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.
Below is a complete list of all pytest features which are considered deprecated. Using those features will issue _pytest.warning_types.PytestWarning or subclasses, which can be filtered using standard warning filters <warnings>.
5.4
Option --no-print-logs is deprecated and meant to be removed in a future release. If you use --no-print-logs, please try out --show-capture and provide feedback.
--show-capture command-line option was added in pytest 3.5.0` and allows to specify how to display captured output when tests fail:no,stdout,stderr,logorall(the default).junit_familydefault value change to "xunit2" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. deprecated:: 5.2 The default value ofjunit_familyoption will change toxunit2in pytest 6.0, given that this is the version supported by default in modern tools that manipulate this type of file. In order to smooth the transition, pytest will issue a warning in case the--junitxmloption is given in the command line butjunit_familyis not explicitly configured inpytest.ini:: PytestDeprecationWarning: The 'junit_family' default value will change to 'xunit2' in pytest 6.0. Add 'junit_family=legacy' to your pytest.ini file to silence this warning and make your suite compatible. In order to silence this warning, users just need to configure thejunit_familyoption explicitly: .. code-block:: ini [pytest] junit_family=legacyfuncargnamesalias forfixturenames~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. deprecated:: 5.0 TheFixtureRequest,Metafunc, andFunctionclasses track the names of their associated fixtures, with the aptly-namedfixturenamesattribute. Prior to pytest 2.3, this attribute was namedfuncargnames, and we have kept that as an alias since. It is finally due for removal, as it is often confusing in places where we or plugin authors must distinguish between fixture names and names supplied by non-fixture things such aspytest.mark.parametrize. Result log (--result-log) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. deprecated:: 4.0 The--result-logoption produces a stream of test reports which can be analysed at runtime, but it uses a custom format which requires users to implement their own parser. The `pytest-reportlog <https://github.com/pytest-dev/pytest-reportlog>`__ plugin provides a--report-logoption, a more standard and extensible alternative, producing one JSON object per-line, and should cover the same use cases. Please try it out and provide feedback. The plan is remove the--result-logoption in pytest 6.0 ifpytest-reportlogproves satisfactory to all users and is deemed stable. Thepytest-reportlogplugin might even be merged into the core at some point, depending on the plans for the plugins and number of users using it. Removed Features ---------------- As stated in our :ref:`backwards-compatibility` policy, deprecated features are removed only in major releases after an appropriate period of deprecation has passed.pytest.configglobal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 5.0 Thepytest.configglobal object is deprecated. Instead userequest.config(via therequestfixture) or if you are a plugin author use thepytest_configure(config)hook. Note that many hooks can also access theconfigobject indirectly, throughsession.configoritem.configfor example. .. _`raises message deprecated`:"message"parameter ofpytest.raises~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 5.0 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 thepytest.raisescheck fails. To prevent users from making 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 a valid use case for this parameter, consider that to obtain the same results you can just callpytest.failmanually at the end of thewithstatement. For example: .. code-block:: python with pytest.raises(TimeoutError, message="Client got unexpected message"): wait_for(websocket.recv(), 0.5) Becomes: .. code-block:: python with pytest.raises(TimeoutError): wait_for(websocket.recv(), 0.5) pytest.fail("Client got unexpected message") If you still have concerns about this deprecation and future removal, please comment on `issue #3974 <https://github.com/pytest-dev/pytest/issues/3974>`__. .. _raises-warns-exec:raises/warnswith a string as the second argument ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 5.0 Use the context manager form of these instead. When necessary, invokeexecdirectly. Example: .. code-block:: python pytest.raises(ZeroDivisionError, "1 / 0") pytest.raises(SyntaxError, "a $ b") pytest.warns(DeprecationWarning, "my_function()") pytest.warns(SyntaxWarning, "assert(1, 2)") Becomes: .. code-block:: python 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 UsingClassin custom Collectors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 Using objects named"Class"as a way to customize the type of nodes that are collected inCollectorsubclasses has been deprecated. Users instead should usepytest_pycollect_makeitemto 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. marks inpytest.mark.parametrize~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 Applying marks to values of apytest.mark.parametrizecall is now deprecated. For example: .. code-block:: python @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 thepytest.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, usepytest.param: .. code-block:: python @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): ...pytest_funcarg__prefix ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 In very early pytest versions fixtures could be defined using thepytest_funcarg__prefix: .. code-block:: python def pytest_funcarg__data(): return SomeData() Switch over to the@pytest.fixturedecorator: .. code-block:: python @pytest.fixture def data(): return SomeData() [pytest] section in setup.cfg files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0[pytest]sections insetup.cfgfiles should now be named[tool:pytest]to avoid conflicts with other distutils commands. Metafunc.addcall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 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: .. code-block:: python def pytest_generate_tests(metafunc): metafunc.addcall({"i": 1}, id="1") metafunc.addcall({"i": 2}, id="2") Becomes: .. code-block:: python def pytest_generate_tests(metafunc): metafunc.parametrize("i", [1, 2], ids=["1", "2"])cached_setup~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0request.cached_setupwas the precursor of the setup/teardown mechanism available to fixtures. Example: .. code-block:: python @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: .. code-block:: python @pytest.fixture(scope="module") def db_session(): session = Session.create() yield session session.close() You can consult `funcarg comparison section in the docs <https://docs.pytest.org/en/latest/funcarg_compare.html>`_ for more information. pytest_plugins in non-top-level conftest files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 Definingpytest_pluginsis now deprecated in non-top-level conftest.py files because they will activate referenced plugins *globally*, which is surprising because for all other pytest featuresconftest.pyfiles are only *active* for tests at or below it.Config.warnandNode.warn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 Those methods were part of the internal pytest warnings system, but since3.8pytest is using the builtin warning system for its own warnings, so those two functions are now deprecated.Config.warnshould be replaced by calls to the standardwarnings.warn, example: .. code-block:: python config.warn("C1", "some warning") Becomes: .. code-block:: python warnings.warn(pytest.PytestWarning("some warning"))Node.warnnow 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. record_xml_property ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 Therecord_xml_propertyfixture is now deprecated in favor of the more genericrecord_property, which can be used by other consumers (for examplepytest-html) to obtain custom information about the test run. This is just a matter of renaming the fixture as the API is the same: .. code-block:: python def test_foo(record_xml_property): ... Change to: .. code-block:: python def test_foo(record_property): ... Passing command-line string topytest.main()~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 Passing a command-line string topytest.main()is deprecated: .. code-block:: python pytest.main("-v -s") Pass a list instead: .. code-block:: python 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 examplebashorPowershell), but this is very hard/impossible to do in a portable way. Calling fixtures directly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 Calling a fixture function directly, as opposed to request them in a test function, is deprecated. For example: .. code-block:: python @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: .. code-block:: python @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 thenameparameter: .. code-block:: python def cell(): return ... @pytest.fixture(name="cell") def cell_fixture(): return cell()yieldtests ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 pytest supportedyield-style tests, where a test function actuallyyieldfunctions and values that are then turned into proper test methods. Example: .. code-block:: python 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 topytest.mark.parametrize: .. code-block:: python @pytest.mark.parametrize("x, y", [(2, 4), (3, 9)]) def test_squared(x, y): assert x ** x == y Internal classes accessed throughNode~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 Access ofModule,Function,Class,Instance,FileandItemthroughNodeinstances now issue this warning: .. code-block:: text usage of Function.Module is deprecated, please use pytest.Module instead Users should justimport pytestand access those objects using thepytestmodule. This has been documented as deprecated for years, but only now we are actually emitting deprecation warnings.Node.get_marker~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 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.somefunction.markname~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 4.0 As part of a large :ref:`marker-revamp` we already deprecated usingMarkInfothe only correct way to get markers of an element is vianode.iter_markers(name).pytest_namespace~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 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: .. code-block:: python 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 duringpytest_configure: .. code-block:: python import pytest def pytest_configure(): pytest.my_symbol = MySymbol() Reinterpretation mode (--assert=reinterp) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 3.0 Reinterpretation mode has now been removed and only plain and rewrite mode are available, consequently the--assert=reinterpoption is no longer available. This also means files imported from plugins orconftest.pywill not benefit from improved assertions by default, you should usepytest.register_assert_rewrite()to explicitly turn on assertion rewriting for those files. Removed command-line options ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 3.0 The following deprecated commandline options were removed: *--genscript: no longer supported; *--no-assert: use--assert=plaininstead; *--nomagic: use--assert=plaininstead; *--report: use-rinstead; py.test-X* entry points ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. versionremoved:: 3.0 Removed allpy.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.