if-else containing a cy.get as an condition

I am trying to create an if-else condition that includes cy.get()

if (!cy.get('.modal.modal--active')) {
    cy.reload()
} else {
    // some codes here
}

Upon testing the code the .modal.modal--active element is not present, instead of executing the cy.reload() line, it returns an error.

Expected to find element: .modal.modal--active, but never found it.

Is it possible to have the if block running and not return AssertionError?

Cypress commands should be chained, not used as expressions in if() statements.

cy.get(something) fails the test when something isn't found.

Adding a negative assertion like cy.get(something).should('not.exist') does the opposite, it passes when something isn't found.

The third way (undocumented) is .should(() => undefined), something like this

cy.get('.modal.modal--active')
  .should(() => undefined)          
  .then(activeModal => {
    const found  = activeModal.length  
    if (!found) {
      cy.reload()
    } else {
      ...   
    }
  })

The documented way is using jQuery .find() as follows:

cy.get('body').then((body) => {  // always succeeds
    const modalActive = body.find('.modal.modal--active')
    const found  = activeModal.length
    if (!found) {
      cy.reload()
    } else {
      ...   
    }
})

Generally if/else is not supported in Cypress testing because best practice is to set the test page so that if/else conditions are not necessary.