cypress-io/cypress · error · SchematicsException

No file name specified. This is required to generate a new C

Error message

No file name specified. This is required to generate a new Cypress file.

What it means

Raised by the cypress-test ng-generate schematic when options.name is undefined. The name becomes the spec file name in the generated template (the templates use __path__/name substitution), so without it the schematic cannot produce a file. The schematic checks this after resolving the project, so a valid project is required first.

Source

Thrown at npm/cypress-schematic/src/schematics/ng-generate/cypress-test/index.ts:53

  return async (tree: Tree) => {
    const host = createSpec(tree)
    const { workspace } = await workspaces.readWorkspace('/', host)
    const testType = options.component ? 'component' : 'e2e'

    let project

    if (!options.project) {
      project = workspace.projects.get(workspace.extensions.defaultProject as string)
    } else {
      project = workspace.projects.get(options.project)
    }

    if (!project) {
      throw new SchematicsException(`Invalid project name: ${options.project}`)
    }

    if (options.name === undefined) {
      throw new SchematicsException(`No file name specified. This is required to generate a new Cypress file.`)
    }

    if (options.path === undefined) {
      options.path = testType === 'component' ? `${project.sourceRoot}/${project.prefix}` : `${project.root}/cypress/e2e`
    }

    console.log(`Creating new ${testType} spec named: ${options.name}`)

    const templatePath = testType === 'component' ? '../files/ct/__path__' : '../files/e2e/__path__'
    const templateSource = createTemplate({ templatePath, options })

    return chain([
      mergeWith(templateSource),
    ])
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 0d85fdc912)

Solutions

Pass a name: `ng generate @cypress/schematic:cypress-test --project app --name <spec-name>`.
If using the positional form, ensure the name argument is forwarded: `ng g @cypress/schematic:cypress-test <name> --project app`.
Check that a custom schematic alias or script template includes the --name option.

Example fix

# before: ng g @cypress/schematic:cypress-test --project app
# after: ng g @cypress/schematic:cypress-test --project app --name login

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

function assertName(options: { name?: string }) {
  if (options.name === undefined || options.name === '') {
    throw new Error('--name is required to generate a Cypress spec')
  }
  return options.name
}

Type guard

function hasName(o: { name?: string }): o is { name: string } {
  return typeof o.name === 'string' && o.name.length > 0
}

Prevention

Always pass --name (or the positional name) when invoking the cypress-test schematic.
Validate options in wrapper scripts that build schematic commands.
Document the required --name flag for your team's generators.

When it happens

Trigger: Running `ng generate @cypress/schematic:cypress-test --project app` with no --name flag, or an Angular CLI invocation that does not forward the positional name argument into options.name.

Common situations: Forgetting the --name flag; a wrapper script that constructs the schematic command without a name; a CLI alias that strips the positional argument.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of cypress-io/cypress@0d85fdc912 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2dccdc6bd55a6df5. Report an issue: GitHub.