Get Started¶

Manual setup¶

Create a project¶

Prerequisites: Python and Poetry must be installed.

Create a new Poetry project and add pytest-loco as a dependency:

Create a new Poetry project and add pytest-loco¶

poetry new example-project
cd example-project
poetry add pytest-loco

Create a test case¶

pytest-loco collects YAML files whose names match the pattern test_*.yml or test_*.yaml. Any such file found under the configured test paths is treated as a DSL specification and executed as a test.

Place test files in your tests/ directory (or any path passed to pytest) and name them accordingly:

Example test files structure¶

tests/
├── test_user.yaml
├── test_items.yaml
└── utils/
    └── auth.yaml

A test case is a YAML file containing documents separated by ---:

The case document - declares the test metadata, variables, and environment bindings.
One or more step documents - describe the actions to execute and the expectations to assert.

Create the file tests/test_hello_world.yaml:

Example test case in YAML format¶

---
spec: case
title: Hello World
description: >
  Verify that a simple variable can be set and checked.
vars:
  greeting: Hello, World!

---

title: Check greeting value
action: empty
vars:
  expected: !var greeting
export:
  actual: !var expected
expect:
  - title: Greeting matches expected value
    value: !var actual
    match: Hello, World!

Run the tests¶

Use pytest to discover and run the test:

Run the test case with pytest¶

poetry run pytest

pytest-loco registers a pytest plugin that collects case files automatically.

Boilerplating¶

You can simplify the process by using a boilerplate, such as an API testing boilerplate.

Create a project¶

Prerequisites: Python, Cookiecutter and Poetry must be installed.

Create a project from the repo template:

Create a new Poetry project from a boilerplate¶

cookiecutter https://github.com/pytest-loco/api-tests.git

Follow the instructions provided by Cookiecutter.

Run the tests¶

Use pytest to discover and run the test:

Run the test case with pytest¶

poetry run pytest

See README.md in the new project’s root for more details.