--- id: api/commands/task title: task | Cypress Documentation description: Execute code in Node.js via the task plugin event in Cypress. section: api source_path: docs/api/commands/task.mdx version: 524ff5211e60b5d53e55d6ad976d83966f66e7cd updated_at: '2026-04-30T14:20:05.396Z' --- # task Execute code in [Node](https://nodejs.org) via the `task` plugin event. **Anti-Pattern** We do not recommend starting a web server using `cy.task()`. Read about [best practices](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/best-practices.md#Web-Servers) here. ## Syntax ``` cy.task(event)cy.task(event, arg)cy.task(event, arg, options) ``` ### Usage **Correct Usage** ``` // in testcy.task('log', 'This will be output to the terminal') ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { log(message) { console.log(message) return null }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { log(message) { console.log(message) return null }, }) }, },}) ``` The `task` plugin event handler can return a value or a promise. The command will fail if `undefined` is returned or if the promise is resolved with `undefined`. This helps catch typos or cases where the task event is not handled. If you do not need to return a value, explicitly return `null` to signal that the given event has been handled. ### Arguments **event _(String)_** An event name to be handled via the `task` event in the [setupNodeEvents](/llm/markdown/app/plugins/plugins-guide.md#Using-a-plugin) function. **arg _(Object)_** An argument to send along with the event. This can be any value that can be serialized by [JSON.stringify()](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON/stringify). Unserializable types such as functions, regular expressions, or symbols will be omitted to `null`. If you need to pass multiple arguments, use an object ``` // in testcy.task('hello', { greeting: 'Hello', name: 'World' }) ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { // deconstruct the individual properties hello({ greeting, name }) { console.log('%s, %s', greeting, name) return null }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { // deconstruct the individual properties hello({ greeting, name }) { console.log('%s, %s', greeting, name) return null }, }) }, },}) ``` **options _(Object)_** Pass in an options object to change the default behavior of `cy.task()`. | Option | Default | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | `log` | `true` | Displays the command in the [Command log](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/open-mode.md#Command-Log) | | `timeout` | [`taskTimeout`](/llm/markdown/app/references/configuration.md#Timeouts) | Time to wait for `cy.task()` to resolve before [timing out](#Timeouts) | ### Yields [Learn about subject management](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/introduction-to-cypress.md#Subject-Management) `cy.task()` yields the value returned or resolved by the `task` event in [setupNodeEvents](/llm/markdown/app/plugins/plugins-guide.md#Using-a-plugin). ## Examples `cy.task()` provides an escape hatch for running arbitrary Node code, so you can take actions necessary for your tests outside of the scope of Cypress. This is great for: * Seeding your test database. * Storing state in Node that you want persisted between spec files. * Performing parallel tasks, like making multiple http requests outside of Cypress. * Running an external process. ### Read a file that might not exist Command [cy.readFile()](/llm/markdown/api/commands/readfile.md) assumes the file exists. If you need to read a file that might not exist, use `cy.task`. ``` // in testcy.task('readFileMaybe', 'my-file.txt').then((textOrNull) => { ... }) ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')const fs = require('fs')module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { readFileMaybe(filename) { if (fs.existsSync(filename)) { return fs.readFileSync(filename, 'utf8') } return null }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'import fs from 'fs'export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { readFileMaybe(filename) { if (fs.existsSync(filename)) { return fs.readFileSync(filename, 'utf8') } return null }, }) }, },}) ``` ### Return number of files in the folder ``` // in testcy.task('countFiles', 'cypress/downloads').then((count) => { ... }) ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')const fs = require('fs')module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { countFiles(folderName) { return new Promise((resolve, reject) => { fs.readdir(folderName, (err, files) => { if (err) { return reject(err) } resolve(files.length) }) }) }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'import fs from 'fs'export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { countFiles(folderName) { return new Promise((resolve, reject) => { fs.readdir(folderName, (err, files) => { if (err) { return reject(err) } resolve(files.length) }) }) }, }) }, },}) ``` ### Seed a database ``` // in testdescribe('e2e', () => { beforeEach(() => { cy.task('defaults:db') cy.visit('/') }) it('displays article values', () => { cy.get('.article-list').should('have.length', 10) })}) ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')// we require some code in our app that// is responsible for seeding our databaseconst db = require('../../server/src/db')module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { 'defaults:db': () => { return db.seed('defaults') }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'// we require some code in our app that// is responsible for seeding our databaseimport db from '../../server/src/db'export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { 'defaults:db': () => { return db.seed('defaults') }, }) }, },}) ``` ### Return a Promise from an asynchronous task ``` // in testcy.task('pause', 1000) ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { pause(ms) { return new Promise((resolve) => { // tasks should not resolve with undefined setTimeout(() => resolve(null), ms) }) }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { pause(ms) { return new Promise((resolve) => { // tasks should not resolve with undefined setTimeout(() => resolve(null), ms) }) }, }) }, },}) ``` ### Save a variable across non same-origin URL visits When visiting non same-origin URL, Cypress will [change the hosted URL to the new URL](/llm/markdown/app/guides/cross-origin-testing.md), wiping the state of any local variables. We want to save a variable across visiting non same-origin URLs. We can save the variable and retrieve the saved variable outside of the test using `cy.task()` as shown below. ``` // in testdescribe('Href visit', () => { it('captures href', () => { cy.visit('https://example.cypress.io') cy.get('a') .invoke('attr', 'href') .then((href) => { // href is not same-origin as current url // like https://www.cypress-dx.com cy.task('setHref', href) }) }) it('visit href', () => { cy.task('getHref').then((href) => { // visit non same-origin url https://www.cypress-dx.com cy.visit(href) }) })}) ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')let hrefmodule.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { setHref: (val) => { return (href = val) }, getHref: () => { return href }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'let href: stringexport default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { setHref: (val) => { return (href = val) }, getHref: () => { return href }, }) }, },}) ``` ### Command options #### Change the timeout You can increase the time allowed to execute the task, although _we do not recommend executing tasks that take a long time to exit_. Cypress will _not_ continue running any other commands until `cy.task()` has finished, so a long-running command will drastically slow down your test runs. ``` // will fail if seeding the database takes longer than 20 seconds to finishcy.task('seedDatabase', null, { timeout: 20000 }) ``` ## Notes ### Tasks must end #### Tasks that do not end are not supported `cy.task()` does not support tasks that do not end, such as: * Starting a server. * A task that watches for file changes. * Any process that needs to be manually interrupted to stop. A task must end within the `taskTimeout` or Cypress will fail the current test. ### Tasks are merged automatically Sometimes you might be using plugins that export their tasks for registration. Cypress automatically merges `on('task')` objects for you. For example if you are using [cypress-skip-and-only-ui](https://github.com/bahmutov/cypress-skip-and-only-ui) plugin and want to install your own task to read a file that might not exist: * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')const skipAndOnlyTask = require('cypress-skip-and-only-ui/task')const fs = require('fs')const myTask = { readFileMaybe(filename) { if (fs.existsSync(filename)) { return fs.readFileSync(filename, 'utf8') } return null },}module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { // register plugin's task on('task', skipAndOnlyTask) // and register my own task on('task', myTask) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'import skipAndOnlyTask from 'cypress-skip-and-only-ui/task'import fs from 'fs'const myTask = { readFileMaybe(filename) { if (fs.existsSync(filename)) { return fs.readFileSync(filename, 'utf8') } return null },}export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { // register plugin's task on('task', skipAndOnlyTask) // and register my own task on('task', myTask) }, },}) ``` See [#2284](https://github.com/cypress-io/cypress/issues/2284) for implementation. **Duplicate task keys** If multiple task objects use the same key, the later registration will overwrite that particular key, similar to how merging multiple objects with duplicate keys will overwrite the first one. ### Reset timeout via `Cypress.config()` You can change the timeout of `cy.task()` for the remainder of the tests by setting the new values for `taskTimeout` within [Cypress.config()](/llm/markdown/api/cypress-api/config.md). ``` Cypress.config('taskTimeout', 30000)Cypress.config('taskTimeout') // => 30000 ``` ### Set timeout in the test configuration You can configure the `cy.task()` timeout within a suite or test by passing the new configuration value within the [test configuration](/llm/markdown/app/references/configuration.md#Test-Configuration). This will set the timeout throughout the duration of the tests, then return it to the default `taskTimeout` when complete. ``` describe('has data available from database', { taskTimeout: 90000 }, () => { before(() => { cy.task('seedDatabase') }) // tests after(() => { cy.task('resetDatabase') })}) ``` ### Allows a single argument only The syntax `cy.task(name, arg, options)` only has place for a single argument to be passed from the test code to the plugins code. In the situations where you would like to pass multiple arguments, place them into an object to be destructured inside the task code. For example, if you would like to execute a database query and pass the database profile name you could do: ``` // in testconst dbName = 'stagingA'const query = 'SELECT * FROM users'cy.task('queryDatabase', { dbName, query }) ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')const mysql = require('mysql')// the connection strings for different databases could// come from system environment variablesconst connections = { stagingA: { host: 'staging.my.co', user: 'test', password: '***', database: 'users', }, stagingB: { host: 'staging-b.my.co', user: 'test', password: '***', database: 'users', },}// querying the database from Nodefunction queryDB(connectionInfo, query) { const connection = mysql.createConnection(connectionInfo) connection.connect() return new Promise((resolve, reject) => { connection.query(query, (error, results) => { if (error) { return reject(error) } connection.end() return resolve(results) }) })}module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { // destructure the argument into the individual fields queryDatabase({ dbName, query }) { const connectionInfo = connections[dbName] if (!connectionInfo) { throw new Error(`Do not have DB connection under name ${dbName}`) } return queryDB(connectionInfo, query) }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'import mysql from 'mysql'// the connection strings for different databases could// come from system environment variablesconst connections = { stagingA: { host: 'staging.my.co', user: 'test', password: '***', database: 'users', }, stagingB: { host: 'staging-b.my.co', user: 'test', password: '***', database: 'users', },}// querying the database from Nodefunction queryDB(connectionInfo, query) { const connection = mysql.createConnection(connectionInfo) connection.connect() return new Promise((resolve, reject) => { connection.query(query, (error, results) => { if (error) { return reject(error) } connection.end() return resolve(results) }) })}export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { // destructure the argument into the individual fields queryDatabase({ dbName, query }) { const connectionInfo = connections[dbName] if (!connectionInfo) { throw new Error(`Do not have DB connection under name ${dbName}`) } return queryDB(connectionInfo, query) }, }) }, },}) ``` ### Argument should be serializable The argument `arg` sent via `cy.task(name, arg)` should be serializable; it cannot have circular dependencies (issue [#5539](https://github.com/cypress-io/cypress/issues/5539)). If there are any special fields like `Date`, you are responsible for their conversion (issue [#4980](https://github.com/cypress-io/cypress/issues/4980)): ``` // in testcy.task('date', new Date()).then((s) => { // the yielded result is a string // we need to convert it to Date object const result = new Date(s)}) ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { date(s) { // s is a string, so convert it to Date const d = new Date(s) // do something with the date // and return it back return d }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { on('task', { date(s) { // s is a string, so convert it to Date const d = new Date(s) // do something with the date // and return it back return d }, }) }, },}) ``` ### Accessing secrets securely You can use `cy.task()` to securely access secrets at runtime when they aren't available during configuration. Using `cy.task()` may be useful when secrets are retrieved from external secret managers or APIs that aren't available at configuration time. [cy.env()](/llm/markdown/api/commands/env.md) is the preferred way to access secrets securely and use them in your tests, and is recommended for secrets that are available at configuration time. ``` // in test - executes at runtimecy.task('getSecret', 'API_KEY').then((apiKey) => { cy.request({ method: 'POST', url: 'https://api.example.com/data', headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}`, }, })}) ``` * cypress.config.js * cypress.config.ts ``` const { defineConfig } = require('cypress')module.exports = defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { // Task definition - executes when cy.task() is called in tests on('task', { getSecret(secretName) { // This reads from process.env at runtime, not at configuration time // Useful when secrets are fetched dynamically or only needed conditionally const secret = process.env[secretName] if (!secret) { throw new Error(`Secret ${secretName} is not set`) } return secret }, }) }, },}) ``` ``` import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'export default defineConfig({ // setupNodeEvents can be defined in either // the e2e or component configuration e2e: { setupNodeEvents(on, config) { // Task definition - executes when cy.task() is called in tests on('task', { getSecret(secretName: string) { // This reads from process.env at runtime, not at configuration time // Useful when secrets are fetched dynamically or only needed conditionally const secret = process.env[secretName] if (!secret) { throw new Error(`Secret ${secretName} is not set`) } return secret }, }) }, },}) ``` ## Rules ### Requirements [Learn about chaining commands](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/introduction-to-cypress.md#Chains-of-Commands) * `cy.task()` requires being chained off of `cy`. * `cy.task()` requires the task to eventually end. ### Assertions [Learn about assertions](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/introduction-to-cypress.md#Assertions) * `cy.task()` will only run assertions you have chained once, and will not [retry](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/retry-ability.md). ### Timeouts [Learn about timeouts](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/introduction-to-cypress.md#Timeouts) * `cy.task()` can time out waiting for the task to end. ## Command Log This example uses the [Return number of files in the folder](#Return-number-of-files-in-the-folder) task defined above. ``` cy.task('countFiles', 'cypress/e2e') ``` The command above will display in the Command Log as: When clicking on the `task` command within the command log, the console outputs the following: ## History | Version | Changes | | --- | --- | | [3.0.0](/llm/markdown/app/references/changelog.md#3-0-0) | `cy.task()` command added | ## See also * [`cy.exec()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/exec.md) * [`cy.fixture()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/fixture.md) * [`cy.readFile()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/readfile.md) * [`cy.request()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/request.md) * [`cy.writeFile()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/writefile.md)