Which configuration strategy best manages artifact storage for parallelized CI runs?

Answer

The most efficient way to collect screenshots and videos from parallel Cypress nodes is to point the screenshotsFolder and videosFolder options to a directory that lives inside the CI runner’s workspace (or a shared volume). After the test run, upload that directory once as a CI artifact and, if desired, copy it to a cloud bucket.

Why this works

Cypress writes artifacts to the local filesystem of each node. It does not provide a built‑in mechanism to stream those files to external storage while the tests are running. By configuring the folders to a shared workspace, all nodes end up writing into the same location on disk once the job completes. The CI system can then package the folder and upload it as a single artifact, simplifying post‑mortem analysis.

Configuration steps

1. In cypress.config.js (or cypress.env.json), set the folders to a path inside the CI workspace:

   module.exports = {
     e2e: {
       screenshotsFolder: 'ci_artifacts/screenshots',
       videosFolder: 'ci_artifacts/videos',
       // other e2e options
     }
   };
   

2. Ensure the CI job mounts a writable volume at ci_artifacts (or the chosen path). For example, in GitHub Actions you can use the default workspace ./ and reference ./ci_artifacts.

3. Run Cypress in parallel as usual, e.g., npx cypress run --parallel --record false.

4. After the run, add a CI step that uploads the ci_artifacts directory:

   # GitHub Actions example
   - name: Upload Cypress artifacts
     uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
     with:
       name: cypress-artifacts
       path: ci_artifacts/**
   

5. Optionally, copy the uploaded artifact to a cloud bucket (S3, GCS, Azure Blob) using the CI’s cloud CLI or an extra script step.

Things to watch for

• When nodes run in isolated containers without a shared volume, each node will write to its own local filesystem. In that case you must add a step to copy the screenshots and videos directories from each container to the shared workspace before the upload step.
• If you enable Cypress Cloud recording, the artifacts are handled automatically and you can skip the manual upload. This is a commercial feature and changes the workflow.

Missing diagnostic detail

Do your parallel runners share a writable volume that can be used as the screenshotsFolder and videosFolder target? Knowing this will confirm whether the shared‑workspace approach can be applied directly or if an intermediate copy step is required.