TL;DR:

I am trying to override the baseUrl value from cypress.json using my cypress.env.json file, but I can't seem to figure out how. Is there a way to do this?

Background

Setting environment variables in the cypress.json file and later overriding them in cypress.env.json is as easy as pie. In cypress.json:

{
  "env": {
    "someVariable": "originalValue"
  }
}

... and in cypress.env.json:

{
  "someVariable": "newValue"
}

Regarding configuration variables, the documentation states:

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

However, if I try setting baseUrl from cypress.json...

{
  "baseUrl": ".json",
  "env": {
    "someVariable": "originalValue"
  }
}

... and overriding it in cypress.env.json ...

{
  "baseUrl": ".env.json",
  "someVariable": "newValue"
}

... then someVariable is overriden, but the existing baseUrl remains unchanged (and a baseUrl appears inside the object placed at the env key):

I have no problem when setting baseUrl in cypress.json and later overriding it in the command line using CYPRESS_BASE_URL:

$ export CYPRESS_BASE_URL=

Then, the original baseUrl is overriden:

To summarize: Am I missing something in the documentation, or is something missing in the documentation?

TL;DR:

I am trying to override the baseUrl value from cypress.json using my cypress.env.json file, but I can't seem to figure out how. Is there a way to do this?

Background

Setting environment variables in the cypress.json file and later overriding them in cypress.env.json is as easy as pie. In cypress.json:

{
  "env": {
    "someVariable": "originalValue"
  }
}

... and in cypress.env.json:

{
  "someVariable": "newValue"
}

Regarding configuration variables, the documentation states:

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

However, if I try setting baseUrl from cypress.json...

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

... and overriding it in cypress.env.json ...

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

... then someVariable is overriden, but the existing baseUrl remains unchanged (and a baseUrl appears inside the object placed at the env key):

I have no problem when setting baseUrl in cypress.json and later overriding it in the command line using CYPRESS_BASE_URL:

$ export CYPRESS_BASE_URL=http://example.com/setFromCommandLine

Then, the original baseUrl is overriden:

To summarize: Am I missing something in the documentation, or is something missing in the documentation?

• javascript
• configuration
• cypress

• 1 I think it's a bug.. would create an issue – dwelle Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 13:45
• Done: github.com/cypress-io/cypress/issues/909 – vages Commented Nov 14, 2017 at 14:32
• I think you can add that as an answer, @DanSwain. Just do so, and I'll give you the checkmark. ;) – vages Commented Nov 16, 2017 at 11:38
• Done @vages. Thank you. – Dan Swain Commented Nov 19, 2017 at 19:57

2 Answers 2

A simple workaround: in plugins/index.js do

module.exports = (on, config) => {
  if(config.hasOwnProperty('env') &&  config.env.hasOwnProperty('baseUrl')){
      config.baseUrl = config.env.baseUrl;
  }
  return config
}

After the above post, it was explained in the related github issue that this is not considered a bug. Variables from cypress.env.json are loaded into the environmentVariables variable within the overall config (despite what the current documentation would lead you to believe). The overall config file is cypress.json. In the github issue, I've provided backup concerning why the current explanation is confusing.