Cypress JS SDK

The Evinced Cypress JS SDK integrates with new or existing Cypress tests to automatically detect accessibility issues. By adding a few lines of code to your Cypress project, you can begin analyzing all the web pages and DOM changes to provide a dynamic view of how your site can become more accessible. As a result of the test, a rich and comprehensive report is generated to easily track issues to resolution.

Interested in seeing this in action? Contact us to get started!

Prerequisites

• Cypress version 10.0.0 or higher

Get started

Installation

To install Cypress JS SDK you will need either a file provided by Evinced Support or access to a remote repository that provides it. If you have neither, contact us to get started.

Installation with a locally provided file

With a local copy of the Cypress JS SDK gzipped tar package (.tgz extension), install it in your project using NPM or Node package manager of your choice:

1# Using NPM
2npm install -D <path to cypress-sdk-<version>.tgz file>

Installation from a remote repository

Evinced Customers have the option of accessing Cypress JS SDK from a remote repository — the Evinced Jfrog Artifactory — to keep their SDK version up-to-date and to share the SDK internally at their organization.

When access is enabled, Cypress JS SDK is available at
https://evinced.jfrog.io/artifactory/restricted-npm/%40evinced/cypress-sdk.

Installation using NPM:

1npm install @evinced/cypress-sdk

Authentication

To launch Cypress JS SDK, you need to have a Service ID and an API Key.

Please set credentials in environment variables and reference the environment variables in code.

1# Online mode
2export CYPRESS_EVINCED_SERVICE_ID=<serviceId>
3export CYPRESS_EVINCED_API_KEY=<apiKey>
4
5# Offline mode
6export CYPRESS_EVINCED_SERVICE_ID=<serviceId>
7export CYPRESS_EVINCED_AUTH_TOKEN=<token>

See the official Cypress environment variables documentation.

Setting credentials, an example:

1// Set online credentials method
2Evinced.setCredentials({
3  serviceId: Cypress.env('CYPRESS_EVINCED_SERVICE_ID'),
4  secret: Cypress.env('CYPRESS_EVINCED_API_KEY'),
5});
6
7// OR
8
9// If provided a JWT by Evinced
10// Set offline credentials method
11Evinced.setOfflineCredentials({
12  serviceId: Cypress.env('CYPRESS_EVINCED_SERVICE_ID'),
13  token: Cypress.env('CYPRESS_EVINCED_AUTH_TOKEN'),
14});
15

Your First Test

SDK Initialization

To use Cypress JS SDK, you first need to authenticate. Please refer to Authentication for details.

In the cypress/support/e2e.js file add the following lines to initialize SDK and provide either offline or online token. Note: for Cypress version <10 the file cypress/support/index.js should be used.

1import Evinced from "@evinced/cypress-sdk";
2
3// Initialize SDK
4Evinced.init();
5
6// Set online creaentials method (through Evinced licence server)
7Evinced.setCredentials({
8    serviceId: Cypress.env("EVINCED_SERVICE_ID"),
9    secret: Cypress.env("EVINCED_API_KEY"),
10});
11
12// OR
13
14// Set offline credentials method
15Evinced.setOfflineCredentials({
16    serviceId: Cypress.env("EVINCED_SERVICE_ID"),
17    token: Cypress.env("EVINCED_AUTH_TOKEN"),
18});

Register Upload to Platform

Starting from version 4.3.0, it is mandatory to register the “Upload to Platform” task in your cypress.config.js.

1const Evinced = require("@evinced/cypress-sdk").default;
2module.exports = {
3    e2e: {
4        setupNodeEvents(on, config) {
5            on("task", {
6                uploadToPlatform: Evinced.cyTaskUploadToPlatform,
7            });
8        },
9    },
10};

Add Evinced Accessibility Checks (Single Run Mode)

This is a simple example of how to add an Evinced accessibility scan to a test. Please note the inline comments that give detail on each test step.

1it("Evinced basic example", () => {
2    // Navigate to site
3    cy.visit("https://demo.evinced.com/");
4    //Scan for a11y issues, get the result and assert on the number of issues found
5    cy.evAnalyze().should((issues) => {
6        expect(issues).to.be.empty();
7    });
8});

Add Evinced Accessibility Checks (Continuous Mode)

This is an example of how to add a continuous Evinced accessibility scan to a test. Using the evStart() and evStop() methods, the Evinced engine will continually scan in the background capturing all DOM changes and page navigation as the test is executed. This will capture all accessibility issues as clicking on drop-downs or similar interactions reveals more of the page. The advantage of continuous mode is that no interaction with the actual test code is needed.

1context('Evinced Demo Site tests', () => {
2
3    it('Search Test', () => {
4        cy.visit('https://demo.evinced.com/');
5
6        // Start the Evinced engine
7        cy.evStart();
8
9        const BASE_FORM_SELECTOR = '#gatsby-focus-wrapper > main > div.wrapper-banner > div.filter-container';
10        const SELECT_HOME_DROPDOWN = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(1) > div > div.dropdown.line`;
11        const SELECT_WHERE_DROPDOWN = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(2) > div > div.dropdown.line`;
12        const TINY_HOME_OPTION = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(1) > div > ul > li:nth-child(2)`;
13        const EAST_COST_OPTION = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(2) > div > ul > li:nth-child(3)`;
14        cy.get(SELECT_HOME_DROPDOWN).click();
15        cy.get(TINY_HOME_OPTION).click();
16        cy.get(SELECT_WHERE_DROPDOWN).click();
17        cy.get(EAST_COST_OPTION).click();
18
19        // Conclude the scan, print issues to cy.log with logIssues and print the report JSON object to browser's console
20        cy.evStop({logIssues: true}).should((issues) => {
21            console.log(JSON.stringify(issues, null, 2));
22        });
23    });
24});

API

Evinced.init(options)

Prepares the Evinced object for use in the project.

1import Evinced from "@evinced/cypress-sdk";
2Evinced.init();

Note: this call is intended to be done only once in support file. Second call of this method will lead to the error.

Refer to Configuration to see examples of initializing with options.

Implementation Details

• Listens to Cypress events
  • window:before:load - Injects Evinced to the page, continues recording if needed
  • window:before:unload - Stores the state of the current page
  • test:before:run - Initializes test scope state
• Registers ev commands
  • evAnalyze()
  • evStart()
  • evStop()
  • evSaveFile()
• Registers Chai assertions
  • evValid()

evAnalyze(options)

Scans the current page and returns a list of accessibility issues. This is the recommended method for static page analysis.

Note: This method is not supported if evStart() is already running.

1cy.evAnalyze({ rootSelector: "#some .selector" }).should((issues) => {
2    expect(issues).to.have.length(6);
3});

Returns Promise<Issue[]>.

The returned report object contains a list of accessibility issues.

For more information regarding reports as well as the report object itself, please refer to our detailed Web Reports page.

evStart(options)

Continually watches for DOM mutations and page navigation, recording accessibility issues until the evStop() method is called. This method is recommended for dynamic page flows.

1cy.visit("https://example.com/page-a");
2cy.evStart({ rootSelector: "#some .selector" });
3cy.visit("https://example.com/page-b");
4cy.evStop().should((issues) => {
5    expect(issues).to.have.length(6);
6});

Returns Promise<void>.

evStop(options)

Stops the issue-gathering process started by evStart().

1cy.visit('https://example.com/page-a');
2cy.evStart();
3cy.get('#some .selector').click();
4cy.visit('https://example.com/page-b');
5cy.get('#another .selector').click();
6cy.evStop({logIssues: true}).should((issues) => {
7    expect(issues).to.have.length(10);
8});

Returns Promise<Issue[]>.

The returned report object includes all accessibility issues detected between the evStart() and evStop() method calls.

For more information regarding reports as well as the report object itself, please refer to our detailed Web Reports page.

1{
2    logIssues: false // Will log every accessibility issue to Cypress console when true
3}

evSaveFile(issues, format, destination)

Saves issues in a file with the specified format and location. Supported formats are json, html, sarif, and csv. Find detailed information in the Web Reports page.

1const filePathJson = "./reports/results.json";
2const filePathSarif = "./reports/results.sarif.json";
3const filePathHtml = "./reports/results.html";
4const filePathCsv = "./reports/results.csv";
5cy.visit("https://example.com/page-a");
6cy.evAnalyze().then((issues) => {
7    cy.evSaveFile(issues, "json", filePathJson);
8    cy.evSaveFile(issues, "sarif", filePathSarif);
9    cy.evSaveFile(issues, "html", filePathHtml);
10    cy.evSaveFile(issues, "csv", filePathCsv);
11    cy.readFile(filePath).should("exist");
12});

Returns Promise<void>.

evValid(options)

Throws a chai exception if any issues exist that don’t match the provided filters.

1cy.evAnalyze().should("be.evValid", {
2    ignoreSeverities: ["CRITICAL"],
3    ignoreTypes: ["NOT_FOCUSABLE"],
4});

Default options:

1{
2    ignoreSeverities: [],
3    ignoreTypes: []
4}

Aggregated Report

The aggregated report feature allows you to have a general aggregated report for the whole run (not only for one test or suite). This report will contain all the issues found by the tests where evStart() and evStop() commands were called. It is still possible to use the evSaveFile() command in any place of your code along with this Aggregated Report feature.

Important! The feature is not supported by the Cypress frameworks versions <10.

For using the aggregated report feature you should add the special entry evReporterOptions to your cypress.config.js file:

1const os = require('os');
2
3module.exports = {
4    env: {
5        // To disable the feature just comment out the whole evReporterOptions entry.
6        evincedConfig: {
7            reporterOptions: {
8                reportFormat: 'html', // Sets a desired format for the report. Available options are: html, sarif, and json.
9                filePath: './evincedReports/aggregatedReport.html', // Specifies a path to the final aggregated report file.
10                tmpDir: os.tmpdir(), // Specifies the temporary directory to store temporary report files.
11                reportTimeStamp: new Date().toISOString() // Provides a unique timestamp for the report to distinguish to which test run the temporary files belong to. Please do not change this value unless you are sure what you would like to achieve.
12            }
13        }
14    }
15};

Configuration

The same configuration object can be used when initializing the Evinced object using Evinced.init and when calling the evStart() and evAnalyze() methods but with a bit different consequences. Providing options when initializing defines a global configuration for all calls of evAnalyze() and evStart(), while providing options to either of those methods affect only the test in which they are called.

Options provided in either evAnalyze() or evStart() override those set in Evinced engine initialization.

Engines Configuration

Evinced uses two separate engines when scanning for accessibility issues, one is the aXe engine and the other is the Evinced engine. By default, Evinced disables the aXe Needs Review and Best Practices issues based on customer request and due to the fact they are mostly false positives. Please note this setting when comparing issue counts directly. See an example of how to enable Needs Review and Best practices issues in the Toggles section.

Configuration Object

The type of options object is:

1type SkipValidation = {
2    selector: string,
3    urlRegex: string,
4    validationTypes: string[]
5};
6
7type IssueContentPerType = {
8    [key: string]: {
9        knowledgeBaseLink: string
10    }
11}
12
13type EvOptions = {
14    logIssues?: boolean;
15    rootSelector?: string;
16    axeConfig?: any;
17    debug?: boolean;
18    strict?: boolean;
19    logging?: any;
20    toggles?: {
21        [key: string]: boolean;
22    },
23    skipValidations?: SkipValidation[],
24    issuesContentPerType?: IssueContentPerType[]
25};

Log Issues

Enables inclusion of issues in Cypress logs.

1Evinced.init({ logIssues: true });

Root Selector

Sets a CSS selector to limit the Evinced Engine to scan only the selected element and its children. Must be a valid CSS selector. If not set, the Evinced Engine will scan the entire document.

Default: no value

1cy.evAnalyze({ rootSelector: "#some .selector" }).should((issues) => {
2    expect(issues).to.have.length(6);
3});

Axe Configuration

Configures Axe open-source accessibility toolkit, which the Evinced engine includes with its own, more extensive accessibility detection. For full Axe config options, see Axe Core API.

1const axeConfig = {
2    rules: {
3        "link-name": { enabled: false },
4    },
5};
6
7// Global config
8Evinced.init({ axeConfig });
9
10// Command config
11cy.evAnalyze({ axeConfig });
12cy.evStart({ axeConfig });

Errors Strict Mode

When true, stops current test execution when Evinced SDK non-critical errors are thrown as runtime errors. Otherwise non-critical errors are printed to console.

Default: false

1Evinced.init({ strict: true });

Engine Logging

Set level of messages the Evinced engine will print to the console. Valid levels are "debug", "info", "warn" and "error".

Default: "error"

1    cy.evStart({
2        logging: {
3            LOGGING_LEVEL: 'debug',
4            ADD_LOGGING_CONTEXT: true
5        }
6    });

Reports Screenshots

When true, the Evinced SDK will include screenshots in its reports that highlight elements with accessibility issues.

Default: false.

Note: Enabling screenshots may affect test run performance.

For enabling the Screenshots feature you should set the enableScreenshots parameter to true. It can be done in two ways:

1// Can be passed via a global config during initialization.
2Evinced.init({
3    enableScreenshots: true
4});
5
6// OR
7
8// Can be passed via a command config during the command execution.
9cy.evAnalyze({
10    enableScreenshots: true
11});
12cy.evStart({
13    enableScreenshots: true
14});

Toggles

Enables experimental features. Feature names and values may vary from release to release.

Example:

1Evinced.init({
2    toggles: { USE_AXE_NEEDS_REVIEW: true, USE_AXE_BEST_PRACTICES: true },
3});

Skip Validations

Sets validation types to be skipped for specified URL pattern and CSS selector. Issue type IDs can be found by inspecting a JSON report as described in Web Reports.

Default: no validations skipped.

1    const skipValidationsParametersForEvStart = [
2        {
3            selector: 'span.slds-checkbox--faux',
4            urlRegex: 'www\\.example\\.org',
5            validationTypes: [
6                'WRONG_SEMANTIC_ROLE',
7                'NOT_FOCUSABLE',
8                'NO_DESCRIPTIVE_TEXT'
9            ]
10        },
11        {
12            selector: 'div.showtime-b > figure',
13            urlRegex: 'www\\.example\\.org',
14            validationTypes: [
15                'WRONG_SEMANTIC_ROLE',
16                'NOT_FOCUSABLE'
17            ]
18        }
19    ];
20    cy.evStart({
21        skipValidations: skipValidationsParametersForEvStart,
22    });

Knowledge-Base Link Overrides

Sets customized knowledge-base links in the reports. The links are displayed in the reports “Issue Type” column, as shown in the following screenshot:

The knowledge base link can be overridden for every issue type ID. Issue type IDs can be found by inspecting a JSON report as described in Web Reports. For example, the issue with name Interactable Role has ID WRONG_SEMANTIC_ROLE.

1Evinced.init({
2    issuesContentPerType: {
3        WRONG_SEMANTIC_ROLE: {
4            knowledgeBaseLink: "https://yourKnowlegdeBase.com/",
5        },
6    },
7});

Shadow DOM Support

Shadow DOM is now supported by default. No additional configuration is needed.

Proxy

Configures proxy server access settings. Needed to enable outbound communication to the Evinced Platform through a proxy server.

You can configure pages to load over the HTTP(S) proxy via environment variables. You can optionally specify username and password for HTTP(S) proxy. Here is an example of a global proxy:

1export HTTPS_PROXY=https://username:password@your-proxy-url:port

Global Switch

When false, disables Evinced functionality. Enabled by default, use this setting to disable Evinced accessibility analysis when not needed during test development or when running CI jobs where accessibility testing is not intended.

Default: true.

When switched off:

• evStart() and evSaveFile() will be bypassed.
• evStop() and evAnalyze() will return an empty report.

Switching Evinced Functionality Off in Configuration

1// Add the following code to cypress.config.js (version >=v10) or cypress.json (version <v10)
2env: {
3    evincedConfig: {
4        switchOn: false
5    }
6}

Important! Global Switch environment variable overrides the global configuration option.

Switching Evinced Functionality Off in Environment

1export CYPRESS_EV_SWITCH_ON="false"

Uploading Reports to Evinced Platform

Introduction

Evinced Platform allows you to seamlessly collect, organize, visualize and monitor Evinced accessibility reports in one place. In this section, we will guide you through the key functionalities of the upload methods of the accessibility reports from the Evinced SDK to the Evinced Platform, which was introduced in version 4.3.0. This upload method is fully compatible with the previous versions of the Evinced SDK API, and is disabled by default.

Enable Upload Report to Platform

To enable the uploading functionality of accessibility reports to the Evinced Platform you will need to set the enableUploadToPlatform feature flag to true via global setUploadToPlatformConfig method:

1// file: support/e2e.js
2import Evinced from "@evinced/cypress-sdk";
3Evinced.setUploadToPlatformConfig({
4    enableUploadToPlatform: true,
5    setUploadToPlatformDefault: false,
6});

You can also use the external config evConfig.json to add the values to enable uploading.

Important! The external config has more precedence if both initialization options are used.

1  "uploadToPlatformOptions": {
2    "enableUploadToPlatform": true,
3    "setUploadToPlatformDefault": false
4  }

Also add the task uploadToPlatform to cypress.config.js:

1const Evinced = require("@evinced/cypress-sdk").default;
2module.exports = {
3    e2e: {
4        setupNodeEvents(on, config) {
5            on("task", {
6                uploadToPlatform: Evinced.cyTaskUploadToPlatform,
7            });
8        },
9    },
10};

Automatic Report Upload

Once the enableUploadToPlatform method is set to true, then by default all generated reports will be uploaded to the Platform upon calling the evStop() command. If you want to change this behavior, set the setUploadToPlatformDefault feature flag to false.

Automatic Upload of Reports

Once the enableUploadToPlatform feature flag is set to "true" via global setUploadToPlatformConfig method, then by default all generated reports will be uploaded to the Platform upon calling the evStop() command. If you want to change this behavior, set the setUploadToPlatformDefault feature flag to "false":

1
2import Evinced from '@evinced/cypress-sdk';
3Evinced.setUploadToPlatformConfig({ enableUploadToPlatform:true, setUploadToPlatformDefault: true })
4

If the setUploadToPlatformDefault is disabled, you can still upload selected reports to the platform. For that, use the following parameter in the evStop() command:

The uploadToPlatform flag is optional. Use it if you have the setUploadToPlatformDefault flag set to false. If the setUploadToPlatformDefault flag is set to true, then every report will be uploaded to the platform.

1cy.evStop({ uploadToPlatform: true }).then((report) => {
2    // some code
3});

Test Names

To facilitate report management and be able to distinguish between different reports on the Platform, use the Cypress.currentTest (https://docs.cypress.io/api/cypress-api/currenttest) method to inform the test name and test class. It’s recommended to do that in the “beforeEach” hook.

1beforeEach(() => {
2    cy.addLabel({
3        testName: Cypress.currentTest.title
4    });
5});

Labels and Custom Fields

You can attach labels and custom fields to your report to enhance readability in the platform. The labels will be added to the uploaded reports. See the following code example of how to set that up:

1it('Test', () => {
2    cy.addLabel({
3        environment: 'testEnvironment',
4    });
5
6    cy.customLabel({
7        userAgent: 'Chrome'
8    });
9    // the rest of the test
10});

Use of beforeEach and afterEach Hooks

We recommend using the beforeEach and afterEach hooks to control analysis sessions and upload reports to the platform. This way, each test will be uploaded separately with its own report.

In beforeEach hook use evStart() to start Evinced analysis and set any labels you want for the report to contain when uploading to the platform. In the afterEach hook call evStop() to stop analysis and upload reports to the platform. See this code example:

1beforeEach(() => {
2    cy.evStart();
3    cy.visit('https://getevinced.github.io/spa-example/#/services');
4    cy.addLabel({
5        testName: Cypress.currentTest.title
6    });
7});
8
9afterEach(() => {
10    cy.evStop({ uploadToPlatform: true }).then((report) => {
11        // some code
12    });
13});

Putting All of This Together

Here is a complete code snippet of how to perform uploads to the platform on a per-test basis.

1
2context('Upload to platform', () => {
3    beforeEach(() => {
4        cy.evStart();
5        cy.visit('https://getevinced.github.io/spa-example/#/services');
6        cy.addLabel({
7            testName: Cypress.currentTest.title
8        });
9    });
10
11    afterEach(() => {
12        cy.wait(1000);
13        cy.evStop({ uploadToPlatform: true }).then((report) => {
14            expect(report).to.have.length(22);
15        });
16    });
17
18    it('Test. Upload to platform with hooks', () => {
19        cy.addLabel({
20            environment: 'demo',
21            customFields: { newValue: 'testValue' }
22        });
23
24        cy.customLabel({
25            customParameter: 'demo label',
26            productVersion: '1.00'
27        });
28    });
29});
30

Tutorials

You can find fully functional example projects on our GitHub.

Generating a comprehensive accessibility report for your application

In this tutorial, we will enhance our existing Cypress UI test with the Evinced Cypress SDK in order to check our application for accessibility issues. In order to get started you will need the following:

1. All of the prerequisites for the Evinced Cypress SDK should be met
2. Evinced Cypress SDK should be added to your project

Preface - existing UI test overview

Let’s consider the following basic UI test as our starting point.

1context("Evinced Demo Site tests", () => {
2    it("Search Test", () => {
3        cy.visit("https://demo.evinced.com/");
4        const BASE_FORM_SELECTOR =
5            "#gatsby-focus-wrapper > main > div.wrapper-banner > div.filter-container";
6        const SELECT_HOME_DROPDOWN = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(1) > div > div.dropdown.line`;
7        const SELECT_WHERE_DROPDOWN = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(2) > div > div.dropdown.line`;
8        const TINY_HOME_OPTION = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(1) > div > ul > li:nth-child(2)`;
9        const EAST_COST_OPTION = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(2) > div > ul > li:nth-child(3)`;
10        cy.get(SELECT_HOME_DROPDOWN).click();
11        cy.get(TINY_HOME_OPTION).click();
12        cy.get(SELECT_WHERE_DROPDOWN).click();
13        cy.get(EAST_COST_OPTION).click();
14    });
15});

We wrote this test for a demo travel site called TRVL that has a few known accessibility issues.

The purpose of this test is to check the functionality of the main application screen and ensure a user can successfully select their desired trip. For now, this test is only concerned with the functional testing of the app. However, with the help of the Evinced Cypress SDK, we can also check it for accessibility issues along the way. Let’s go through this process with the following step-by-step instructions.

Step #1 - Initialize the Evinced Cypress SDK

In your cypress/support/e2e.js file add the following lines to add the Evinced engine to your project. See details about Evinced.init in API section.

1import Evinced from "@evinced/cypress-sdk";
2Evinced.init();

Step #2 - Start the Evinced engine

Now that we have everything we need to scan for accessibility issues, let’s start the Evinced engine. Since we are going to use it scan throughout our test, the best place for its initialization will be our before method.

1context("Evinced Demo Site tests", () => {
2    before(() => {
3        // Start the Evinced engine
4        cy.evStart();
5    });
6
7    it("Search Test", () => {
8        cy.visit("https://demo.evinced.com/");
9        const BASE_FORM_SELECTOR =
10            "#gatsby-focus-wrapper > main > div.wrapper-banner > div.filter-container";
11        const SELECT_HOME_DROPDOWN = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(1) > div > div.dropdown.line`;
12        const SELECT_WHERE_DROPDOWN = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(2) > div > div.dropdown.line`;
13        const TINY_HOME_OPTION = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(1) > div > ul > li:nth-child(2)`;
14        const EAST_COST_OPTION = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(2) > div > ul > li:nth-child(3)`;
15        cy.get(SELECT_HOME_DROPDOWN).click();
16        cy.get(TINY_HOME_OPTION).click();
17        cy.get(SELECT_WHERE_DROPDOWN).click();
18        cy.get(EAST_COST_OPTION).click();
19    });
20});

Step #3 - Stop the Evinced engine and create reports

As our test was executed we collected a lot of accessibility information. We can now perform accessibility assertions at the end of our test suite. Referring back again to our UI test the best place for this assertion will be the method that gets invoked last - after. To stop the Evinced engine and generate the actual object representation of your accessibility report simply call the evStop() method. We can then output the report files in JSON format.

1context("Evinced Demo Site tests", () => {
2    before(() => {
3        // Start the Evinced engine
4        cy.evStart();
5    });
6
7    after(() => {
8        // Conclude the scan, print issues to cy.log with logIssues and print the report JSON object to browser's console
9        cy.evStop({ logIssues: true }).should((report) => {
10            console.log(JSON.stringify(report, null, 2));
11        });
12    });
13
14    it("Search Test", () => {
15        cy.visit("https://demo.evinced.com/");
16        const BASE_FORM_SELECTOR =
17            "#gatsby-focus-wrapper > main > div.wrapper-banner > div.filter-container";
18        const SELECT_HOME_DROPDOWN = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(1) > div > div.dropdown.line`;
19        const SELECT_WHERE_DROPDOWN = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(2) > div > div.dropdown.line`;
20        const TINY_HOME_OPTION = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(1) > div > ul > li:nth-child(2)`;
21        const EAST_COST_OPTION = `${BASE_FORM_SELECTOR} > div:nth-child(2) > div > ul > li:nth-child(3)`;
22        cy.get(SELECT_HOME_DROPDOWN).click();
23        cy.get(TINY_HOME_OPTION).click();
24        cy.get(SELECT_WHERE_DROPDOWN).click();
25        cy.get(EAST_COST_OPTION).click();
26    });
27});

For the sake of simplicity of this tutorial let’s simply assume that our application is accessible as long as it has no accessibility issues found. Thus, if we have at least one accessibility issue detected - we want our tests to be failed. Let’s add the corresponding assertion to our after method. For more information regarding reports as well as the Report object itself, please see our detailed Web Reports page.

1after(() => {
2    // Scan for a11y issues, create the JSON report, and assert on the number of critical issues found
3    cy.evStop().should((issues) => {
4        expect(issues).to.be.empty();
5    });
6});

You are now set to run the test and ensure the accessibility of your application! So, go ahead and run it via your IDE or any other tooling you use for JavaScript development.

Fail the test if critical issues are found

Here you can see a way of failing your test if critical accessibility issues are found using the Cypress JS SDK.

Using evAnalyze:

1cy.evAnalyze().should((issues) => {
2    const criticalIssues = issues.filter((issue) => issue.severity.name === 'Critical');
3    assert(criticalIssues.length === 0, 'found critical issues');
4});

Using evStart/evStop:

1await browser.evStart();
2
3cy.evStop().should((issues) => {
4    const criticalIssues = issues.filter((issue) => issue.severity.name === 'Critical');
5    assert(criticalIssues.length === 0, 'found critical issues');
6});

The criticalIssues array will contain all the critical issues found during the scan. If the array is not empty, the test will fail on the assertion.

Complete Test Suite Integration

You can use global hooks to seamlessly integrate the Evinced Cypress SDK into your test suite. By leveraging Cypress's before, after, beforeEach, and afterEach hooks, you can simplify setup and ensure the SDK is consistently initialized and managed across all tests.

Below is an example of how to update your e2e.js file to configure global hooks, including offline credentials setup and automatic start/stop of the Evinced SDK during your tests:

1
2import Evinced from '@evinced/cypress-sdk';
3
4// Initialize the Evinced Cypress SDK
5Evinced.init();
6
7// Configure Offline Credentials
8Evinced.setOfflineCredentials({
9    serviceId: Cypress.env('CYPRESS_EVINCED_SERVICE_ID'),
10    token: Cypress.env('CYPRESS_EVINCED_AUTH_TOKEN'),
11});
12
13// Global `before` Hook: Runs once before all tests
14before(() => {
15    cy.log('Running global before');
16});
17
18// Global `after` Hook: Runs once after all tests
19after(() => {
20    cy.log('Running global after');
21});
22
23// Global `beforeEach` Hook: Runs before each test
24beforeEach(() => {
25    cy.log('Running global beforeEach');
26    cy.evStart(); // Start the Evinced analysis session
27});
28
29// Global `afterEach` Hook: Runs after each test
30afterEach(() => {
31    cy.log('Running global afterEach');
32    cy.evStop(); // Stop the Evinced analysis session
33});
34
35

Support

Please feel free to reach out to support@evinced.com with any questions.

FAQ

1. Can I configure which validations to run?

Yes, see the Configuration section for details on how to configure Axe validations to your needs.

2. Can I run tests with Evinced using cloud-based services like Sauce Labs, Perfecto, or BrowserStack?

Yes, we have tested the Evinced SDK on many of these types of cloud-based services and expect no issues.