cypress-grep only running tagged tests locally: how to fix

TL;DR

A grep filter set in your local environment (env var, env file, or CLI history) persists and filters every local run. Find where the filter is defined, clear it for local runs, and keep the CI filtering where it belongs. Local runs then execute the full suite.

Error

cypress-grep only running tagged tests locally: how to fix

Local cypress run executes only @smoke tagged tests; the same command in CI runs everything.

Steps

1. Check for the env var in your shell: look for CYPRESS_GREP or grep config in your shell profile. Expected output: you find the persistent filter or rule it out.
2. Check cypress.env.json and cypress.config for a grep or filter spec setting. Expected output: you know whether the config itself filters.
3. Clear the local filter: unset the env var for the session and remove it from the shell profile if it does not belong there. Expected output: the variable is gone from the local environment.
4. Keep CI filtering intact: ensure the CI job still sets the grep var it needs. Expected output: CI behavior unchanged.
5. Run the suite locally with no grep flags. Expected output: all tests run, not just tagged ones.

When to use

• Local runs execute only tagged tests.
• CI runs the full suite but local does not (or vice versa).
• You inherited a machine or dotfiles with the filter set.

When not to use

• You want grep filtering locally too (then it is working as intended).
• CI also runs only tagged tests (the filter is in shared config; move it).
• Tags are not recognized at all (that is a cypress-grep setup issue).

Variant phrasings

Grep tags work in CI but empty locally

The CI job sets the tag filter the local run lacks, or vice versa; diff the two environments' env.

Exclude-specs-filter interplay

cypress-grep and excludeSpecs can combine to an empty set; check both when nothing runs.

cypress-grep with --spec

A --spec file list plus a grep filter narrows twice; drop one when debugging.

Why it happens

cypress-grep reads its filter from the environment and config at startup, and shells persist env vars across sessions. A filter set once for a focused CI job or a debugging session keeps applying to every later local run until it is cleared.

Edge cases

• Some wrappers set CYPRESS_GREP in npm scripts; check package.json scripts, not just the shell.
• Clearing the var in one terminal does not clear it in the IDE's integrated terminal; check both.
• A filter that matches nothing produces a green run with zero tests; treat empty runs as suspicious.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_j6dvi45ysBLa-5CwCykONA

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_j6dvi45ysBLa-5CwCykONA

Thread query: cypress-grep only running tagged tests locally: how to fix

TL;DR: A grep filter set in your local environment (env var, env file, or CLI history) persists and filters every local run. Find where the filter is defined, clear it for local runs, and keep the CI filtering where it belongs. Local runs then execute the full suite.