CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptajaxangularjsprotractor
azangru
azangru

Reputation: 2738

Logging xhr requests while doing e2e-tests with protractor

I'm doing e2e-tests for an app whose frontend is written in AngularJS, and these tests would typically involve filling in forms, sending the data to the backend, then updating the page and making sure that the data persists. The tests are written in protractor.

One of these tests fails, inconsistently and for no apparent reason, so I would like to get as much information for debugging as possible. So I’ve been wondering whether it’s possible at all to log the xhr POST requests that my frontend is sending to the backend during the test in question, or better yet, whether the data that are being sent by the browser can be captured and examined from within protractor? Perhaps, using the browser object? I googled, and googled, but without success.

Yes, I realise that e2e-tests are intended only to interact with the interface and that ajax requests are too low-level for such kind of tests. Yes, perhaps stubbing the whole backend out and just testing the frontend would have been much better. But please humor me. Is it possible to get the information about what is being posted by the browser to the server during e2e-tests with protractor?

Upvotes: 4

Views: 2397

Answers (1)

P.T.
P.T.

Reputation: 25177

Protractor uses the webdriverjs API to "drive" the browser, so it won't have access to any more information than any other Selenium webdriver app would have. See the docs here: http://docs.seleniumhq.org/docs/03_webdriver.jsp#selenium-webdriver-api-commands-and-operations

Outside of some APIs for controlling the browser (adding cookies, opening new tabs), most of the functionality in Protractor and WebdriverJS comes from running snippets of JavaScript in the browser (e.g., to inspect the DOM). So, I don't think any of that qualifies for intercepting communications between the browser and the server.

I think you might have luck using the Protractor infrastructure for injecting code/modules into the app start (this is the best doc I can find for this feature). You should be able to inject a module that can interpose on the $http calls an log them as they go (or, of course, fully mock them out).

Upvotes: 3

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