Cucumber 7.x: Determining Step Matching Priority Between Cucumber Expressions and Regular Expressions

Goal

We want to know how Cucumber 7.x resolves step definitions when a Gherkin line can be matched by both a Cucumber Expression and a Regular Expression.

Context

In a mixed‑annotation project, a step may be annotated with both @Given("I have a {int}") and @Given("^I have a (\\d+)$") and can trigger an AmbiguousStepDefinitionException. The current documentation does not specify which pattern is preferred.

Uncertainty

It is unclear whether Cucumber applies a deterministic priority, uses the first discovered definition, or has a configurable switch. This ambiguity can affect test stability when upgrading from Cucumber 4.x to 7.x.

Questions

• What is the defined priority order between Cucumber Expressions and Regular Expressions in Cucumber 7.x?
• Is there a configuration option to influence this priority?
• What best‑practice patterns should be adopted to avoid ambiguous step definitions in a mixed‑annotation codebase?