Mastering Cypress Grep with TypeScript

Table of Contents

1. Fundamental Concepts
2. Installation and Setup
3. Usage Methods
4. Common Practices
5. Best Practices
6. Conclusion
7. References

Fundamental Concepts

Cypress

Cypress is a JavaScript - based end - to - end testing framework. It allows developers to write tests that interact with web applications just like a real user would. Cypress runs in the browser and provides real - time feedback during test execution.

Cypress Grep

Cypress Grep is a plugin that enables you to filter tests based on tags. Tags are special strings that you can attach to your test suites or individual tests. This is useful when you want to run only a subset of your tests, for example, when you are working on a specific feature or running a quick sanity check.

TypeScript

TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript that adds static typing to the language. By using TypeScript with Cypress, you can catch type - related errors early in the development process, improve code readability, and get better autocompletion in your IDE.

Installation and Setup

Install Cypress

First, make sure you have Node.js installed on your machine. Then, you can install Cypress in your project using npm or yarn:

npm install cypress --save - dev

or

yarn add cypress --dev

Install Cypress Grep

Install the Cypress Grep plugin:

npm install cypress - grep --save - dev

or

yarn add cypress - grep --dev

Configure TypeScript

If you haven’t already, initialize TypeScript in your project:

npx tsc --init

In your cypress.json (or cypress.config.js in newer versions), add the following to enable TypeScript support:

{
  "fileServerFolder": ".",
  "fixturesFolder": "./cypress/fixtures",
  "integrationFolder": "./cypress/integration",
  "pluginsFile": "./cypress/plugins/index.js",
  "supportFile": "./cypress/support/index.js",
  "video": true,
  "viewportWidth": 1280,
  "viewportHeight": 720,
  "testFiles": "**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}",
  "env": {
    "grepFilterSpecs": true,
    "grepOmitFiltered": true
  }
}

In your cypress/plugins/index.js, require the Cypress Grep plugin:

const { grep } = require('cypress - grep')
module.exports = (on, config) => {
  grep(on, config)
  return config
}

Usage Methods

Tagging Tests

You can tag your tests using the it or describe functions. For example:

// cypress/integration/example.spec.ts
describe('My Test Suite', { tags: '@smoke' }, () => {
  it('should do something', { tags: '@critical' }, () => {
    // Test code here
    cy.visit('https://example.com')
    cy.get('h1').should('be.visible')
  })

  it('should do something else', { tags: '@minor' }, () => {
    // Test code here
    cy.get('button').click()
  })
})

Running Filtered Tests

To run only the tests with a specific tag, you can use the --env flag:

npx cypress run --env grep='@critical'

This will run only the tests tagged with @critical.

Common Practices

Grouping Tests by Functionality

Tag your tests based on the functionality they cover. For example, you can have tags like @login, @checkout, etc. This makes it easy to run all the tests related to a particular feature.

describe('Login Feature', { tags: '@login' }, () => {
  it('should allow valid users to log in', { tags: '@success' }, () => {
    // Login test code
  })

  it('should show an error for invalid credentials', { tags: '@failure' }, () => {
    // Error test code
  })
})

Sanity Checks

Use a @smoke tag for quick sanity checks. These are the tests that should pass in a healthy application and can be run before a full test suite.

describe('Smoke Tests', { tags: '@smoke' }, () => {
  it('should load the home page', () => {
    cy.visit('/')
    cy.get('header').should('be.visible')
  })
})

Best Practices

Keep Tags Meaningful

Use descriptive tags that clearly indicate the purpose of the test. Avoid using overly generic or cryptic tags.

Update Tags Regularly

As your application evolves, make sure to update the tags on your tests. If a test no longer belongs to a particular category, remove or change its tag.

Use Multiple Tags

Don’t be afraid to use multiple tags on a single test. For example, a test can be tagged with both @login and @critical if it is a critical login test.

Conclusion

Cypress Grep combined with TypeScript provides a powerful and efficient way to manage and run your end - to - end tests. By using tags, you can easily filter and organize your tests, making the testing process more flexible and focused. TypeScript adds type safety and better code organization, which can significantly improve the quality and maintainability of your test code. With the concepts, usage methods, common practices, and best practices outlined in this blog post, you should be well - equipped to start using Cypress Grep with TypeScript in your projects.

References

• Cypress Official Documentation
• [Cypress Grep GitHub Repository]( https://github.com/cypress - io/cypress - grep)
• TypeScript Official Documentation

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