Running tests using the full Cycle client is not always practical, especially when combining Cycle Tests with a Continuous Integration or Continuous Testing process.
Cycle has the ability to run from the command line using Cycle-CLI.
To execute Cycle from the command line:
1. Add the path to the Cycle executable to your PATH system environment variable (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\CycleLabs\Cycle)-OR- alternatively you will need to specify the full path to your Cycle executable when running Cycle-CLI (Ex: C:\Program Files (x86)\CycleLabs\Cycle\cycle-cli).2. Navigate to your Cycle project directory and run Cycle-CLI followed by any optional parameters, with the last parameter being the name of the Feature File, Playlist, or Group Test to be executed.
- Note that if you are running cycle-cli from a machine where you do not also run the Cycle UI (such as in a CI/CD pipeline), you will need to use the --token argument to provide a valid token for authentication. It is recommended that this is injected as an environment variable for security. Please see the user manual linked here for additional details.
- By default, cycle-cli will look for a .cycuser file that matches the user that you logged into Cycle 2 with when you obtained the token. E.g., if you logged in as j.doe@cyclelabs.io, it will look for a
j.doe.cycuserfile. If you use a more generic .cycuser file in your pipeline to store settings required for your pipeline tests to run successfully, for example, jenkins.cycuser, you can use the -u (--user-profile) argument to specify the .cycuser file to use.
Example (with Cycle added to your PATH environment variable):
cycle-cli --token $Env:Token -u CycleUserName -e ALL_TESTS –p Example.cycproj C:\Cycle\Example.feature
Example (using complete executable path):
"C:\Program Files (x86)\CycleLabs\Cycle\cycle-cli" --token $Env:Token -u CycleUserName -e ALL_TESTS –p Example.cycproj C:\Cycle\Example.feature
Note: If your Feature includes steps that prompt the user, these steps will be skipped.
Parameter | Description | Example |
Feature, Playlist, or Group Test File | Path to Feature File, Playlist, or Group Test File | C:\path\to\feature\feature_name.feature C:\path\to\playlist\playlist_name.cycplay C:\path\to\playlist\group_test.cvt |
| Parameter | Description | Example |
--echo-settings | Echo the current settings to the console and exit | cycle-cli --echo-settings |
-e, --error-handling [arg] | Error Handling Strategy (examples below) | cycle-cli --error-handling ALL_TESTS [files to run] |
-l, --log-level [arg] | Logging level | cycle-cli --log-level verbose [files to run] |
--no-tick | Turn off time-elapsed update for steps | cycle-cli --no-tick [files to run] |
-o, --output-directory [arg] | Report output directory | cycle-cli --output-directory C:\Cycle\Output [files to run] |
-p, --project-file [arg] | Project file (.cycproj file) or project directory. | cycle-cli --project-file myproject.cycproj [files to run] |
--settings | additional settings as key value pairs | cycle-cli --settings ProduceLocalReport=true [files to run] |
-s, --settings-file [arg] | Settings file location to override settings used in Cycle client | cycle-cli --settings-file C:\Cycle\settingsoverride.json [files to run] |
-t, --tags [arg] | Tags to be executed | cycle-cli --tags picking [files to run] |
--token [arg] | Token for authentication (available since 2.14) | cycle-cli --token $TOKEN [files to run] |
-u, --user-profile [arg] | An alternate .cycuser file to use for settings when executing tests | cycle-cli -u jenkins.cycuser [files to run] |
-x, --shutdown-timeout [int] | Forcibly terminate Cycle upon test completion (in seconds) (default -1) | cycle-cli -x 300 [files to run] |
-h, --help | Show help message | cycle-cli --help |
--version | Show Cycle version | cycle-cli --version |
"C:\Program Files (x86)\CycleLabs\Cycle\cycle-cli" --token $Env:Token -o C:\Cycle\Output -e ALL_TESTS –p Example.cycproj C:\Cycle\Example.cycplay
Cycle Test Type | Error Handling Strategy | Example |
Features | FEATURE = End Feature Execution SCENARIO = Skip to next Scenario | cycle-cli --error-handling FEATURE palletpick.feature |
Playlists | NONE = Skip to next Scenario SINGLE_TEST = Skip to next feature ALL_TESTS = End Playlist Execution | cycle-cli --error-handling SINGLE_TEST listpick.cycplay |
Group Tests | NONE = Stop Failed Terminal SINGLE_TEST = Stop Failed Group ALL_TESTS = End Group Test Execution | cycle-cli --error-handling ALL_TESTS volumetest.cvt |
Cycle-CLI includes a help option that will display the available command line options to you.
cycle-cli –-help
Example:
C:\Program Files (x86)\CycleLabs\Cycle>cycle-cli –help
Help Output:
Usage: ./cycle-cli.exe [flags] [test files] Flags: --echo-settings Echo the current settings to the console and exit -e, --error-handling string Error Handling Strategy - see user manual for valid options -h, --help help for ./cycle-cli.exe -l, --log-level string logging level --no-tick turn off time elapsed update for steps -o, --output-directory string Report output directory -p, --project-file string Project file --settings strings additional settings as key value pairs -s, --settings-file string Settings file location -x, --shutdown-timeout int Forcibly terminate Cycle upon test completion (in seconds) (default -1) -t, --tags strings tags --token string B2C Refresh token to use for authentication -u, --user-profile string The .cycuser file to use when running cycle-cli, if you are not using <cycle username>.cycuser. -v, --version version
This can be either the Project directory or the .cycproj file.
For example, a user has a Project in c:\users\MyUser\myproj either c:\users\MyUser\myproj or c:\users\MyUser\myproj\myproj.cycproj would be acceptable arguments to follow the --Project-file or -p parameter. This can be an absolute path or relative path.
When Cycle-CLI executes, the Step results are output to the command line. Steps that pass are output with a Pass and the number of ms they took to complete. Steps that failed are output with [Fail]. Cycle-CLI completes with the line
Feature: Feature Name [Fail]/[Pass] - {number} ms.
Any of the reporting formats available to the main Cycle client can be generated if the respective settings are applied.
In many cases, Cycle-CLI is run on a different computer than Cycle itself. It is important for teams to carefully control what settings are in use when running Cycle-CLI. It is possible to replicate the needed settings by specifying a Project file for your Cycle-CLI execution. All of the pertinent execution settings will be included in the .cycproj file. Execution settings can be stored in generic Cycle User files (.cycuser) to specify execution settings such as reporting settings and web driver locations.