cy.siblings() and cy.closest() in Cypress

Introduction

These commands help you find related elements on a web page. cy.siblings() finds elements next to the current one. cy.closest() finds the nearest parent element that matches a condition.

When you want to check if other items in a list are visible after clicking one item.

When you need to find the container of a button to verify its style or content.

When testing if a selected element has siblings with specific classes or attributes.

When you want to confirm that an element is inside a certain section or form.

When you want to interact with elements near the one you found, like buttons next to a label.

Syntax

Cypress

cy.get(selector).siblings([filter])
cy.get(selector).closest(selector)

cy.siblings() finds all sibling elements of the current element. You can add a filter to narrow down results.

cy.closest() travels up the DOM tree to find the nearest ancestor matching the selector.

Examples

This finds all elements next to '.item' elements at the same level.

Cypress

cy.get('.item').siblings()
// Finds all siblings of elements with class 'item'

This finds siblings of '.item' that also have the class 'active'.

Cypress

cy.get('.item').siblings('.active')
// Finds siblings with class 'active' only

This finds the closest parent form element of the '.button'.

Cypress

cy.get('.button').closest('form')
// Finds the nearest form that contains the button

This helps verify if '#input' is inside a container element.

Cypress

cy.get('#input').closest('.container')
// Finds the nearest ancestor with class 'container'

Sample Program

This test visits a sample page. The first test finds siblings of the active list item and checks there are 3 siblings. The second test finds the closest form of an input and checks it has the expected class.

Cypress

describe('Test siblings and closest commands', () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    cy.visit('https://example.cypress.io/commands/traversal')
  })

  it('checks siblings of a list item', () => {
    cy.get('.traversal-list > li.active')
      .siblings()
      .should('have.length', 3)
  })

  it('finds closest form of an input', () => {
    cy.get('#inputEmail')
      .closest('form')
      .should('have.class', 'form-horizontal')
  })
})

Important Notes

Use cy.siblings() to find elements on the same level in the DOM tree.

Use cy.closest() to find the nearest parent element matching a selector.

Both commands help navigate the page structure to write better tests.

Summary

cy.siblings() finds elements next to the current one.

cy.closest() finds the nearest parent matching a selector.

These commands help you check related elements easily in tests.

Practice

1. What does the Cypress command cy.siblings() do in a test?

easy

A. Finds all elements on the page

B. Finds the closest parent element matching a selector

C. Finds child elements inside the current element

D. Finds all elements at the same level as the current element

Solution

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

   This command selects all elements that share the same parent as the current element, meaning they are at the same level in the DOM tree.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   cy.closest() finds a parent, not siblings. Child elements are found with cy.children(). Finding all elements on the page is not related.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds all elements at the same level as the current element -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   cy.siblings() = same-level elements [OK]

Hint: Siblings share the same parent element [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing siblings with parents
• Thinking siblings are child elements
• Assuming it finds all elements on the page

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find the closest parent with class .container using Cypress?

easy

A. cy.get('.container').closest()

B. cy.closest('.container')

C. cy.get('.child').closest('.container')

D. cy.siblings('.container')

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the element to start from

   You must start from a known element, for example cy.get('.child'), then find its closest parent matching .container.

2. Step 2: Use closest() with selector

   The correct syntax is cy.get('.child').closest('.container'). cy.get('.container').closest() is wrong because closest() needs to be called on an element, not on the selector itself. cy.closest('.container') is invalid syntax. cy.siblings('.container') uses siblings(), which finds siblings, not parents.

3. Final Answer:

   cy.get('.child').closest('.container') -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Start element + closest('.container') = cy.get('.child').closest('.container') [OK]

Hint: Call closest() on a found element with selector [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Calling closest() without a starting element
• Using siblings() instead of closest()
• Passing no selector to closest()

3. Given this HTML snippet:

<div class='container'>
  <ul>
    <li class='item selected'>Item 1</li>
    <li class='item'>Item 2</li>
    <li class='item'>Item 3</li>
  </ul>
</div>

What will cy.get('.selected').siblings('.item').should('have.length', ?) assert?

medium

A. 2

B. 3

C. 1

D. 0

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify siblings of the selected element

   The element with class .selected is the first <li>. Its siblings with class .item are the other two <li> elements.

2. Step 2: Count matching siblings

   There are exactly 2 siblings with class .item besides the selected one.

3. Final Answer:

   2 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Siblings with class '.item' count = 2 [OK]

Hint: Count siblings with matching class [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Counting the selected element itself
• Confusing siblings with children
• Miscounting the number of siblings

4. You wrote this Cypress code:

cy.get('.button').closest('.container').siblings('.container').click()

But the test fails with an error that no elements are found. What is the likely problem?

medium

A. The click() command is not valid after siblings()

B. There are no sibling elements with class '.container' next to the closest parent

C. The siblings() command only works on child elements, not parents

D. The closest() command cannot be chained after get()

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the chaining of commands

   cy.get('.button') finds the button, closest('.container') finds its nearest parent container, then siblings('.container') looks for containers at the same level as that parent.

2. Step 2: Reason about the DOM structure

   If no sibling containers exist next to the closest parent, siblings('.container') returns empty, causing click() to fail.

3. Final Answer:

   There are no sibling elements with class '.container' next to the closest parent -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   No siblings found = test fails [OK]

Hint: Check if siblings actually exist in DOM [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking closest() can't chain after get()
• Believing siblings() works on parents
• Assuming click() is invalid after siblings()

5. You want to test that a clicked button highlights its sibling buttons but not buttons in other containers. Which Cypress command chain correctly finds only sibling buttons inside the same container?

hard

A. cy.get('.button.clicked').siblings('.button')

B. cy.get('.button.clicked').closest('.container').siblings('.button')

C. cy.get('.button.clicked').closest('.container').find('.button').siblings()

D. cy.get('.button.clicked').siblings().closest('.container')

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the target buttons

   You want siblings of the clicked button that share the same parent container, so siblings('.button') after selecting the clicked button is correct.

2. Step 2: Analyze other options

   cy.get('.button.clicked').closest('.container').siblings('.button') finds sibling containers, not buttons. cy.get('.button.clicked').closest('.container').find('.button').siblings() finds buttons inside the container but then calls siblings() without a selector, which may include unrelated elements. cy.get('.button.clicked').siblings().closest('.container') finds siblings first, then closest container, which does not select sibling buttons correctly.

3. Final Answer:

   cy.get('.button.clicked').siblings('.button') -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Siblings with class '.button' = cy.get('.button.clicked').siblings('.button') [OK]

Hint: Use siblings() directly on clicked button for siblings [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using closest() before siblings() incorrectly
• Selecting sibling containers instead of buttons
• Calling siblings() without a selector