Quick Reference
| pytest Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
pytest | Run all tests |
pytest -v | Verbose output |
pytest -k "name" | Run tests matching pattern |
pytest -x | Stop on first failure |
pytest --lf | Run last failed |
pytest -n auto | Parallel execution |
| Fixture Scope | Duration |
|---|---|
function | Per test (default) |
class | Per test class |
module | Per test file |
session | Entire test run |
| Mock Pattern | Code |
|---|---|
| Patch function | mocker.patch("module.func") |
| Return value | mock.return_value = {...} |
| Side effect | mock.side_effect = [a, b, exc] |
| Assert called | mock.assert_called_once() |
| Marker | Use Case |
|---|---|
@pytest.mark.asyncio | Async tests |
@pytest.mark.parametrize | Multiple inputs |
@pytest.mark.skip | Skip test |
@pytest.mark.xfail | Expected failure |
When to Use This Skill
Use for testing Python code:
- •Writing pytest tests with fixtures
- •Mocking external dependencies
- •Testing async code
- •Setting up code coverage
- •Testing FastAPI applications
Related skills:
- •For FastAPI: see
python-fastapi - •For async patterns: see
python-asyncio - •For CI/CD: see
python-github-actions
Python Testing Best Practices (2025)
Overview
Modern Python testing centers around pytest as the de facto standard, with additional tools for coverage, mocking, and async testing.
Pytest Fundamentals
Installation
bash
# With uv uv add --dev pytest pytest-cov pytest-asyncio pytest-xdist # With pip pip install pytest pytest-cov pytest-asyncio pytest-xdist
Basic Test Structure
python
# tests/test_calculator.py
import pytest
from mypackage.calculator import add, divide
def test_add_positive_numbers():
assert add(2, 3) == 5
def test_add_negative_numbers():
assert add(-2, -3) == -5
def test_add_mixed_numbers():
assert add(-2, 3) == 1
def test_divide_by_zero():
with pytest.raises(ZeroDivisionError):
divide(10, 0)
def test_divide_result():
result = divide(10, 2)
assert result == pytest.approx(5.0)
Running Tests
bash
# Run all tests pytest # Verbose output pytest -v # Run specific file pytest tests/test_calculator.py # Run specific test pytest tests/test_calculator.py::test_add_positive_numbers # Run tests matching pattern pytest -k "add" # Stop on first failure pytest -x # Run last failed tests pytest --lf # Parallel execution pytest -n auto
Fixtures
Basic Fixtures
python
# tests/conftest.py
import pytest
from sqlalchemy import create_engine
from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker
@pytest.fixture
def sample_user():
"""Provides a sample user dictionary."""
return {
"name": "John Doe",
"email": "john@example.com",
"age": 30,
}
@pytest.fixture
def db_session():
"""Provides a database session that rolls back after test."""
engine = create_engine("sqlite:///:memory:")
Session = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
session = Session()
yield session
session.rollback()
session.close()
Fixture Scopes
python
@pytest.fixture(scope="function") # Default: new for each test
def per_test_fixture():
return create_resource()
@pytest.fixture(scope="class") # Shared within test class
def per_class_fixture():
return create_expensive_resource()
@pytest.fixture(scope="module") # Shared within test module
def per_module_fixture():
return create_very_expensive_resource()
@pytest.fixture(scope="session") # Shared across entire test session
def per_session_fixture():
resource = create_global_resource()
yield resource
cleanup_global_resource(resource)
Parameterized Fixtures
python
@pytest.fixture(params=["sqlite", "postgresql", "mysql"])
def database_type(request):
return request.param
def test_with_multiple_databases(database_type):
# This test runs 3 times, once for each database type
db = create_connection(database_type)
assert db.is_connected()
Parameterized Tests
Basic Parametrize
python
import pytest
@pytest.mark.parametrize("input,expected", [
(1, 1),
(2, 4),
(3, 9),
(4, 16),
])
def test_square(input, expected):
assert input ** 2 == expected
@pytest.mark.parametrize("a,b,expected", [
(1, 2, 3),
(-1, 1, 0),
(0, 0, 0),
(100, 200, 300),
])
def test_add(a, b, expected):
assert add(a, b) == expected
Parametrize with IDs
python
@pytest.mark.parametrize("input,expected", [
pytest.param(1, 1, id="one"),
pytest.param(2, 4, id="two"),
pytest.param(3, 9, id="three"),
])
def test_square_with_ids(input, expected):
assert input ** 2 == expected
# Run with: pytest -v
# Shows: test_square_with_ids[one] PASSED
Combining Parametrize
python
@pytest.mark.parametrize("x", [1, 2])
@pytest.mark.parametrize("y", [3, 4])
def test_combinations(x, y):
# Runs 4 times: (1,3), (1,4), (2,3), (2,4)
assert x + y in [4, 5, 6]
Mocking
Using pytest-mock
python
from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
def test_with_mock(mocker):
# Mock a method
mock_api = mocker.patch("mypackage.api.fetch_data")
mock_api.return_value = {"status": "success"}
result = process_data()
assert result["status"] == "success"
mock_api.assert_called_once()
def test_mock_return_values(mocker):
# Different return values for successive calls
mock_func = mocker.patch("mypackage.service.get_item")
mock_func.side_effect = [
{"id": 1},
{"id": 2},
ValueError("Not found"),
]
assert get_item(1) == {"id": 1}
assert get_item(2) == {"id": 2}
with pytest.raises(ValueError):
get_item(3)
Context Manager Mocking
python
def test_mock_context_manager(mocker):
mock_open = mocker.patch("builtins.open", mocker.mock_open(read_data="file content"))
with open("test.txt") as f:
content = f.read()
assert content == "file content"
mock_open.assert_called_once_with("test.txt")
Mocking Classes
python
def test_mock_class(mocker):
MockUser = mocker.patch("mypackage.models.User")
mock_instance = MockUser.return_value
mock_instance.name = "Test User"
mock_instance.save.return_value = True
user = create_user("Test User")
assert user.name == "Test User"
mock_instance.save.assert_called_once()
Async Testing
pytest-asyncio
python
import pytest
import asyncio
from httpx import AsyncClient
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_async_function():
result = await async_fetch_data()
assert result is not None
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_async_with_fixture(async_client: AsyncClient):
response = await async_client.get("/api/users")
assert response.status_code == 200
# Fixture for async client
@pytest.fixture
async def async_client():
async with AsyncClient(base_url="http://test") as client:
yield client
Async Fixtures
python
@pytest.fixture
async def async_db_session():
engine = create_async_engine("postgresql+asyncpg://...")
async with engine.begin() as conn:
await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.create_all)
async_session = sessionmaker(engine, class_=AsyncSession)
async with async_session() as session:
yield session
await session.rollback()
Testing FastAPI
python
import pytest
from httpx import AsyncClient, ASGITransport
from myapp.main import app
@pytest.fixture
async def client():
async with AsyncClient(
transport=ASGITransport(app=app),
base_url="http://test"
) as client:
yield client
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_read_main(client: AsyncClient):
response = await client.get("/")
assert response.status_code == 200
assert response.json() == {"message": "Hello World"}
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_create_item(client: AsyncClient):
response = await client.post(
"/items/",
json={"name": "Test Item", "price": 10.0},
)
assert response.status_code == 201
assert response.json()["name"] == "Test Item"
Coverage
Configuration
toml
# pyproject.toml
[tool.pytest.ini_options]
testpaths = ["tests"]
addopts = [
"-ra",
"-q",
"--strict-markers",
"--cov=src",
"--cov-report=term-missing",
"--cov-report=html",
"--cov-fail-under=80",
]
[tool.coverage.run]
branch = true
source = ["src"]
omit = ["*/tests/*", "*/__init__.py"]
[tool.coverage.report]
exclude_lines = [
"pragma: no cover",
"def __repr__",
"raise NotImplementedError",
"if TYPE_CHECKING:",
"if __name__ == .__main__.:",
]
Running with Coverage
bash
# Generate coverage report pytest --cov=src --cov-report=html # Check coverage threshold pytest --cov=src --cov-fail-under=80 # Coverage for specific paths pytest --cov=src/mypackage --cov-report=term-missing
Test Organization
Recommended Structure
code
tests/
├── conftest.py # Shared fixtures
├── unit/ # Unit tests
│ ├── conftest.py # Unit test fixtures
│ ├── test_models.py
│ └── test_utils.py
├── integration/ # Integration tests
│ ├── conftest.py
│ └── test_api.py
├── e2e/ # End-to-end tests
│ └── test_workflows.py
└── fixtures/ # Test data
├── users.json
└── products.json
Conftest Hierarchy
python
# tests/conftest.py - Shared across all tests
@pytest.fixture
def app_config():
return {"debug": True, "testing": True}
# tests/unit/conftest.py - Unit test specific
@pytest.fixture
def mock_database(mocker):
return mocker.MagicMock()
# tests/integration/conftest.py - Integration test specific
@pytest.fixture
def real_database():
db = create_test_database()
yield db
db.cleanup()
Markers
Built-in Markers
python
import pytest
@pytest.mark.skip(reason="Not implemented yet")
def test_future_feature():
pass
@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform == "win32", reason="Unix only")
def test_unix_specific():
pass
@pytest.mark.xfail(reason="Known bug, see issue #123")
def test_known_failure():
assert False
@pytest.mark.slow
def test_slow_operation():
time.sleep(10)
Custom Markers
python
# pytest.ini or pyproject.toml
[tool.pytest.ini_options]
markers = [
"slow: marks tests as slow",
"integration: marks tests as integration tests",
"requires_db: marks tests that need database",
]
bash
# Run only slow tests pytest -m slow # Skip slow tests pytest -m "not slow" # Combine markers pytest -m "integration and not slow"
Property-Based Testing
Hypothesis
python
from hypothesis import given, strategies as st
@given(st.integers(), st.integers())
def test_addition_commutative(a, b):
assert add(a, b) == add(b, a)
@given(st.lists(st.integers()))
def test_sort_idempotent(items):
sorted_once = sorted(items)
sorted_twice = sorted(sorted_once)
assert sorted_once == sorted_twice
@given(st.text(min_size=1))
def test_string_reverse_twice(s):
assert s[::-1][::-1] == s
# Custom strategy
@given(st.builds(
User,
name=st.text(min_size=1, max_size=100),
email=st.emails(),
age=st.integers(min_value=0, max_value=150),
))
def test_user_validation(user):
assert user.is_valid()
Snapshot Testing
syrupy
python
from syrupy.assertion import SnapshotAssertion
def test_api_response(snapshot: SnapshotAssertion):
response = get_api_response()
assert response == snapshot
def test_html_output(snapshot: SnapshotAssertion):
html = render_template("user.html", user=sample_user)
assert html == snapshot(extension_class=HTMLSnapshotExtension)
Best Practices
1. Test Naming
python
# Clear, descriptive names
def test_user_creation_with_valid_email_succeeds():
...
def test_user_creation_with_invalid_email_raises_validation_error():
...
def test_empty_cart_returns_zero_total():
...
2. Arrange-Act-Assert
python
def test_order_total():
# Arrange
order = Order()
order.add_item(Item(price=10.00))
order.add_item(Item(price=20.00))
# Act
total = order.calculate_total()
# Assert
assert total == 30.00
3. One Assertion Per Test (Generally)
python
# Prefer multiple focused tests
def test_user_has_correct_name():
user = create_user("John")
assert user.name == "John"
def test_user_has_default_role():
user = create_user("John")
assert user.role == "member"
# Over one test with many assertions
def test_user_creation(): # Less focused
user = create_user("John")
assert user.name == "John"
assert user.role == "member"
assert user.is_active
assert user.created_at is not None
4. Use Fixtures for Setup
python
# Good: Reusable fixture
@pytest.fixture
def authenticated_user(db_session):
user = User(name="Test", email="test@example.com")
db_session.add(user)
db_session.commit()
return user
def test_user_can_post(authenticated_user):
post = authenticated_user.create_post("Hello")
assert post.author == authenticated_user
# Avoid: Repeated setup in each test
def test_user_can_post_bad():
user = User(name="Test", email="test@example.com")
db_session.add(user) # Repeated in every test
db_session.commit()
post = user.create_post("Hello")
assert post.author == user
Additional References
For production-ready fixture patterns beyond this guide, see:
- •Pytest Fixtures Cookbook - SQLAlchemy async sessions, PostgreSQL with Docker, user factories, generic model factories, authentication fixtures, external API mocks, time freezing, environment fixtures, file fixtures, parametrized fixtures, cleanup patterns, Redis fixtures