About

Imported from personamanagmentlayer/pcl (stdlib/qa/cypress-expert/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add personamanagmentlayer/pcl --skill cypress-expert. Copyright stays with the author.

Cypress Expert

Name: cypress-expert
Author: personamanagmentlayer

Core Concepts

Cypress Framework

JavaScript-Based - Native JavaScript testing
Real-Time Reloads - Auto-reloading on file changes
Time Travel - Debug via snapshots
Automatic Waiting - No explicit waits needed
Network Control - Request stubbing and spying
Screenshots & Videos - Built-in capture

Test Structure

describe/it - Mocha-style test organization
Hooks - before, beforeEach, after, afterEach
Custom Commands - Reusable test logic
Fixtures - Test data management
Aliases - Reference DOM elements and requests
Chains - Fluent command interface

Advanced Features

Intercepts - Network request control
Component Testing - React, Vue, Angular components
Visual Testing - Applitools integration
Code Coverage - Test coverage reports
Parallelization - Cypress Cloud parallel execution
Plugins - Extend functionality

Best Practices

Test Organization

Keep tests independent and isolated
Use descriptive test names
Group related tests with describe blocks
Use beforeEach for common setup
Clean up after tests
Avoid test interdependencies

Selectors

Prefer data-* attributes for testing
Use cy.contains() for text-based selection
Avoid CSS classes and IDs tied to styling
Use role-based selectors when possible
Create stable selectors
Document selector strategies

Assertions

Use should() for auto-retry assertions
Chain assertions when appropriate
Test both positive and negative cases
Provide meaningful assertion messages
Use explicit assertions
Verify multiple aspects

Performance

Use cy.session() for authentication
Leverage fixtures for test data
Mock external API calls
Minimize page visits
Use aliases to avoid repeated queries
Run tests in parallel with Cypress Cloud

Anti-Patterns

Common Mistakes

Using cy.wait() with arbitrary time
Not using data-testid attributes
Overly complex test logic
Sharing state between tests
Testing implementation details
Missing cleanup in afterEach

Selector Issues

Using fragile CSS selectors
Relying on element position
Not using data attributes
Over-specific selectors
Using XPath unnecessarily
Coupling tests to UI structure

Test Design Problems

Tests depending on execution order
Too many assertions in one test
Not testing edge cases
Missing error scenarios
Duplicate test logic
Poor fixture management

Reference Documentation

Detailed material lives alongside this skill and is read on demand:

Implementation Examples — Basic Test Structure, Custom Commands, Network Interception, Fixtures and Test Data, Page Object Pattern, Component Testing, Configuration (cypress.config.js)

Resources

Official Documentation

Cypress Documentation - Complete guide
API Reference - API docs
Best Practices - Guidelines
Real World App - Example app

Learning Resources

Cypress YouTube - Video tutorials
Cypress Examples - Live examples
Cypress Discord - Community chat
Cypress Blog - Articles and updates

Tools & Extensions

Cypress Studio - Test generator
Cypress Dashboard - Test analytics
Testing Library - Better selectors
Cypress Plugins - Plugin directory

Community Resources

GitHub Discussions - Q&A
Stack Overflow - Community help
Awesome Cypress - Curated resources
Gitter Chat - Real-time chat

Use it

Copy one of these into your project. Installing also returns the manifest and these snippets.

yaml

targets:
  - https://api.opensmartroute.ai/api/v1/registry/personamanagmentlayer-pcl-cypress-expert/manifest   # or paste the manifest below

Manifest

An Open Capability Manifest: the router reads it to know what this does, what it costs and when to pick it.

personamanagmentlayer-pcl-cypress-expert.ocm.jsonjson

{
  "ocm": "1",
  "id": "personamanagmentlayer-pcl-cypress-expert",
  "kind": "skill",
  "name": "cypress-expert",
  "description": "Expert in Cypress testing framework, custom commands, fixtures, plugins, visual testing, and component testing. Use when the user mentions testing, end-to-end tests, QA, automation, end-to-end testing, or Cypress commands, or when the task involves Cypress Framework, Test Structure, Advanced Features, or Custom Commands.",
  "publisher": "personamanagmentlayer",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "capabilities": {
    "domains": [
      "coding"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "skill-md",
      "testing",
      "e2e",
      "cypress",
      "qa",
      "automation",
      "e2e-testing",
      "cypress-commands",
      "fixtures",
      "cypress-plugins"
    ],
    "languages": [
      "en"
    ]
  },
  "quality_prior": 0.6,
  "examples": [
    "Expert in Cypress testing framework, custom commands, fixtures, plugins, visual testing, and component testing. Use when the user mentions testing, end-to-end tests, QA, automation, end-to-end testing, or Cypress commands, or when the task involves Cypress Framework, Test Structure, Advanced Features, or Custom Commands."
  ],
  "primary": false,
  "metadata": {
    "source": {
      "provider": "skills.sh",
      "repository": "https://github.com/personamanagmentlayer/pcl",
      "path": "stdlib/qa/cypress-expert/SKILL.md",
      "ref": "HEAD",
      "url": "https://github.com/personamanagmentlayer/pcl/blob/HEAD/stdlib/qa/cypress-expert/SKILL.md",
      "key": "personamanagmentlayer/pcl/stdlib/qa/cypress-expert/SKILL.md"
    },
    "allowed_tools": [
      "Read",
      "Write",
      "Edit",
      "Bash",
      "Grep",
      "Glob"
    ]
  },
  "instructions": "# Cypress Expert\n\n## Core Concepts\n\n### Cypress Framework\n\n- **JavaScript-Based** - Native JavaScript testing\n- **Real-Time Reloads** - Auto-reloading on file changes\n- **Time Travel** - Debug via snapshots\n- **Automatic Waiting** - No explicit waits needed\n- **Network Control** - Request stubbing and spying\n- **Screenshots & Videos** - Built-in capture\n\n### Test Structure\n\n- **describe/it** - Mocha-style test organization\n- **Hooks** - before, beforeEach, after, afterEach\n- **Custom Commands** - Reusable test logic\n- **Fixtures** - Test data management\n- **Aliases** - Reference DOM elements a",
  "cost": {
    "context_tokens": 1062
  }
}

Fetch it by URL: GET /api/v1/registry/personamanagmentlayer-pcl-cypress-expert/manifest?version=1.0.0

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