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Writing Tests in Gherkin (Given-When-Then)

Gherkin structure

A .feature.feature file contains:

Feature
Scenario
Steps (Given/When/Then)

Example feature

login.feature

Feature: Login
  As a registered user
  I want to login
  So that I can access my account
 
  Scenario: Valid login
    Given I am on the login page
    When I login with username "alice" and password "secret"
    Then I should see the dashboard

login.feature

Feature: Login
  As a registered user
  I want to login
  So that I can access my account
 
  Scenario: Valid login
    Given I am on the login page
    When I login with username "alice" and password "secret"
    Then I should see the dashboard

Example step definition

steps/login_steps.py

from behave import given, when, then
 
 
@given("I am on the login page")
def step_open_login(context):
    # open browser or call app
    pass
 
 
@when('I login with username "{username}" and password "{password}"')
def step_login(context, username, password):
    pass
 
 
@then("I should see the dashboard")
def step_dashboard(context):
    pass

steps/login_steps.py

from behave import given, when, then
 
 
@given("I am on the login page")
def step_open_login(context):
    # open browser or call app
    pass
 
 
@when('I login with username "{username}" and password "{password}"')
def step_login(context, username, password):
    pass
 
 
@then("I should see the dashboard")
def step_dashboard(context):
    pass

Tips

Keep steps reusable
Don’t put too many details in Gherkin
Use Gherkin for business behavior, not technical design

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