---
id: api/commands/url
title: url | Cypress Documentation
description: Get the current URL of the page that is currently active in Cypress.
section: api
source_path: docs/api/commands/url.mdx
version: fa8f60eba6ec9a949b75fe9f9f5f6591719cd01f
updated_at: '2026-05-05T21:21:10.048Z'
---
# url

Get the current URL of the page that is currently active.

This is an alias of [`cy.location('href')`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/location.md)

## Syntax

```
cy.url()cy.url(options)
```

### Usage

**Correct Usage**

```
cy.url() // Yields the current URL as a string
```

### Arguments

**options _(Object)_**

Pass in an options object to change the default behavior of `cy.url()`.

**cy.url( _options_ )**

| Option | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `decode` | `false` | Decode URL |
| `log` | `true` | Displays the command in the [Command log](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/open-mode.md#Command-Log) |
| `timeout` | [`defaultCommandTimeout`](/llm/markdown/app/references/configuration.md#Timeouts) | Time to wait for `cy.url()` to resolve before [timing out](#Timeouts) |

### Yields [Learn about subject management](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/introduction-to-cypress.md#Subject-Management)

*   `cy.url()` yields the current URL as a string.
*   `cy.url()` is a query, and it is _safe_ to chain further commands.

## Examples

### No Args

#### Assert the URL is `http://localhost:8000/users/1/edit`

```
// clicking the anchor causes the browser to follow the linkcy.get('#user-edit a').click()cy.url().should('include', '/users/1/edit') // => truecy.url().should('eq', 'http://localhost:8000/users/1/edit') // => true
```

### `decode` option

When the URL contains non-ASCII characters, use the `decode` option.

```
// For the curious, '사랑' means 'love' in Korean.cy.url({ decode: true }).should('contain', '사랑')
```

## Notes

### Href Shorthand

#### URL is an alias for `cy.location('href')`

`cy.url()` uses `href` under the hood.

```
cy.url() // these yield the same stringcy.location('href') // these yield the same string
```

### Differences

#### URL versus href

Given the remote URL, `http://localhost:8000/index.html`, all 3 of these assertions are the same.

```
cy.location('href').should('include', '/index.html')cy.location().its('href').should('include', '/index.html')cy.url().should('include', '/index.html')
```

`href` and `toString` come from the `window.location` spec.

But you may be wondering where the URL property comes from. Per the `window.location` spec, there actually isn't a URL property on the `location` object.

`cy.url()` exists because it's what most developers naturally assume would return them the full current URL. We almost never refer to the URL as an `href`.

#### Hardcoded versus using the configuration object

Instead of hard-coding the URL used in the assertion, we recommend you define a `baseUrl` in your [Cypress configuration](/llm/markdown/app/references/configuration.md). For more details on why, see our Best Practices guide on [setting a global `baseUrl`](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/best-practices.md#Setting-a-Global-baseUrl).

Given the remote URL, `http://localhost:8000/index.html`, and the baseUrl, `http://localhost:8000`, these assertions are the same.

```
cy.url().should('eq', 'http://localhost:8000/index.html')cy.url().should('eq', Cypress.config().baseUrl + '/index.html') // tests won't fail in case the port changes
```

#### Assert that the url contains "#users/new"

```
cy.url().should('contain', '#users/new')
```

## Rules

### Requirements [Learn about chaining commands](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/introduction-to-cypress.md#Chains-of-Commands)

*   `cy.url()` requires being chained off of `cy`.

### Assertions [Learn about assertions](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/introduction-to-cypress.md#Assertions)

*   `cy.url()` will automatically [retry](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/retry-ability.md) until all chained assertions have passed

### Timeouts [Learn about timeouts](/llm/markdown/app/core-concepts/introduction-to-cypress.md#Timeouts)

*   `cy.url()` can time out waiting for assertions you've added to pass.

## Command Log

The commands above will display in the Command Log as:

When clicking on URL within the Command Log, the console outputs the following:

## History

| Version | Changes |
| --- | --- |
| [8.4.0](/llm/markdown/app/references/changelog.md#8-4-0) | `decode` option added |
| [< 0.3.3](/llm/markdown/app/references/changelog.md#0-3-3) | `cy.url()` command added |

## See also

*   [`cy.hash()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/hash.md)
*   [`cy.location()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/location.md)