Introduction
In the world of test automation, consistency, reliability, and relevance of tests are essential to ensure the quality of an application. Cypress has become a popular choice for user interface testing due to its ease of use and powerful features. However, as with any tool, its effectiveness largely depends on the practices adopted by developers. In this article, I want to share some of the best practices and tips that can help make your Cypress tests more robust and reliable.
1. Smart timeout handling
Instead of avoiding timeouts, use them wisely. Cypress’s default timeouts are usually well-optimized, but knowing when and how to adjust them can be beneficial.
Understand the context of your tests and set timeouts that reflect realistic scenarios, ensuring tests don’t fail due to premature timeouts.
// Adjusting timeout for a page known to load slowly under certain conditions
cy.visit('/complex-page', { timeout: 30000 }).should('contain', 'Page Loaded');
// Using shorter timeout for a typically fast-loading element
cy.get('[data-test="loading-element"]', { timeout: 5000 }).should('be.visible');Tests that sometimes pass and sometimes fail without any changes to code (flaky tests) are a significant issue in automated testing.
By using…
