Built-in Cucumber BDD Step Definitions
SHAFT Engine ships with 500+ pre-built Gherkin step definitions covering browser navigation, element actions, and assertions. You can write feature files and start running BDD tests immediately — without authoring glue code from scratch.
This page describes how to use Cucumber with SHAFT. If you prefer a simpler BDD approach without .feature files, see BDD-Style Reports with Allure Annotations.
Maven Dependency
Add the SHAFT Cucumber integration dependency to your pom.xml:
<dependency>
<groupId>io.github.shafthq</groupId>
<artifactId>shaft-engine</artifactId>
</dependency>
SHAFT's built-in Cucumber steps are included in the core engine — no separate artifact is required.
Test Runner Setup
Create a runner class using JUnit Platform Suite:
import org.junit.platform.suite.api.*;
@Suite
@IncludeEngines("cucumber")
@SelectClasspathResource("features")
@ConfigurationParameter(
key = "cucumber.glue",
value = "com.shaft.cucumber,your.steps.package"
)
@ConfigurationParameter(
key = "cucumber.plugin",
value = "io.qameta.allure.cucumber7jvm.AllureCucumber7Jvm"
)
public class CucumberTestRunner { }
Always include both com.shaft.cucumber (SHAFT's built-in steps) and your own steps package in the cucumber.glue value. Separate them with a comma.
Feature File Examples
Browser Navigation and Element Interaction
Feature: User Login
Scenario: Successful login with valid credentials
Given I open the target browser
When I navigate to "https://example.com/login"
And I type "testuser" into the element found by "id" "username"
And I type "password123" into the element found by "id" "password"
And I click the element found by "id" "loginBtn"
Then I assert that the "title" attribute of the browser, equals "Dashboard"
And I assert that the element found by "id" "welcomeMsg", exists
Assertions and Validations
Feature: User Profile
Scenario: Profile page displays correct user information
Given I open the target browser
And I navigate to "https://example.com/profile"
Then I assert that the element found by "id" "fullName", text contains "John Doe"
And I assert that the element found by "id" "email", text equals "john@example.com"
And I assert that the element found by "id" "role", is visible
And I close the current browser
Available Step Packages
SHAFT's built-in steps are organised into the following packages under com.shaft.cucumber:
| Package | Steps Provided |
|---|---|
BrowserSteps | Open/close browser, navigation, URL and title assertions |
ElementSteps | Type, click, select, scroll, hover, drag-and-drop |
AssertionSteps | Assert element existence, visibility, text, and attributes |
AlertSteps | Accept, dismiss, and interact with browser alerts |
APISteps | Send requests and validate responses in Gherkin |
Adding Custom Step Definitions
Create your own step definitions in a separate package and include it in cucumber.glue:
package your.steps.package;
import com.shaft.driver.SHAFT;
import io.cucumber.java.en.*;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
public class CustomSteps {
private SHAFT.GUI.WebDriver driver;
@Given("I am logged in as {string}")
public void loginAs(String username) {
driver = new SHAFT.GUI.WebDriver();
driver.browser().navigateToURL("https://example.com/login");
driver.element()
.type(By.id("username"), username)
.type(By.id("password"), "defaultPassword")
.click(By.id("loginBtn"));
}
@Then("I should see the dashboard")
public void verifyDashboard() {
driver.assertThat().browser().url().contains("/dashboard");
}
}
Do not remove com.shaft.cucumber from the cucumber.glue configuration. Removing it disables all of SHAFT's built-in steps and will cause step-not-found errors.
Allure reporting for Cucumber is enabled by adding io.qameta.allure.cucumber7jvm.AllureCucumber7Jvm to cucumber.plugin. This produces the same rich Allure report as non-Cucumber SHAFT tests.