# Cypress Tests Guide ## Introduction [Cypress](https://www.cypress.io/) is a JavaScript End to End Testing Framework that runs in the browser. Cypress tests run with a [local version](../dev-test) of the CMS. During the setup of a spec file, the relevant `index.html` and `config.yml` are copied from `dev-test/backends/` to `dev-test`. Tests for the `test` backend use mock data generated in `dev-test/backends/test/index.html`. Tests for the `github` backend use previously [recorded data](fixtures) and stub `fetch` [calls](support/commands.js#L82). See more about recording tests data [here](#recording-tests-data). ## Run Tests Locally ```bash yarn test:e2e # builds the demo site and runs Cypress in headless mode with mock data ``` ## Debug Tests ```bash yarn develop # starts a local dev server with the demo site yarn test:e2e:exec # runs Cypress in non-headless mode with mock data ``` ## Recording Tests Data > Currently only relevant for `github` backend tests. When recording tests, access to the GitHub API is required, thus one must set up a `.env` file in the root project directory in the following format: ```bash GITHUB_REPO_OWNER=owner GITHUB_REPO_NAME=repo GITHUB_REPO_TOKEN=tokenWithWritePermissions GITHUB_OPEN_AUTHORING_OWNER=forkOwner GITHUB_OPEN_AUTHORING_TOKEN=tokenWithWritePermissions ``` > The structure of the repo designated by `GITHUB_REPO_OWNER/GITHUB_REPO_NAME` should match the settings in [`config.yml`](../dev-test/backends/github/config.yml#L1) To start a recording run the following commands: ```bash yarn develop # starts a local dev server with the demo site yarn mock:server:start # starts the recording proxy yarn test:e2e:record-fixtures:dev # runs Cypress in non-headless and pass data through the recording proxy yarn mock:server:stop # stops the recording proxy ``` > During the recorded process a clone of `GITHUB_REPO_NAME` will be created under `.temp` and reset between tests. Recordings are sanitized from any possible sensitive data and [transformed](plugins/github.js#L395) into an easier to process format. To avoid recording all the tests over and over again, a recommended process is to: 1. Mark the specific test as `only` by changing `it("some test...` to `it.only("some test...` for the relevant test. 2. Run the test in recording mode. 3. Exit Cypress and stop the proxy. 4. Run the test normally (with mock data) to verify the recording works. ## Debugging Playback Failures Most common failures are: 1. The [recorded data](utils/mock-server.js#L17) is not [transformed](plugins/github.js#L395) properly (e.g. [sanitization](plugins/github.js#L283) broke something). 2. The [stubbed requests and responses](support/commands.js#L82) are not [matched](support/commands.js#L29) properly (e.g. timestamp changes in request body between recording and playback). Dumping all recorded data as is to a file [here](utils/mock-server.js#L24) and adding a `debugger;` statement [here](support/commands.js#L52) is useful to gain insights. Also comparing console log messages between recording and playback is very useful (ordering of requests, etc.)