Cypress Writing API Tests in Cypress Estimated reading: 3 minutes 82 views API testing is a critical component of modern software development, ensuring that your application’s back-end services are robust, reliable, and performant. Cypress, a popular end-to-end testing framework, is not only capable of testing the UI but also excels at API testing. In this guide, we’ll explore how to write API tests in Cypress, dive into some practical examples, and discuss the differences between cy.request and cy.api, two powerful commands for API testing in Cypress.cy.requestCypress provides a seamless way to perform API testing by leveraging its cy.request command. This command is ideal for making HTTP requests to your application’s backend or any third-party services it interacts with. Using cy.request, you can validate the response status, headers, body, and even the timing of API calls, making it an essential tool for API testing in Cypress. For instance, if you’re testing a REST API, you can easily send GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE requests and assert that the server’s responses are as expected.Let’s consider an example where we want to test a simple GET request to retrieve a list of users from an API endpoint. Using cy.request, the test might look something like this:cy.request()describe('API Testing with Cypress', () => { it('should fetch a list of users', () => { cy.request('GET', 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users').then((response) => { expect(response.status).to.eq(200); expect(response.body).to.have.length(10); expect(response.body[0]).to.have.property('name'); }); }); });In this example, cy.request sends a GET request to the specified URL. The .then() method is used to handle the response, allowing us to assert that the status code is 200 and that the response body contains an array of users with the expected length and structure. This simple yet powerful approach highlights how Cypress makes API testing straightforward and accessible.cy.apiWhile cy.request is a fantastic tool for making HTTP requests, Cypress also offers the cy.api command through its official plugin, @cypress/plugin-api. This plugin provides a more feature-rich alternative to cy.request and is particularly useful for more complex API testing scenarios. One of the key differences between cy.request and cy.api is that cy.api automatically records requests and responses in the Cypress command log, making debugging and test reviews more intuitive.Consider a scenario where you need to perform a POST request to create a new user and validate the response. Using cy.api, you can write the following test:cy.api()describe('Advanced API Testing with Cypress', () => { it('should create a new user', () => { cy.api({ method: 'POST', url: 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users', body: { name: 'John Doe', email: 'john.doe@example.com', phone: '1-770-736-8031 x56442', }, }).then((response) => { expect(response.status).to.eq(201); expect(response.body).to.have.property('name', 'John Doe'); }); }); });In this example, cy.api is used to send a POST request with a JSON payload to create a new user. The test then checks that the server returns a status code of 201 (indicating successful creation) and that the response body contains the correct data. The enhanced logging capabilities of cy.api provide valuable insights into the request and response, making it easier to diagnose any issues that arise during testing.ConclusionCypress is a versatile framework that not only excels at end-to-end testing but also provides robust tools for API testing. Whether you choose to use cy.request for its simplicity and flexibility or cy.api for its enhanced logging and feature set, Cypress makes it easy to implement and maintain high-quality API tests. By incorporating API testing into your Cypress test suite, you can ensure that both your front-end and back-end components work harmoniously together, leading to a more reliable and resilient application.Tagged:Cypress Cypress - Previous Using Advanced Cypress Assertions
