Cypress Automation Skill

When to Use

Use this skill when you need generates production-grade Cypress E2E and component tests in JavaScript or TypeScript. Supports local execution and TestMu AI cloud. Use when the user asks to write Cypress tests, set up Cypress, test with cy commands, or mentions "Cypress", "cy.visit", "cy.get", "cy.intercept"....

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

javascript
// ✅ Cypress chains — no await, no async
cy.visit('/login');
cy.get('#username').type('user@test.com');
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

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

  it('should login with valid credentials', () => {
    cy.get('[data-cy="username"]').type('user@test.com');
    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('wrong@test.com');
    cy.get('[data-cy="password"]').type('wrong');
    cy.get('[data-cy="submit"]').click();
    cy.get('[data-cy="error"]').should('be.visible');
  });
});

Network Interception

javascript
// Stub API response
cy.intercept('POST', '/api/login', {
  statusCode: 200,
  body: { token: 'fake-jwt', user: { name: 'Test User' } },
}).as('loginRequest');

cy.get('[data-cy="submit"]').click();
cy.wait('@loginRequest').its('request.body').should('deep.include', {
  email: 'user@test.com',
});

// Wait for real API
cy.intercept('GET', '/api/dashboard').as('dashboardLoad');
cy.visit('/dashboard');
cy.wait('@dashboardLoad');

Custom Commands

javascript
// cypress/support/commands.js
Cypress.Commands.add('login', (email, password) => {
  cy.session([email, password], () => {
    cy.visit('/login');
    cy.get('[data-cy="username"]').type(email);
    cy.get('[data-cy="password"]').type(password);
    cy.get('[data-cy="submit"]').click();
    cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard');
  });
});

// Usage in tests
cy.login('user@test.com', 'password123');

TestMu AI Cloud

javascript
// cypress.config.js
module.exports = {
  e2e: {
    setupNodeEvents(on, config) {
      // LambdaTest plugin
    },
  },
};

// lambdatest-config.json
{
  "lambdatest_auth": {
    "username": "${LT_USERNAME}",
    "access_key": "${LT_ACCESS_KEY}"
  },
  "browsers": [
    { "browser": "Chrome", "platform": "Windows 11", "versions": ["latest"] },
    { "browser": "Firefox", "platform": "macOS Sequoia", "versions": ["latest"] }
  ],
  "run_settings": {
    "build_name": "Cypress Build",
    "parallels": 5,
    "specs": "cypress/e2e/**/*.cy.js"
  }
}

Run on cloud:

bash
npx lambdatest-cypress run

Validation Workflow

1. No arbitrary waits: Zero cy.wait(number) — use intercepts
2. Selectors: Prefer data-cy attributes
3. No async/await: Pure Cypress chaining
4. Assertions: Use .should() chains, not manual checks
5. Isolation: Each test independent, use cy.session() for auth

Quick Reference

| Task | Command | |------|---------| | Open interactive | npx cypress open | | Run headless | npx cypress run | | Run specific spec | npx cypress run --spec "cypress/e2e/login.cy.js" | | Run in browser | npx cypress run --browser chrome | | Component tests | npx cypress run --component | | Environment vars | CYPRESS_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000 npx cypress run | | Fixtures | cy.fixture('users.json').then(data => ...) | | File upload | cy.get('input[type="file"]').selectFile('file.pdf') | | Viewport | cy.viewport('iphone-x') or cy.viewport(1280, 720) | | Screenshot | cy.screenshot('login-page') |

Reference Files

| File | When to Read | |------|-------------| | reference/cloud-integration.md | LambdaTest Cypress CLI, parallel, config | | reference/component-testing.md | React/Vue/Angular component tests | | reference/custom-commands.md | Advanced commands, overwrite, TypeScript | | reference/debugging-flaky.md | Retry-ability, detached DOM, race conditions |

Advanced Playbook

For production-grade patterns, see reference/playbook.md:

| Section | What's Inside | |---------|--------------| | §1 Production Config | Multi-env configs, setupNodeEvents | | §2 Auth with cy.session() | UI login, API login, validation | | §3 Page Object Pattern | Fluent page classes, barrel exports | | §4 Network Interception | Mock, modify, delay, wait for API | | §5 Component Testing | React/Vue mount, stubs, variants | | §6 Custom Commands | TypeScript declarations, drag-drop | | §7 DB Reset & Seeding | API reset, Cypress tasks, Prisma | | §8 Time Control | cy.clock(), cy.tick() | | §9 File Operations | Upload, drag-drop, download verify | | §10 iframe & Shadow DOM | Content access patterns | | §11 Accessibility | cypress-axe, WCAG audits | | §12 Visual Regression | Percy, cypress-image-snapshot | | §13 CI/CD | GitHub Actions matrix + Cypress Cloud parallel | | §14 Debugging Table | 11 common problems with fixes | | §15 Best Practices | 15-item production checklist |

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches its upstream source and local project context.
• Verify commands, generated code, dependencies, credentials, and external service behavior before applying changes.
• Do not treat examples as a substitute for environment-specific tests, security review, or user approval for destructive or costly actions.