Most of us use PyCharm to automate the BDD tests using Behave using Python, however, it adds to the cost of test automation. The community version is also available for free, but we can’t run behave files through it. Visual Studio Code also supports Python. However, this blog explains how to use Visual Studio Code for Python + Behave BDD tests for FREE. PyCharm and VS Code are both excellent tools for writing Python code.
PyCharm Community edition and Visual Studio Code (VSCode) are both capable integrated development environments for Python coding. To conduct this evaluation, I chose the most frequently used IDE feature and compared the experience of PyCharm and VSCode.
Let’s see how can we use VSCode for “Python behave” Automation:
First, you should make sure that you have installed the Python extension. I recommend installing it because it will allow you to install libraries and run code. To run Python and Python behave in Visual Studio Code (VSCode), visit the Visual Studio Code Marketplace to get all the extensions you’ll need.
The following three extensions must be installed before proceeding to Python:-
Gherkin- for creating feature files
Pylance: This will install all libraries which are required to run Python
Python extension for VSCode
All of these extensions are available in the VSCode Marketplace, and you can install them manually.
Firstly, we have to create a launch.json file. From the “Run and Debug” option & this file can be generated.·
Go to the “Run and Debug” option, where you will see “Create a launch.json file,” and put the below code into that file.
{
"version": "0.2.0",
"configurations": [
{"name":"Python:Current File", // You can change this name as per your convenient
"type":"python",
"request":"launch",
"program":"${file}",
"console":"integratedTerminal",
"justMyCode":true
},
With this code, you will be able to create a “launch.json” file that will aid in running Python behavior in Visual Studio Code. As soon as you are done with the “launch.json” file, you need to add some libraries to the “settings.json” file, which will help you run the code through the command line. Open a settings JSON file by pressing (ctrl + shift + p) and selecting “Open Settings.” JSON is an option.
Add the below code to the “Settings.json” file. The code below will assist users in integrating with GitHub and running files via the command line.
The final line of code, “python.pythonpath,” will show the virtual environment path. For instructions on how to set up a virtual environment for this, see https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/python/environments Now, the user can go to the “feature file” that he/she wanted to run by selecting “Run” from the “Run and Debug” option.
Cloud Environment:
To automate an application in a cloud environment like (BrowserStack/SauceLabs), add the following code to the “Settings.json” file. Users will be able to run code in a cloud environment. Execution mode determines which cloud environment the user wishes to automate the application in, whether it is BrowserStack or SauceLabs. You can run your tests on the cloud environment of your choice by using the username and access key provided.
We’d all like to be able to navigate directly to that specific function or method from the feature file step, as we can in PyCharm (ctrl+click). This can be achieved by including the following code in Settings.json in VSCode: Your work in VS code will be faster and more flexible.
Pycharm is used to run a Python behave file, but many of us are aware that it’s not free, so we’ve found a solution with Visual Studio Code that will help people save money and run Python behave freely on the VSCode IDE.
Harish is an SDET with expertise in API, web, and mobile testing. He has worked on multiple Web and mobile automation tools including Cypress with JavaScript, Appium, and Selenium with Python and Java. He is very keen to learn new Technologies and Tools for test automation. His latest stint was in TestProject.io. He loves to read books when he has spare time.
There are many instances during test automation when you would download the files and then would want to verify the completeness of your files downloaded. The MD5 checksum verification is to validate the authenticity of the file so we can ensure that the received file is exactly the same as at the source. This blog explains what MD5 checksum is and also, how we can use it in test automation.
Let’s understand the need for MD5 checksum Verification for a file.
Different kinds of files are distributed on the network or any storage media at different destinations. So, there is a chance that the file can be corrupted because of a few missing bits during data transfer due to some different reasons. Below are a few factors that can cause this to happen, such as:
An interruption to the Internet or network connection.
Storage or space problems, including hard drive-related problems.
A corrupted disk or corrupted file.
A third party interfering with the transfer of data.
After receiving the file, we need to check if the file received is correct or incorrect. It also becomes necessary to verify that our copy of the file is authentic and does not contain any error by applying some sort of test.
We basically use the special key string for this file integrity test known as a checksum. Also, we can refer to checksum as a hash sum or a hash value, hash code, or simply a hash. The most famous and widely used checksum technique is nothing but the MD5 checksum.
the digest, MD5, or hash checksum has been extensively used in the software world to provide some assurance that an uploaded file arrived intact from its source
What is MD5?
The message-digest algorithm(MD5) is a cryptographic hash function whose main purpose is to verify that a file has not been altered.
MD5 hashes are 128 bits long and are usually displayed as their 32-digit hexadecimal equivalents. It doesn’t matter how large or small the file or text is.
As we learn, it is a 32-character hexadecimal number that is computed on a file. Various Checksum programs are used to generate checksum key strings from the files and verify the integrity of the files. Later by using that checksum string with the original ones shared by the file servers. The file servers often provide a pre-computed MD5, so that a user can compare the checksum of the downloaded file to it. There is a high probability that two files with the same MD5 checksum are the same.
How to calculate MD5 checksum for a file:
1. Calculate MD5 checksum for a file for windows:
With a command prompt, PowerShell command, or third-party applications like Hash Generator or MD5 Checksum Utility, you can generate a checksum for a file.
a.With the command prompt:
Basically, the command line tool is built-in into the Microsoft Windows 10 operating system, as a certificate service, which is “CertUtil”.
This command line offers a switch, “Hashfile”; We can generate a hash string. Here is a specific algorithm that we can use, such as MD5:
3. Calculate MD5 checksum for a file through automation using C# :
Here, you can calculate programmatically using .net, Java, Python, etc.
To calculate it for a file in C#, .net provides an inbuilt functionality for generating these hash functions, For that reason, we need to import the following NuGet package: https://www.nuget.org/packages/Security.Cryptography
System.Security.Cryptography.MD5
Firstly we need to instantiate the Message Digest Object.
The Compute Hash method of the instance returns the computed hash of the file (bypassing the file stream).
Later, we can convert it to hex, the Bit Converter allows you to represent it as a string for conversion.
So, below is an example code showing a method (GetMD5HashFromFile ()).
It accepts the file name along with the path and then returns the calculated checksum. Also, generates the checksum, After that, it converts into a hex string, and removes dashes. This is the typical format.
The hash string for the file returned by this method can be compared with the one provided by the file servers and checked if the file is altered or not.
private string GetMD5HashFromFile(string fileName)
using (var md5 = MD5.Create())
{
using (var stream = File.OpenRead(fileName))
{
var hash= md5.ComputeHash(stream);
return BitConverter.ToString(hash).Replace("-", string.Empty);
}
}
You can call the above function wherever you need to get the checksum. For example:
As I have implemented and tested this in a test case automation, so, I believe this is a most simple and easier way to verify MD5 checksums for a file in automation using C#
Trupti is a Sr. SDET at SpurQLabs with overall experience of 9 years, mainly in .NET- Web Application Development and UI Test Automation, Manual testing. Having hands-on experience in testing Web applications in Selenium, Specflow and Playwright BDD with C#.
The purpose of this blog is to provide an overview of Create Click-up issues on failed tests using Cypress for reporting bugs during testing or when automated tests are failed. Click-up is a cloud-based collaboration and project management tool suitable for all team sizes to adopt as an Application Lifecycle Management tool. In our context, we will use it to create bug tasks for failed tests.
In this blog, we will have a quick overview of:-
What is Click-up?
What is Click-up API and how to use them?
How to automate the Click API using cypress.
How To create a task automatically when a Cypress test fails with Screenshots.
Requirements:-
Node.js to be installed.
Any IDE recommended is VS Code.
Cypress 10 or any version of Cypress installed.
Click-up account.
Now let’s start with our agenda
What is Click-up?
It is a project management tool that is easy to customize and use.
What are Click-up API and how do use them?
Click API is a service provided by Click-up through which you can operate Click-up without UI.
We can use them through API client tools like the postman or you can use them in any programming language/ technology which supports HTTPS protocols. In this blog, we are using the Cypress testing tool which is Node.js-based technology using JavaScript as a programming language.
How to automate the Click-API using Cypress?
Cypress’s cy.request API module helps you to automate API quickly.
How to create a task automatically when a Cypress test fails with Screenshots.
Requirements.
Personal access token for Click-up.
Postman or any API client tool.
List Id, Folder Id, Space Id, and Team id of Click-up workspace.
Let’s see how can we get the personal access token for Click-up:-
Navigate to your personal Settings.
2. Click Apps in the left sidebar.
3. Click Generate to create your API token.
4. Click Copy to copy the key to your clipboard.
Note:- You can use this personal access token in API for authentication.
Get the Team Id
This endpoint is used to view teams: user groups in your workspace. Use the following API request in postman or any other API client tool for getting the team id which needs to pass as a URI parameter to get the Space id.
We have fetched all the required Uri parameters for getting the list id now we can use this list id as a Uri parameter for generating tickets through automation using cypress
How to create a task automatically when a cypress test fails with screenshots.
We have successfully extracted the list id which we will be using as a Uri parameter for creating a task. The cypress “command.js” file is a file where we have to place reusable code inside that we have the “cypress.command.add” method so we can use that code anywhere in cypress tests.
Paste the following code in Cypress/ Supports/ Command.js
Below is create task method name and we are passing the feature name, scenario name, and steps as a parameter which will be added to the ticket in Click-up
Now to call the endpoint with cy.request we will require the endpoint, the request method, and the access token, so we will store everything in a variable and access in the below code. mention all endpoints, request methods, and access tokens as variables.
let endpoint = 'https://api.clickup.com/api/v2/list/<listid>/task'
let req = 'POST'
let token = Access_Token '
const headers = {
'Authorization': token,
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}
We are passing all the variables to the cy.request which we mentioned above.
Calling API:- This API will create a ticket for us and the response that we yield will give the id of the ticket which we can use to attach a screenshot in the next request.
cy.request({ method: req, url: endpoint, 'headers': headers, body: body }).then((response) => {
cy.log(JSON.stringify(response))
id = response.body.id
Getting the Response
cy.log(id)
In this case, we are getting the id of the ticket which we can use in the next request as a Uri parameter. Now we need to get the path of the failed screenshot dynamically and pass it to the API so that screenshot should get attached to the same click-up ticket.
The below code will attach a screenshot to the ticket which we have created through automation.
const screenshotsFolder = Cypress.config("screenshotsFolder");
const screenshotFileName = `${featurename} -- ${scenarioname} (failed).png`;
Attaching ScreenShot
cy.request("https://clickup.com")
var data = new FormData();
data.append("filename", screenshotFileName);
cy.log(id)
We have to attach a screenshot as multipart form data and pass it as a Blob as a request for the above ticket which we have created. Here we have used XMLHttp request as cy.request does not support multipart form data.
Now when the test fails this part of the code will get executed which will call the method mentioned in the command.js file and automatically create the ticket with a failed screenshot and description.
Paste the code in Cypress/Beforeafter.js.
afterEach(() => {
This Code Will Execute after each test
cy.on("test:after:run", (test, runnable) => {
setTimeout(() => {
Cypress.env("ok",test)
}, 4000);
}).then(()=>
{
Now we have to extract the feature file name, scenario name, and steps so that we can pass it to the Click-up ticket. We have a test state as a window object which yields all the properties related to the test like test name, test status, etc…
cy.wait(6000)
let chip = Cypress.env("ok")
let status = chip.state
let scenario = chip.title
let allsteps = ""
let Featurename = testState.gherkinDocument.feature.name
let current = chip._testConfig.testConfigList[0].overrides.env.__cypress_cucumber_preprocessor_dont_use_this.currentStep.pickleStep.text
let a = chip._testConfig.testConfigList[0].overrides.env.__cypress_cucumber_preprocessor_dont_use_this.allSteps
for (let index = 0; index < a.length; index++) {
const element = a[index]
allsteps += element.pickleStep.text
}
Calling the custom command which will create a ticket every time the test fails. Passing the feature name scenario name and all steps as parameters to be added to the ticket.
By profession an Automation Test Engineer, Having 3+year experience in Manual and automation testing. Having hands-on experience in Cypress with JavaScript, NodeJS. Designed automation web framework in Cypress, Webdriver.io, Selenium with jest in JavaScript. He loves to explore and learn new tools and technologies.
