debug-cypress

name	debug-cypress
description	Use this skill when a Cypress test is failing and the cause is not immediately obvious. Invoke automatically when: a test throws "element not found", "expected to find element", "element is disabled", or any assertion failure. Also invoke before reaching for {force: true}, cy.wait(), or rewriting a test from scratch — investigate first.
argument-hint	[failing-test-file]
disable-model-invocation	false
user-invocable	true
allowed-tools	Bash, Grep, Read, Glob

Debug Cypress

Systematic investigation protocol for Cypress test failures.

Rule: if you cannot answer "where in the code is this defined?" — stop guessing and find it.

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When to invoke

Invoke this skill when:

• A Cypress test fails with "element not found", "expected element", or any assertion failure
• A test passes locally but fails in CI
• You are about to use {force: true}, cy.wait(500), or rewrite a test
• You are about to make an assumption about a selector, label, or text value

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Investigation protocol — follow in order, do not skip steps

Step 1 — Read the exact error

Copy the full error message. Note:

• The exact selector or text it was looking for
• The line number that failed
• Any "found N elements, expected 1" details

Do not guess from a partial error.

Step 2 — Find the implementation

Locate where the element is defined in source:

# Search by visible text or aria-label
grep -r "the-label-from-error" src --include="*.tsx" -l

# Search by data-testid
grep -r "data-testid.*the-id" src --include="*.tsx"

# Search for the component by name
grep -r "ComponentName" src --include="*.tsx" -l

Read the found file. Do not assume — look at the actual JSX.

Step 3 — Resolve translations (if using t())

If the component uses aria-label={t('some.key', { context: value })}:

# The resolved key is: some.key_{CONTEXT_VALUE}
grep -r "some.key_CONTEXT_VALUE" src --include="*.json"

Translation files:

• Main app: src/locales/en/
• DataHub: src/extensions/datahub/locales/en/datahub.json

Step 4 — Check how other tests use the same element

# Find existing usage of the selector
grep -r "the-selector-or-label" cypress/e2e --include="*.cy.ts"
grep -r "the-selector-or-label" src --include="*.spec.cy.tsx"

If other tests already select this element correctly, match their approach exactly.

Step 5 — Check the Page Object Model

# Check if the POM already has a getter
grep -r "relevant-term" cypress/pages --include="*.ts"

Page objects live in cypress/pages/{Module}/{ModulePage}.ts.

If the element exists but has no POM getter: add one. Never use raw selectors in test bodies.

Step 6 — Fix and verify

• Update the POM getter if needed
• Update the test to use the POM getter
• Run the specific test once to verify:

pnpm cypress:run:component --spec "src/path/to/Component.spec.cy.tsx"
pnpm cypress:run:e2e --spec "cypress/e2e/path/to/test.spec.cy.ts"

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Quick command reference

# Find element by visible text
grep -r "Button Label" src --include="*.tsx" -l

# Find aria-label usage in a component
grep -r "aria-label" src/modules/ModuleName --include="*.tsx"

# Resolve a context-based translation
# t('workspace.nodes.type', { context: 'FUNCTION' }) → key: workspace.nodes.type_FUNCTION
grep -r "nodes.type_FUNCTION" src --include="*.json"

# Find how other tests select an element
grep -r "aria-label.*Save" cypress/e2e --include="*.cy.ts"

# Inspect a page object
grep -A 3 "get save\|get submit" cypress/pages/Bridges/BridgePage.ts

---

What good investigation looks like

Error: Expected to find element: [aria-label="Function"]

1. Search source: grep -r "aria-label.*Function" src --include="*.tsx"
2. Find: aria-label={t('workspace.nodes.type', { context: nodeType })}
3. Resolve key: workspace.nodes.type_FUNCTION → value: "JS Function"
4. Fix POM: use "JS Function" not "Function"
5. Run test once — passes

Total time: 3–5 minutes.

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Execution and artifacts

Running tests

# ✅ Always use pnpm — never npx cypress run
pnpm cypress:run:component --spec "src/path/to/Component.spec.cy.tsx"
pnpm cypress:run:e2e --spec "cypress/e2e/path/to/test.spec.cy.ts"

# Filter noisy output
pnpm cypress:run:e2e --spec "..." 2>&1 | head -100          # First 100 lines
pnpm cypress:run:e2e --spec "..." 2>&1 | grep -E "passing|failing"  # Summary only

Never prepend rm -rf cypress/videos — rm is not in the allowed commands list. Cypress overwrites videos automatically.

CLI output — what you get

The CLI output contains the full error with the exact selector and line number:

AssertionError: Expected to find element: [aria-label="Save"], but never found it.
  at Context.eval (cypress/e2e/Bridges/bridge.spec.cy.ts:47:7)

This is enough to start Step 2 (find the implementation). You do not need screenshots.

DOM state snapshot

If you need to see what elements are actually on the page, add cy.logDOMState() before the failing assertion. It writes a JSON file to cypress/html-snapshots/ with all IDs, data-testid values, and ARIA roles visible at that moment:

cat cypress/html-snapshots/dom-state-*.json | jq '.availableTestIds'

This is more useful than a screenshot: you get a machine-readable list of every selector available on the page.

Accessibility violation details in CI

If cy.checkAccessibility() fails but the log shows no violation details, check cypress.config.ts:

installLogsPrinter(on, { printLogsToConsole: 'onFail' }) // not 'never'

And cypress/support/e2e.ts:

installLogsCollector({ collectTypes: ['cy:log', 'cy:command'] })

Without cy:log in collectTypes, axe violation details are swallowed.

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Never do this

• Add {force: true} to click a covered element — find the correct element instead
• Add cy.wait(500) — use cy.should() assertions to wait for state
• Assume the selector is correct and the app is broken
• Rewrite the test before understanding why it fails
• Use npx cypress run — use pnpm cypress:run:e2e instead