Why cy.prev() and cy.next() in Cypress? - Purpose & Use Cases

The Big Idea

Discover how simple commands can save you hours of tedious clicking and guessing in your tests!

The Scenario

Imagine you have a long list of items on a webpage, and you want to check if each item is correctly placed next to its neighbor. Doing this by clicking and checking each item manually is tiring and easy to mess up.

The Problem

Manually moving back and forth between elements is slow and error-prone. You might miss checking some neighbors or confuse their order. It's like trying to find a friend in a crowd without any guidance.

The Solution

Using .prev() and .next() lets you automatically move to the previous or next element in the list. This way, your test can quickly and reliably check neighbors without guessing or clicking around.

Before vs After

✗ Before

cy.get('.item').eq(3).click(); // manually check item
cy.get('.item').eq(2).click(); // manually check previous item

✓ After

cy.get('.item').eq(3).next().should('have.class', 'expected');
cy.get('.item').eq(3).prev().should('have.class', 'expected');

What It Enables

This makes it easy to write tests that follow the flow of elements, ensuring the page structure is exactly right without extra clicks or confusion.

Real Life Example

For example, testing a photo gallery where each photo must be next to the correct caption. Using .next() and .prev() helps confirm each caption matches the right photo automatically.

Key Takeaways

Manual neighbor checks are slow and error-prone.

.prev() and .next() let tests move between elements easily.

This improves test speed and accuracy for checking element order.

Practice

1. What does cy.prev() do in Cypress testing?

easy

A. Selects the element immediately after the current element

B. Selects all sibling elements of the current element

C. Selects the element immediately before the current element

D. Selects the parent element of the current element

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of cy.prev()

   cy.prev() is used to get the element immediately before the current element in the DOM.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   cy.next() gets the element after, siblings means all at the same level, and parent is the container element. So only cy.prev() matches Selects the element immediately before the current element.

3. Final Answer:

   Selects the element immediately before the current element -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   cy.prev() = previous element [OK]

Hint: Prev means previous element before current [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing cy.prev() with cy.next()
• Thinking it selects parent or all siblings
• Assuming it selects elements after current

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to get the next sibling element of a button with id submitBtn using Cypress?

easy

A. cy.get('#submitBtn').prev()

B. cy.get('#submitBtn').next()

C. cy.get('#submitBtn').parent()

D. cy.get('#submitBtn').children()

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the method to get next sibling

   To get the next sibling element, Cypress uses cy.next().

2. Step 2: Match syntax with the element selector

   cy.get('#submitBtn').next() correctly selects the button and then its next sibling.

3. Final Answer:

   cy.get('#submitBtn').next() -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   next() gets next sibling [OK]

Hint: Use .next() after .get() to get next sibling [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using .prev() instead of .next()
• Using .parent() which gets the container
• Using .children() which gets child elements

3. Given the HTML structure:

<ul>
  <li>Item 1</li>
  <li id="selected">Item 2</li>
  <li>Item 3</li>
</ul>

What text will the following Cypress command get?

cy.get('#selected').prev().invoke('text')

medium

A. Error: No previous element

B. "Item 3"

C. "Item 2"

D. "Item 1"

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the current element and its previous sibling

   The element with id "selected" is the second <li> with text "Item 2". Its previous sibling is the first <li> with text "Item 1".

2. Step 2: Understand what invoke('text') does

   This command gets the text content of the selected element, so it will return "Item 1".

3. Final Answer:

   "Item 1" -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   prev() gets previous sibling text [OK]

Hint: prev() gets previous sibling's text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing prev() with next()
• Expecting text of current element
• Assuming error if previous exists

4. You wrote this Cypress code:

cy.get('.active').next().click()

But the test fails with an error saying Cannot read property 'click' of undefined. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. There is no next sibling element after the element with class 'active'

B. The selector '.active' is incorrect

C. You should use prev() instead of next()

D. The click() method is not valid in Cypress

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the error message

   The error says Cannot read property 'click' of undefined, meaning next() returned no element.

2. Step 2: Understand what causes next() to return undefined

   If the current element has no next sibling, next() returns nothing, so calling click() fails.

3. Final Answer:

   There is no next sibling element after the element with class 'active' -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   next() returns undefined if no next sibling [OK]

Hint: Check if next sibling exists before clicking [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming selector is wrong without checking DOM
• Using prev() instead of next() without reason
• Thinking click() is invalid in Cypress

5. You want to verify that a list item with class selected has a previous sibling with text "Home" and a next sibling with text "Contact". Which Cypress code correctly checks this?

hard

A. cy.get('.selected').prev().should('have.text', 'Home'); cy.get('.selected').next().should('have.text', 'Contact')

B. cy.get('.selected').prev().should('have.text', 'Home').next().should('have.text', 'Contact')

C. cy.get('.selected').prev().should('have.text', 'Contact').next().next().should('have.text', 'Home')

D. cy.get('.selected').prev().next().should('have.text', 'Contact')

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand chaining of prev() and next()

   Using prev() then next() on the same chain moves from previous element back to the selected element, not to the next sibling.

2. Step 2: Separate commands for previous and next siblings

   To check previous and next siblings independently, use separate cy.get('.selected') calls with prev() and next().

3. Final Answer:

   cy.get('.selected').prev().should('have.text', 'Home'); cy.get('.selected').next().should('have.text', 'Contact') -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use separate calls for prev() and next() [OK]

Hint: Use separate cy.get() for prev() and next() checks [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Chaining prev() and next() incorrectly
• Using next().next() instead of next()
• Assuming prev().next() gets next sibling