Mounting Components

Many tests, regardless of framework or type follow a similar format: Arrange, Act, and Assert. This pattern "Arrange, Act, Assert" was first coined in 2001 by Bill Wilke and is explained thoroughly in his blog post "3A - Arrange, Act, Assert".

When it comes to component testing, mounting your component is where we Arrange our component under test. It is analogous to visiting a page in an end-to-end test.

What is the Mount Function?

We ship a mount function for each front-end framework Cypress supports, which can be imported from the cypress package. It is responsible for rendering components within Cypress's sandboxed iframe as well as handling and framework-specific cleanup.

import { mount } from 'cypress/react'

The Simplest Usage of Mount

You'll import the component you want to test and then mount it:

import { mount } from 'cypress/react'
import Stepper from './Stepper'

describe('<Stepper>', () => {
  it('mounts', () => {
    mount(<Stepper />)
  })
})

Making cy.mount Available Anywhere

While you can import the mount function at the top of any file, you'll be using it in every single component test, so we recommend adding it as a Cypress Custom Command, where it will be available on the global cy API wherever you need it.

Automatic configuration should have done this for you if you followed the wizard in the Launchpad.

Your component support file should look something like the code block below. It will have registered the mount method as a Cypress Command, and it will be available in any Cypress test under cy.mount.

If you're using providers or other global app-level setups in your React app, you'll want to follow the "Customizing cy.mount guide for React".

// cypress/support/component.js
import { mount } from 'cypress/react'

Cypress.Commands.add('mount', mount)

Now we can update our <Stepper /> component by removing the mount import and using the cy.mount command. Go ahead and create a spec in your project named Stepper.spec.jsx in the same directory as Stepper.jsx and copy the following into it:

import Stepper from './Stepper'

describe('<Stepper>', () => {
  it('mounts', () => {
    cy.mount(<Stepper />) // this command now works in any test!
  })
})

Running the Test

Now it's time to see the test in action. Open up Cypress if not already:

npx cypress open

And launch the browser of your choice. In the spec list, click on Stepper.cy.jsx and you will see the stepper component mounted in the test area.

Having a basic test that mounts a component in its default state is a good way to get started testing. Since Cypress renders your component in a real browser, you can visually see if it is rendering how it should, and you can also play around with it manually in the test runner.

Cypress and Testing Library

While we don't use Testing Library in this guide, many people might wonder if it is possible to do so with Cypress, and the answer is yes!

Cypress loves the Testing Library project. We use Testing Library internally and our philosophy aligns closely with Testing Library's ethos and approach to writing tests. We strongly endorse their best practices.

In particular, if you're looking for more resources to understand how we recommend you approach testing your components, look to:

For fans of Testing Library, you'll want to install @testing-library/cypress instead of the @testing-library/react package.

npm i -D @testing-library/cypress

The setup instructions are the same for end-to-end and component testing. Within your component support file, import the custom commands.

// cypress/support/component.js
// cy.findBy* commands will now be available.
// This calls Cypress.Commands.add under the hood
import '@testing-library/cypress/add-commands'

For TypeScript users, types are packaged along with the Testing Library package. Refer to the latest setup instructions in the Testing Library docs.

Next Steps

Now that we have our component mounted, next we will learn how to write tests against it.