SKILL.md

name	cypress-ci
description	CI and delivery skill for Cypress automation. Use when Codex needs to design, debug, or optimize Cypress execution in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, Docker, sharded pipelines, artifact workflows, or shared setup and teardown.
metadata	author version dispatcher-category dispatcher-capabilities dispatcher-accepted-intents dispatcher-input-artifacts dispatcher-output-artifacts dispatcher-stack-tags dispatcher-risk dispatcher-writes-files jovd83 1.1 testing ci-configuration, cypress-ci configure_cypress_ci, optimize_cypress_execution repo_context, ci_pipeline, cypress_config ci_guidance, execution_plan, pipeline_update cypress, ci, automation medium true

Telemetry & Logging

Important

All usage of this skill must be logged via the Skill Dispatcher to ensure audit logs and wallboard analytics are accurate: ./log-dispatch.cmd --skill <skill_name> --intent <intent> --reason <reason> (or ./log-dispatch.sh on Linux)

Cypress CI/CD

Use this skill when the main problem is pipeline execution rather than test authoring.

Golden Rules

1. Prefer deterministic setup over clever pipeline shortcuts.
2. Capture screenshots, videos, reports, and other artifacts where they materially reduce triage time.
3. Scale horizontally with sharding only after test data and isolation are under control.
4. Cache stable dependencies deliberately, including the Cypress binary and package-manager state where appropriate.
5. Keep retries informative, not silent flake camouflage.
6. Prefer explicit browser and environment selection in CI.

Official References

• Cypress best practices: https://docs.cypress.io/guides/references/best-practices

CI Compatibility Matrix

Layer	Supported range	CI guidance
Cypress	>=13.0.0	Keep runner images aligned with your Cypress major.
Node.js (by Cypress major)	Cypress 13-14: >=18; Cypress 15+: 20.x, 22.x, >=24.x	Pin Node explicitly in pipeline config to avoid drift.
OS runners	Linux (Ubuntu 22+), Windows 10+/Server 2019+, macOS 13+	Match Cypress system requirements for browser dependencies.
Package managers	npm >=10.1, pnpm >=8, Yarn modern >=4, Yarn classic >=1.22.22	Install failures are often package-manager floor issues.
Browsers	Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Electron	Use explicit browser flags in CI for deterministic behavior.

Guides

Need	Guide
GitHub Actions	ci-github-actions.md
GitLab CI	ci-gitlab.md
Other providers	ci-other.md
Sharding and scaling	parallel-and-sharding.md, projects-and-dependencies.md
Containers	docker-and-containers.md
Reports and artifacts	reporting-and-artifacts.md
Coverage and setup orchestration	test-coverage.md, global-setup-teardown.md

Output Bias

When solving CI tasks, prefer:

• concrete workflow or pipeline changes,
• exact commands, cache locations, and artifact paths,
• explicit diagnostics and validation steps,
• clear tradeoffs when the pipeline needs faster feedback versus deeper debugging.