cy.siblings() and cy.closest() in Cypress - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What does cy.siblings() do in Cypress?

cy.siblings() selects all sibling elements of the current element. Siblings share the same parent.

beginner

What is the purpose of cy.closest() in Cypress?

cy.closest() finds the nearest ancestor element that matches a selector, starting from the current element and moving up the DOM tree.

intermediate

How does cy.siblings() differ from cy.closest()?

cy.siblings() selects elements at the same level (same parent), while cy.closest() selects the nearest matching ancestor (parent or higher).

beginner

Example: How to select all siblings of a button with class .submit-btn?

cy.get('button.submit-btn').siblings()

This selects all elements that share the same parent as the button with class submit-btn.

beginner

Example: How to find the closest <form> ancestor of an input field?

cy.get('input').closest('form')

This finds the nearest form element that contains the input.

What does cy.siblings() select?

A The first child element of the current element

B The closest ancestor element matching a selector

C All child elements of the current element

D All sibling elements of the current element

cy.siblings() selects all siblings, which are elements sharing the same parent as the current element.

What does cy.closest('div') do?

A Finds the nearest ancestor <code>div</code> element

B Selects all child <code>div</code> elements

C Selects all sibling <code>div</code> elements

D Finds the first child <code>div</code> element

cy.closest('div') finds the nearest ancestor div starting from the current element upwards.

Which command would you use to select elements at the same level as the current element?

A cy.closest()

B cy.siblings()

C cy.children()

D cy.parent()

cy.siblings() selects elements sharing the same parent, i.e., siblings.

If you want to find the nearest section ancestor of an element, which command is correct?

A cy.get('section')

B cy.siblings('section')

C cy.closest('section')

D cy.children('section')

cy.closest('section') finds the nearest ancestor section element.

True or False: cy.siblings() can select the current element itself.

A False

B True

C Only if specified

D Depends on the selector

cy.siblings() selects only siblings, not the current element itself.

Explain in your own words the difference between cy.siblings() and cy.closest().

Think about where the elements are located relative to the current element.

Describe a real-life scenario where you would use cy.closest() in a test.

Imagine you want to check something about a parent container of an element.

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