cypress-browser-permissions

A Cypress plugin to manage browser launch permissions for various APIs such as Notifications, Geolocation, Cookies, Images, and more.

These APIs can be controlled using browser profile preferences which this plugin will generate and pass for you, as well as resetting them for each test run (otherwise they will be persisted).

This enables you to effectively test permissions-based APIs in continuous integration environments and in headed browsers without prompts. 🎉

Table of Contents

• Usage
  • Install the package
    • npm
    • yarn
  • Import and initialize the plugin
  • Setting Permissions
  • In cypress.json
    • In cypress.env.json
    • Via cypress open or cypress run
    • Via machine environment variables
    • Supported Permissions
      • Chrome / Edge (Chromium)
      • Firefox
  • Supported Values
  • Checking Permissions
    • Usage Example
• API Reference
• Resetting Permissions
• Details
  • How It Works
  • Chrome / Edge / Chromium Preferences
  • Firefox
• Credits
• MIT License

Usage

👋 Read the dev.to introduction post for a quick start guide and an example!

Install the package

npm

npm i cypress-browser-permissions --save-dev

yarn

yarn install cypress-browser-permissions --save-dev

Import and initialize the plugin

In cypress/plugins/index.js:

CommonJS

const { cypressBrowserPermissionsPlugin } = require('cypress-browser-permissions')

module.exports = (on, config) => {
  // The plugin may modify the Cypress config, so be sure
  // to return it
  config = cypressBrowserPermissionsPlugin(on, config)

  //
  // Any existing plugins you are using
  //

  return config
}

ES2015

import { cypressBrowserPermissionsPlugin } from 'cypress-browser-permissions'

module.exports = (on, config) => {
  // The plugin may modify the Cypress config, so be sure
  // to return it
  config = cypressBrowserPermissionsPlugin(on, config)

  //
  // Any existing plugins you are using
  //

  return config
}

Setting Permissions

Setting permissions should work in Chromium (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge Chromium) and Firefox. They won't take effect in other browser families.

Permissions can be set using Cypress environment variables. The plugin reads permissions from Cypress.env.browserPermissions and supports all the existing ways to set Cypress environment variables.

In cypress.json

In cypress.json, set the env.browserPermissions property with a map of permissions:

{
  "env": {
    "browserPermissions": {
      "notifications": "allow",
      "geolocation": "allow",
      "camera": "block",
      "microphone": "block",
      "images": "allow",
      "javascript": "allow",
      "popups": "ask",
      "plugins": "ask",
      "cookies": "allow"
    }
  }
}

In cypress.env.json

In cypress.env.json, it follows the same convention:

{
  "browserPermissions": {
    "notifications": "allow",
    "geolocation": "allow",
    "camera": "block",
    "microphone": "block",
    "images": "allow",
    "javascript": "allow",
    "popups": "ask",
    "plugins": "ask",
    "cookies": "allow"
  }
}

Via cypress open or cypress run

Since the configuration is nested, you must pass in the permissions as a stringified JSON object:

$ cypress run  --env '{\"browserPermissions\": {\"notifications\": 1}}'
$ cypress open --env '{\"browserPermissions\": {\"notifications\": 1}}'

Via machine environment variables

By default, Cypress cannot handle nested variable objects but this plugin will correctly find environment variables that match what it expects and will translate them properly for you automatically:

CYPRESS_browser_permissions_notifications=allow cypress run

Remember: When passing Cypress env vars from the outside, such as from a script, prefix them with CYPRESS_ e.g. CYPRESS_browser_permissions_notifications=allow. Cypress automatically strips the prefix when passing to Cypress.env

Supported Permissions

These are the supported permission names of the plugin:

Chrome / Edge (Chromium)

• notifications
• geolocation
• camera
• microphone
• images
• popups
• javascript
• cookies
• plugins

Firefox

• notifications
• geolocation
• camera
• microphone
• images

Supported Values

Values for a permission can be any of the following:

• 0 or ask - The default permission, which is to prompt the user
• 1 or allow - Allow the permission
• 2 or block - Block the permission

Checking Permissions

In your Cypress test suites, you can import permissions helpers from the the package.

Usage Example

my-test.spec.js

import { isPermissionAllowed, isPermissionBlocked, isPermissionAsk } from 'cypress-browser-permissions'

describe('my site', () => {
  before(() => cy.visit('/'))

  isPermissionAllowed('notifications') &&
    it('should show desktop notification', () => {
      /* ... */
    })

  isPermissionBlocked('notifications') &&
    it('should warn user desktop notifications are disabled', () => {
      /* ... */
    })

  isPermissionAsk('notifications') &&
    it('should prompt user to allow desktop notifications', () => {
      /* ... */
    })
})

Also see cypress/integration/ folder for e2e examples.

API Reference

See API reference for documented methods.

Resetting Permissions

This plugin automatically resets each supported permission to the browser default for each test run since otherwise profile preferences are persisted across sessions, which may not be what you intend.

Details

How It Works

Cypress can pass preferences when launching browsers. This plugin adds a small abstraction over this low-level API to take care of setting the permission-related preferences in different browsers, mostly Chrome/Chromium and Firefox.

You can listen to the before:browser:launch event in your own Cypress application to add any additional preferences.

Chrome / Edge / Chromium Preferences

Documented in pref_names, the permission-related preferences are grouped under profile.managed_default_content_settings.

These modify the "managed" settings, such as when group policy is enforced. In the Chrome settings, there is a way to add specific sites to allow / block lists, and this may be possible to do with the plugin if that is stored in the profile data structure.

Firefox

In about:config within Firefox, search for permissions.default to list permissions.

Notably, Firefox does not have some permissions related to JavaScript, Cookies, Plugins, and Popups but those may be managed with other settings.

Credits

Thanks to BrowserStack for documenting some of these permissions as well as these StackOverflow posts:

• Selenium + Python Allow Firefox Notifications
• How to allow or deny notification geo-location microphone camera pop up

In Web Driver testing, these are passed under capabilities, such as shown in the test-runner configuration and then passing as shown here.

MIT License

See LICENSE