Cypress: how to run code once before all tests on tests start

Question

Is there any way to execute code once before all tests in Cypress? I need it to run only once before all specs. The problem I want to solve is to create some file needed for tests, prepare user permissions and so on.

I have tried 'before' hook in the support index.js file but it runs every test spec.

I have also tried to run conditional 'before' hook in index.js based on env variable which I set in the cypress.json file like so:

  "env": {
    "cypress_setup": false
  },

I am changing the variable in the hook:

before(function () {
  // Set user permissions
  if (Cypress.env('cypress_admin') === false) {
    // do some stuff
    cy.log('o some stuff')
    // Change the variable to mark the hook as executed
    cy.exec('export cypress_admin="true"')
  }
})

but seems Cypress sets original env variable value before each test.

I expect Cypress to support this type of action is some way.

Jennifer Shehane Jennifer Shehane · Accepted Answer · 2020-12-23T06:57:34

As of Cypress 6.2.0, you can listen to the before:run event in the plugins file and run any piece of code you'd like within that event handler. The event will fire each time cypress run executes.

*This feature is currently experimental and requires setting the experimentalRunEvents configuration option to true.

See the before:run API doc for more details: https://on.cypress.io/before-run-api

Cypress: how to run code once before all tests on tests start

2 Answers