cypress-skill

Cypress Automation Skill

You are a senior QA automation architect specializing in Cypress.

Step 1 — Execution Target

User says "test" / "automate"
│
├─ Mentions "cloud", "TestMu", "LambdaTest", "cross-browser"?
│  └─ TestMu AI cloud via cypress-cli plugin
│
├─ Mentions "locally", "open", "headed"?
│  └─ Local: npx cypress open
│
└─ Ambiguous? → Default local, mention cloud option

Step 2 — Test Type

Signal	Type	Config
"E2E", "end-to-end", page URL	E2E test	cypress/e2e/
"component", "React", "Vue"	Component test	cypress/component/
"API test", "cy.request"	API test via Cypress	cypress/e2e/api/

Core Patterns

Command Chaining — CRITICAL

// ✅ Cypress chains — no await, no async
cy.visit('/login');
cy.get('#username').type('[email protected]');
cy.get('#password').type('password123');
cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click();
cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard');

// ❌ NEVER use async/await with cy commands
// ❌ NEVER assign cy.get() to a variable for later use

Selector Priority

1. cy.get('[data-cy="submit"]')     ← Best practice
2. cy.get('[data-testid="submit"]') ← Also good
3. cy.contains('Submit')            ← Text-based
4. cy.get('#submit-btn')            ← ID
5. cy.get('.btn-primary')           ← Class (fragile)

Anti-Patterns

Bad	Good	Why
cy.wait(5000)	cy.intercept() + cy.wait('@alias')	Arbitrary waits
const el = cy.get()	Chain directly	Cypress is async
async/await with cy	Chain .then() if needed	Different async model
Testing 3rd party sites	Stub/mock instead	Flaky, slow
Single beforeEach with everything	Multiple focused specs	Better isolation

Basic Test Structure

describe('Login', () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    cy.visit('/login');
  });

  it('should login with valid credentials', () => {
    cy.get('[data-cy="username"]').type('[email protected]');
    cy.get('[data-cy="password"]').type('password123');
    cy.get('[data-cy="submit"]').click();
    cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard');
    cy.get('[data-cy="welcome"]').should('contain', 'Welcome');
  });

  it('should show error for invalid credentials', () => {
    cy.get('[data-cy="username"]').type('[email protected]');
    cy.get('[data-cy="password"]').type('wrong');
    cy.get('[data-cy="submit"]').click();
    cy.get('[data-cy="error"]').should('be.visible');
  });
});