Automatic retry mechanism in Cypress - Test Execution Trace

Test Overview

This test checks that a button becomes enabled after some delay and verifies the automatic retry feature of Cypress that waits and retries the assertion until it passes.

Test Code - Cypress

Cypress

describe('Automatic retry test', () => {
  it('should wait until the button is enabled', () => {
    cy.visit('https://example.com/delayed-button')
    cy.get('#delayed-button').should('be.enabled')
  })
})

Execution Trace - 6 Steps

Step	Action	System State	Assertion	Result
1	Test starts	Test runner initialized, no browser opened yet	-	PASS
2	Browser opens and navigates to 'https://example.com/delayed-button'	Browser shows the page with a disabled button with id 'delayed-button'	-	PASS
3	Find element with selector '#delayed-button'	Button element found but currently disabled	-	PASS
4	Assert that '#delayed-button' is enabled; Cypress retries automatically	Button is disabled initially; Cypress waits and retries assertion multiple times	Check if button is enabled	PASS
5	Button becomes enabled after delay; assertion passes	Button is now enabled and clickable	Button is enabled	PASS
6	Test ends successfully	Test runner shows test passed	-	PASS

Failure Scenario

Failing Condition: Button never becomes enabled within Cypress default timeout

Execution Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does Cypress do when the button is initially disabled but expected to be enabled?

A It fails immediately without retrying

B It skips the assertion and continues

C It retries the assertion automatically until it passes or times out

D It reloads the page and tries again

Key Result

Use Cypress's automatic retry feature to write stable tests that wait for elements or conditions instead of adding manual waits.