Writing Custom Plugins and Extensions

Overview of custom plugins and their benefits

Pytest is designed with extensibility in mind. It provides a plugin system that allows developers to add their own functionality and modify the behavior of pytest. This extensibility enables developers to tailor pytest to their specific testing requirements without modifying the pytest core.

Custom plugins are extensions or add-ons that enhance the functionality of the pytest testing framework. They provide a way to tailor pytest to specific testing needs, allowing developers to customize and extend its capabilities. Some of the benefits of using custom plugins include:

• Enhanced functionality: Custom plugins expand the range of features available in pytest, allowing developers to implement specific testing requirements and workflows.

• Tailored testing experience: With custom plugins, pytest can be customized to match the unique needs of a project, making it more flexible and adaptable.

• Increased reusability: Plugins can encapsulate reusable testing patterns or utilities, making it easier to apply them across multiple projects or test suites.

• Improved maintainability: By separating custom functionality into plugins, the core test code remains focused and clean, making it easier to maintain and understand.

Getting started with plugin development

In this section, we will look into the steps we need to perform to develop our own custom plugin.

Set up a project

• Start by creating a new directory for the plugin. Create a setup.py file and a package directory structure. The setup.py file contains metadata about your plugin and instructions for packaging and distributing it.