Implementation:Nightwatchjs Nightwatch Lifecycle Hooks Interface

Knowledge Sources	Nightwatch Nightwatch Test Hooks
Domains	Testing, Test_Lifecycle
Last Updated	2026-02-12 00:00 GMT

Overview

Interface specification for defining lifecycle hooks (before, beforeEach, after, afterEach) in Nightwatch.js test suites and global modules.

Description

Lifecycle hooks are user-defined functions placed in the globals module or within describe blocks. Global hooks are defined in the file specified by globals_path in the Nightwatch configuration. Test-level hooks are defined inside describe blocks. Each hook receives the browser instance and/or a callback function that must be invoked to signal completion for async operations.

Usage

Define hooks in the globals module for cross-suite setup/teardown, or within describe blocks for suite-specific logic. Always call the callback (cb) in async hooks to prevent timeout errors.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: nightwatch
• File: examples/globalsModule.js (lines 46-66)
• File: examples/tests/ecosia.js (lines 3-5, 19)

Signature

// Global hooks (in globals module)
before(cb: Function) -> void
beforeEach(browser: NightwatchBrowser, cb: Function) -> void
after(cb: Function) -> void
afterEach(browser: NightwatchBrowser, cb: Function) -> void

// Test-level hooks (in describe blocks)
before(browser: NightwatchBrowser) -> void | Promise
beforeEach(browser: NightwatchBrowser) -> void | Promise
after(browser: NightwatchBrowser) -> void | Promise
afterEach(browser: NightwatchBrowser) -> void | Promise

Import

// No import required - hooks are defined as properties in globals module
// or within describe blocks

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
browser	NightwatchBrowser	No (global before/after)	Browser API instance for performing actions
cb	Function	Yes (global hooks)	Callback that must be called to signal hook completion

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
Setup/teardown side effects	void	Actions performed (navigation, cleanup, logging)
cb() invocation	void	Signals hook completion to the test runner

Usage Examples

Global Hooks

// globals.js
module.exports = {
  before(cb) {
    console.log('Global setup');
    cb();
  },

  beforeEach(browser, cb) {
    console.log('Before each test');
    cb();
  },

  after(cb) {
    console.log('Global teardown');
    cb();
  },

  afterEach(browser, cb) {
    browser.perform(function() {
      console.log('After each test');
      cb();
    });
  }
};

Test-Level Hooks

describe('My Test Suite', function() {
  before(browser => {
    browser.navigateTo('https://example.com');
  });

  after(browser => browser.end());

  it('test case', function(browser) {
    browser.assert.titleContains('Example');
  });
});

Related Pages

Implements Principle

• Principle:Nightwatchjs_Nightwatch_Lifecycle_Hooks

Uses Heuristic

• Heuristic:Nightwatchjs_Nightwatch_Timeout_And_Retry_Tuning