Cypress + MSAL Angular Authentication Redirect Issue – Need Guidance

[praveenazm]

I am encountering an issue while automating an Angular-based portal that utilizes MSAL Angular (@azure/msal-angular) for Microsoft (Azure AD) authentication. Here's the scenario:

I'm using Cypress for end-to-end automation. When I click on "Sign in with Microsoft," it correctly redirects to the Microsoft login page. After entering the credentials successfully, the application redirects back to the portal, and the dashboard loads briefly. However, immediately after, the app redirects back to the login screen. Essentially, the flow is:

Login succeeds → Dashboard loads → Immediate redirect back to login.

Additional context:

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is disabled.
• This process works flawlessly when logging in manually.
• The same flow operates reliably when automated using Selenium or Playwright.
• The issue seems specific to the combination of Cypress, MSAL, and the redirect lifecycle.

It appears that MSAL’s getAllAccounts() or setActiveAccount() is not retaining the session state after the redirect. What I am trying to understand is:

• Is this a known limitation with Cypress and the MSAL Angular redirect flow, or am I missing something?
• Is there a stable way to handle MSAL login in Cypress without resorting to token injection?
• Has anyone successfully automated Azure AD login with MSAL Angular using Cypress in a production setup?

My goal is to keep authentication as part of the end-to-end process, avoid redirect loops, and prevent session loss after login.

Any insights, patterns, or recommended approaches/workarounds would be greatly appreciated.

[MikeMcC399]

See https://docs.cypress.io/app/guides/authentication-testing/azure-active-directory-authentication

If that does not help, then you may get better feedback by asking your question in the Cypress technical community on Discord.