Allow pytest to be invoked as a module

[thirtytwobits]

I have tests in my Python project (Nunavut) that use a shared fixture that requires the "test" directory be on the sys path. Our tox scripts invoke pytest like thus:

pip install -e .
cd test
python -m pytest

Which ensures that test/fixtures gets added to the sys path. Can we add a feature to allow the test discovery and execution panel to invoke pytest (or other test modules) as a module starting from the cwd (where cwd is configurable as python.testing.cwd? So this would have the same effect as:

cd ${python.testing.cwd}
${python.pythonPath} -m pytest ${python.testing.pytestArgs}

Either that or allow .env files to set PYTHONPATH which doesn't seem to work either. As it stands there doesn't seem to be a way to run the pytests for https://github.com/UAVCAN/nunavut in vscode without manually setting up a task.

[kimadeline]

Hello @thirtytwobits 👋 Thank you for reaching out!

Are you referring to #7210 here:

allow .env files to set PYTHONPATH which doesn't seem to work either.

The pytest documentation suggests using a conftest.py file for directory fixtures. When adding it after cloning https://github.com/UAVCAN/nunavut I could discover and run the tests without a task or setting PYTHONPATH:

In any case, this issue is now marked as "needs decision" to make sure we have a conversation about your idea. We plan to leave this feature request open for at least a month to see how many 👍 votes your idea gets to help us make our decision.

[thirtytwobits]

Hmm. I'm on a macintosh and I am always using an active virtualenv. I wonder if this is problem either specific to my platform or to code sessions using a virtualenv? I'll try the conftest.py solution to see if that helps.

[thirtytwobits]

conftest.py doesn't help me. Thanks though. #7210 getting fixed would provide a solution though.

[kimadeline]

That's pretty strange, because I'm on macOS too and conftest.py was enough 🤔 although I'm using venv instead of virtualenv. #7210 got merged and should be available in the next release, you can downgrade to an older version of the extension meanwhile if necessary.

[luabud]

The extension already allows pytest to be invoked as a module, as long as you don't specify pytestPath. @thirtytwobits Do you still have the issue regarding environment variables?

[brettcannon]

Because we have not heard back with the information we requested, we are closing this issue for now. If you are able to provide the info later on then we will be happy to re-open this issue to pick up where we left off.