This page lists all pytest features that are currently deprecated or have been removed in past major releases. The objective is to give users a clear rationale why a certain feature has been removed, and what alternatives should be used instead.
- Deprecated Features
- Removed Features
- Using
Class
in custom Collectors - marks in
pytest.mark.parametrize
pytest_funcarg__
prefix- [pytest] section in setup.cfg files
- Metafunc.addcall
cached_setup
- pytest_plugins in non-top-level conftest files
Config.warn
andNode.warn
- record_xml_property
- Passing command-line string to
pytest.main()
- Calling fixtures directly
yield
tests- Internal classes accessed through
Node
pytest_namespace
- Reinterpretation mode (
--assert=reinterp
) - Removed command-line options
- py.test-X* entry points
Node.get_marker
somefunction.markname
- Using
Below is a complete list of all pytest features which are considered deprecated. Using those features will issue :class:`_pytest.warning_types.PytestWarning` or subclasses, which can be filtered using :ref:`standard warning filters <warnings>`.
.. deprecated:: 4.1
It is a common mistake to think this parameter will match the exception message, while in fact
it only serves to provide a custom message in case the pytest.raises
check fails. To avoid this
mistake and because it is believed to be little used, pytest is deprecating it without providing
an alternative for the moment.
If you have concerns about this, please comment on issue #3974.
.. deprecated:: 4.1
The pytest.config
global object is deprecated. Instead use
request.config
(via the request
fixture) or if you are a plugin author
use the pytest_configure(config)
hook.
.. deprecated:: 4.1
Use the context manager form of these instead. When necessary, invoke exec
directly.
Example:
pytest.raises(ZeroDivisionError, "1 / 0")
pytest.raises(SyntaxError, "a $ b")
pytest.warns(DeprecationWarning, "my_function()")
pytest.warns(SyntaxWarning, "assert(1, 2)")
Becomes:
with pytest.raises(ZeroDivisionError):
1 / 0
with pytest.raises(SyntaxError):
exec("a $ b") # exec is required for invalid syntax
with pytest.warns(DeprecationWarning):
my_function()
with pytest.warns(SyntaxWarning):
exec("assert(1, 2)") # exec is used to avoid a top-level warning
.. deprecated:: 3.0
The --resultlog
command line option has been deprecated: it is little used
and there are more modern and better alternatives, for example pytest-tap.
This feature will be effectively removed in pytest 4.0 as the team intends to include a better alternative in the core.
If you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to open an issue.
As stated in our :ref:`backwards-compatibility` policy, deprecated features are removed only in major releases after an appropriate period of deprecation has passed.
Removed in version 4.0.
Using objects named "Class"
as a way to customize the type of nodes that are collected in Collector
subclasses has been deprecated. Users instead should use pytest_pycollect_makeitem
to customize node types during
collection.
This issue should affect only advanced plugins who create new collection types, so if you see this warning message please contact the authors so they can change the code.
Removed in version 4.0.
Applying marks to values of a pytest.mark.parametrize
call is now deprecated. For example:
@pytest.mark.parametrize(
"a, b",
[
(3, 9),
pytest.mark.xfail(reason="flaky")(6, 36),
(10, 100),
(20, 200),
(40, 400),
(50, 500),
],
)
def test_foo(a, b):
...
This code applies the pytest.mark.xfail(reason="flaky")
mark to the (6, 36)
value of the above parametrization
call.
This was considered hard to read and understand, and also its implementation presented problems to the code preventing further internal improvements in the marks architecture.
To update the code, use pytest.param
:
@pytest.mark.parametrize(
"a, b",
[
(3, 9),
pytest.param(6, 36, marks=pytest.mark.xfail(reason="flaky")),
(10, 100),
(20, 200),
(40, 400),
(50, 500),
],
)
def test_foo(a, b):
...
Removed in version 4.0.
In very early pytest versions fixtures could be defined using the pytest_funcarg__
prefix:
def pytest_funcarg__data():
return SomeData()
Switch over to the @pytest.fixture
decorator:
@pytest.fixture
def data():
return SomeData()
Removed in version 4.0.
[pytest]
sections in setup.cfg
files should now be named [tool:pytest]
to avoid conflicts with other distutils commands.
Removed in version 4.0.
:meth:`_pytest.python.Metafunc.addcall` was a precursor to the current parametrized mechanism. Users should use :meth:`_pytest.python.Metafunc.parametrize` instead.
Example:
def pytest_generate_tests(metafunc):
metafunc.addcall({"i": 1}, id="1")
metafunc.addcall({"i": 2}, id="2")
Becomes:
def pytest_generate_tests(metafunc):
metafunc.parametrize("i", [1, 2], ids=["1", "2"])
Removed in version 4.0.
request.cached_setup
was the precursor of the setup/teardown mechanism available to fixtures.
Example:
@pytest.fixture
def db_session():
return request.cached_setup(
setup=Session.create, teardown=lambda session: session.close(), scope="module"
)
This should be updated to make use of standard fixture mechanisms:
@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
def db_session():
session = Session.create()
yield session
session.close()
You can consult funcarg comparison section in the docs for more information.
Removed in version 4.0.
Defining pytest_plugins
is now deprecated in non-top-level conftest.py
files because they will activate referenced plugins globally, which is surprising because for all other pytest
features conftest.py
files are only active for tests at or below it.
Removed in version 4.0.
Those methods were part of the internal pytest warnings system, but since 3.8
pytest is using the builtin warning
system for its own warnings, so those two functions are now deprecated.
Config.warn
should be replaced by calls to the standard warnings.warn
, example:
config.warn("C1", "some warning")
Becomes:
warnings.warn(pytest.PytestWarning("some warning"))
Node.warn
now supports two signatures:
node.warn(PytestWarning("some message"))
: is now the recommended way to call this function. The warning instance must be a PytestWarning or subclass.node.warn("CI", "some message")
: this code/message form has been removed and should be converted to the warning instance form above.
Removed in version 4.0.
The record_xml_property
fixture is now deprecated in favor of the more generic record_property
, which
can be used by other consumers (for example pytest-html
) to obtain custom information about the test run.
This is just a matter of renaming the fixture as the API is the same:
def test_foo(record_xml_property):
...
Change to:
def test_foo(record_property):
...
Removed in version 4.0.
Passing a command-line string to pytest.main()
is deprecated:
pytest.main("-v -s")
Pass a list instead:
pytest.main(["-v", "-s"])
By passing a string, users expect that pytest will interpret that command-line using the shell rules they are working
on (for example bash
or Powershell
), but this is very hard/impossible to do in a portable way.
Removed in version 4.0.
Calling a fixture function directly, as opposed to request them in a test function, is deprecated.
For example:
@pytest.fixture
def cell():
return ...
@pytest.fixture
def full_cell():
cell = cell()
cell.make_full()
return cell
This is a great source of confusion to new users, which will often call the fixture functions and request them from test functions interchangeably, which breaks the fixture resolution model.
In those cases just request the function directly in the dependent fixture:
@pytest.fixture
def cell():
return ...
@pytest.fixture
def full_cell(cell):
cell.make_full()
return cell
Alternatively if the fixture function is called multiple times inside a test (making it hard to apply the above pattern) or
if you would like to make minimal changes to the code, you can create a fixture which calls the original function together
with the name
parameter:
def cell():
return ...
@pytest.fixture(name="cell")
def cell_fixture():
return cell()
Removed in version 4.0.
pytest supported yield
-style tests, where a test function actually yield
functions and values
that are then turned into proper test methods. Example:
def check(x, y):
assert x ** x == y
def test_squared():
yield check, 2, 4
yield check, 3, 9
This would result into two actual test functions being generated.
This form of test function doesn't support fixtures properly, and users should switch to pytest.mark.parametrize
:
@pytest.mark.parametrize("x, y", [(2, 4), (3, 9)])
def test_squared(x, y):
assert x ** x == y
Removed in version 4.0.
Access of Module
, Function
, Class
, Instance
, File
and Item
through Node
instances now issue
this warning:
usage of Function.Module is deprecated, please use pytest.Module instead
Users should just import pytest
and access those objects using the pytest
module.
This has been documented as deprecated for years, but only now we are actually emitting deprecation warnings.
Removed in version 4.0.
This hook is deprecated because it greatly complicates the pytest internals regarding configuration and initialization, making some bug fixes and refactorings impossible.
Example of usage:
class MySymbol:
...
def pytest_namespace():
return {"my_symbol": MySymbol()}
Plugin authors relying on this hook should instead require that users now import the plugin modules directly (with an appropriate public API).
As a stopgap measure, plugin authors may still inject their names into pytest's namespace, usually during pytest_configure
:
import pytest
def pytest_configure():
pytest.my_symbol = MySymbol()
Removed in version 3.0.
Reinterpretation mode has now been removed and only plain and rewrite
mode are available, consequently the --assert=reinterp
option is
no longer available. This also means files imported from plugins or
conftest.py
will not benefit from improved assertions by
default, you should use pytest.register_assert_rewrite()
to
explicitly turn on assertion rewriting for those files.
Removed in version 3.0.
The following deprecated commandline options were removed:
--genscript
: no longer supported;--no-assert
: use--assert=plain
instead;--nomagic
: use--assert=plain
instead;--report
: use-r
instead;
Removed in version 3.0.
Removed all py.test-X*
entry points. The versioned, suffixed entry points
were never documented and a leftover from a pre-virtualenv era. These entry
points also created broken entry points in wheels, so removing them also
removes a source of confusion for users.
Removed in version 4.0
As part of a large :ref:`marker-revamp`, :meth:`_pytest.nodes.Node.get_marker` is deprecated. See :ref:`the documentation <update marker code>` on tips on how to update your code.
Removed in version 4.0
As part of a large :ref:`marker-revamp` we already deprecated using MarkInfo
the only correct way to get markers of an element is via node.iter_markers(name)
.