Assertion should('not.be.visible') doesn't work as expected

Current behavior

Assertion cy.get('[data-cy=an_invisible_button').should('not.be.visible'); fails with Timed out retrying: Expected to find element: [data-cy=an_invisible_button], but never found it.

Desired behavior

The assertion should be pass, because the invisible button is really not visible.

Test code to reproduce

cy.get(‘[data-cy=an_invisible_button’).should(‘not.be.visible’);

Versions

Bug was visible in Cypress version 6.0.0 Last known working Cypress Verion: 5.1.0 (Only tested because I updated to 6.0.0 from that version)

[jennifer-shehane]

Both assertions still exist in Cypress’s current version. You need to be specific about what you are asserting about an element.

• Use .should('not.be.visible') for elements that exist in the DOM but would not be visible to a fully sighted person.
• Use .should('not.exist') for elements that do not exist in the DOM, regardless of their visibility.

[jennifer-shehane]

Yes, this is expected behavior as of 6.0. Please see our Migration Guide for a detailed explanation. https://on.cypress.io/migration-guide

You’ll want to change your assert to .should(‘not.exist’) if you want to ensure it’s not in the DOM.

We understand this may be cumbersome to change but we think it’s better than having tests potentially falsely pass. We found a misspelled selector query in our own tests when updating even where it wasn’t testing what we thought.