test: restrict example/env to Cypress <15.10

[MikeMcC399]

PREREQUISITE FOR CYPRESS 16 UPGRADE

• relates to issue Cypress.env deprecation / cy.env addition #1620

Situation

• The example directory examples/env uses the Cypress.env() API call to get environment variables in tests. These are non-secret environment variables. The related workflow example-env.yml refers to this usage in comments.

• In [email protected]

  • Cypress.env() was deprecated
  • the configuration option allowCypressEnv was introduced for the remaining lifetime of Cypress 15.x to enable explicitly disallowing Cypress.env()
  • cy.env() was added for sensitive configuration information
  • Cypress Module API option env corresponding to the action parameter env is now specified for use with secret environment variables
  • Cypress.expose() was added for non-sensitive configuration information

• In cypress-io/[email protected]

  • The action expose parameter was added to be able to pass this to the Cypress Module API
  • examples/expose and .github/workflows/example-expose.yml were added to demonstrate the use of Cypress.expose()

• In [email protected]

  • Cypress.env() was removed
  • allowCypressEnv was removed

Assessment

The env examples are still relevant for action users that have not upgraded to minimum Cypress 15.10. They are however incompatible with Cypress 16 and block upgrading the repo.

env continues to be available for GitHub Actions workflows for both secret and non-secret variables. Preserving various examples using env is therefore helpful for understanding how to use variables.

Change

Skip the tests in examples/env for Cypress >=15.10.0

Update code inline comments and documentation accordingly.

Verification

cd examples/env
npm install [email protected]
export CYPRESS_environmentName=staging CYPRESS_apiPort=4222 CYPRESS_host=http://api.dev.local
npm test
npm install [email protected]
npm test
npm install cypress@15
npm test
npm install cypress@16
npm test

Confirm that each test is successful.

---

Note

Low Risk
Changes are limited to example tests, lockfile, and documentation; no production action behavior is modified.

Overview
Prepares the repo for a Cypress 16 upgrade by keeping the legacy examples/env workflow and docs while stopping Cypress.env() assertions from running on Cypress 15.10.0+ (where that API is deprecated/removed).

The e2e specs in spec.cy.js and without-env.cy.js now use semver to run the original env checks only on older Cypress versions; on ≥15.10.0 they register a no-op test so CI still passes. example-env.yml and the README Env section are updated with migration notes and a pointer to example-expose.yml / the expose action input for non-sensitive config on modern Cypress.

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 3c0051f. Bugbot is set up for automated code reviews on this repo. Configure here.}

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[jennifer-shehane]

Thanks for surfacing all this @MikeMcC399, the approach makes sense to me. A few things:

• example-env.yml still shows Cypress.env() in the inline comments which reads oddly right under the new header.
• action.yml line 30 still says "Sets Cypress environment variables", worth matching the new README framing, like expose does.

With cypress pinned at 15.21.1, all four jobs now run only the placeholder. Should we pin this example below 15.10 so it actually exercises the legacy path?

[MikeMcC399]

@jennifer-shehane

Thanks for surfacing all this @MikeMcC399, the approach makes sense to me. A few things:

• example-env.yml still shows Cypress.env() in the inline comments which reads oddly right under the new header.

I assume that you're just commenting without requesting a change

• action.yml line 30 still says "Sets Cypress environment variables", worth matching the new README framing, like expose does.

I would address that separately, because that affects the action, not the example of using the action. Also the documentation history on https://docs.cypress.io/app/references/module-api would need extending as it does not describe the history of repurposing the Module API env parameter.

With cypress pinned at 15.21.1, all four jobs now run only the placeholder. Should we pin this example below 15.10 so it actually exercises the legacy path?

Pinning the example to a non-standard version would be messy. Renovate would try to update it, unless an exception were put in place, and Dependabot would regularly complain about vulnerabilities that are already resolved. I would not want to do that. I did test it on the old versions.