Cypress App

Migrating from Playwright to Cypress

Migrate from Playwright to Cypress with your AI assistant

Copies a ready-made prompt that walks your AI coding assistant through this migration. Works with any AI tool that can read and edit your project.

“Migrate this project's tests from Playwright to Cypress. First read https://docs.cypress.io/llm/markdown/app/guides/migration/playwright-to-cypress.md for the syntax mappings and patterns, then work through these steps: 1. Take inventory. Detect my package manager, find my Playwright config and test files, and summarize the patterns I use: locators, assertions, network mocking, authentication, fixtures/page objects, web server startup, and CI configuration. 2. Agree on a selector strategy. If my tests rely on getByRole/getByLabel/getByText and I have no test attributes, recommend installing @testing-library/cypress for a near 1:1 mapping instead of editing my app to add data-testid attributes. 3. Install Cypress alongside Playwright. Configure them to coexist, and do not modify or delete my Playwright config or specs until the Cypress equivalents pass. 4. Migrate one spec at a time. Translate async/await and the locator API to Cypress command chaining and retry-ability (never assign a cy.* return value to a variable), map expect() assertions to Cypress assertions, convert page.route() mocks to cy.intercept(), and port authentication, fixtures, and page objects. If my Playwright config uses a webServer block, set up start-server-and-test so Cypress has a running app. 5. Flag gaps. Call out anything with no direct Cypress equivalent (visual snapshots, soft assertions, test.step) instead of guessing. 6. Verify. Show me the proposed changes before applying them, then install and run eslint-plugin-cypress and my migrated Cypress tests to confirm they pass. Finish with a summary of what changed and anything you couldn't safely automate.”

This guide helps you translate Playwright tests to Cypress. It covers the core execution model differences, syntax mappings, and patterns for auth, networking, and CI.

Most migrations are incremental. You do not need to migrate all tests at once. Cypress and Playwright can coexist in the same repository during a transition.

Jump to the cheat sheet for a quick reference.

info

What you'll learn

• How Cypress executes tests: command chaining, retry-ability, and what replaces async/await
• Configuration, CLI flags, browser installation, and starting your app
• Choosing a selector strategy for Playwright's semantic locators
• Locators, interactions, assertions, and network stubbing mapped side by side
• Authentication, cross-origin testing, and multi-tab patterns
• Clock control, dialogs, iframes, and file handling
• Page objects, parameterized tests, and custom commands
• Parallelization, Smart Orchestration, Test Replay, and accessibility testing in Cypress Cloud

Quick conversion example

Here's a side-by-side comparison showing how Playwright tests translate to Cypress:

Before: Playwright

test.ts

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test'

test.describe('Authorization', () => {
  test('signs up', async ({ page }) => {
    // Navigate
    await page.goto('/signup')

    // Fill form
    await page.getByLabel('Email').fill('[email protected]')
    await page.getByLabel('Confirm Email').fill('[email protected]')
    await page.getByLabel('Password').fill('testPassword1234')

    // Submit
    await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Create new account' }).click()

    // Assert navigation
    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/signup\/success$/)
  })
})

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

describe('Authorization', () => {
  it('signs up', () => {
    // Navigate
    cy.visit('/signup')

    // Fill form
    cy.get('[data-testid="email"]').type('[email protected]')
    cy.get('[data-testid="confirm-email"]').type('[email protected]')
    cy.get('[data-testid="password"]').type('testPassword1234')

    // Submit
    cy.contains('button', 'Create new account').click()

    // Assert navigation
    cy.url().should('include', 'signup/success')
  })
})

Installing Cypress

Before migrating your tests, add Cypress to your project as a dev dependency.

npm

npm install cypress --save-dev

Yarn

yarn add cypress --dev

pnpm

pnpm add --save-dev cypress

Bun

bun add --dev cypress

Unlike Playwright, Cypress does not download its own browser binaries. It uses browsers already installed on your machine. Electron is bundled with Cypress and available by default, so you can run tests immediately after installation without any additional setup. Once installed, open the Cypress app to complete initial configuration:

npm

npx cypress open

Yarn

yarn cypress open

pnpm

pnpm cypress open

Bun

bunx cypress open

The Cypress App will walk you through choosing a testing type (end-to-end or component) and generating a starter configuration file. After setup, Cypress creates a cypress.config.js (or .ts) file and a cypress/ directory in your project root.

If your Playwright tests are written in TypeScript, add a tsconfig.json inside the cypress/ folder so Cypress globals (cy, Cypress) type-check:

cypress/tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "types": ["cypress", "node"]
  },
  "include": ["**/*.ts"]
}

Configuration migration

Both Playwright and Cypress use a defineConfig-based configuration file at the root of your project. The key structural difference is that Cypress scopes most E2E-specific options under an e2e object, rather than a flat use block.

Config file structure

The configuration file location is configurable using the --config-file command line flag or the configFile Module API option.

Configuration	Playwright	Cypress
Default config file	playwright.config.ts	cypress.config.ts
Test files	testDir: './tests'	e2e.specPattern (glob)
E2E-specific options	use: { ... }	e2e: { ... }
Node event hooks	globalSetup / globalTeardown	e2e.setupNodeEvents

Before: Playwright

playwright.config.ts

import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test'

export default defineConfig({
  testDir: './tests',
  outputDir: './test-results',
  retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
  timeout: 30000,
  reporter: 'html',
  use: {
    baseURL: 'http://localhost:3000',
    viewport: { width: 1280, height: 720 },
    video: 'off',
    screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
  },
})

After: Cypress

cypress.config.ts

import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'

export default defineConfig({
  viewportWidth: 1280,
  viewportHeight: 720,
  video: false,
  videosFolder: './test-results/videos',
  reporter: 'html',
  screenshotsFolder: './test-results/screenshots',
  e2e: {
    baseUrl: 'http://localhost:3000',
    specPattern: 'tests/**/*.cy.ts',
    retries: {
      runMode: 2,
      openMode: 0,
    },
    defaultCommandTimeout: 30000,
    screenshotOnRunFailure: true,
  },
})

See Cypress Configuration for the full option reference.

Common translations

Playwright	Cypress	Notes
forbidOnly	use mocha/no-exclusive-tests lint rule	eslint-plugin-mocha
headless	--headless or --headed CLI flag	Default headless in cypress run
outputDir	screenshotsFolder / videosFolder	Separate options per asset type
reporter	reporter	See Reporters.
retries	retries.runMode / retries.openMode	Cypress separates CI and interactive mode retries
testDir	specPattern	Cypress uses a glob, not a path.
testIgnore	excludeSpecPattern	Glob string or array of globs.
timeout	defaultCommandTimeout	defaultCommandTimeout is per command, not test.
use.baseURL	e2e.baseUrl	Must be under e2e, not top-level
use.channel	--browser <name>:<channel> on the CLI	See Launching Browsers.
use.proxy	OS environment variables	See Proxy Configuration
use.screenshot	screenshotOnRunFailure	Default is true
use.video	video	Default is false
use.viewport	viewportWidth / viewportHeight	Set at top level or scoped under testing type

For Cypress-specific anti-patterns not covered by configuration options — such as hard-coded cy.wait() calls, assigning command return values, and unsafe chaining — the official eslint-plugin-cypress provides lint rules that catch these issues in-editor. See the full rules list.

CLI/Command line migration

Playwright and Cypress use different commands and flag structures. This section covers the most common translations.

Base commands

Task	Playwright	Cypress
Run all tests (headless)	npx playwright test	cypress run
Open interactive mode	npx playwright test --ui	cypress open
Run in headed mode	npx playwright test --headed	cypress run --headed

Common flag translations

Playwright	Cypress
--config=playwright.config.ts	--config-file cypress.config.ts
npx playwright test todo.spec.ts	cypress run --spec "todo.cy.ts"
--fail-on-flaky-tests	detect-flake-but-always-fail in config with Experimental Test Retries
--forbid-only	mocha/no-exclusive-tests eslint-plugin-mocha rule
--grep "pattern"	--expose grep="pattern" from @cypress/grep
--grep-invert "pattern"	--expose grep="-pattern" from @cypress/grep
--last-failed	Spec Prioritization
--max-failures=5	--auto-cancel-after-failures=5
--project=chromium	--project='./front-end'
--quiet	--quiet
--retries=2	--config retries=2
--reporter=html	--reporter html
--shard=1/4	--record --parallel (requires Cypress Cloud)
--fully-parallel	--record --parallel (requires Cypress Cloud)
--workers=4	--record --parallel (requires Cypress Cloud)
--trace on	--record automatically records Test Replay

Passing environment variables

In Cypress, use cy.env() for sensitive values (credentials, tokens, secrets) or Cypress.expose() for non-sensitive configuration (feature flags, public URLs, API versions). These are set via the top-level env and expose keys in your Cypress configuration file. Both APIs require Cypress 15.10.0 or newer.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

test('logs in', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.getByLabel('User Name').fill(process.env.USER_NAME)
  await page.getByLabel('Password').fill(process.env.PASSWORD)
})

After: Cypress

cypress.config.ts

export default defineConfig({
  expose: {
    API_VERSION: 'v2',
  },
  env: {
    USER_NAME: process.env.USER_NAME,
    PASSWORD: process.env.PASSWORD,
  },
})

test.cy.ts

it('logs in', () => {
  cy.env(['USER_NAME', 'PASSWORD']).then(({ USER_NAME, PASSWORD }) => {
    const apiVersion = Cypress.expose('API_VERSION')
    cy.visit(`/login/${apiVersion}`)
    cy.get('[data-testid="username"]').type(USER_NAME)
    cy.get('[data-testid="password"]').type(PASSWORD)
  })
})

See cy.env() and Cypress.expose() for the full reference.

Browser installation

Playwright and Cypress take different approaches to browser management. Understanding the difference will help you set up CI correctly.

How each framework handles browsers

Playwright downloads and manages its own isolated browser binaries. Running npx playwright install fetches Playwright-specific builds of Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit that are separate from any browsers installed on your system.

Cypress uses browsers already installed on the machine. There are no browser binaries to download. If Chrome is installed locally, Cypress will find and use it. This means browser setup is a CI concern rather than a per-project dependency.

Before: Playwright

npx playwright install chromium webkit

After: Cypress

To verify which browsers Cypress can find:

 cypress info

Browser versions and CI

Because Cypress uses system browsers, you have explicit control over which browser version your tests run against.

Docker images

Cypress publishes official Docker images with specific browser versions pre-installed. Image tags encode the exact versions of Node, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, so your CI environment is reproducible and version changes are explicit.

Node + browsers, without Cypress

cypress/browsers:node-22.19.0-chrome-139.0.7258.154-1-ff-142.0.1-edge-139.0.3405.125-1

Node + browsers + Cypress pre-installed

cypress/included:cypress-15.1.0-node-22.19.0-chrome-139.0.7258.154-1-ff-142.0.1-edge-139.0.3405.125-1

Use cypress/browsers when you want to control the Cypress version through your package.json. Use cypress/included when you want a fully self-contained image. If you need a specific combination of versions not covered by the published images, use cypress/factory to build a custom image.

See cypress-docker-images for all available tags.

CircleCI orb

If you use CircleCI, the Cypress CircleCI orb handles installation, caching, and test execution. Pass install-browsers: true to install Chrome, Firefox, and Edge into the CI environment.

.circleci/config.yml

version: 2.1
orbs:
  cypress: cypress-io/cypress@6
workflows:
  build:
    jobs:
      - cypress/run:
          install-browsers: true
          start-command: 'npm start'
          cypress-command: 'npx cypress run --browser chrome'

See CircleCI for full setup documentation.

Browser launch options

Playwright's launchOptions in playwright.config.ts maps to the before:browser:launch event in Cypress, which you configure inside setupNodeEvents of your Cypress configuration file. Both let you modify how the browser starts. See the Browser Launch Event for the full reference.

Launch arguments, extensions, and preferences

Cypress exposes the before:browser:launch event.

Before: Playwright

playwright.config.ts

export default defineConfig({
  use: {
    launchOptions: {
      args: ['--disable-gpu'],
    },
  },
})

After: Cypress

cypress.config.ts

export default defineConfig({
  e2e: {
    setupNodeEvents(on) {
      on('before:browser:launch', (browser, launchOptions) => {
        if (browser.family === 'chromium' && browser.name !== 'electron') {
          launchOptions.args.push('--disable-gpu')
        }
        return launchOptions
      })
    },
  },
})

The launchOptions object exposes three properties depending on the browser:

Capability	Playwright	Cypress
Browser launch arguments	launchOptions.args	launchOptions.args via before:browser:launch
Firefox preferences	launchOptions.firefoxUserPrefs	launchOptions.preferences via before:browser:launch
Chrome/Edge extensions	args flags in launchPersistentContext()	launchOptions.extensions via before:browser:launch

See the Browser Launch Event for the full reference and per-browser examples.

Starting your application under test

Playwright's config can start your dev server automatically through the webServer option. Cypress does not start your application for you — it assumes the app is already running at the baseUrl you configured.

The standard solution is start-server-and-test, which boots your server, waits for the URL to respond, runs Cypress, then shuts the server down.

Before: Playwright

playwright.config.ts

export default defineConfig({
  webServer: {
    command: 'npm run start',
    url: 'http://localhost:3000',
    reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI,
  },
})

After: Cypress

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "cy:run": "start-server-and-test start http://localhost:3000 'cypress run'"
  }
}

Test structure and syntax migration

Playwright imports test from @playwright/test. Cypress uses Mocha's BDD interface, which provides it() and describe() globally. test is not available in Cypress and must be replaced.

Playwright	Cypress
test('name', () => {})	it('name', () => {})
test.only('name', () => {})	it.only('name', () => {})
test.skip('name', () => {})	it.skip('name', () => {})
test.describe('group', () => {})	describe('group', () => {})
test.describe.only('group', () => {})	describe.only('group', () => {})

Before: Playwright

test.ts

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test'

test.describe('checkout', () => {
  test('completes purchase', async ({ page }) => { ... })
  test.only('applies discount', async ({ page }) => { ... })
  test.skip('handles expired card', async ({ page }) => { ... })
})

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

describe('checkout', () => {
  it('completes purchase', () => { ... })
  it.only('applies discount', () => { ... })
  it.skip('handles expired card', () => { ... })
})

Execution model and retry-ability

Playwright code typically awaits each action and may use explicit waits for specific conditions. Cypress commands are enqueued and automatically retry assertions until they pass or timeout.

What this means for your tests:

Playwright	Cypress
await page.waitForSelector(...)	cy.get(...) retries until it finds the element
await expect(locator)...	cy.get(...).should(...) retries automatically

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.getByTestId('submit').click()
await page.waitForSelector('[data-testid="toast"]')
await expect(page.getByTestId('toast')).toHaveText('Saved!')

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.get('[data-testid="submit"]').click()
cy.get('[data-testid="toast"]').should('have.text', 'Saved!')

Learn more about Cypress retry-ability.

Async/await vs command chaining

Playwright uses async/await patterns.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

const button = await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' })
await button.click()
const toast = await page.getByTestId('toast')
await expect(toast).toHaveText('Success')

Cypress uses command chaining without async/await.

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.get('button').contains('Submit').click()
cy.get('[data-testid="toast"]').should('have.text', 'Success')

See Cypress's command model in the Introduction to Cypress.

Choosing a selector strategy

Playwright suites lean on semantic locators — getByRole(), getByLabel(), and getByText(). Before translating tests, decide how these map to Cypress, because the choice affects nearly every test.

Option A — Cypress Testing Library (lowest friction, no app changes). Install @testing-library/cypress for a near 1:1 replacement of Playwright's semantic locators:

Playwright	Cypress (Testing Library)
getByRole('button', { name })	findByRole('button', { name })
getByLabel('Email')	findByLabelText('Email')
getByText('Welcome')	findByText('Welcome')
getByPlaceholder('Search')	findByPlaceholderText('Search')
getByTestId('submit')	findByTestId('submit')

Option B — data-* attributes (Cypress best practice for new code). Add data-testid (or data-cy) attributes to your application and select with cy.get('[data-testid="..."]'), as described in Best Practices. This is the most resilient long-term strategy, but it requires editing your application source.

The examples in this guide use data-testid for brevity. If your Playwright suite relies on semantic locators and you don't already have test attributes, Option A is the fastest path to parity without touching application code.

Locators and selectors

Prefer stable selectors

Use a stable selector strategy (often data-*) as described in Cypress Best Practices.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.getByTestId('email').fill('[email protected]')
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Sign in' }).click()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.get('[data-testid="email"]').type('[email protected]')
cy.contains('button', 'Sign in').click()

getByRole() and getByLabel()

If you want getByRole()/getByLabel() ergonomics in Cypress, install Cypress Testing Library.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' }).click()
await page.getByLabel('First name').fill('Jane')

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.findByRole('button', { name: 'Save' }).click()
cy.findByLabelText('First name').type('Jane')

Interactions

Click, type, and clear

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.locator('#username').fill('jane')
await page.locator('#password').fill('secret')
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Log in' }).click()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.get('#username').clear()
cy.get('#username').type('jane')
cy.get('#password').clear()
cy.get('#password').type('secret')
cy.contains('button', 'Log in').click()

Checkboxes, radios, and selects

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.getByLabel('Subscribe').check()
await page.getByLabel('Daily').check()
await page.getByLabel('Country').selectOption('US')

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.get('[data-testid="subscribe"]').check()
cy.get('[data-testid="daily"]').check()
cy.get('[data-testid="country"]').select('US')

Hover

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.getByTestId('menu').hover()
await page.getByRole('menuitem', { name: 'Settings' }).click()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.get('[data-testid="menu"]').trigger('mouseover')
cy.contains('[role="menuitem"]', 'Settings').click()

Mobile viewport testing

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.setViewportSize({ width: 375, height: 812 })
await page.goto('/')

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.viewport(375, 812)
cy.visit('/')

See cy.viewport().

Assertions

Visibility and existence

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await expect(page.getByText('Welcome')).toBeVisible()
await expect(page.getByTestId('spinner')).toBeHidden()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.contains('Welcome').should('be.visible')
cy.get('[data-testid="spinner"]').should('not.be.visible')

Text, attributes, and URL

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await expect(page.getByTestId('toast')).toHaveText('Saved!')
await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' })).toBeDisabled()
await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/dashboard$/)

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.get('[data-testid="toast"]').should('have.text', 'Saved!')
cy.contains('button', 'Save').should('be.disabled')
cy.url().should('match', /\/dashboard$/)

See Cypress assertions at Assertions.

Waiting, retries, and timeouts

Playwright often uses explicit waits. Cypress will retry most DOM queries and assertions until they pass or time out.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' }).click()
await page.waitForResponse('**/api/profile')
await expect(page.getByTestId('toast')).toHaveText('Saved!')

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.intercept('POST', '/api/profile').as('saveProfile')
cy.contains('button', 'Save').click()
cy.wait('@saveProfile')
cy.get('[data-testid="toast"]').should('have.text', 'Saved!')

Learn more about Cypress retry-ability at Retry-ability.

Network spying and stubbing

Spy

Before: Playwright

test.ts

const [response] = await Promise.all([
  page.waitForResponse('**/api/users'),
  page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Load users' }).click(),
])
expect(response.ok()).toBeTruthy()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.intercept('GET', '/api/users').as('users')
cy.contains('button', 'Load users').click()
cy.wait('@users').its('response.statusCode').should('eq', 200)

Stub a response

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.route('**/api/projects', async (route) => {
  await route.fulfill({
    status: 200,
    contentType: 'application/json',
    body: JSON.stringify([{ id: '1' }, { id: '2' }]),
  })
})

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.intercept('GET', '/api/projects', {
  statusCode: 200,
  body: [{ id: '1' }, { id: '2' }],
}).as('projects')

Modify a response

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.route('**/api/profile', async (route) => {
  const response = await route.fetch()
  const json = await response.json()
  json.plan = 'enterprise'
  await route.fulfill({ response, json })
})

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.intercept('GET', '/api/profile', (req) => {
  req.continue((res) => {
    res.body.plan = 'enterprise'
  })
}).as('profile')

See Network Requests and cy.intercept().

Authentication patterns

Playwright commonly reuses auth via storageState. In Cypress, use cy.session() to cache cookies and storage between tests.

Before: Playwright

playwright.config.ts

import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test'

export default defineConfig({
  use: {
    storageState: 'storageState.json',
  },
})

auth.setup.ts

import { test as setup } from '@playwright/test'

setup('authenticate', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/login')
  await page.getByLabel('Username').fill('jane')
  await page.getByLabel('Password').fill('secret')
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Log in' }).click()

  await page.context().storageState({ path: 'storageState.json' })
})

After: Cypress

cypress/support/e2e.ts

const login = () => {
  cy.visit('/login')
  cy.get('#username').type('jane')
  cy.get('#password').type('secret')
  cy.contains('button', 'Log in').click()
}

beforeEach(() => {
  cy.session('jane', login)
})

Cross-origin

Cypress enforces a same-origin policy by default. Use cy.origin() to run commands against a different origin within the same test. Any commands targeting a secondary origin must be scoped inside the cy.origin() callback.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.goto('https://site-a.example')
await page.goto('https://site-b.example')
await expect(page.getByRole('banner')).toBeVisible()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.visit('https://site-a.example')
cy.origin('https://site-b.example', () => {
  cy.visit('https://site-b.example')
  cy.get('[role="banner"]').should('be.visible')
})

See cy.origin() for complete documentation.

Screenshots

Before: Playwright

await page.screenshot({ path: 'after-signup.png' })
await page.locator('[data-testid="toast"]').screenshot({ path: 'toast.png' })

After: Cypress

cy.screenshot('after-signup')
cy.get('[data-testid="toast"]').screenshot('toast')

See Screenshots and Videos.

File uploads and downloads

Upload

Before: Playwright

await page.setInputFiles('input[type="file"]', 'fixtures/avatar.png')

After: Cypress

cy.get('input[type="file"]').selectFile('cypress/fixtures/avatar.png')

See cy.selectFile().

Downloads

In Cypress, a common approach is to trigger the download, then assert the file exists in the configured downloads folder.

Before: Playwright

const download = await page.waitForEvent('download')
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Export CSV' }).click()
const path = await download.path()

After: Cypress

cy.contains('button', 'Export CSV').click()
cy.readFile('cypress/downloads/export.csv')

See cy.readFile().

Clock and time control

Both Playwright and Cypress let you replace native browser time functions with a fake clock that you control. This allows tests to set a specific date, skip waiting for timers, and test time-sensitive UI behavior without real delays. The two tools take different approaches to time control.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.clock.setFixedTime(new Date('2024-02-02T10:00:00'))
await page.goto('/')
await expect(page.getByTestId('current-time')).toHaveText(
  '2/2/2024, 10:00:00 AM'
)

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.clock(new Date('2024-02-02T10:00:00'))
cy.visit('/')
cy.get('[data-testid="current-time"]').should(
  'have.text',
  '2/2/2024, 10:00:00 AM'
)

Advancing time

To simulate the passage of time and trigger scheduled timers, Playwright uses fastForward or runFor. Cypress uses cy.tick().

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.clock.install()
await page.goto('/')
await page.getByRole('button').click()

// Skip forward 5 minutes, firing all timers that fall within the window
await page.clock.fastForward('05:00')

await expect(page.getByText('Session expired')).toBeVisible()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.clock()
cy.visit('/')
cy.get('button').click()

// cy.tick() takes milliseconds; 5 minutes = 300,000 ms
cy.tick(5 * 60 * 1000)

cy.contains('Session expired').should('be.visible')

Pausing at a specific time

Playwright supports pauseAt, which lets the clock run naturally from its installed time and then pause automatically when it reaches a target timestamp. For Cypress to reach a specific point in time, calculate the delta between the installed time and the target time and pass that to cy.tick().

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.clock.install({ time: new Date('2024-02-02T08:00:00') })
await page.goto('/')

// Clock runs naturally until it reaches 10:00 AM, then pauses
await page.clock.pauseAt(new Date('2024-02-02T10:00:00'))
await expect(page.getByTestId('current-time')).toHaveText(
  '2/2/2024, 10:00:00 AM'
)

// Advance another 30 minutes manually
await page.clock.fastForward('30:00')
await expect(page.getByTestId('current-time')).toHaveText(
  '2/2/2024, 10:30:00 AM'
)

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.clock(new Date('2024-02-02T08:00:00'))
cy.visit('/')

// Advance 2 hours (from 08:00 to 10:00) manually
cy.tick(2 * 60 * 60 * 1000)
cy.get('[data-testid="current-time"]').should(
  'have.text',
  '2/2/2024, 10:00:00 AM'
)

// Advance another 30 minutes
cy.tick(30 * 60 * 1000)
cy.get('[data-testid="current-time"]').should(
  'have.text',
  '2/2/2024, 10:30:00 AM'
)

Changing the system time mid-test

Both tools allow you to change the current time without triggering timers. In Playwright this is page.clock.setSystemTime(). In Cypress it is clock.setSystemTime() on the yielded clock object.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.clock.install({ time: new Date('2024-02-02T10:00:00') })
await page.goto('/')

// Jump to a new time without firing any scheduled timers
await page.clock.setSystemTime(new Date('2024-02-02T10:30:00'))

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.clock(new Date('2024-02-02T10:00:00'))
cy.visit('/')

cy.clock().then((clock) => {
  // Jump to a new time without firing any scheduled timers
  clock.setSystemTime(new Date('2024-02-02T10:30:00'))
})

Overriding only specific functions

Cypress allows you to limit which native functions the clock replaces. This is useful when you only need to control Date without affecting timer behavior, or vice versa.

// Override only Date, leave setTimeout and setInterval running normally
cy.clock(Date.UTC(2024, 1, 2), ['Date'])

// Override only timers, leave Date as the system clock
cy.clock(null, ['setTimeout', 'clearTimeout', 'setInterval', 'clearInterval'])

Multiple tabs and windows

You can handle multi-tab workflows using the @cypress/puppeteer plugin, which gives Cypress access to the underlying browser via Puppeteer. This approach requires Puppeteer as a dependency.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

// Start waiting for the new tab before clicking.
const newPagePromise = page.context().waitForEvent('page')
await page.getByText('open new tab').click()
const newPage = await newPagePromise

await newPage.waitForLoadState()
await newPage.getByRole('button', { name: 'Confirm' }).click()

After: Cypress

cypress.config.ts

import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'
import { setup, retry } from '@cypress/puppeteer'

export default defineConfig({
  e2e: {
    setupNodeEvents(on) {
      setup({
        on,
        onMessage: {
          async switchToTabAndGetContent(browser) {
            const page = await retry(async () => {
              const pages = await browser.pages()
              const page = pages.find((p) => p.url().includes('page-2.html'))
              if (!page) throw new Error('Could not find page')
              return page
            })

            await page.bringToFront()
            const paragraph = await page.waitForSelector('p')
            return await page.evaluate((el) => el.textContent, paragraph)
          },
        },
      })
    },
  },
})

In your support file, import the command once:

// cypress/support/e2e.ts
import '@cypress/puppeteer/support'

test.cy.ts

cy.visit('/')
cy.contains('button', 'Open new tab').click()

cy.puppeteer('switchToTabAndGetContent').should(
  'equal',
  'You said: Hello from Page 1'
)

Iframes

Cypress has no equivalent single command. The standard approach is to get the iframe element, access its contentDocument.body, and then wrap that body element with cy.wrap() so you can use Cypress commands on its contents. The .should('not.be.empty') assertion ensures Cypress waits for the frame's document to load before proceeding.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

// Locate and fill a field inside an iframe
const frame = page.frameLocator('#payment-frame')
await frame.getByLabel('Card number').fill('4242424242424242')
await frame.getByLabel('Expiry').fill('12/26')
await frame.getByRole('button', { name: 'Pay now' }).click()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.get('#payment-frame')
  .its('0.contentDocument.body')
  .should('not.be.empty')
  .then(cy.wrap)
  .within(() => {
    cy.get('input[aria-label="Card number"]').type('4242424242424242')
    cy.get('input[aria-label="Expiry"]').type('12/26')
    cy.contains('button', 'Pay now').click()
  })

If you interact with the same iframe across multiple tests, extract the frame access into a custom command to avoid repeating the boilerplate:

cypress/support/commands.ts

declare global {
  namespace Cypress {
    interface Chainable {
      getIframeBody(selector: string): Chainable<JQuery<HTMLElement>>
    }
  }
}

Cypress.Commands.add('getIframeBody', (selector: string) => {
  return cy
    .get(selector)
    .its('0.contentDocument.body')
    .should('not.be.empty')
    .then(cy.wrap)
})

// In your test
cy.getIframeBody('#payment-frame').within(() => {
  cy.contains('button', 'Pay now').click()
})

This works for same-origin iframes. Unlike Playwright's frameLocator, Cypress cannot reach into a cross-origin iframe unless you set chromeWebSecurity to false in Chromium-family browsers. See How do I test elements inside an iframe? for the full details and restrictions.

Shadow DOM

For Shadow DOM in Cypress, you can traverse explicitly:

Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.get('[data-testid="shadow-host"]').shadow().find('button').click()

See .shadow().

Dialogs

alert()

Cypress always accepts alert() dialogs.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

// Register a handler to inspect the alert text before accepting
page.on('dialog', async (dialog) => {
  expect(dialog.type()).toBe('alert')
  expect(dialog.message()).toBe('Unsaved changes will be lost.')
  await dialog.accept()
})

await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Leave page' }).click()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

// Cypress auto-accepts alerts. Listen to assert on the message.
cy.on('window:alert', (message) => {
  expect(message).to.eq('Unsaved changes will be lost.')
})

cy.get('button').contains('Leave page').click()

confirm()

Before: Playwright

test.ts

// Accept the confirmation
page.on('dialog', (dialog) => dialog.accept())
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Delete account' }).click()
await expect(page.getByText('Account deleted')).toBeVisible()

// Dismiss the confirmation
page.on('dialog', (dialog) => dialog.dismiss())
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Delete account' }).click()
await expect(page.getByText('Account deleted')).not.toBeVisible()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

// Cypress auto-accepts confirm(). No handler needed to test the accepted path.
cy.get('button').contains('Delete account').click()
cy.contains('Account deleted').should('be.visible')

// Return false to dismiss the confirmation
cy.on('window:confirm', () => false)
cy.get('button').contains('Delete account').click()
cy.contains('Account deleted').should('not.exist')

If you need to assert on the confirmation message text and control acceptance in the same test, combine both:

cy.on('window:confirm', (message) => {
  expect(message).to.eq('Are you sure you want to delete your account?')
  return false // return true or omit the return to accept
})

cy.get('button').contains('Delete account').click()

For tests that need to verify the stub was called, use cy.stub() instead of cy.on(). This lets you use Sinon assertions to confirm the dialog was triggered the expected number of times.

const confirmStub = cy.stub().as('confirmDialog').returns(false)
cy.on('window:confirm', confirmStub)

cy.get('button').contains('Delete account').click()
cy.get('@confirmDialog').should('have.been.calledOnce')

prompt()

In Cypress, you must stub window.prompt before the page loads using the onBeforeLoad callback in cy.visit(). This gives you full control over the return value and lets you assert that the prompt was called.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

page.on('dialog', async (dialog) => {
  expect(dialog.type()).toBe('prompt')
  expect(dialog.message()).toBe('Enter your name:')
  await dialog.accept('Ada Lovelace')
})

await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Set name' }).click()
await expect(page.getByTestId('greeting')).toHaveText('Hello, Ada Lovelace!')

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.visit('/', {
  onBeforeLoad(win) {
    cy.stub(win, 'prompt').as('promptDialog').returns('Ada Lovelace')
  },
})

cy.get('button').contains('Set name').click()
cy.get('[data-testid="greeting"]').should('have.text', 'Hello, Ada Lovelace!')
cy.get('@promptDialog').should('have.been.calledWith', 'Enter your name:')

To simulate the user cancelling the prompt (equivalent to dialog.dismiss() in Playwright), return null from the stub:

cy.visit('/', {
  onBeforeLoad(win) {
    cy.stub(win, 'prompt').returns(null)
  },
})

beforeunload

If your tests need to verify that a beforeunload handler is registered and sets a returnValue, use the window:before:unload event to assert on the event object directly:

Before: Playwright

test.ts

page.on('dialog', async (dialog) => {
  expect(dialog.type()).toBe('beforeunload')
  await dialog.dismiss()
})

await page.close({ runBeforeUnload: true })

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

// Assert that the beforeunload handler fired and set a returnValue
cy.on('window:before:unload', (event) => {
  expect(event.returnValue).to.eq('')
})

// Trigger navigation to fire beforeunload
cy.get('a').contains('Leave').click()

print dialogs

In Cypress, stub window.print using onBeforeLoad in cy.visit() and assert that the stub was called.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

await page.goto('/')
await page.evaluate(
  '(() => { window.waitForPrint = new Promise(f => window.print = f) })()'
)

await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Print invoice' }).click()
await page.waitForFunction('window.waitForPrint')

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.visit('/', {
  onBeforeLoad(win) {
    cy.stub(win, 'print').as('printDialog')
  },
})

cy.get('button').contains('Print invoice').click()
cy.get('@printDialog').should('have.been.calledOnce')

API testing

Before: Playwright

test.ts

// APIRequestContext (Playwright)
const res = await request.get('/api/health')
expect(res.ok()).toBeTruthy()

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

cy.request('/api/health').its('status').should('eq', 200)

See cy.request().

Test generation

Cypress Studio lets you generate test code by interacting with your application in the Cypress app. It records actions like clicks and form inputs and writes the corresponding Cypress commands. Cypress Studio is a replacement for Playwright's playwright codegen. With a Cypress Cloud account, you also get Studio AI, AI-powered assertion recommendations as you record.

Component Testing

Playwright Component Testing is experimental and uses a mount fixture (for example via @playwright/experimental-ct-react). Cypress Component Testing uses cy.mount(), typically scaffolded in your Cypress support file.

Framework and bundler support

Capability	Playwright Component Testing	Cypress Component Testing
Frameworks	Experimental packages for React, Vue, and Svelte	Official mounting libraries for React, Vue, Angular, and Svelte
Bundlers	Vite	Vite & Webpack

See Component Testing for more details.

Before: Playwright

button.test.ts

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/experimental-ct-react'
import { Button } from './Button'

test('renders', async ({ mount }) => {
  const component = await mount(<Button>Save</Button>)
  await expect(component).toContainText('Save')
})

After: Cypress

button.cy.ts

import { Button } from './Button'

describe('Button', () => {
  it('renders', () => {
    cy.mount(<Button>Save</Button>)
    cy.contains('button', 'Save').should('be.visible')
  })
})

See Component Testing and cy.mount().

Reusable code patterns

Page object model

If you're using Page Object Model (POM) in Playwright, the same pattern works in Cypress:

Before: Playwright

loginPage.ts

export class LoginPage {
  constructor(private page: Page) {}

  async login(username: string, password: string) {
    await this.page.getByLabel('Username').fill(username)
    await this.page.getByLabel('Password').fill(password)
    await this.page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Login' }).click()
  }
}

After: Cypress

loginPage.ts

export class LoginPage {
  login(username: string, password: string) {
    cy.get('[data-testid="username"]').type(username)
    cy.get('[data-testid="password"]').type(password)
    cy.contains('button', 'Login').click()
  }
}

Parameterized tests

Both Playwright and Cypress support generating tests from a data array using standard JavaScript. The pattern is the same in both tools: call .forEach() on your dataset outside of or inside a describe block, and generate one test per entry.

Before: Playwright

test.ts

;[
  { name: 'Maya', expected: 'Hello, Maya!' },
  { name: 'Theo', expected: 'Hello, Theo!' },
  { name: 'Nora', expected: 'Hello, Nora!' },
].forEach(({ name, expected }) => {
  test(`testing with ${name}`, async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto(`https://example.com/greet?name=${name}`)
    await expect(page.getByRole('heading')).toHaveText(expected)
  })
})

After: Cypress

test.cy.ts

;[
  { name: 'Maya', expected: 'Hello, Maya!' },
  { name: 'Theo', expected: 'Hello, Theo!' },
  { name: 'Nora', expected: 'Hello, Nora!' },
].forEach(({ name, expected }) => {
  it(`testing with ${name}`, () => {
    cy.visit(`/greet?name=${name}`)
    cy.get('h1').should('have.text', expected)
  })
})

Custom commands

Before: Playwright

fixtures/auth.ts

export const test = base.extend({
  authenticatedPage: async ({ page }, use) => {
    await page.goto('/login')
    await page.getByLabel('Username').fill('user')
    await page.getByLabel('Password').fill('pass')
    await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Login' }).click()
    await use(page)
  },
})

After: Cypress

cypress/support/commands.ts

declare global {
  namespace Cypress {
    interface Chainable {
      login(username: string, password: string): Chainable<void>
    }
  }
}

Cypress.Commands.add('login', (username: string, password: string) => {
  cy.session([username, password], () => {
    cy.visit('/login')
    cy.get('[data-testid="username"]').type(username)
    cy.get('[data-testid="password"]').type(password)
    cy.contains('button', 'Login').click()
    cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard')
  })
})

See Custom Commands for more details.

CI parallelization

Key architectural difference

Playwright parallelizes tests locally using workers and across machines using manual sharding. You define the split strategy in config or at the command line.

• Worker count controlled via config (workers: 4) or CLI (--workers=4)
• Sharding splits tests across machines (--shard=1/4)
• You define the split strategy upfront

Before: Playwright

playwright test --shard=2/4 # Machine 2
playwright test --shard=3/4 # Machine 3
playwright test --shard=4/4 # Machine 4

Cypress parallelizes tests across machines through Cypress Cloud, which distributes specs dynamically based on historical run durations. This requires a Cypress Cloud account.

• Parallelization happens in CI through Cypress Cloud.
• Specs are distributed dynamically based on historical run data.
• No manual sharding required.

After: Cypress Cloud

cypress run --record --parallel

Smart Orchestration in Cypress Cloud

When you use Cypress Cloud, you gain Smart Orchestration features that go beyond simple parallelization:

Load Balancing

• Distributes specs across machines based on previous run durations
• Minimizes overall run time automatically
• No need to manually configure shards or splits

Spec Prioritization

• Runs specs that failed in the previous run first
• Provides faster feedback on fixes
• Reduces time to detect persistent failures

Auto Cancellation

• Cancels remaining specs after a threshold of failures
• Avoids wasting CI time on runs that can't pass
• Configurable failure thresholds

See Parallelization for setup details.

Debugging with Test Replay

Test Replay is available on all Cypress Cloud plans at no additional cost. It records a full, interactive replay of every test run, including network requests, console output, and DOM snapshots. Replays are shareable via link and do not require a local trace file.

Before: Playwright

playwright test --trace on

npx playwright show-trace test-results/**/trace.zip

After: Cypress

cypress run --record --key <record_key>

See Test Replay for more details.

Handling flaky tests

Flaky tests are a common challenge in testing. Both frameworks offer retry mechanisms, but Cypress Cloud adds intelligent flake detection and management.

Before: Playwright

playwright.config.ts

export default {
  retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
}

After: Cypress

cypress.config.ts

export default {
  retries: {
    runMode: 2,
    openMode: 0,
  },
}

Flaky test management in Cypress Cloud

Beyond basic retries, Cypress Cloud provides:

Flaky test management

• Automatically identifies tests that pass after retry
• Tracks flake rate over time
• Provides analytics on which specs are most flaky
• Helps prioritize stability improvements

Accessibility testing

If you record test runs to Cypress Cloud, Cypress Accessibility provides automated accessibility scanning across your entire test suite with no changes to your test code.

Rather than requiring checkA11y() calls in each test, Cypress Accessibility captures DOM snapshots during test execution server-side, using the same protocol as Test Replay. Every distinct state your tests interact with is scanned automatically. This means pages and components that your tests visit but do not explicitly instrument are still checked.

Learn more about Accessibility testing.

Features without a direct equivalent

A few Playwright features have no built-in Cypress counterpart. Identify these up front so you can plan alternatives rather than discovering them mid-migration.

Playwright feature	Cypress equivalent
toHaveScreenshot() / toMatchSnapshot() visual snapshots	No built-in visual diffing. See Visual Testing for plugin options.
expect.soft() (soft assertions)	No equivalent. Cypress fails on the first failed assertion; split into separate assertions or tests.
test.step()	No direct equivalent. Group related commands and annotate with cy.log() or nested context() blocks.
toMatchAriaSnapshot()	No equivalent. Assert roles and labels individually, or use Cypress Accessibility for automated scanning.

Cheat sheet

The await required in Playwright is not included in the cheat sheet for readability.

Playwright	Cypress
page.locator('css')	cy.get('css')
page.getByTestId('submit')	cy.get('[data-testid="submit"]')
page.goto('/path')	cy.visit('/path')
page.reload()	cy.reload()
page.title()	cy.title()
page.url()	cy.url()
page.waitForResponse(...)	cy.intercept(...).as('x'); cy.wait('@x')
page.setInputFiles(selector, 'file.png')	cy.get(selector).selectFile('file.png')
page.locator(selector).click()	cy.get(selector).click()
page.locator(selector).click({ force: true })	cy.get(selector).click({force: true})
page.locator(selector).click({ button: 'right' })	cy.get(selector).rightclick()
page.locator(selector).click({ modifiers: ['Shift'] })	cy.get(selector).click({shiftKey: true})
page.locator(selector).dblclick()	cy.get(selector).dblclick()
page.locator(selector).hover()	cy.get(selector).trigger('mouseover')
page.locator(selector).fill('text')	cy.get(selector).clear().type('text')
page.locator(selector).focus()	cy.get(selector).focus()
page.locator(selector).press('Tab')	cy.get(selector).focus(); cy.press(Cypress.Keyboard.Keys.TAB)
page.locator(selector).selectOption('blue')	cy.get(selector).select('blue')
page.locator(selector).scrollIntoViewIfNeeded()	cy.get(selector).scrollIntoView()
page.locator(selector).screenshot()	cy.get(selector).screenshot()
page.route('**/api', ...)	cy.intercept('/api', ...)
page.screenshot()	cy.screenshot()
use: { storageState: 'state.json' }	cy.session('user', login)
page.clock.setFixedTime(date)	cy.clock(now)
page.clock.install({ time })	cy.clock(now)
page.clock.fastForward(duration)	cy.tick(ms)
page.clock.runFor(duration)	cy.tick(ms)
page.clock.setSystemTime(date)	clock.setSystemTime(date)
page.on('dialog', dialog => dialog.accept())	Auto-accepted by default
page.on('dialog', dialog => dialog.dismiss())	cy.on('window:confirm', () => false)
page.on('dialog', dialog => dialog.accept('x'))	cy.stub(win, 'prompt').returns('x') in onBeforeLoad
page.on('dialog') with beforeunload	cy.on('window:before:unload', event => ...)
expect(page).toHaveURL(/re/)	cy.url().should('match', /re/)
expect(locator).toHaveText('Yes!')	cy.get(selector).should('have.text', 'Yes!')
expect(locator).toHaveAttribute('href')	cy.get(selector).should('have.attr', 'href')
expect(locator).toBeChecked()	cy.get(selector).should('be.checked')
expect(locator).toBeDisabled()	cy.get(selector).should('be.disabled')
expect(locator).toBeVisible()	cy.get(selector).should('be.visible')
expect(locator).toBeHidden()	cy.get(selector).should('be.hidden')
expect(locator).toBeEnabled()	cy.get(selector).should('be.enabled')
expect(locator).toBeAttached()	cy.get(selector).should('exist')
expect(locator).toBeFocused()	cy.get(selector).should('have.focus')
expect(locator).toHaveValue('123')	cy.get(selector).should('have.value', '123')
expect(locator).toContainText('Yes!')	cy.get(selector).should('contain', 'Yes!')
expect(locator).toContainClass('light')	cy.get(selector).should('have.class', 'light')
expect(locator).toHaveCSS('color', 'red')	cy.get(selector).should('have.css', 'color', 'red')
browserContext.cookies()	cy.getCookies()
browserContext.clearCookies()	cy.clearCookies()
browserContext.addCookies(cookie)	cy.setCookie(name, value)
page.locator(selector).first()	cy.get(selector).first()
page.locator(selector).last()	cy.get(selector).last()
page.locator(selector).nth(n)	cy.get(selector).eq(n)
page.locator(selector).filter({ hasText: 'x' })	cy.get(selector).filter(':contains("x")')
page.waitForURL('**/dashboard')	cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard')
page.goBack()	cy.go('back')
page.goForward()	cy.go('forward')