In software testing, there are many situations where you need to write the tests repeatedly. While performing automation testing, it has been observed that the team needs to write the same test code many times. But after some time, it becomes a hectic task. So, there must be an option to tackle this issue. Yes, this concept is known as code reusability. The code reusability aims to minimize re-writing of the same code.
Cypress is a very popular test automation framework that is widely popular and recommended by tech experts. There are already some default commands for making your automation testing process easy, but you also have the option to create some custom commands to smooth the testing process further. Using custom commands is always a good decision because this helps to improve the code reusability. In the context of Cypress automation testing, custom commands reduce redundancy, minimize errors, and enhance the scalability of test suites by encapsulating common actions and assertions into reusable functions.
In this article, you will first see a brief introduction to Cypress automation, its pros and cons, and then you will see what custom commands are and how you can use the custom commands for streamlined test execution.
Introduction to Cypress Automation
Cypress is a very popular and useful framework used to perform powerful and efficient test execution for web application testing. This framework is based on the JavaScript programming language. You can easily perform advanced testing for both unit and integration tests using this framework. Cypress automation has various benefits, such as easy test configuration, convenient reporting, intuitive dashboard experience, and more, for website automation testing. As Cypress supports only JavaScript language, it is the most recommended framework among the developers and developer community.
Many useful features make it stand out from other testing tools, such as it can run tests in real-time, easily debugging tests, and automatically wait for page elements to load before executing commands. Cypress provides CLI (Command Line Interface), which helps to interact through commands for performing your automation testing. You can also integrate Cypress with other development frameworks, such as React and Angular, which makes it a very powerful testing framework. All these advanced features and testing benefits make Cypress a popular choice for making your web automation testing efficient and productive. Also, it helps to ensure a reliable and efficient software application and it works as it intended to be.
Automated testing represents a modernized approach to the conventional manual testing method, significantly expediting the software application testing process. Utilizing automated testing necessitates the utilization of a framework, with Cypress emerging as a favored option. Notably, Cypress seamlessly integrates with cloud-based platforms like LambdaTest.
Cloud testing platforms such as LambdaTest prove invaluable for automating complex or uncertain testing scenarios and providing specific specifications. LambdaTest, an AI-powered test execution and orchestration platform, empowers developers and testers to conduct automation testing seamlessly to test websites in different browsers.
LambdaTest is an impressive cloud testing platform dedicated to optimizing and refining the automation testing process for developers and testers. Its notable feature lies in its ability to automate intricate and unpredictable scenarios, offering a dependable solution for diverse testing needs.
Advantages of Cypress
Let us see some advantages of using Cypress for test automation.
1. Realtime Debugging: Cypress automation allows the testing team to do debugging in real-time. It helps to pause the testing process, and you can monitor the test state, which reduces the testing time.
2. Automatic Waiting: Automatic waiting is one of Cypress’s most popular and advanced features. It intelligently waits for elements to become interactive or visible before the test executing actions and reduces the need for manual timeouts which ultimately makes sure that the test is stable and reliable.
3. Seamless integrations: Cypress can integrate with various development frameworks and utilities effortlessly. You can integrate the CI/CD tools into your testing project, making incorporating automated tests into your CI/CD pipeline easy. It supports platforms like Travis CI, CircleCI, Jenkins, GitHub, etc.
4. Interactive Test Runner: Cypress provides the test runner feature, which is an advanced testing tool that aims to enhance and simplify software testing. With its comprehensive platform for managing test cases, automating repetitive testing processes, and producing valuable reports, it caters to the requirements of software testers, developers, and quality assurance professionals.
Disadvantages of Cypress
Although there are still many advantages, Cypress’s automation testing tool has some drawbacks. Let us see them briefly.
1. Limited browser Support: Cypress has limited web browser support which somehow drags this tool to a level. It primarily supports Chromium-based browsers. This makes a limited compatibility with software applications. So, you need to perform cross-browser testing for numerous web browsers.
2. No Cross-Domain Testing: Cypress does not have support for cross-domain testing. This happens due to browser restrictions with this automation testing framework. Cypress is unable to perform application testing across different domains in one go. This is a major challenge for the developers using Cypress for automation testing.
3. No Support for Native Apps: Cypress is developed for performing web automation testing. It does not support native applications as other similar testing frameworks have.
Installing Cypress
Now, let us see the various steps of how you can install the Cypress.
1. Installing Node.js
The first step to perform Cypress automation testing is to install Node.js. It is the prerequisite for performing automation testing. To install Node.js, you can visit the official website to install in your system. It is recommended to install the latest version of it.
2. Project Creation
Then need to create a new directory for your Cypress project and navigate into it using the command line. You can run the “npm init” to create a “package.json” file.
3. Installing Cypress
The next step is to install the main component for automation testing which is Cypress. You can use the command line prompt to install the Cypress. Use the command given below to install the latest version of Cypress.
npm install cypress –save-dev
After running this command, use the “-save-dev” command-line option with Node Package Manager (npm) to install and save development dependencies for a project.
What are Custom Commands?
Custom commands are defined as actions or assertions that are created by the users or testers. These assertions are used to extend the testing capabilities of the Cypress framework. Custom commands are different from the default commands of Cypress. You can make the custom commands according to your need which can be according to the testing needs and it allows the testers to streamline and optimize their automation flows. The custom commands consist of some assertions and functions, abstracting away implementation details and it promotes a higher level of abstraction in Cypress automation test scripts.
The custom commands are defined only a single time and can be used many times hence increasing the test reusability. It can be used in many test files which promotes test modularization and also helps to increase the code maintainability. You can create a Cypress custom com
mand by using the method “Cypress.Commands.add()”.
Advantages of Using Custom Commands for Automation Testing
Using custom can have some great effect on your Cypress automation testing streamlined test execution. Let us focus on some of the main benefits of Cypress custom commands and how they make your automation testing faster and help streamline test execution.
1. Code Reusability: Custom commands improve the code reusability as the login logic is centralized in the custom command and it promotes code reusability for numerous Cypress automation tests.
2. Readability: As the custom commands are human-made according to their use case, the code becomes easy to read and understand. The test cases become more concise and focused on specific functionality, which helps to improve the test readability.
3. Abstraction: The details of the login process are abstracted, which makes it possible for the test cases to emphasize the advanced and high-level actions being tested.
4. Maintenance Efficiency: Any new updates to the login process can be made in one place using the Cypress custom commands. It allows the developers and testing team to ensure consistency and reduce maintenance efforts.
Implementing Custom Commands for Streamlined Test Execution
Now, let us see the various ways that can be used to implement Cypress custom commands for streamlined test execution.
1. For Login
Consider a scenario in which you need to log into an application frequently before performing the test scenarios. Here, you can create a Cypress custom command which will help you to prevent rewriting if login code for each of the tests. You need to use the following code to create a custom command for login authentication.
// cypress/support/commands.js
Cypress.Commands.add(‘login’, (username, password) => {
cy.visit(‘/login’)
cy.get(‘#username’).type(username)
cy.get(‘#password’).type(password)
cy.get(‘form’).submit()
})
Using the above code, you can easily create a custom command for login. You just need to replace the username and password according to your use.
2. For Checking Page URL
If you are frequently visiting a web page, to verify the URL of it, then you can use the Cypress custom command so that you do not need to write a test for verification every time you visit that web page. Use the code given below:
// cypress/support/commands.js
Cypress.Commands.add(‘checkPageUrl’, (expectedUrl) => {
cy.url().should(‘eq’, expectedUrl);
})
Using this command only needs to replace the URL of that specific web page that you want to verify and the work is done.
3. For Drop Down Option
If your software application has a drop-down element that you interact frequently with, you can create a custom command to select options from them. Use the code given below. This code will ease the process of dropdown options and enhance the code reusability in your automation testing process.
// cypress/support/commands.js
Cypress.Commands.add(‘selectDropdownOption’, (dropdownSelector, optionText) => {
cy.get(dropdownSelector).select(optionText);
})
4. For Performing Authentication with OAuth
There are many software applications that use the OAuth for authentication purposes. Using the Cypress custom command, you can create a command to streamline the login process and OAuth authentication.
// cypress/support/commands.js
Cypress.Commands.add(‘loginWithOAuth’, () => {
// Code to perform OAuth login
})
5. For Verifying Element Visibility
If you need to check the element visibility, you can use the Cypress custom command to fulfill this need. Use the code given below to make the custom command and ease element visibility verification.
// cypress/support/commands.js
Cypress.Commands.add(‘checkElementVisibility’, (elementSelector) => {
cy.get(elementSelector).should(‘be.visible’);
})
Conclusion
Cypress is a very well-known web automation testing tool among the developers and testing community. It has many default commands that are used to ease the automation testing process and increase the testing efficiency but there are also options of Cypress custom commands which can be defined by the testers to further make it easy.
