What is Hooks.rb in Ruby Test Automation?

In Ruby test automation using Cucumber, hooks allow us to execute code at various points in the Cucumber lifecycle. Hooks are typically placed in the env.rb file or any Ruby file within the support/ directory.

They help in setting up preconditions before a scenario runs and cleaning up resources after a scenario completes.

Scenario Hooks in Cucumber

The most common scenario-level hooks are:

• Before – Executes before every scenario.
• After – Executes after every scenario.

Using the Before Hook

Before do
    puts "********************************"
    puts "       Before Hook           "
    puts "********************************"
end

What Does This Do?

The Before hook executes before each scenario. When running your test suite, you will see the following output before every scenario:

********************************
       Before Hook           
********************************

Practical Use Case

A common use of Before is to initialize a browser instance for UI testing:

Before do
    @browser = browser  # Define which browser to use
end

This ensures that each test starts with a fresh browser session.

Using the After Hook

After do
    puts "********************************"
    puts "       After Hook            "
    puts "********************************"
end

What Does This Do?

The After hook executes after each scenario. When running your test suite, you will see the following output after every scenario:

********************************
       After Hook           
********************************

Practical Use Case

A common use of After is to clean up resources, such as closing the browser or capturing screenshots of failing scenarios:

After do |scenario|
    if scenario.failed?
        screenshot_name = "screenshot_#{scenario.name.gsub(' ', '_')}.png"
        @browser.screenshot.save screenshot_name
        puts "Screenshot saved: #{screenshot_name}"
    end
    @browser.quit
end

This ensures that: ✅ The browser closes after every scenario.
✅ Screenshots are captured for failing tests.

Conclusion

Hooks in Ruby Cucumber automation are powerful for setting up and cleaning up test scenarios. Using Before and After hooks efficiently helps improve test maintainability and reliability.

Would you like to see more advanced hook examples? Let me know! 🚀