Top 10 Reasons to Use Cypress From A to Z

Web Automation Testing is crucial for the application development process and to deliver excellence in a shorter release cycle. The web is evolving and so is the testing. Therefore easy, fast, and reliable testing is a must for anything that runs in a browser.

Hence, choosing the right test automation framework like Cypress is critical for the process.

If you are dealing with any problem with your current test suite like inconsistent results (flaky tests), or difficulty in writing (or fixing the broken tests). Then Cypress can help you to eliminate these problems and meet all the testing requirements.

No doubt Selenium has been the de-facto test automation framework for cross-browser testing for many years. But now a new automation testing framework called Cypress is gaining traction.

Previously end-to-end testing was considered to be a challenging process. But the entry of Cypress makes everything much easier, like setting up, writing, running, and debugging tests, etc. Cypress provides a faster, easier, and more reliable way of running User Interface (UI) tests.

Not only these but there is also a lot to say about why one should consider Cypress’s automated testing framework. This is what we are going to discuss in this article. But before that, it is important to know about Cypress in detail. We will start with the definition of Cypress, its importance, and the reason to use it.

What is Cypress                                        

Cypress is a JavaScript-based, end-to-end testing framework that is used for modern web automation testing. It is fully JavaScript based and built on top of  Mocha with specific new APIs for ease of scripting. Cypress is a developer-friendly tool that allows developers and automation engineers to create automated web test cases in JavaScript, the main language used for website development. So before getting started with Cypress testing one needs to be proficient in JavaScript. It also uses a BDD/TDD assertion library and a browser to pair them with any JavaScript testing framework.

Cypress focuses on addressing complexities the developers face during application testing. By using a unique DOM manipulation technique and running directly in the browser it provides asynchronous testing. With Cypress, you can write integration tests, unit tests, and end-to-end tests.

Cypress is a great growing tool that provides a good execution environment with a unique interactive test runner that executes all the commands. It is intended to make development and testing a parallel process.

Cypress provides the following advanced features.

• Time travel feature to take snapshots of tests running.
• Easy real-time debugging through readable errors and stack traces.
• Automatic waiting for commands and assertions before moving ahead.
• Network traffic control by verifying and controlling the behavior of functions, server responses, or timers without involving the server.
• Automatically capture Screenshots of failure and videos of the entire test suite.
• Allows performing Cross Browser Testing locally within Firefox and Chrome-family browsers (including Edge and Electron).
• A rich set of plugins for advanced test automation coverage, visual testing, and more.
• Allows QAs and developers to create Unit tests, Integration tests, and End to End tests

Why use Cypress

Cypress is growing rapidly due to many reasons.

As mentioned above, it is a modern front-end test automation framework enriched with the ability to create powerful and reliable test scenarios quickly.

It is the fastest-growing cross-browser, front-end developer-friendly open-source test automation framework.

It has a strong community, support, documentation, and great capabilities like Time Travel, network traffic control, etc.

Cypress is more universal than other automation tools to run in the browser, this helps in compiling websites written in any language to JavaScript.

Like other testing frameworks, Cypress does not execute test code outside of the browser. It uses Node.js to run within the browser only. This enables the testers to test anything that runs in a web browser, and there will be no network lag.

Equipped with a set of capabilities like execution speed and debugging capabilities makes it easy to use,

The browser and the Cypress Node process constantly read and alter web traffic to perform tasks on behalf of each other on the network layer using the built-in Node.js server.

10 reasons you should use Cypress for web testing automation

Cypress is the next-generation front-end testing framework that is increasingly becoming popular for the modern web. while testing modern applications developers and QA engineers face a lot of challenges. To address the key pain points Cypress is the best choice. Therefore we have listed some reasons why you should go for this framework for automating the testing of your web applications. This will help in making your decision and boost the testing.

Cypress runs faster

The architectural improvements are made to provide the ability to do TDD with full end-to-end tests for the very first time. Cypress aims at testing and development can happen simultaneously. That means develop[ers can develop faster while driving the entire dev process with tests as they can see their application and at the same time have access to the developer tools and the changes.

Debugging Capabilities

One of the key benefits Cypress provides to developers is advanced debugging capabilities. They can debug their web apps quickly and easily with Cypress. When tests fail, they provide suggestions for how to fix the defect. The Cypress tests run within the browser, so developers can directly debug using the powerful browser developers tools to see the application messages, regulate element locator information, determine the readable error and stack traces, and much more.

Cypress supports capabilities like time travel and real-time reload, so developers can check the stability of their website code and examine flaky tests or defects both during and after test execution. Cypress also makes it simple and easy to find defects and debug apps by providing screenshots of the test failed,

Visual Testing Across Browsers

An additional and important aspect of web application testing is to check whether the app is rendering perfectly across different browsers. This is to ensure that the app looks and feels across different platforms, screen sizes and resolutions, and technologies. Cypress is best at performing various visual tests from capturing different screenshots of the web app and comparing them with other virtual platforms to detecting visual and functional defects in the app.

Easy to set up and get started

Cypress automation for web testing is easy to get started with because it does not require any installation to get started. All the different famous tools( with various features) known by the JavaScript community are pre-packed for use. You just start writing automated tests and Cypress will ensure that the most important features of your application are covered.

In addition, Cypress comes bundled with a Chrome browser, so there is no need to set up any complex environment. Additionally, to test with Cypress you can also use any other browser that is installed on the local machine. This framework This flexibility and simple setup are highly advantageous that makes Cypress more attractive to developers. It can also provides executable examples of using each of its features that enables testing the most diverse situations found in modern web applications.

Allows various types of automated tests

Cypress can be used for writing several different types of tests. This can boost the confidence that the running application is working as intended. In addition to end-to-end testing, where testing takes place by visiting the application in a browser and performing actions via the UI just like a real user would. Cypress also lets you write and run API tests, frontend tests, component tests, visual regression tests, accessibility tests, and also a combination of the previous.

Automatic waiting

Cypress by default automatically waits for the commands and assertions to be visible before trying to interact with them. It automatically waits for the elements to finish before moving on with the tests. It even waits for animations to finish. Hence, there is no need for implicit or explicit waits to be defined. The tool also allows the customization of these behaviors and makes the tests more robust and reliable.

Top-notch documentation

Cypress offers robust documentation. In addition, the documentation not only covers detailed explanations of its use, but also covers good and bad practices in writing automated tests, videos demonstrating its use, deep and detailed blog posts, links to lectures at major conferences, webinars, and many more

Active Community

Being an open-source tool, Cypress has an active community of professionals worldwide helping and spreading their growth stories.

More Versatile

Compared to other automation frameworks, Cypress is more universal because it is written in JavaScript and based on Mocha. When run in browsers it uses Node.js

The fact that Cypress is based on JavaScript is extremely important since JavaScript is the main language used by developers for developing websites. It tests are created in a language that is already familiar to developers, hence making it more user-friendly.

Using Cypress, you can also run cross-browser testing. It also allows the execution of tests on Firefox and browsers within the Chrome family, such as Edge and Electron.

Real-time reloads

Cypress automatically reloads whenever any changes are made to the tests. It sees the commands and executes them in real time in the app. It is intelligent enough to figure out that after saving a test file the tester will surely run it again. So, whenever the testers save their file it automatically triggers the run next to the browser. Hence, this eliminates the need to manually trigger the run.

 Limitations of Cypress

• Cypress can be used to drive two browsers at the same time.
• It doesn’t have the ability to support multi-tabs.
• Cypress does not support multiple programming languages for creating test cases.
• There is no support for browsers like Safari and IE at the moment.
• Restricted support for iFrames.
• Cypress tests can be implemented to run on a mobile web view but only on the Chrome browser. Testing the applications on a wide range of browsers, needs other tools, browsers, and device farms, like LambdaTest.

Expanding Cypress automation testing With LambdaTest

If you want to build a modern application faster, better, and without the stress and anxiety associated with addressing tests. Then LambdaTest is the solution for you. It provides services that everyone can learn and benefit from.

LambdaTest offers full support for the Cypress test automation framework. It also provides the additional benefits of boosted test coverage, faster test executions, and stable and scalable test automation. LambdaTest makes it simple to get started with testing where executes web tests on browsers in the LambdaTest cloud.

Regardless of which cross-browser testing solution you choose, LambdaTest integrates seamlessly with that and makes end-to-end testing better.

It also allows you to run cross-browser tests on different browsers and devices simultaneously by leveraging parallel testing for faster testing with a vast coverage.

It is important for Cypress testing to be executed on real browsers for accurate results. Running Cypress tests on LambdaTest real device cloud helps to get access to more than 40+ real devices and browsers, and operating systems combinations for wider test coverage. Testing under real user conditions helps in identifying the bottlenecks in the real user experience and resolving them easily.

Use LambdaTest for an instant, hassle-free parallelization to get faster results without compromising on accuracy and detect bugs before users do by testing the application in real user conditions

Also Read: How can a UX Design Agency Can Bring Value to Your Business

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that the Cypress framework helps you build an app with confidence. You can use it to detect bugs before they happen and make sure that your users have the best possible experience with the application.

Hope that you have gained a better understanding of Cypress automation framework and the reason why you should choose Cypress for web application testing.