How to Run Cypress Tests: Simple Steps to Execute Your Tests

To run Cypress tests, open your terminal and run npx cypress open to launch the interactive Test Runner or npx cypress run to execute tests in headless mode. The Test Runner lets you select and watch tests run in a browser, while the headless mode runs tests quickly in the background.

Syntax

Use these commands in your project folder where Cypress is installed:

• npx cypress open: Opens the Cypress Test Runner GUI to select and run tests interactively.
• npx cypress run: Runs all tests automatically in headless mode without opening a browser window.

You can add options like --spec to run specific test files.

bash

npx cypress open
npx cypress run
npx cypress run --spec "cypress/e2e/example.cy.js"

Example

This example shows how to run Cypress tests using the Test Runner and headless mode.

First, run npx cypress open to open the Test Runner. Then click a test file to run it in the browser and see results live.

Alternatively, run npx cypress run to execute all tests in the terminal with a summary report.

bash

npx cypress open

# After closing Test Runner, run all tests headlessly
npx cypress run

Output

====================================================================================================
  (Run Starting)

  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ Cypress:    12.17.0                                                                             │
  │ Browser:    Electron 112 (headless)                                                            │
  │ Specs:      1 found (example.cy.js)                                                            │
  │ Searched:   cypress/e2e/example.cy.js                                                          │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

  Running:  example.cy.js                                                                      (1 of 1)

  ✓ visits the example page


  1 passing (1s)


====================================================================================================
  (Run Finished)

      Spec                                              Tests  Passes  Failures  Pending  Skipped  
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │ ✔  example.cy.js                             00:01        1       1        0        0        0 │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  ✨  Done in 3 seconds.

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when running Cypress tests include:

• Running npx cypress open without installing Cypress first.
• Trying to run tests outside the project folder where Cypress is installed.
• Not specifying the correct test file path with --spec option.
• Confusing npx cypress open (interactive) with npx cypress run (headless).

Always ensure you have installed Cypress with npm install cypress --save-dev before running tests.

bash

Wrong:
npx cypress run --spec "wrong/path/test.js"

Right:
npx cypress run --spec "cypress/e2e/test.js"

Quick Reference

Command	Description
npx cypress open	Open Cypress Test Runner GUI to run tests interactively
npx cypress run	Run all tests headlessly in the terminal
npx cypress run --spec "path/to/test.js"	Run a specific test file
npm install cypress --save-dev	Install Cypress locally in your project

Key Takeaways

Use npx cypress open to run tests interactively with the Test Runner.

Use npx cypress run to run tests headlessly in the terminal.

Always run commands inside your Cypress project folder where Cypress is installed.

Specify test files with --spec option to run specific tests.

Install Cypress first using npm install cypress --save-dev before running tests.