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Cypress vs Nightwatchjs: What are the differences?

Cypress and Nightwatch.js are both popular JavaScript end-to-end testing frameworks for web applications. Although they share similarities, there are key differences between them that distinguish their functionality and approach.

  1. Syntax and Structure: Cypress offers a declarative syntax that allows tests to be written more intuitively, while Nightwatch.js follows a traditional imperative approach. Cypress uses a more chained method style to write test cases, where each command acts on the previous ones. On the other hand, Nightwatch.js uses a simpler command-driven approach that can be easier for developers familiar with traditional testing frameworks.

  2. Architecture: Cypress runs directly in the browser and can directly manipulate application's internals, allowing for faster execution and real-time debugging. In contrast, Nightwatch.js uses WebDriver protocol to communicate with browsers, resulting in slower execution and less control over the application's internals.

  3. Installation and Configuration: Cypress requires a separate installation, as it runs in a Node.js process and requires its own dependencies. Nightwatch.js, on the other hand, can be installed as a global package, making it easier to set up and configure.

  4. Test Execution: Cypress uses a unique architecture that allows it to run tests directly in the browser, providing real-time reloading and debugging features. Nightwatch.js runs tests in a separate WebDriver client/server setup, which can impact performance and make debugging more challenging.

  5. Automation Support: Cypress is designed specifically for web browser automation and supports modern JavaScript frameworks and libraries out of the box. Nightwatch.js, while also supporting web browser automation, provides more extensive support for various testing scenarios, such as mobile testing, integration with third-party tools, and using cloud services for testing.

  6. Community and Ecosystem: Cypress has a smaller but rapidly growing community and ecosystem compared to Nightwatch.js. Nightwatch.js, being a mature and established framework, has a larger community and a wider range of plugins and integrations available.

In summary, Cypress offers a more intuitive syntax and architecture for writing tests, while Nightwatch.js provides a more traditional and versatile approach with extensive automation support and a larger community. The choice between them depends on the specific requirements and preferences of the testing project.

Advice on Cypress and Nightwatchjs
Yildiz Dila
testmanager/automation tester at medicalservice · | 5 upvotes · 260.4K views
Needs advice
on
CypressCypress
and
ProtractorProtractor

In the company I will be building test automation framework and my new company develops apps mainly using AngularJS/TypeScript. I was planning to build Protractor-Jasmine framework but a friend of mine told me about Cypress and heard that its users are very satisfied with it. I am trying to understand the capabilities of Cypress and as the final goal to differentiate these two tools. Can anyone advice me on this in a nutshell pls...

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Replies (2)
Kevin Emery
QE Systems Engineer at Discovery, Inc. · | 4 upvotes · 159.3K views
Recommends
on
CypressCypressProtractorProtractor

I've used both Protractor and Cypress extensively. Cypress is the easier and more reliable tool, whereas Protractor is the more powerful tool. Your choice of tool should depend on your specific testing needs. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of each tool:

Cypress advantages:

  • Faster

  • More reliable (tends to throw fewer intermittent false failures)

  • Easier to read code (handles promises gracefully)

Cypress disadvantages:

  • Cannot switch between browser tabs

  • Cannot switch to iFrames

  • Cannot specify clicks or keypresses explicitly as if a real user was interacting

  • Cannot move the mouse to specific co-ordinates

  • Sometimes has trouble switching between different top-level domains, so not good for testing external links

  • Cypress is a newer tool with less extensive documentation and less community support

Protractor advantages:

  • More powerful because it is Selenium-based - it can switch between tabs, it can handle external links to other domains, it can handle iFrames, simulate keypresses and clicks, and move the mouse to specific co-ordinates within the browser.

  • More extensive community support and documentation

Protractor disadvantages:

  • Slower and more brittle - in general there is a higher likelihood of cryptic and/or intermittent errors which may cause your tests to fail even though there is nothing wrong with your application

  • For highly experienced automation engineers, the fundamental "brittle" nature of Selenium can be worked around - it can be reliable but only if you really know what you are doing

  • Less graceful handling of promises - relies on async/await or .then to manage the order of execution. Therefore it is a bit harder to read the code.

  • Harder to set up, and the method of setup impacts its reliability. For example, a hub/node configuration where the selenium jar is on a different physical machine than the browser under test will cause unreliability in your tests. Not everyone knows about this type of thing, so it's common to find Selenium frameworks that are set up poorly.

It's probably better to use Cypress if

  • you're at a smaller company and have a close relationship with developers who can help write hooks or stubs in their code to assist your testing

  • you don't need to do things like switch between tabs or test links to external top-level domains

It's probably better to use Protractor if

  • You might need to switch between tabs or test external links to other domains within the scope of your framework

  • You want to use a more accurate simulation of how a real user interacts with a browser (i.e. click at this location, type these keys)

  • You're at a company where you won't have any support from developers in writing hooks or stubs to make their code more testable in a less powerful framework like Cypress

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Jian Wang
Web Engineer at sentaca · | 1 upvotes · 188.1K views
Recommends

Please try Handow, the e2e tool basing on Puppeteer.

Gherkin syntax compatible

Chrome/Chromium orentied, driven by Puppeteer engine

Complete JavaScript programming

Create test suites rapidly without coding (or a little bit), basing on built-in steps library

Schedule test with plans and arrange stories with sequential stages

Fast running, execute story groups in parallel by multi-workers

Built-in single page report render

Cover page view, REST API and cookies test

https://github.com/newlifewj/handow

http://demo.shm.handow.org/reports

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Decisions about Cypress and Nightwatchjs
Shared insights
on
CypressCypressJestJest

As we all know testing is an important part of any application. To assist with our testing we are going to use both Cypress and Jest. We feel these tools complement each other and will help us get good coverage of our code. We will use Cypress for our end to end testing as we've found it quite user friendly. Jest will be used for our unit tests because we've seen how many larger companies use it with great success.

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Pros of Cypress
Pros of Nightwatchjs
  • 29
    Open source
  • 22
    Great documentation
  • 20
    Simple usage
  • 18
    Fast
  • 10
    Cross Browser testing
  • 9
    Easy us with CI
  • 5
    Npm install cypress only
  • 1
    Good for beginner automation engineers
  • 3
    Open source
  • 2
    Testing
  • 2
    Automates browsers
  • 1
    Better cross browser (use selenium)
  • 1
    Cross-Browser Testing
  • 1
    Multiple Browser Support
  • 1
    Parallel Test Running

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Cons of Cypress
Cons of Nightwatchjs
  • 21
    Cypress is weak at cross-browser testing
  • 14
    Switch tabs : Cypress can'nt support
  • 12
    No iFrame support
  • 9
    No page object support
  • 9
    No multiple domain support
  • 8
    No file upload support
  • 8
    No support for multiple tab control
  • 8
    No xPath support
  • 7
    No support for Safari
  • 7
    Cypress doesn't support native app
  • 7
    Re-run failed tests retries not supported yet
  • 7
    No support for multiple browser control
  • 5
    $20/user/thread for reports
  • 4
    Adobe
  • 4
    Using a non-standard automation protocol
  • 4
    Not freeware
  • 3
    No 'WD wire protocol' support
  • 2
    No automatic wait
  • 1
    Less flexibility
  • 1
    Limited native mobile app support
  • 1
    Limited browser support
  • 1
    Configuration complexity

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What is Cypress?

Cypress is a front end automated testing application created for the modern web. Cypress is built on a new architecture and runs in the same run-loop as the application being tested. As a result Cypress provides better, faster, and more reliable testing for anything that runs in a browser. Cypress works on any front-end framework or website.

What is Nightwatchjs?

Nightwatch.js is an easy to use Node.js based End-to-End (E2E) testing solution for browser based apps and websites. It uses the powerful Selenium WebDriver API to perform commands and assertions on DOM elements.

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What companies use Cypress?
What companies use Nightwatchjs?
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What are some alternatives to Cypress and Nightwatchjs?
Selenium
Selenium automates browsers. That's it! What you do with that power is entirely up to you. Primarily, it is for automating web applications for testing purposes, but is certainly not limited to just that. Boring web-based administration tasks can (and should!) also be automated as well.
TestCafe
It is a pure node.js end-to-end solution for testing web apps. It takes care of all the stages: starting browsers, running tests, gathering test results and generating reports.
Puppeteer
Puppeteer is a Node library which provides a high-level API to control headless Chrome over the DevTools Protocol. It can also be configured to use full (non-headless) Chrome.
WebdriverIO
WebdriverIO lets you control a browser or a mobile application with just a few lines of code. Your test code will look simple, concise and easy to read.
Jest
Jest provides you with multiple layers on top of Jasmine.
See all alternatives