Writing Automated tests that don't need Cucumber?

Question

So i've been using Cucumber w/Capybara and Poltergeist to write automated tests for awhile now. It works pretty well and I enjoy it and it mostly makes sense (still learning it of course).

However Im going to need to be writing some automated tests for some sites that are in "maintenance mode". There is no development going on, so there isn't much use for Cucumber in this case, nor describing in Cucumber terms what's going on. They are strictly going to be ran in the background before doing upgrades to rails versions for example (to ensure things are still working correctly on the UI side of things).

What would I use then? Just Selenium or Capybara rspec? Im really unsure of where I would go from here?

Answer 1

I would go with rspec using capybara as effectively the next 'layer' down. Your existing experience should make it relatively easy.
Make sure your UI tests are backed with a reasonable amount of model and controller tests. How much and what to test vary from place depending on what your built, your adherence to a rest model, etc. Try to put logic in models or abstract further and write tests for those pieces.

Answer 2

I think you should continue with your script using Selenium for existing functionality. Once your all sites development work is completed, I mean once your all modules are ready then It's easy to move Selenium script in to Cucumber script.

So my opinion you should continue scripting with as usual Selenium for existing functionality, because It's easy to convert Selenium project to Cucumber.