Negative assertions (not) in Cypress - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

What is the test result of this Cypress code?

Consider this Cypress test code snippet:

cy.get('#submit-button').should('not.be.disabled')

What will be the test result if the button is enabled?

Cypress

cy.get('#submit-button').should('not.be.disabled')

A The test is skipped because 'not' is not a valid assertion.

B The test fails because the button is enabled.

C The test throws a syntax error due to incorrect assertion.

D The test passes because the button is enabled (not disabled).

💡 Hint

Think about what 'not.be.disabled' means for an enabled button.

The assertion 'not.be.disabled' checks that the element is not disabled. If the button is enabled, it is not disabled, so the test passes.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Which assertion correctly verifies an element is NOT visible?

You want to check that an element with class '.popup' is not visible on the page. Which Cypress assertion is correct?

A cy.get('.popup').should('not.exist')

B cy.get('.popup').should('be.hidden')

C cy.get('.popup').should('not.be.visible')

D cy.get('.popup').should('be.invisible')

💡 Hint

Focus on the correct Cypress assertion syntax for visibility.

The correct way to assert an element is not visible is 'should('not.be.visible')'. 'be.hidden' and 'be.invisible' are not valid Cypress assertions. 'not.exist' checks if the element is absent, not just invisible.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this negative assertion fail unexpectedly?

Given the code:

cy.get('#login').should('not.have.class', 'active')

The test fails even though the element does not have the 'active' class. What is the likely cause?

Cypress

cy.get('#login').should('not.have.class', 'active')

A The assertion is correct; the test fails due to a timing issue before the class is removed.

B The element is detached from the DOM when the assertion runs, causing failure.

C The element has multiple classes including 'active', so the assertion fails.

D The 'not' keyword is not supported with 'have.class' in Cypress.

💡 Hint

Consider if the element's class changes after the assertion runs.

The test fails because the element still has the 'active' class when the assertion runs. This is often due to timing issues where the class is removed later. Cypress retries assertions, but if the class is present initially, the test fails.

❓ locator

advanced

Which locator is best for a negative assertion on a disabled button?

You want to assert that a button with text 'Submit' is NOT disabled. Which locator and assertion combination is best?

A cy.contains('button', 'Submit').should('not.be.disabled')

B cy.get('button:disabled').contains('Submit').should('not.exist')

C cy.get('button').contains('Submit').should('not.have.attr', 'disabled')

D cy.get('button[disabled=false]').contains('Submit')

💡 Hint

Think about combining text locator with a negative assertion on disabled state.

Option A uses cy.contains to find the button by text and asserts it is not disabled, which is clear and reliable. Option A tries to find disabled buttons with text and assert non-existence, which is indirect. Option A is valid but less direct than A. Option A uses an invalid attribute selector.

❓ framework

expert

How does Cypress handle negative assertions internally?

Which statement best describes how Cypress processes negative assertions like should('not.exist') or should('not.be.visible')?

A Cypress converts negative assertions into positive ones by inverting the condition before checking once.

B Cypress retries the assertion until the element disappears or becomes invisible within the default timeout.

C Cypress immediately fails the test if the element exists or is visible at the first check.

D Cypress disables retries for negative assertions to avoid false positives.

💡 Hint

Think about Cypress's retry-ability feature and how it applies to negative assertions.

Cypress automatically retries assertions, including negative ones, until they pass or timeout. This means it waits for the element to disappear or become invisible before passing the test.