beforeEach and afterEach hooks in Cypress - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

Output of beforeEach and afterEach hooks in Cypress

Consider the following Cypress test code. What will be the order of console logs when the tests run?

Cypress

describe('Test Suite', () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    cy.log('beforeEach hook');
  });

  afterEach(() => {
    cy.log('afterEach hook');
  });

  it('Test 1', () => {
    cy.log('Test 1 body');
  });

  it('Test 2', () => {
    cy.log('Test 2 body');
  });
});

A 2,1,3,5,4,6

B 1,2,3,4,5,6

C 1,3,2,4,6,5

D 3,1,2,6,4,5

💡 Hint

Remember that beforeEach runs before each test and afterEach runs after each test.

The beforeEach hook runs before every test, and afterEach runs after every test. So for two tests, the order is: beforeEach, test body, afterEach, then repeat for the second test.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Correct assertion placement with beforeEach and afterEach

Where should you place assertions to verify a UI element is visible before each test and cleaned up after each test?

A Place visibility assertion inside beforeEach and cleanup assertion inside afterEach

B Place all assertions inside the first test only

C Place visibility assertion inside afterEach and cleanup assertion inside beforeEach

D Place all assertions inside afterEach only

💡 Hint

Think about when the UI element should be visible and when it should be cleaned up.

Assertions about the UI element's visibility should be in beforeEach to confirm it's ready before tests. Cleanup assertions belong in afterEach to confirm the element is removed after tests.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Debugging unexpected test order with beforeEach and afterEach

You notice that your afterEach hook is not running after the first test but runs after the second test. What is the most likely cause?

A The first test contains an asynchronous command without returning or awaiting it

B The beforeEach hook is missing

C The afterEach hook is defined inside the first test block

D The test suite has only one test

💡 Hint

Consider how Cypress handles asynchronous commands and test completion.

If a test has asynchronous commands but does not return or await them properly, Cypress may not detect test completion correctly, causing hooks like afterEach to run late or out of order.

❓ framework

advanced

Using beforeEach and afterEach with Cypress custom commands

You want to log in a user before each test and log out after each test using custom Cypress commands cy.login() and cy.logout(). Which setup is correct?

Cypress

describe('User tests', () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    cy.login();
  });

  afterEach(() => {
    cy.logout();
  });

  it('checks dashboard', () => {
    cy.get('#dashboard').should('be.visible');
  });
});

A Login should be in afterEach and logout in beforeEach

B beforeEach and afterEach hooks cannot use custom commands

C Both login and logout should be inside each test, not hooks

D This setup is correct and will log in before and log out after each test

💡 Hint

Think about the test lifecycle and when setup and teardown should happen.

Using cy.login() in beforeEach ensures the user is logged in before every test. Using cy.logout() in afterEach ensures cleanup after each test. This is the recommended pattern.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

Impact of nested beforeEach and afterEach hooks in Cypress

Given nested describe blocks with beforeEach and afterEach hooks, what is the order of execution for hooks and tests?

Cypress

describe('Outer Suite', () => {
  beforeEach(() => cy.log('Outer beforeEach'));
  afterEach(() => cy.log('Outer afterEach'));

  describe('Inner Suite', () => {
    beforeEach(() => cy.log('Inner beforeEach'));
    afterEach(() => cy.log('Inner afterEach'));

    it('Inner test', () => cy.log('Test body'));
  });
});

A Outer beforeEach, Test body, Inner beforeEach, Outer afterEach, Inner afterEach

B Inner beforeEach, Outer beforeEach, Test body, Outer afterEach, Inner afterEach

C Outer beforeEach, Inner beforeEach, Test body, Inner afterEach, Outer afterEach

D Test body, Outer beforeEach, Inner beforeEach, Outer afterEach, Inner afterEach

💡 Hint

Hooks in outer describe run before hooks in inner describe for beforeEach, and reverse for afterEach.

For nested describes, beforeEach hooks run from outer to inner before the test. afterEach hooks run from inner to outer after the test. So the order is: Outer beforeEach, Inner beforeEach, Test, Inner afterEach, Outer afterEach.