Cypress is a game-changer for end-to-end and component testing, but its power truly shines when paired with the right plugins. This blog post explores 10 must-have Cypress plugins that will supercharge testing workflows, boost efficiency, and help catch even the trickiest bugs.
Cypress-e2e-cli:
One of the biggest hurdles for any new test automation engineer or developer is setting up a new framework. While having a plan is half the battle, actually setting up the framework is still the other half. This plugin guides users through the process with several questions, resulting in a basic framework ready to go.
Although the bundlers and reporters are limited in their options, it is undoubtedly the easiest way to set up a Cypress project within minutes. Any hassle or configuration is done for the user. Opening VS Code with a fully functional framework, a filled package.json, and Cypress config is very satisfactory.
Cypress-vite:
For those using Vite as a frontend build tool, cypress-vite offers seamless integration. Users get faster dev server start times, lightning-fast HMR (Hot Module Replacement), and optimized Cypress setup for modern development workflows. By installing this preprocessor, Cypress will handle tests faster and can use the same configuration as development, making it easier to integrate Cypress into the development process.
Using cypress-vite doesn't just speed up the framework; it also enables using the same configuration for both the API testing framework powered by Vite and the Cypress framework powered by cypress-vite. Unit tests for both the backend and frontend use Vite, component tests use vite-dev-server, and end-to-end tests use cypress-vite, allowing the team to use specific features or plugins for Vite in all testing.
@Shopify/cypress-graphql:
A huge fan of the Cypress intercept functionality and someone forced to use GraphQL will find shopify/Cypress-graphql a godsend. The default Cypress intercept functionality can intercept and adjust GraphQL calls, but it does not lend itself to it quite easily. While intercepting GraphQL requests, it feels as though it was not built for it.
Now, with Shopify/Cypress-graphql, those days are history. The Cypress intercept is running the show, making it easy to hijack specific GraphQL requests based on their operation name and even mock all their responses. The added bonus is that the difference between cy.intercept and Shopify's version is clear without obscuring the meaning of either. The GraphQL command is quite simply cy.interceptGql.
@Neuralegion/cypress-har-generator:
One of the major difficulties in test automation is communication about test failures towards development, especially when a UI test fails and it is likely a backend issue. This plugin helps to resolve the issue by creating a HAR file, which contains all the information regarding API requests. These relatively tiny files are sometimes crucial in debugging a certain bug, as they enable the reproduction of any UI test on an API level.
The downside of this plugin is that it is no longer in active development. Despite this, it still reaches 55,000 downloads weekly. This plugin has prevented many discussions from reaching the 'can't reproduce' state. With its impressive collection of options, this plugin still stands tall.
While sharing the HAR file is very convenient for bug reporting, when troubleshooting or debugging, Cypress Cloud offers Test Replay, which enables users to gain visibility into the events leading up to crashes or failures by inspecting the DOM, network events, and console logs of your application under test exactly as they ran in CI.
@cypress/grep:
Another major hurdle in UI automation is its duration. Regardless of implementation, browser tests always take longer. One common solution is allocating tests to a certain suite or test type, such as defining certain tests as smoke tests. With @cypress/grep, it becomes possible to run specific tests without much overhead by adding a simple tag into the test name. This plugin then filters the name and only runs the correctly tagged tests.
This plugin is incredibly simple to use. In 10 minutes, a basic configuration and running framework can be achieved, only scratching the surface of its abilities.
cypress-fail-fast:
Don't waste time on a broken test suite. cypress-fail-fast aborts the test run as soon as the first failure occurs, preventing unnecessary test executions and accelerating the feedback loop. Cypress Cloud can achieve the same thing using its Auto Cancellation feature, part of the Smart Orchestration set, which helps reduce test time. One of the first tests to write for any page is validating if all buttons and input fields are present. If they are not, it is often not worth running the following tests. This first check should be marked as fail-fast because if it fails, the others should no longer run.
This plugin allows marking certain tests as critical. If any of those critical tests fail, the suite (spec file) is skipped completely, freeing up the pipeline for software that actually works.
cypress-mochawesome-reporter:
cypress-mochawesome-reporter solves a major problem in testing: reporting towards management. This zero-config plugin is perfect for test automation engineers who do not wish to spend a great deal of time generating a report. After implementing this plugin, each Cypress spec file will have its own nice HTML report, complete with screenshots and a stack trace.
The next step would be either merging the reports and hosting or just hosting each file individually. After that, it is all about sharing the link with stakeholders, fulfilling all reporting needs.
As a reminder, Cypress Cloud offers robust reporting options to help you understand various aspects of your test suite from a number of perspectives. You can monitor and govern your application quality by looking at test case statistics, common errors, test run duration, flake rates and much more.
cypress-cucumber-preprocessor:
A cornerstone of test automation is the use of Cucumber. This layer on top of any framework helps translate the technical capabilities of the testing framework for non-technical people. Cucumber allows authors to quickly add different test cases without touching the actual code or logic of the framework. In some instances, this allows businesses or analysts to add test cases.
The benefits of Cucumber don't stop there. Because Cucumber is written in a human-readable language, reporting test failures becomes significantly easier. Even the implementation of certain acceptance criteria becomes faster, as the analyst has already written the criteria.
eslint-plugin-cypress:
Maintain clean and consistent code in Cypress tests. eslint-plugin-cypress provides linting rules tailored for Cypress best practices, catching potential errors and promoting code quality. This creates a framework that is more enjoyable to work in and much easier to maintain.
Cypress-ajv-schema-validator:
Validating the response or request body sent by the browser has always been an important part of test automation. Yet, this grey zone between the frontend and the backend is often neglected, simply because validating the whole request or response is an unpleasant and time-consuming task. With the Cypress-ajv-schema-validator plugin, this grey zone will no longer hold on to its secrets. The new chainable command enables testers to validate the schema of any request or response.
By incorporating these top-notch plugins into a Cypress toolkit, testing efficiency, quality, and productivity will reach a new level. Whether streamlining setup, improving reporting, or embracing BDD, these plugins will help take Cypress testing to the next level.