Basic test configuration =================================== Command line options and configuration file settings ----------------------------------------------------------------- You can get help on command line options and values in INI-style configurations files by using the general help option:: pytest -h # prints options _and_ config file settings This will display command line and configuration file settings which were registered by installed plugins. .. _rootdir: .. _inifiles: initialization: determining rootdir and inifile ----------------------------------------------- .. versionadded:: 2.7 pytest determines a "rootdir" for each test run which depends on the command line arguments (specified test files, paths) and on the existence of inifiles. The determined rootdir and ini-file are printed as part of the pytest header. The rootdir is used for constructing "nodeids" during collection and may also be used by plugins to store project/testrun-specific information. Here is the algorithm which finds the rootdir from ``args``: - determine the common ancestor directory for the specified ``args`` that are recognised as paths that exist in the file system. If no such paths are found, the common ancestor directory is set to the current working directory. - look for ``pytest.ini``, ``tox.ini`` and ``setup.cfg`` files in the ancestor directory and upwards. If one is matched, it becomes the ini-file and its directory becomes the rootdir. - if no ini-file was found, look for ``setup.py`` upwards from the common ancestor directory to determine the ``rootdir``. - if no ``setup.py`` was found, look for ``pytest.ini``, ``tox.ini`` and ``setup.cfg`` in each of the specified ``args`` and upwards. If one is matched, it becomes the ini-file and its directory becomes the rootdir. - if no ini-file was found, use the already determined common ancestor as root directory. This allows to work with pytest in structures that are not part of a package and don't have any particular ini-file configuration. If no ``args`` are given, pytest collects test below the current working directory and also starts determining the rootdir from there. :warning: custom pytest plugin commandline arguments may include a path, as in ``pytest --log-output ../../test.log args``. Then ``args`` is mandatory, otherwise pytest uses the folder of test.log for rootdir determination (see also `issue 1435 `_). A dot ``.`` for referencing to the current working directory is also possible. Note that an existing ``pytest.ini`` file will always be considered a match, whereas ``tox.ini`` and ``setup.cfg`` will only match if they contain a ``[pytest]`` or ``[tool:pytest]`` section, respectively. Options from multiple ini-files candidates are never merged - the first one wins (``pytest.ini`` always wins, even if it does not contain a ``[pytest]`` section). The ``config`` object will subsequently carry these attributes: - ``config.rootdir``: the determined root directory, guaranteed to exist. - ``config.inifile``: the determined ini-file, may be ``None``. The rootdir is used a reference directory for constructing test addresses ("nodeids") and can be used also by plugins for storing per-testrun information. Example:: pytest path/to/testdir path/other/ will determine the common ancestor as ``path`` and then check for ini-files as follows:: # first look for pytest.ini files path/pytest.ini path/setup.cfg # must also contain [tool:pytest] section to match path/tox.ini # must also contain [pytest] section to match pytest.ini ... # all the way down to the root # now look for setup.py path/setup.py setup.py ... # all the way down to the root .. _`how to change command line options defaults`: .. _`adding default options`: How to change command line options defaults ------------------------------------------------ It can be tedious to type the same series of command line options every time you use ``pytest``. For example, if you always want to see detailed info on skipped and xfailed tests, as well as have terser "dot" progress output, you can write it into a configuration file: .. code-block:: ini # content of pytest.ini # (or tox.ini or setup.cfg) [pytest] addopts = -rsxX -q Alternatively, you can set a PYTEST_ADDOPTS environment variable to add command line options while the environment is in use:: export PYTEST_ADDOPTS="-rsxX -q" From now on, running ``pytest`` will add the specified options. Builtin configuration file options ---------------------------------------------- .. confval:: minversion Specifies a minimal pytest version required for running tests. minversion = 2.1 # will fail if we run with pytest-2.0 .. confval:: addopts Add the specified ``OPTS`` to the set of command line arguments as if they had been specified by the user. Example: if you have this ini file content: .. code-block:: ini [pytest] addopts = --maxfail=2 -rf # exit after 2 failures, report fail info issuing ``pytest test_hello.py`` actually means:: pytest --maxfail=2 -rf test_hello.py Default is to add no options. .. confval:: norecursedirs Set the directory basename patterns to avoid when recursing for test discovery. The individual (fnmatch-style) patterns are applied to the basename of a directory to decide if to recurse into it. Pattern matching characters:: * matches everything ? matches any single character [seq] matches any character in seq [!seq] matches any char not in seq Default patterns are ``'.*', 'build', 'dist', 'CVS', '_darcs', '{arch}', '*.egg', 'venv'``. Setting a ``norecursedirs`` replaces the default. Here is an example of how to avoid certain directories: .. code-block:: ini # content of pytest.ini [pytest] norecursedirs = .svn _build tmp* This would tell ``pytest`` to not look into typical subversion or sphinx-build directories or into any ``tmp`` prefixed directory. .. confval:: testpaths .. versionadded:: 2.8 Sets list of directories that should be searched for tests when no specific directories, files or test ids are given in the command line when executing pytest from the :ref:`rootdir ` directory. Useful when all project tests are in a known location to speed up test collection and to avoid picking up undesired tests by accident. .. code-block:: ini # content of pytest.ini [pytest] testpaths = testing doc This tells pytest to only look for tests in ``testing`` and ``doc`` directories when executing from the root directory. .. confval:: python_files One or more Glob-style file patterns determining which python files are considered as test modules. .. confval:: python_classes One or more name prefixes or glob-style patterns determining which classes are considered for test collection. Here is an example of how to collect tests from classes that end in ``Suite``: .. code-block:: ini # content of pytest.ini [pytest] python_classes = *Suite Note that ``unittest.TestCase`` derived classes are always collected regardless of this option, as ``unittest``'s own collection framework is used to collect those tests. .. confval:: python_functions One or more name prefixes or glob-patterns determining which test functions and methods are considered tests. Here is an example of how to collect test functions and methods that end in ``_test``: .. code-block:: ini # content of pytest.ini [pytest] python_functions = *_test Note that this has no effect on methods that live on a ``unittest .TestCase`` derived class, as ``unittest``'s own collection framework is used to collect those tests. See :ref:`change naming conventions` for more detailed examples. .. confval:: doctest_optionflags One or more doctest flag names from the standard ``doctest`` module. :doc:`See how pytest handles doctests `. .. confval:: confcutdir Sets a directory where search upwards for ``conftest.py`` files stops. By default, pytest will stop searching for ``conftest.py`` files upwards from ``pytest.ini``/``tox.ini``/``setup.cfg`` of the project if any, or up to the file-system root.