Allow Cypress tests to log in programmatically as two different users

[Copilot]

This PR implements enhanced programmatic authentication for Cypress tests that supports reliable switching between multiple users within the same test.

Problem

The existing Cypress authentication system couldn't reliably switch between different users in the same test. The voteOnComments.spec.cy.ts test was failing because:

1. Incomplete state clearing: Auth0 cache and Vue reactive state weren't fully reset between users
2. Timing issues: Race conditions between token setting and UI state updates
3. Token caching: Same tokens being reused for different users instead of fresh authentication

Solution

Enhanced Authentication Commands

Improved clearAllAuthState():

• Clears reactive state first, then localStorage/sessionStorage with proper timing
• Removes all Auth0 cache keys (@@auth0spajs@@ patterns)
• Properly resets Vue reactive authentication variables

Enhanced loginAsUser():

• Always makes fresh Auth0 requests, no caching between different users
• Returns access token for verification
• Better debugging output for token management

New switchToUser() command:

• Streamlined command for quick user switching within tests
• Combines clearing + login + UI sync in one reliable operation
• Optimized for performance with minimal necessary waits

Example Usage

it("User 2 can upvote another user's comment", () => {
  // User 1 creates content
  cy.visit(DISCUSSION_LIST);
  cy.authenticateOnCurrentPage(); // Default admin user
  // ... User 1 creates content ...
  
  // Switch to User 2 
  cy.switchToUser({
    username: Cypress.env("auth0_username_2"),
    password: Cypress.env("auth0_password_2"),
    displayName: 'testuser2'
  });
  // ... User 2 can now reliably interact with User 1's content ...
});

Additional Improvements

• Test auth composables: Added useTestAuth to default layout for better test function availability
• Comprehensive test suite: Created dedicated user switching tests for validation
• Developer documentation: Added detailed guide with examples and best practices
• Type definitions: Updated TypeScript definitions for all new commands

Testing

• Created userSwitching.spec.cy.ts to validate multi-user authentication flow
• Updated voteOnComments.spec.cy.ts to use the enhanced authentication
• Added comprehensive documentation in tests/cypress/AUTHENTICATION.md

This enables reliable programmatic authentication switching that was previously blocking the migration from UI-based to programmatic authentication in Cypress tests.

Fixes #5.

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Name	Status	Preview	Comments	Updated (UTC)
open-forum-frontend	✅ Ready (Inspect)	Visit Preview	💬 Add feedback	Jul 11, 2025 7:48pm

[gennitdev]

This is a big improvement over the status quo. Previously, when running voteOnComments.spec.cy.ts, the second user was still logged in as user 1. Now at least the auth state is successfully cleared, so the second user is logged out instead of logged in as user 1. But when they click the upvote button, unfortunately because they are not already logged in by that point, the operation cannot go through successfully (they are prompted to log in instead, because only logged in users can upvote comments). Can you fix it?

[Copilot]

This is a big improvement over the status quo. Previously, when running voteOnComments.spec.cy.ts, the second user was still logged in as user 1. Now at least the auth state is successfully cleared, s...

Fixed the authentication chaining issue in switchToUser(). The problem was that the command wasn't properly sequencing the operations - clearAllAuthState() and loginAsUser() were running concurrently instead of sequentially, causing the auth state to be cleared after the new token was set.

The fix properly chains these operations using .then() blocks and adds retry logic for auth state synchronization. Also updated the test to wait for the initial page load before switching users.

Commit: 422f1d0

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