having multiple describe in spec leads to weird behaviour - mocha.js

Question

I have 2 describe blocks in a spec file.
First, describe visits xyz.com and Second, describe visits abc.com
And I need these 2 describe in one spec only. The wired behavior I see is it runs the tests smoothly but after visiting abc.com from 2nd describe it starts running 1st describe again. An infinite loop of tests
var signedOutArtifactID = null;
describe('WEB APP E2E tests', function() {
var token = null;
before(function() {
cy.visit('/');
// Login
cy.get('#username')
.type(auth.geneticist.username);
cy.get('#password')
.type(auth.geneticist.password);
cy.get('button')
.contains('Login')
.click()
.should(function() {
token = localStorage.getItem('token');
expect(token).not.to.be.null;
});
});
beforeEach(function() {
localStorage.setItem('token', token);
cy.contains('Logout')
.should('exist');
expect(localStorage.getItem('token'));
});
it('should land on home page', function() {
cy.url()
.should('include', '/home');
});
it('should save and generate and end up on signout page', function() {
cy.contains('Save and Generate Report')
.click();
cy.url()
.should('include', '/sign-out');
});
it('should signout and send successfully', function() {
cy.url()
.should(function(currentURL) {
signedOutArtifactID = currentURL.match(/2-([0-9]+)/)[0];
expect(signedOutArtifactID).not.to.be.null;
});
// Make sure interpretation was updated
cy.get('.card-body pre')
.should('contain', 'test interpretation added by cypress');
cy.contains('Sign Out and Send')
.click();
cy.contains('Yes, sign out and send')
.click();
});
});
describe('2nd WEB APP E2E tests', function() {
before(function () {
cy.visit({
url:`https://webappurl.com/search?scope=All&query=${signedOutArtifactID}`,
failOnStatusCode: false
})
})
it('Review Completed step in clarity', async () => {
cy.get('#username').type(auth.clarity_creds.username)
cy.get('#password').type(auth.clarity_creds.password)
cy.get('#sign-in').click()
cy.get('.result-name').click()
cy.get('.view-work-link').contains('QWERTYU-IDS').click()
cy.get('.download-file-link ')
.should(($downloads) => {
expect($downloads).to.have.length(2)
})
});
});

Answer 1

describe defines a test suite. You can only have one top-level test suite per file, and only one domain per test.
I would just change your describes to contexts and wrap both contexts in a single describe, like so:
var signedOutArtifactID = null;
describe('e2e tests', function() {
context('WEB APP E2E tests', function() {
var token = null;
before(function() {
cy.visit('/');
// Login
cy.get('#username')
.type(auth.geneticist.username);
cy.get('#password')
.type(auth.geneticist.password);
cy.get('button')
.contains('Login')
.click()
.should(function() {
token = localStorage.getItem('token');
expect(token).not.to.be.null;
});
});
beforeEach(function() {
localStorage.setItem('token', token);
cy.contains('Logout')
.should('exist');
expect(localStorage.getItem('token'));
});
it('should land on home page', function() {
cy.url()
.should('include', '/home');
});
it('should save and generate and end up on signout page', function() {
cy.contains('Save and Generate Report')
.click();
cy.url()
.should('include', '/sign-out');
});
it('should signout and send successfully', function() {
cy.url()
.should(function(currentURL) {
signedOutArtifactID = currentURL.match(/2-([0-9]+)/)[0];
expect(signedOutArtifactID).not.to.be.null;
});
// Make sure interpretation was updated
cy.get('.card-body pre')
.should('contain', 'test interpretation added by cypress');
cy.contains('Sign Out and Send')
.click();
cy.contains('Yes, sign out and send')
.click();
});
});
context('2nd WEB APP E2E tests', function() {
before(function () {
cy.visit({
url:`https://webappurl.com/search?scope=All&query=${signedOutArtifactID}`,
failOnStatusCode: false
})
})
it('Review Completed step in clarity', async () => {
cy.get('#username').type(auth.clarity_creds.username)
cy.get('#password').type(auth.clarity_creds.password)
cy.get('#sign-in').click()
cy.get('.result-name').click()
cy.get('.view-work-link').contains('QWERTYU-IDS').click()
cy.get('.download-file-link ')
.should(($downloads) => {
expect($downloads).to.have.length(2)
})
});
});
})

Answer 2

There should be one describe block per suite (specification file). Therefore, when I need to wrap multiple related tests in one specification file I use context. Also, the following is what cypress documentation says:
The test interface, borrowed from Mocha, provides describe(),
context(), it() and specify().
context() is identical to describe() and specify() is identical to
it(), so choose whatever terminology works best for you
However, I believe the test structure and describe, context, it hierarchy is a little off track. So, here is how I write tests:
describe('User Authentication Using Custom Auth Token', () => {
beforeEach(() => {
cy.on('uncaught:exception', err => {
console.log('cypress has detected uncaught exception', err);
return false;
});
});
context('when not authenticated', () => {
it('Redirects to /login and Stays on /Login', () => {
cy.visit('/');
cy.location('pathname').should('equal', '/login');
// more on your logic
});
context('when authenticated', () => {
it('Successful login using Custom Auth Token', ()=>{
cy.visit('/')
cy.login();
// more on your logic
});
});
});