API Automation in Cypress — Rest Assured and Cucumber.

Published On: 15 February 2024.By Mohd Bilal.

API
Quality Engineering

API Automation in Cypress — Rest Assured and Cucumber.

To get started first we need to review what are Cypress and Rest Assured

Cypress.io

Cypress is an open-source, end-to-end testing framework designed to simplify the process of testing web applications. Unlike traditional testing tools, Cypress operates directly within the browser, enabling real-time testing and instantaneous feedback. Its robust architecture, coupled with an easy-to-use API, empowers developers to write comprehensive tests with minimal effort.

Key Features of Cypress

Cypress offers a plethora of features that streamline the automation testing process. Its clear and concise API allows developers to write tests using familiar languages like JavaScript, enhancing readability and maintainability. Additionally, Cypress’s automatic waiting eliminates flakiness by intelligently handling asynchronous behavior.

Transitioning from Traditional Tools

For those accustomed to using traditional testing frameworks like Selenium, transitioning to Cypress may seem daunting at first. However, Cypress’s simplified syntax and intuitive test runner make the transition seamless. With its built-in support for modern web technologies and frameworks, such as React and Angular, Cypress empowers developers to write tests that accurately reflect real-world scenarios.

Integration with Cucumber

Cypress seamlessly integrates with Cucumber, a popular tool for behavior-driven development (BDD). By leveraging Cucumber’s expressive syntax, teams can write tests in plain language, fostering collaboration between developers, testers, and stakeholders. This integration enhances test readability and ensures alignment between business requirements and test scenarios.

Advantages of Cypress Automation

One of the primary advantages of using Cypress for automation testing is its fast execution speed. With its ability to run tests directly within the browser, Cypress offers unparalleled speed and efficiency, reducing test execution times significantly. Furthermore, Cypress’s built-in visual testing capabilities enable developers to easily identify and debug issues, improving overall test coverage and reliability.

Demystifying Rest Assured: A Beginner’s Guide to API Automation

Introduction

In the realm of API automation testing, Rest Assured emerges as a formidable tool, empowering developers to streamline the testing process and ensure the reliability of their applications. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll delve into what Rest Assured is, its capabilities, and how it facilitates efficient API testing.

Understanding Rest Assured

Rest Assured is a Java-based library designed specifically for automating API tests. It provides a fluent interface that simplifies the process of sending HTTP requests and validating responses, making it an ideal choice for testing RESTful APIs. With Rest Assured, developers can easily write concise and expressive tests to verify the functionality and behaviour of their APIs.

Key Features and Advantages

One of the key advantages of Rest Assured is its seamless integration with popular testing frameworks like JUnit and TestNG, allowing for the creation of comprehensive test suites. Additionally, Rest Assured supports BDD (Behavior-Driven Development) with tools like Cucumber, enabling collaboration between developers and stakeholders through human-readable scenarios. Its intuitive syntax and rich set of assertions make writing and maintaining tests a breeze, even for beginners.

Sample Script to Get Started

// feature file (example.feature) 
Feature: Testing API endpoints using Rest Assured and Cypress
Scenario: Verify API response status code
 Given I make a GET request to "/api/users"
 Then the response status code should be 200
// step definitions (example_steps.js)
import { Given, Then } from 'cypress-cucumber-preprocessor/steps';
import { get } from 'rest-assured';
Given('I make a GET request to {string}', (url) => {
 cy.wrap(get(url));
});
Then('the response status code should be {int}', (statusCode) => {
 cy.get('@response').its('status').should('equal', statusCode);
});

// feature file (example.feature)

Feature: Testing API endpoints using Rest Assured and Cypress

Scenario: Verify API response status code

Given I make a GET request to "/api/users"

Then the response status code should be 200

// step definitions (example_steps.js)

import { Given, Then } from 'cypress-cucumber-preprocessor/steps';

import { get } from 'rest-assured';

Given('I make a GET request to {string}', (url) => {

cy.wrap(get(url));

});

Then('the response status code should be {int}', (statusCode) => {

cy.get('@response').its('status').should('equal', statusCode);

});

project-root/
│
├── cypress/
│   ├── integration/
│   │   ├── examples/
│   │   │   ├── example.feature     // Feature files
│   │   │   └── example_steps.js    // Step definitions
│   │   └── ...
│   └── ...
│
├── cypress.json                    // Cypress configuration file
├── package.json                    // Project dependencies and scripts
└── ...

project-root/

│

├── cypress/

│ ├── integration/

│ │ ├── examples/

│ │ │ ├── example.feature // Feature files

│ │ │ └── example_steps.js // Step definitions

│ │ └── ...

│ └── ...

│

├── cypress.json // Cypress configuration file

├── package.json // Project dependencies and scripts

└── ...

Installation Guide:

Install Node.js and npm: Ensure Node.js and npm are installed on your system. You can download and install them from the official Node.js website: https://nodejs.org/

Initialize Your Project:

Navigate to your project directory and run the following command to initialize a new npm project:

npm init -y

1	npm init -y

Install Cypress and Cypress-Cucumber-Preprocessor:

npm install cypress cypress-cucumber-preprocessor --save-dev

1	npm install cypress cypress-cucumber-preprocessor --save-dev

Install Rest Assured:

Add Rest Assured as a dependency in your project by running the following command:

<span id="19bf" class="ark aqo anb arh b bm arl arm s arn aro" data-selectable-paragraph="">npm install <span class="hljs-attribute">rest</span>-assured <span class="hljs-attr">--save-dev
</span></span>

1 2	<span id="19bf" class="ark aqo anb arh b bm arl arm s arn aro" data-selectable-paragraph="">npm install <span class="hljs-attribute">rest</span>-assured <span class="hljs-attr">--save-dev </span></span>

Configuration Setup:

Cypress Configuration:

Create a cypress.json file in the root of your project directory. Add the following configuration to enable Cypress-Cucumber-Preprocessor:

<span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
<span class="hljs-attr">"testFiles"</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-string">"**/*.feature"</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">,</span>
<span class="hljs-attr">"ignoreTestFiles"</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-string">"*.js"</span>
<span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>

{

"testFiles": "**/*.feature",

"ignoreTestFiles": "*.js"

}

Cypress-Cucumber-Preprocessor Configuration:

Add the following configuration to your package.json file to specify the location of your step definitions:

<span class="hljs-attr">"cypress-cucumber-preprocessor"</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-punctuation">{</span>
<span class="hljs-attr">"nonGlobalStepDefinitions"</span><span class="hljs-punctuation">:</span> <span class="hljs-literal"><span class="hljs-keyword">true</span></span>
<span class="hljs-punctuation">}</span>

"cypress-cucumber-preprocessor": {

"nonGlobalStepDefinitions": true

}

Update Cypress Plugins:

Update your cypress/plugins/index.js file to include the Cypress-Cucumber-Preprocessor plugin:

<span class="hljs-keyword">const</span> cucumber = <span class="hljs-built_in">require</span>(<span class="hljs-string">'cypress-cucumber-preprocessor'</span>).<span class="hljs-property">default</span>;

<span class="hljs-variable.language">module</span>.<span class="hljs-property">exports</span> = <span class="hljs-function">(<span class="hljs-params">on, config</span>) =&gt;</span> {
<span class="hljs-title.function">on</span>(<span class="hljs-string">'file:preprocessor'</span>, <span class="hljs-title.function">cucumber</span>());
};

const cucumber = require('cypress-cucumber-preprocessor').default;

module.exports = (on, config) => {

on('file:preprocessor', cucumber());

};

Write Feature Files and Step Definitions:

Create your feature files under cypress/integration directory and write corresponding step definitions in JavaScript files.

Run Your Tests:

You can now run your Rest Assured tests within Cypress by executing the following command:

npx cypress open

1	npx cypress open

Getting Started:

1 .Create Feature Files: Start by creating feature files that describe the behavior of your API endpoints using Gherkin syntax.

2. Write Step Definitions: Write step definitions in JavaScript to define the actions and assertions for each step in your feature files.

3. Execute Tests: Run your tests using Cypress to validate the behavior of your API endpoints and ensure the reliability of your application.

With this setup, you’re ready to leverage the power of Rest Assured and Cypress in your API automation testing, integrating BDD practices for efficient and effective testing.