should states

Element should chains use have to scope a quoted label, then optional value, then one or more state (or compare) tasks.

Pattern

Then I should have "<label>" [by …] [value "<expected>"] <state…>

Requirements

Item	Contract
Element / control shape	Most `have` states resolve the label via general resolve (fill → click → checkbox). Text `should see` is any visible text (not limited to buttons).
How the label binds	Optional `by …` on the primary label. For `values … sum equal` / sorted with container, find hint applies to the container only
Visibility	`be visible` / `not be visible` must resolve the node first. If the app unmounts the node, you get not-found — that is not a successful `not be visible`
Counts	Visible children under the container: `ul/ol` → `li`; `table` → rows; `role=list` / grid → listitem/row; default → direct `div` children (direct / nested / descendant modes)
Sum / sorted	Web only. Sum may hover-harvest tooltips; sorted uses visible DOM order only (no hover-sweep)
`attribute … value`	Assert after resolve — not a find hint
Downloads / clipboard / a11y / screenshot	No element resolve (web session diagnostics)

When it fails

Timeout / not found on have — wrong shape or label (same as click/fill).
not be visible on a removed node → element not found.
Sum/sorted on Appium → unsupported.

State tasks

State	Example
`be enabled`	`Then I should have "username" be enabled`
`be disabled`	`Then I should have "locked-field" be disabled`
`not be blocked`	`Then I should have "locked-field" not be blocked`
`be checked`	`Then I should have "terms" be checked`
`not be checked`	`Then I should have "terms" not be checked`
`be indeterminate`	`Then I should have "select-all" be indeterminate`
`be visible`	`Then I should have "spinner" be visible`
`not be visible`	`Then I should have "modal" not be visible`

be indeterminate is true when aria-checked="mixed" or the DOM indeterminate property is true. It does not change be checked / not be checked.

Value capture

Then I should have "username" value "chamodh" be enabled
Then I should have "email" value "a@b.com" have "confirm" value "a@b.com" be equal

value asserts an expected field value (string-exact).
be equal compares two or more captured value bindings in the same step.

Counts and attributes

Then I should have "products" count "3"
Then I should have "products" nested count "2"
Then I should have "products" descendant count "5"
Then I should have "home-link" attribute "href" value "/home"

Numeric compares

Then I should have "cart-total" be greater than "100"
Then I should have "stock" be less than "5"
Then I should have "quantity" be at least "1"
Then I should have "discount" be at most "50"
Then I should have "products" count be greater than "0"

Number-only extraction (US commas) and float epsilon apply. Exact value / be equal stay string-exact.

Sum equal (web only)

Then I should have "products" by id values "price" sum equal "order-total"
Then I should have "chart" by id values "*" sum equal "total"

Qualifier values is distinct from value. Field "*" means the primary/sole number per sample.

Be sorted (web only)

Then I should have "result-dates" be sorted ascending
Then I should have "prices" as number be sorted descending
Then I should have "slots" as time be sorted ascending
Then I should have "orders" values "Date" as date be sorted ascending
Then I should have "product-grid" by id values "price" as number be sorted ascending

Pairwise adjacent order on visible texts (DOM/Nth). Optional find hint on the container/list label only. No hover-sweep. Auto-detect kind when as … is omitted. Explicit as date: ambiguous slash (01/02/2024) uses US default. Equals are OK.

Downloads

Then I should have downloaded "report.csv"
Then I should have downloads "a.csv,b.pdf"

have downloaded — asserts the last download basename after a prior click that triggered a download.
have downloads — asserts an order-insensitive set of download basenames for the scenario (comma-separated payload). Web only.

Then I should have clipboard value "hello"
Then I should have no console errors
Then I should have no page errors
Then I should match screenshot "checkout"
Then I should have no a11y violations

Qualifier	Meaning
`have clipboard value`	Clipboard text equals the quoted value (pair with copy)
`have no console errors`	Fail if `console.error` messages were collected during the scenario (cleared on navigate)
`have no page errors`	Fail if page errors were collected during the scenario (cleared on navigate)
`match screenshot`	Full-page PNG vs `{stk-dir}/screenshots/baselines/{basename}.png` (~0.2% threshold; `STK_UPDATE_SCREENSHOT_BASELINES=1` writes/updates)
`have no a11y violations`	Inject embedded axe-core; fail on critical or serious only

should states

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