous ones since it is built in JavaScript and is based on Mocha and Chai. When used in browsers, it also makes use of Node.js.

Given that JavaScript is the primary language used by developers to create websites, the fact that Cypress is built on JavaScript is quite significant. Cypress tests are written in a language that developers are already acquainted with, which makes the tool more user-friendly. You may do cross-browser testing using Cypress. On Firefox and browsers from the Chrome family, such Edge, and Electron, tests may be run with Cypress.

2. Cypress Automation Can Be Set Up Quickly: Starting off using Cypress automation for web testing is simple. If you have used Selenium, you are aware that before you begin testing, you must choose all the dependencies and libraries you need. These libraries and dependencies are already installed with Cypress, therefore, no setup is required.

Additionally, Cypress already includes the Chrome browser, eliminating the need to build up a complicated environment. You may also try Cypress with any other browser that is installed on your local computer. When opposed to Selenium, which necessitates the user to download the necessary driver and set up a grid in order to begin testing, this flexibility and ease of setup are significant advantages.

3. Cypress Offers Debugging Tools: With Cypress, web application debugging is fast and simple. You are given advice on how to resolve bugs when tests fail. Direct debugging is thus possible using Chrome DevTools. Additionally, Cypress provides features like real-time reload and time travel, allowing developers to see their website code before and after a test run.

Cypress speeds and simplifies error analysis since it has access to every item. Finding flaws and troubleshooting programs is made fast and easy by Cypress’s ability to show pictures of test failures.

Best Practices That You Must Include To Benefit The Maximum From Cypress Automation

Below mentioned are some of the best practices that you must incorporate to benefit from the Cypress framework.

1. Use data attributes to help you choose elements: Writing selectors totally separated from your CSS or JavaScript is one of the most crucial best practices you can use when developing your E2E tests. In order to prevent your test suite from being broken by a simple CSS or JavaScript update, you should construct selectors that may be explicitly targeted for testing.

2. Avoid Using a Number and cy.wait: Using the cy.wait command with a fixed number is a typical Cypress error. Most often, you want to wait for an element to appear or a network request to complete before moving on, so you do this. You add cy.wait with an arbitrary number to make sure that commands have completed executing in order to avoid unpredictable failures.

3. Setting a Base URL: Globally establishing a base URL is another excellent strategy. Not only does it help your tests run more efficiently, but it also makes it simpler to swap the test suite between various contexts, such as a local host and a live website.

4. Control State Using Programming: Always strive to set the state for your application programmatically rather than via the UI whenever you need to do so in order to test under the appropriate circumstances. Your status will so be independent of the user interface. As changing the state programmatically is quicker than using the UI of your application, you will also notice a boost in speed.

5. Tests should be independent of one another: You may also make the error of writing tests that are connected and dependent on one another. Relying on the results of an earlier test makes your test suite fragile and makes it possible for the remainder of your test cases to fail if the original circumstances are not satisfied.

6. Don’t make a single assertion: Finally, refrain from utilizing singular claims. While single assertions may work well for unit testing, we are building E2E tests here. You will be able to identify the specific statement that failed even if you don’t divide your assertions up into multiple test phases.

Most significantly, Cypress performs lifecycle actions that reset your state in between tests. Compared to adding assertions to a single test, this requires more processing. Writing a single assertion might thus hinder the efficiency of your test suite.

Conclusion

Scalable Cypress testing is possible with the help of Cypress cloud grids like LambdaTest. With LambdaTest, you can accelerate test execution in a scalable manner by automating cross-browser testing on an online browser farm comprising more than 40 browsers and OS systems. Additionally, it enhances test coverage while improving product quality. With a free LambdaTest account, you get your first 100 minutes of Cypress automated testing. With a lifetime of free subscription to LambdaTest, the world’s fastest-growing cloud Cypress Grid, you can also benefit from manual cross-browser testing, responsive testing, and more.

Cypress and other automated testing tools may significantly simplify the work as developers. You can rapidly detect mistakes and avert future regressions by automating test execution. Manual testing is still crucial, despite the temptation to just use automated tests. Automated tests can find certain flaws, but not all of them. Typos, layout flaws, and user experience difficulties are still detectable only by the human eye. We advise trying Cypress if you do not currently use an automated program. Cypress testing is simple to set up and simple to use, and it will eventually save you a lot of resources.