cy.location() for URL parts in Cypress - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What does cy.location() do in Cypress?

cy.location() gets information about the current URL of the page under test. It helps you check parts like the hostname, pathname, or protocol.

beginner

How do you check the current page's pathname using cy.location()?

You use cy.location('pathname') to get just the path part of the URL, like /about or /products/123.

beginner

Which property would you use with cy.location() to verify the domain name?

Use cy.location('hostname') to get the domain name, like example.com.

intermediate

How can you assert that the current URL uses HTTPS with cy.location()?

Check the protocol by using cy.location('protocol').should('eq', 'https:'). This confirms the page is loaded over HTTPS.

intermediate

What is the difference between cy.url() and cy.location()?

cy.url() returns the full URL as a string. cy.location() returns an object with URL parts like pathname, hostname, and protocol. Use cy.location() to check specific parts easily.

Which cy.location() property gives you the path after the domain?

A hostname

B pathname

C protocol

D port

The pathname property returns the part of the URL after the domain, like /home.

How do you check if the current page uses HTTPS with Cypress?

A cy.location('protocol').should('eq', 'https:')

B cy.location('hostname').should('contain', 'https')

C cy.url().should('include', 'https')

D cy.location('pathname').should('eq', 'https')

The protocol property shows the URL scheme. Checking it equals https: confirms HTTPS.

What does cy.location('hostname') return?

A The domain name like example.com

B The URL query string

C The path after the domain

D The full URL

hostname returns the domain name part of the URL.

Which command returns the full URL as a string in Cypress?

A cy.location()

B cy.location('pathname')

C cy.url()

D cy.location('protocol')

cy.url() returns the full URL string.

If you want to check the port number of the current URL, which cy.location() property do you use?

A protocol

B hostname

C pathname

D port

The port property gives the port number from the URL.

Explain how to use cy.location() to verify different parts of a URL in a Cypress test.

Think about how you check the URL in pieces, not the whole string.

Describe the difference between cy.url() and cy.location() and when to use each.

Consider if you want the whole URL or just a piece.

Practice

1. What does cy.location('pathname') return in a Cypress test?

easy

A. The path part of the current URL, like /home

B. The full URL including protocol and hostname

C. Only the domain name without protocol

D. The query parameters after ?

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand cy.location() usage

   The cy.location() command gets parts of the current URL in Cypress tests.

2. Step 2: Identify what 'pathname' returns

   The 'pathname' is the part of the URL after the domain, showing the path like /home or /about.

3. Final Answer:

   The path part of the current URL, like /home -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   cy.location('pathname') = path part [OK]

Hint: Remember 'pathname' means the URL path after domain [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing 'pathname' with full URL
• Thinking 'pathname' returns query parameters
• Mixing 'hostname' with 'pathname'

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to get the hostname using cy.location()?

easy

A. cy.location('hostname')

B. cy.location('host')

C. cy.location.hostname()

D. cy.location('domain')

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall correct property names for URL parts

   The correct property to get the domain name is 'hostname', not 'host' or 'domain'.

2. Step 2: Check syntax for cy.location()

   The syntax is cy.location('hostname') to get the hostname string.

3. Final Answer:

   cy.location('hostname') -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use 'hostname' string inside cy.location() [OK]

Hint: Use exact property names like 'hostname' inside cy.location() [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'host' instead of 'hostname'
• Calling cy.location as a function property
• Using 'domain' which is invalid

3. Given the URL https://example.com/products?item=123#details, what will cy.location('search') return?

medium

A. example.com

B. #details

C. /products

D. ?item=123

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the 'search' part of the URL

   The 'search' part is the query string starting with ?, here it is ?item=123.

2. Step 2: Confirm what cy.location('search') returns

   This command returns the query string including the ? symbol.

3. Final Answer:

   ?item=123 -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   cy.location('search') = query string [OK]

Hint: Remember 'search' means query string starting with ? [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing 'search' with 'hash'
• Returning path instead of query string
• Omitting the leading '?' in the answer

4. You wrote cy.location('hash').should('eq', 'details') to check the URL hash #details. Why does this test fail?

medium

A. Because should('eq') cannot compare strings

B. Because cy.location('hash') returns the pathname, not the hash

C. Because the hash value includes the # symbol, so it should be '#details'

D. Because the hash is not part of the URL

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand what cy.location('hash') returns

   It returns the hash part of the URL including the # symbol, e.g., #details.

2. Step 2: Check the assertion value

   The test compares to 'details' without #, so it fails because the strings don't match exactly.

3. Final Answer:

   The hash value includes the # symbol, so it should be '#details' -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Hash includes '#' in cy.location('hash') [OK]

Hint: Include '#' when asserting hash values [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Forgetting '#' in hash comparison
• Confusing hash with pathname
• Using wrong assertion method

5. You want to verify that after clicking a link, the URL changes to https://shop.com/cart?item=5#checkout. Which chained Cypress commands correctly check the protocol, pathname, search, and hash parts?

hard

A. cy.location('protocol').should('eq', 'https:')
.location('pathname').should('eq', '/cart')
.location('search').should('eq', '?item=5')
.location('hash').should('eq', '#checkout')

B. cy.location('protocol').should('eq', 'https:')
cy.location('pathname').should('eq', '/cart')
cy.location('search').should('eq', '?item=5')
cy.location('hash').should('eq', '#checkout')

C. cy.location('protocol').should('eq', 'https')
cy.location('pathname').should('eq', 'cart')
cy.location('search').should('eq', 'item=5')
cy.location('hash').should('eq', 'checkout')

D. cy.location().should('eq', 'https://shop.com/cart?item=5#checkout')

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand how to check multiple URL parts with cy.location()

   Each call to cy.location() returns a promise, so you call them separately for each part.

2. Step 2: Check the correctness of values and chaining

   cy.location('protocol').should('eq', 'https:') cy.location('pathname').should('eq', '/cart') cy.location('search').should('eq', '?item=5') cy.location('hash').should('eq', '#checkout') calls cy.location() separately for each part with correct expected values including ':' in protocol and leading '/' in pathname.

3. Step 3: Identify errors in other options

   cy.location('protocol').should('eq', 'https:') .location('pathname').should('eq', '/cart') .location('search').should('eq', '?item=5') .location('hash').should('eq', '#checkout') chains location() calls incorrectly (no chaining support). cy.location('protocol').should('eq', 'https') cy.location('pathname').should('eq', 'cart') cy.location('search').should('eq', 'item=5') cy.location('hash').should('eq', 'checkout') misses ':' and leading characters. cy.location().should('eq', 'https://shop.com/cart?item=5#checkout') compares full URL string which is not supported by cy.location().

4. Final Answer:

   Separate calls to cy.location() with correct expected values -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   Use separate cy.location() calls for each URL part [OK]

Hint: Call cy.location() separately for each URL part [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to chain cy.location() calls
• Missing ':' in protocol value
• Omitting leading '/' in pathname
• Comparing full URL string with cy.location()