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:

.. code-block:: bash

    pytest -h   # prints options _and_ config file settings

This will display command line and configuration file settings
which were registered by installed plugins.

.. _`config file formats`:

Configuration file formats
--------------------------

Many :ref:`pytest settings <ini options ref>` can be set in a *configuration file*, which
by convention resides on the root of your repository or in your
tests folder.

A quick example of the configuration files supported by pytest:

pytest.ini
~~~~~~~~~~

``pytest.ini`` files take precedence over other files, even when empty.

.. code-block:: ini

    # pytest.ini
    [pytest]
    minversion = 6.0
    addopts = -ra -q
    testpaths =
        tests
        integration


pyproject.toml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. versionadded:: 6.0

``pyproject.toml`` are considered for configuration when they contain a ``tool.pytest.ini_options`` table.

.. code-block:: toml

    # pyproject.toml
    [tool.pytest.ini_options]
    minversion = "6.0"
    addopts = "-ra -q"
    testpaths = [
        "tests",
        "integration",
    ]

.. note::

    One might wonder why ``[tool.pytest.ini_options]`` instead of ``[tool.pytest]`` as is the
    case with other tools.

    The reason is that the pytest team intends to fully utilize the rich TOML data format
    for configuration in the future, reserving the ``[tool.pytest]`` table for that.
    The ``ini_options`` table is being used, for now, as a bridge between the existing
    ``.ini`` configuration system and the future configuration format.

tox.ini
~~~~~~~

``tox.ini`` files are the configuration files of the `tox <https://tox.readthedocs.io>`__ project,
and can also be used to hold pytest configuration if they have a ``[pytest]`` section.

.. code-block:: ini

    # tox.ini
    [pytest]
    minversion = 6.0
    addopts = -ra -q
    testpaths =
        tests
        integration


setup.cfg
~~~~~~~~~

``setup.cfg`` files are general purpose configuration files, used originally by `distutils <https://docs.python.org/3/distutils/configfile.html>`__, and can also be used to hold pytest configuration
if they have a ``[tool:pytest]`` section.

.. code-block:: ini

    # setup.cfg
    [tool:pytest]
    minversion = 6.0
    addopts = -ra -q
    testpaths =
        tests
        integration

.. warning::

    Usage of ``setup.cfg`` is not recommended unless for very simple use cases. ``.cfg``
    files use a different parser than ``pytest.ini`` and ``tox.ini`` which might cause hard to track
    down problems.
    When possible, it is recommended to use the latter files, or ``pyproject.toml``, to hold your
    pytest configuration.


.. _rootdir:
.. _configfiles:

Initialization: determining rootdir and configfile
--------------------------------------------------

pytest determines a ``rootdir`` for each test run which depends on
the command line arguments (specified test files, paths) and on
the existence of configuration files.  The determined ``rootdir`` and ``configfile`` are
printed as part of the pytest header during startup.

Here's a summary what ``pytest`` uses ``rootdir`` for:

* Construct *nodeids* during collection; each test is assigned
  a unique *nodeid* which is rooted at the ``rootdir`` and takes into account
  the full path, class name, function name and parametrization (if any).

* Is used by plugins as a stable location to store project/test run specific information;
  for example, the internal :ref:`cache <cache>` plugin creates a ``.pytest_cache`` subdirectory
  in ``rootdir`` to store its cross-test run state.

``rootdir`` is **NOT** used to modify ``sys.path``/``PYTHONPATH`` or
influence how modules are imported. See :ref:`pythonpath` for more details.

The ``--rootdir=path`` command-line option can be used to force a specific directory.
Note that contrary to other command-line options, ``--rootdir`` cannot be used with
:confval:`addopts` inside ``pytest.ini`` because the ``rootdir`` is used to *find* ``pytest.ini``
already.

Finding the ``rootdir``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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``, ``pyproject.toml``, ``tox.ini``, and ``setup.cfg`` files in the ancestor
  directory and upwards.  If one is matched, it becomes the ``configfile`` and its
  directory becomes the ``rootdir``.

- If no configuration 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``, ``pyproject.toml``, ``tox.ini``, and
  ``setup.cfg`` in each of the specified ``args`` and upwards. If one is
  matched, it becomes the ``configfile`` and its directory becomes the ``rootdir``.

- If no ``configfile`` was found, use the already determined common ancestor as root
  directory. This allows the use of pytest in structures that are not part of
  a package and don't have any particular configuration file.

If no ``args`` are given, pytest collects test below the current working
directory and also starts determining the ``rootdir`` from there.

Files will only be matched for configuration if:

* ``pytest.ini``: will always match and take precedence, even if empty.
* ``pyproject.toml``: contains a ``[tool.pytest.ini_options]`` table.
* ``tox.ini``: contains a ``[pytest]`` section.
* ``setup.cfg``: contains a ``[tool:pytest]`` section.

The files are considered in the order above. Options from multiple ``configfiles`` candidates
are never merged - the first match wins.

The internal :class:`Config <_pytest.config.Config>` object (accessible via hooks or through the :fixture:`pytestconfig` fixture)
will subsequently carry these attributes:

- :attr:`config.rootpath <_pytest.config.Config.rootpath>`: the determined root directory, guaranteed to exist.

- :attr:`config.inipath <_pytest.config.Config.inipath>`: the determined ``configfile``, may be ``None``
  (it is named ``inipath`` for historical reasons).

.. versionadded:: 6.1
    The ``config.rootpath`` and ``config.inipath`` properties. They are :class:`pathlib.Path`
    versions of the older ``config.rootdir`` and ``config.inifile``, which have type
    ``py.path.local``, and still exist for backward compatibility.

The ``rootdir`` is used as a reference directory for constructing test
addresses ("nodeids") and can be used also by plugins for storing
per-testrun information.

Example:

.. code-block:: bash

    pytest path/to/testdir path/other/

will determine the common ancestor as ``path`` and then
check for configuration files as follows:

.. code-block:: text

    # first look for pytest.ini files
    path/pytest.ini
    path/pyproject.toml  # must contain a [tool.pytest.ini_options] table to match
    path/tox.ini         # must contain [pytest] section to match
    path/setup.cfg       # must contain [tool:pytest] section to match
    pytest.ini
    ... # all the way up to the root

    # now look for setup.py
    path/setup.py
    setup.py
    ... # all the way up to the root


.. 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 <https://github.com/pytest-dev/pytest/issues/1435>`_).
    A dot ``.`` for referencing to the current working directory is also
    possible.


.. _`how to change command line options defaults`:
.. _`adding default options`:


Builtin configuration file options
----------------------------------------------

For the full list of options consult the :ref:`reference documentation <ini options ref>`.