python-unit-testing

GitHub Action to run Python tests using pytest.

Features

• 🐍 pytest Testing - Run pytest tests with configurable options
• 📦 Custom requirements - Install additional dependencies from a requirements file
• 📊 Detailed reporting - View test results in GitHub Actions summary
• 🏷️ SVG badge generation - Automatically generate and commit testing badges to your repository
• 🎯 Framework-specific options - Pass custom options to pytest

Supported Testing Framework

Framework	Detection Method	Notes
pytest	Always runs if pytest is installed	Most popular Python testing framework

Usage

Note: Until the first release is tagged, use a specific commit SHA (e.g., @947908a) instead of @v1. This ensures workflows continue to work even if development branches are deleted. Once v1.0.0 is released, you can use @v1 for the latest v1.x version.

Basic Example

name: Test
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Run Python Tests
        uses: thoughtparametersllc/python-unit-testing@v1  # or @<commit-sha> before first release

Advanced Example with All Options

name: Test
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write  # Required for badge commits
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Run Python Tests
        uses: thoughtparametersllc/python-unit-testing@v1
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'
          requirements-file: 'requirements.txt'
          pytest-options: '--cov --cov-report=xml'
          commit-badges: 'true'
          badges-directory: '.github/badges'

With Badge Generation

Enable badge generation to automatically create SVG badges for pytest:

- name: Run Python Tests
  uses: thoughtparametersllc/python-unit-testing@v1
  with:
    commit-badges: 'true'
    badges-directory: '.github/badges'

When enabled, badges will show passing/failing status for pytest.

Note: For badge commits to work, your workflow needs contents: write permission:

permissions:
  contents: write

Inputs

Input	Description	Required	Default
python-version	Python version to use for testing	No	3.x
requirements-file	Path to requirements file for additional dependencies	No	requirements.txt
pytest-options	Additional options to pass to pytest	No	''
commit-badges	Generate and commit SVG badges to the repository	No	false
badges-directory	Directory where badge SVG files will be saved	No	.github/badges

How It Works

The action installs pytest and runs your tests with the specified options. You can:

1. Specify a Python version to use
2. Install additional requirements from a requirements file
3. Pass custom options to pytest
4. Generate SVG badges for test results
5. Automatically commit badges to your repository

Examples

pytest Project with Coverage

- uses: thoughtparametersllc/python-unit-testing@v1
  with:
    pytest-options: '--cov=mypackage --cov-report=xml'

With Custom Requirements

- uses: thoughtparametersllc/python-unit-testing@v1
  with:
    requirements-file: 'requirements-dev.txt'
    pytest-options: '--verbose'

With Badge Generation

- uses: thoughtparametersllc/python-unit-testing@v1
  with:
    pytest-options: '--verbose'
    commit-badges: 'true'

Badge Display

When commit-badges is enabled, you can manually add badge references to your README:

# My Project

![Pytest](.github/badges/pytest.svg)

The badge will automatically update with passing/failing status after each test run.

Roadmap

Future enhancements planned:

• Additional frameworks - Support for unittest, nose2, behave (BDD), tox, doctest
• Automatic README updates - Auto-insert badge references in README
• Enhanced reporting - Code coverage integration, test timing analysis
• Performance optimization - Parallel test execution, dependency caching

Development

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Ensure all tests pass
5. Submit a pull request

Testing Locally

You can test the action locally by creating a test workflow in your repository.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Related Actions

• python-linting - Companion action for Python linting with pylint, black, and mypy

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please open an issue on GitHub.