Hook tag specificity versus declaration order in Cucumber execution

Direct answer

Cucumber‑JVM does **not** use tag specificity to order {@code @Before} or {@code @After} hooks. When multiple hooks match a scenario, precedence is determined first by the {@code order} attribute on the hook annotation, and only when the {@code order} values are equal does the framework fall back to the order in which glue classes are registered/loaded. This registration order is not a guaranteed public contract and can vary between build tools, IDEs, or CI environments.

Why tag specificity does not affect ordering

The {@code @Before} and {@code @After} annotations accept a tag expression solely for **matching** scenarios. The Cucumber‑JVM source (io.cucumber.java.Before/After) shows that the annotation only stores the expression and an {@code order} integer; there is no code that compares tag expressions to compute a priority. Therefore the idea that “more specific tags override generic ones” is not a documented ordering mechanism.

Confirmed facts from the codebase

• The default {@code order} value is {@code 10000}.
• For {@code @Before} hooks, execution ascends by {@code order} (lower numbers first).
• For {@code @After} hooks, execution descends by {@code order} (higher numbers first).
• When {@code order} values are identical, the tie‑breaker is the registration order of the glue classes that contain the hooks.
• Glue class registration is performed by scanning the classpath; module boundaries do not create separate namespaces, so hooks from different modules interleave according to the same rules.

Steps to verify the behavior in your project

1. Add two {@code @Before} hooks in different step‑definition classes that both match a scenario.
2. Give them distinct {@code order} values, e.g., {@code @Before(order = 10)} and {@code @Before(order = 20)}.
3. Run a scenario that matches both hooks and log the execution timestamps.
4. Observe that the hook with the lower {@code order} runs first, regardless of tag expression or file location.
5. Repeat the test with the same {@code order} value (default or explicit) and note the order; run the suite from both your IDE and your build tool (Maven/Gradle) to see whether the tie‑break changes.

What to ask if you need a definitive recommendation

If you are relying on the default {@code order} (=10000) and observing inconsistent hook execution across environments, confirm the exact Cucumber‑JVM version on the classpath (e.g., via {@code mvn dependency:tree} or {@code gradle dependencies}). The default {@code order} value and step‑level hook support have remained stable since version 2.0, but verifying the version removes any uncertainty about potential changes.