Advanced16 min read

Cypress Cloud

Record runs, analyze results, and collaborate with Cypress Cloud.

Cloud Setup

Create Cypress Cloud project linked to GitHub repo. Set record key as CI secret. Enable recording in cypress run --record --key.

Project dashboard shows run history, spec timing, and failure trends across branches.

export default defineConfig({
  projectId: "abc123",
  e2e: {
    setupNodeEvents(on, config) {
      return config;
    },
  },
});

Recording Tests

Each CI run uploads results, screenshots, videos, and test definitions to Cloud. Compare runs across commits to spot new failures and duration regressions.

Tag runs with ci-build-id for parallel grouping; same id merges parallel jobs into one run.

Omit --record locally to avoid noise in dashboard
Branch name auto-detected in CI for filtering
Cancel in-progress runs on new push to save minutes

cypress run --record --key $CYPRESS_RECORD_KEY --ci-build-id $CI_BUILD_ID

Analytics and Flake Detection

Cloud highlights most flaky tests, slowest specs, and error grouping by stack message. Use data to prioritize stability work and parallelization.

Test Replay (where available) provides DOM/time travel similar to local Runner for recorded CI failures.

Review error frequency not just latest failure
Set up Slack/email notifications for main branch failures
Compare duration trends after dependency upgrades

Collaboration

Share run links in PR comments via GitHub integration. Reviewers see exact failure screenshot and video without reproducing locally.

Comments on Cloud runs document known issues during incident response.

Integrate status check required before merge
Use Cypress GitHub App for automatic run comments
Restrict Cloud project access to engineering team

Billing and Limits

Cloud billing based on test results recorded and parallelization features. Optimize suite size and avoid duplicate recording from redundant CI jobs.

Open source projects may qualify for Cloud discounts—check Cypress policy.