How do you use SpecFlow hooks to customize your test execution and reporting?

1 What are hooks?

Hooks are special methods that run before or after certain events in the test execution cycle. They are marked with attributes like [BeforeScenario], [AfterStep], or [BeforeTestRun]. You can use hooks to perform common tasks, such as setting up or tearing down test data, logging, or taking screenshots. You can also use hooks to control the order of execution, by specifying a priority or a tag filter.

2 How to use hooks for setup and teardown?

One of the most common uses of hooks is to set up and tear down test data or resources. For example, you may want to create or delete a database, a file, or a web service before or after each scenario or feature. To do this, you can use the [BeforeScenario] or [AfterScenario] hooks, and write the code to perform the desired action. Alternatively, you can use the [BeforeFeature] or [AfterFeature] hooks, if you want to run the code only once per feature file. For example, the following code creates a database before each scenario tagged with @db:

[BeforeScenario("db")]

public void CreateDatabase()

{

// code to create database

}

3 How to use hooks for logging and screenshots?

Another common use of hooks is to log information or take screenshots during the test execution. For example, you may want to capture the state of the system or the browser after each step, or when an error occurs. To do this, you can use the [AfterStep] or [AfterScenario] hooks, and write the code to access the context or the driver objects. For example, the following code takes a screenshot after each step and saves it to a folder:

[AfterStep]

public void TakeScreenshot()

{

// code to access the driver object

var screenshot = driver.TakeScreenshot();

// code to save the screenshot to a folder

screenshot.SaveAsFile($"step_{ScenarioContext.Current.StepContext.StepInfo.Text}.png");

}

4 How to use hooks for order and filter?

Sometimes, you may want to control the order or the filter of the hooks execution. For example, you may want to run some hooks before or after others, or only for certain scenarios or features. To do this, you can use the Order or the Tags parameters of the hook attributes. The Order parameter specifies the order of execution, from lowest to highest. The Tags parameter specifies the tag filter, using AND, OR, or NOT operators. For example, the following code runs a hook only before scenarios tagged with @smoke or @regression, and after any other [BeforeScenario] hooks:

[BeforeScenario(Order = 10, Tags = "@smoke,@regression")]

public void DoSomething()

{

// code to do something

}

5 How to use hooks for custom reports?

Finally, you may want to use hooks to generate custom reports for your test results. For example, you may want to include additional information, such as screenshots, logs, or metrics. To do this, you can use the [AfterTestRun] hook, and write the code to access the TestResult object and create a report file. For example, the following code creates a HTML report with screenshots and logs:

[AfterTestRun]

public static void GenerateReport()

{

// code to access the TestResult object

var testResult = TestResult.Current;

// code to create a HTML report file

var report = new HtmlReport(testResult);

// code to add screenshots and logs

report.AddScreenshots("screenshots");

report.AddLogs("logs");

// code to save the report file

report.SaveAsFile("report.html");

}

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?