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

Get the `window` object of the page that is currently active.

## Syntax

```
cy.window()cy.window(options)
```

### Usage

**Correct Usage**

```
cy.window()
```

### Arguments

**options _(Object)_**

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

| Option | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `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.window()` to resolve before [timing out](#Timeouts) |

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

*   `cy.window()` yields the `window` object.
*   `cy.window()` is a query, and it is _safe_ to chain further commands.

## Examples

### No Args[​](#No-Args)

#### Yield the remote window object

*   End-to-End Test
*   Component Test

```
cy.visit('http://localhost:8080/app')cy.window().then((win) => {  // win is the remote window})
```

```
cy.mount(<MyComponent />)cy.window().then((win) => {  // win is the remote window})
```

#### Check a custom property

If the application sets a custom property, like:

```
window.tags = {  foo: 'bar',}
```

Our test can confirm the property was properly set.

```
cy.window().its('tags.foo').should('equal', 'bar')
```

**Note:** Cypress commands are asynchronous, so you cannot check a property value before the Cypress commands ran.

```
it('equals bar', () => {  let foo  cy.window().then((win) => {    foo = win.tags.foo  })  // variable "foo" is still undefined  // because the above "then" callback  // has not been executed yet  expect(foo).to.equal('bar') // test fails})
```

Instead, use [`cy.then()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/then.md) callback to check the value.

```
it('equals bar', () => {  let foo  cy.window()    .then((win) => {      foo = win.tags.foo    })    .then(() => {      // variable "foo" has been set      expect(foo).to.equal('bar') // test passes    })})
```

### Start tests when app is ready

If an application takes a while to start, it might "signal" its readiness by setting a property that Cypress can wait for.

```
// app.js// only set property "appReady" if Cypress is running testsif (window.Cypress) {  window.appReady = true}
```

Cypress can wait for the property `window.appReady` to be `true` before every test

```
// spec.cy.jsbeforeEach(() => {  cy.visit('/')  cy.window().should('have.property', 'appReady', true)})
```

**When Can The Test Start?**

[This blog post](https://www.cypress.io/blog/2018/02/05/when-can-the-test-start/) explains how to use `cy.window()` to spy on the DOM `prototype` to detect when the application starts adding event listeners to the DOM elements. When this happens for the first time, Cypress knows that the application under test has started and the tests can begin.

### Options

#### Passes timeout through to [`.should()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/should.md) assertion

```
cy.window({ timeout: 10000 }).should('have.property', 'foo')
```

## Notes

### Cypress uses 2 different windows.

Let's say you want to check the type of the events. You might write code like below:

```
it('test', (done) => {  cy.get('#test-input').then((jQueryElement) => {    let elemHtml = jQueryElement.get(0)    elemHtml.addEventListener('keydown', (event) => {      expect(event instanceof KeyboardEvent).to.be.true      done()    })  })  cy.get('#test-input').type('A')})
```

It fails. But the interesting thing is that the type of `event` is `KeyboardEvent` when you `console.log(event)`.

It's because Cypress uses an `iframe` to load the application under test. In other words, the `KeyboardEvent` used in the code above and the `KeyboardEvent` class from which the `event` variable is constructed are different `KeyboardEvent`s.

That's why the test should be written like this.

```
it('should trigger KeyboardEvent with .type inside Cypress event listener', (done) => {  cy.window().then((win) => {    cy.get('#test-input').then((jQueryElement) => {      let elemHtml = jQueryElement.get(0)      elemHtml.addEventListener('keydown', (event) => {        expect(event instanceof win['KeyboardEvent']).to.be.true        done()      })    })  })  cy.get('#test-input').type('A')})
```

## Rules

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

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

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

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

## Command Log

**_Get the window_**

```
cy.window()
```

The commands above will display in the Command Log as:

When clicking on `window` within the command log, the console outputs the following:

## History

| Version | Changes |
| --- | --- |
| [0.20.0](/llm/markdown/app/references/changelog.md#0-20-0) | Can call [.focus()](/llm/markdown/api/commands/focus.md) and [.blur()](/llm/markdown/api/commands/blur.md) on `cy.window()` |
| [0.11.6](/llm/markdown/app/references/changelog.md#0-11-6) | `cy.window()` logs to Command Log |

## See also

*   [`cy.visit()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/visit.md)
*   [`cy.document()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/document.md)
*   [`cy.its()`](/llm/markdown/api/commands/its.md)