Overriding baseUrl from cypress.env.json

Current behavior:

Setting baseUrl in cypress.env.json leads to the key baseUrl being created inside env (the environment variables), not in the existing baseUrl being overridden at the configuration variable level.

Desired behavior:

baseUrl should be overridden, the behavior matching that stated in the section “Overriding Configuration” in the environment variables documentation. (Note: Overriding via the command line works as expected.)

How to reproduce/Test Code:

cypress.json:

{
  "baseUrl": "http://example.com/setFromCypress.json",
  "env": {
    "someVariable": "originalValue"
  }
}

cypress.env.json:

{
  "baseUrl": "http://example.com/setFromCypress.env.json",
  "someVariable": "newValue"
}

Screenshot of the resulting configuration:

Additional Info (images, stack traces, etc)

This issue was initially posted and phrased as a question on StackOverflow: https://stackoverflow.com/q/47262338/1858138

• Operating System: Mac OS 10.13.1 (17B48)
• Cypress Version: Cypress package version: 1.0.3
• Browser Version: Chrome 60

[dwelle]

From docs, I got the same idea as OP. This part in particular:

If your environment variables match a standard configuration key, then instead of setting an environment variable they will instead override the configuration value.

Plus, the cypress runner configuartion “settings” tab doesn’t do a good job in explaining that even though env has higher precedence than e.g. cypress.json or default, it doesn’t override it at all…

[DanielSwain]

@brian-mann I think that the concept of cypress.env.json was a good one but that perhaps expanding it would be more than adequate at this point (as opposed to creating a new plugin event right now). Changing the names/function of the files as follows might be a good approach.

• Change cypress.json to cypress.conf.json

• Have a cypress.conf.local.json file whose key structure can match and override cypress.conf.json as @Vages suggests and which would not be checked into source control

This structure would allow you to keep the cypress.env.json for backward compatibility at this point, but it could be deprecated and then eventually eliminated (same for cypress.json).