How to Use Cypress to Change Angular proxy.conf.json Headers for Better Testing

Learn how to effectively change headers in your Angular project's proxy configuration while using Cypress for seamless testing processes.
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Introduction

When developing applications with Angular, you often set up a proxy to forward API requests to the backend server. This is particularly useful while testing your application with tools like Cypress. However, you might face a situation where you need to modify request headers dynamically during your Cypress tests without restarting your Angular application or altering the configuration files manually.

In this guide, we’ll explore the problem many Angular and Cypress developers encounter with changing headers in the proxy.conf.json file during testing, and we’ll provide clear solutions to help you streamline your testing process.

The Challenge

You may find yourself needing to test multiple scenarios during your Cypress testing, such as sending different header values (e.g., baz, bar, foobar, rebar) in the request without having to stop and re-serve your Angular application. Although the Cypress documentation implies that dynamic header changes should be feasible, it may not seem to work as expected.

Scenario

Here's a typical scenario that can happen:

Your Angular app utilizes a proxy configuration established in proxy.conf.json that sends requests to a specific API endpoint:

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When testing, even if you attempt to change the header using Cypress intercept:

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The Angular application still uses the original header value (baz), indicating some conflict with the proxy configuration.

Proposed Solutions

Here are two effective strategies to solve the issue of changing Angular proxy headers during Cypress testing:

1. Modify Angular Configuration

One way to manage different header values is to create additional serve configurations in your Angular project's angular.json file. By doing so, you can configure how your Angular app behaves in different testing scenarios.

Steps:

Add Serve Configurations:
Modify your angular.json to include a non-proxy configuration under the serve architect section.

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Update the package.json:
Adjust your package.json to include scripts that will run Angular with the new configurations.

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2. Use Cypress Intercept with Mocks

Instead of relying solely on Angular proxy configurations, you can leverage Cypress's intercept functionality to mock your responses dynamically.

Implementation:

Use Intercept to Provide Mock Data:
You can define your Cypress test to return specific data based on your requirements without the need for altering the Angular configurations.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

By adopting the above methods, particularly combining modifications to your Angular configurations with Cypress’s intercept capabilities, you will enhance your testing experience. You won't need to manually adjust headers each time and can run a variety of scenarios seamlessly.

Feel free to integrate these practices into your development workflow to simplify dynamic header management while testing your Angular applications with Cypress!

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