How to store session through all test using Cypress

In Cypress, if you want to share login status or other session data across multiple test cases, you can use Cypress's global state management or leverage Cypress's commands and hook functions to store and reuse this data.

Here are some common methods to store session data for all running test cases in Cypress:

1. Using the before Hook for Login:

Use the before hook to log in once and maintain the login state across test cases. Since Cypress automatically clears browser cookies and localStorage after each test case by default, you should disable this default behavior.

javascript
// Add the following code to cypress/support/index.js
// This ensures cookies are not automatically cleared before all test cases
afterEach(() => {
  Cypress.Cookies.preserveOnce('session_id', 'remember_token');
});

// In your test file
describe('Test Suite', () => {
  before(() => {
    // Login logic, storing cookies or localStorage related to login
    cy.login(); // Assuming you have a custom login command
  });

  it('Test Case 1', () => {
    // First test case, using the stored session
  });

  it('Test Case 2', () => {
    // Second test case, session remains valid
  });

  // More test cases...
});

1. Using Cypress Commands to Save and Reuse Session:

You can create custom commands to save session data and reuse it when needed.

javascript
// Add custom commands to cypress/support/commands.js
Cypress.Commands.add('saveSession', () => {
  cy.window().then((win) => {
    win.sessionStorage.setItem('sessionData', JSON.stringify(win.sessionData));
  });
});

Cypress.Commands.add('restoreSession', () => {
  cy.window().then((win) => {
    const sessionData = JSON.parse(win.sessionStorage.getItem('sessionData'));
    Object.keys(sessionData).forEach((key) => {
      win.sessionData[key] = sessionData[key];
    });
  });
});

// In your test file
describe('Test Suite', () => {
  before(() => {
    cy.login();
    cy.saveSession();
  });

  beforeEach(() => {
    cy.restoreSession();
  });

  it('Test Case 1', () => {
    // Using the restored session
  });

  it('Test Case 2', () => {
    // Using the restored session
  });

  // More test cases...
});

1. Creating a Global Variable:

You can store session information in a global context, such as in Cypress.env, and reference this global variable in each test case.

These methods help maintain session state during Cypress test execution, ensuring you don't need to log in or set session data repeatedly for each test case. This reduces test execution time and makes tests more stable.