Solving undefined API Response in Cypress

Discover effective strategies to handle API responses in Cypress, ensuring you utilize the fetched data seamlessly in your tests.
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Solving undefined API Response in Cypress: A Comprehensive Guide

Cypress is a powerful testing tool that allows developers to create robust end-to-end tests for their web applications. However, sometimes issues arise, especially when it comes to handling asynchronous operations, such as API requests. One common problem developers face is receiving undefined when attempting to use data returned from API calls. In this guide, we will explore a typical scenario where this issue occurs and provide clear solutions to ensure you can manage API responses effectively.

The Problem: Receiving undefined from an API Response

Consider the function setup below, where you are calling GetApiResponse() from another function CallApi() in Cypress:

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What’s Going Wrong?

The issue arises because GetApiResponse() performs an asynchronous operation (an API request) and does not return a value in the way you might expect.

When assigning the return value to passstatus, it resolves as undefined, because the API request hasn't completed yet when the code tries to assign the result.

The Solution: Proper Handling of Asynchronous Responses

To properly handle the asynchronous nature of API requests in Cypress, you'll want to return the outer request from your GetApiResponse() function. Here’s how to modify your function:

Step 1: Return the Request from the Function

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Step 2: Use .then() to Access the Result

Since the API call is asynchronous, you must use .then() to handle the value once it's resolved. Here's how you can call GetApiResponse() and use the returned data:

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Step 3: Alternative Approach with Aliases

Alternatively, you can store the response to an alias if you prefer using Cypress's built-in features.

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Then you can access it like so:

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Conclusion