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 :class:`_pytest.warning_types.PytestWarning` or subclasses, which can be filtered using :ref:`standard warning filters <warnings>`.
.. deprecated:: 3.9
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.
.. deprecated:: 3.9
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 comparision section in the docs for more information.
This has been documented as deprecated for years, but only now we are actually emitting deprecation warnings.
.. deprecated:: 3.9
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_collect_make_item 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.
.. deprecated:: 3.8
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 is now deprecated and should be converted to the warning instance form above.
.. deprecated:: 3.7
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().. deprecated:: 3.7
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 cellThis 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.. deprecated:: 3.6
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.
.. deprecated:: 3.5
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):
..... deprecated:: 3.5
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.
.. deprecated:: 3.3
:meth:`_pytest.python.Metafunc.addcall` was a precursor to the current parametrized mechanism. Users should use :meth:`_pytest.python.Metafunc.parametrize` instead.
.. deprecated:: 3.2
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)]
)
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)],
)
def test_foo(a, b):
..... deprecated:: 3.0
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.
.. deprecated:: 3.0
pytest supports 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, 9This 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.. deprecated:: 3.0
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().. deprecated:: 3.0
[pytest] sections in setup.cfg files should now be named [tool:pytest]
to avoid conflicts with other distutils commands.
.. 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.
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 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=plaininstead;--nomagic: use--assert=plaininstead;--report: use-rinstead;
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.