Assertions

Implicit and Explicit Assertions

Should and and chain on Cypress commands retry until pass or timeout. Implicit assertions built into commands; explicit use expect for standalone values.

Separate act commands from assert should—click then assert URL rather than chaining should on click return value incorrectly.

cy.get('[data-cy="status"]').should("have.text", "Active");
cy.get('[data-cy="items"]').should("have.length", 3);

expect(interceptedBody).to.deep.equal({ ok: true });

Element Assertions

Matchers include be.visible, be.disabled, have.class, have.attr, have.css, and have.value. Negate with .should("not.exist") for removed elements.

have.text compares text content; contain.text allows substring. Trim whitespace sensitivity matters for text assertions.

cy.get('[data-cy="banner"]')
  .should("be.visible")
  .and("have.class", "alert-success")
  .and("contain.text", "Saved");

Content and Visibility

Elements may exist but be hidden via CSS—distinguish exist vs visible. aria-hidden elements fail visibility checks appropriately.

For lists, have.length asserts count; each can iterate with .each callback asserting row content.

• Use should with callback for complex multi-property checks
• Multiple should on same subject chain retries all
• Avoid hard-coded timeouts before should—should retries built in

cy.get('[data-cy="modal"]').should("not.exist");
cy.get('[data-cy="skeleton"]').should("not.be.visible");

Network and Stub Assertions

cy.wait("@alias") asserts request occurred; inspect cy.get("@alias").its("request.body") for payload. Combine with intercept stubs to verify API contract from UI flow.

Assert status code on intercept response stub matches app expectations for error handling tests.

cy.wait("@createUser").its("response.statusCode").should("eq", 201);
cy.get("@createUser").its("request.body.email").should("eq", "ada@example.com");

Custom Assertions

Extend Chai in support file for domain matchers. Cypress bundles chai, sinon-chai, and jQuery assertions.

Keep custom assertions readable—complex logic belongs in helper functions returning boolean with clear failure messages.

chai.use((_chai, utils) => {
  _chai.Assertion.addMethod("validUuid", function () {
    const uuid = utils.flag(this, "object");
    this.assert(
      /^[0-9a-f-]{36}$/i.test(uuid),
      "expected #{this} to be a UUID"
    );
  });
});