What is the chained subject?

Most commands yield a subject (a DOM element, response or value) to the next command in the chain. cy.get yields elements, .its yields a property, and .then gives you the raw subject to work with imperatively.

How do assertions work in Cypress?

Use .should() with a Chai assertion string like "be.visible" or "have.text", value. Cypress retries the preceding query and the assertion together until it passes or the command times out, so explicit waits are rarely needed.

What replaced cy.route and cy.server?

cy.intercept replaced the deprecated cy.route/cy.server pair. It can stub, spy on or modify any request, supports route matchers and lets you alias a route with .as() to wait on it with cy.wait("@alias").

What are aliases for?

Calling .as("name") stores a subject, element set or intercepted route under @name. Later you reference it with cy.get("@name") or cy.wait("@name"), avoiding repeated queries and enabling network waits.

Why does Cypress retry commands?

Query commands and assertions automatically retry within the command timeout to handle asynchronous UI updates. Action commands like click wait for actionability. This retry-ability removes most arbitrary cy.wait(ms) calls.

Cypress Commands Reference

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Look up Cypress commands without the docs tab

Cypress drives the browser through chained cy.* commands that yield subjects to one another. This reference lists the common commands grouped by querying, actions, assertions, network and utilities, noting their arguments and whether they yield a chainable subject. It runs entirely in your browser.

How it works

A test reads as a chain: a query yields elements, actions operate on them, and .should() asserts with retry. Commands are asynchronous and enqueued, not run immediately, so you chain rather than store return values. cy.intercept aliased with .as() lets you wait on network calls:

cy.intercept("POST", "/api/login").as("login");
cy.get('[data-cy="email"]').type("[email protected]");
cy.get('[data-cy="submit"]').click();
cy.wait("@login").its("response.statusCode").should("eq", 200);
cy.contains("Welcome").should("be.visible");

Tips and examples

Prefer dedicated data-cy attributes for cy.get selectors so tests do not break when classes or copy change.
Chain .should() directly after a query so Cypress retries both together; avoid cy.wait(ms) with fixed delays.
Use .as("name") to alias elements, routes or fixtures, then reference them as @name to keep tests readable and avoid re-querying.
cy.fixture("user.json") loads test data from cypress/fixtures and pairs with cy.intercept(url, { fixture: "user.json" }) to stub responses.