Principle:Nightwatchjs Nightwatch Writing Test Cases

Knowledge Sources	Nightwatch Writing Tests Nightwatch
Domains	Testing, E2E_Testing, Browser_Automation
Last Updated	2026-02-12 00:00 GMT

Overview

A browser automation pattern for writing end-to-end test cases that navigate web pages, interact with elements, and assert expected outcomes.

Description

Writing test cases is the core activity in end-to-end testing. Each test case simulates a user journey through a web application by performing browser actions (navigation, clicking, typing) and verifying the resulting state through assertions. Tests are structured using describe/it blocks (BDD-style) and receive a browser instance that provides the full command API.

The fundamental pattern is: navigate to a URL, locate elements via CSS/XPath selectors, perform interactions, and assert the DOM state matches expectations. Commands are chainable, allowing fluent test writing.

Usage

Use this principle whenever writing browser-based tests that verify user-facing functionality. This applies to smoke tests, regression tests, and acceptance tests that exercise the application through its UI.

Theoretical Basis

E2E test authoring follows the Arrange-Act-Assert pattern:

Arrange: Navigate to the target URL and wait for the page to load
Act: Interact with elements (click buttons, fill forms, scroll)
Assert: Verify the resulting state (text content, element visibility, URL)

// Pseudocode: E2E test structure
describe('Feature', function() {
  it('should perform expected behavior', function(browser) {
    browser
      .navigate(targetUrl)         // Arrange
      .interact(element, action)   // Act
      .assert(condition)           // Assert
  });
});

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Uses Heuristic

Heuristic:Nightwatchjs_Nightwatch_Timeout_And_Retry_Tuning

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