pytest-beehave 0.2.2

A pytest plugin that generates test stubs from Gherkin feature files, checks consistency, and displays BDD steps in pytest output

Generates pytest test stubs from Gherkin .feature files, checks consistency, and displays BDD steps — automatically, every time pytest runs.

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pytest-beehave is a pytest plugin powered by beehave. It reads your Gherkin .feature files and generates Hypothesis-compatible test stubs with the right names, decorators, and parameters — then verifies that your test code stays consistent with your spec. New scenarios get @pytest.mark.skip; drift becomes a real test failure.

pip install pytest-beehave

No conftest.py changes required. The plugin registers itself via pytest's entry-point system.

Optional: install pytest-beehave[html] for a "Scenario" column in pytest-html reports.

pip install "pytest-beehave[html]"

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Quick start

1. Write a feature file

# docs/features/checkout/shopping_cart.feature
Feature: Shopping cart

  Background:
    Given an empty cart

  Rule: Tax calculation

    Scenario: VAT is applied at the correct rate
      Given a cart with items totalling $100
      When the buyer is in the UK
      Then the order total is $120

2. Run pytest

pytest --collect-only

3. A test stub is created

tests/features/shopping_cart/
├── tax_calculation_test.py

# tests/features/shopping_cart/tax_calculation_test.py
import pytest

@pytest.mark.skip(reason="not implemented")
def test_VAT_is_applied_at_the_correct_rate():
    ...

4. See BDD steps

pytest -v

tests/features/shopping_cart/tax_calculation_test.py::test_VAT_is_applied_at_the_correct_rate SKIPPED
  Given an empty cart
  Given a cart with items totalling $100
  When the buyer is in the UK
  Then the order total is $120

5. Implement and ship

Remove @pytest.mark.skip, write the test body, run pytest again. The steps display stays in sync with your feature file.

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How it works

The plugin hooks into pytest_configure — every stub exists on disk before collection begins.

pytest invoked
  └─ pytest_configure fires
       ├─ load_config()                  → read [tool.beehave] from pyproject.toml
       ├─ parse_feature()                → parse .feature files into ScenarioInfo
       ├─ generate_stubs()               → write Hypothesis test stubs to disk
       ├─ _add_skip_markers()            → mark unimplemented stubs with @pytest.mark.skip
       ├─ check_all()                    → detect drift between features and tests
       └─ register display plugins       → StepsReporter (-v) and/or HtmlStepsPlugin
  └─ pytest_collection_modifyitems       → inject failing tests for ERROR violations
  └─ Collection begins — every stub is already present

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File layout

docs/features/              ← configured via features_dir
  **/*.feature              ← any subfolder structure is supported

tests/features/             ← configured via tests_dir
  <feature_slug>/           ← one directory per feature (derived from Feature title)
    <rule_slug>_test.py     ← one file per Rule: block (or default_test.py)

Each test function name follows test_<scenario_title_with_underscores>. The mapping is exact string equality — no @id tags, no step definitions, no glue code.

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What check_all enforces

After stub generation, the plugin runs check_all() to detect drift between feature files and test code. ERROR violations produce real test failures via synthetic test items:

Type	Severity	What it catches
unmapped-scenario	ERROR	Scenario has no matching test function
unmapped-test	ERROR	Test function has no matching scenario
misplaced-test	WARNING	Function is in the wrong rule file
missing-placeholder	ERROR	Test body missing a <placeholder>
missing-literal	ERROR	Test body missing a "string" or numeric literal
example-mismatch	ERROR	Examples rows don't match @example() decorators

$ pytest
[beehave] ERROR: tests/features/demo/default_test.py:5: unmapped-test: 'test_orphan' has no matching scenario
========================= 1 failed, 3 passed, 2 skipped =========================

Stub functions (body is ...) are excluded from placeholder and literal checks.

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How it maps

• Scenario title → function name: VAT Is Applied At The Correct Rate → test_VAT_is_applied_at_the_correct_rate. Lowercased. Globally unique.
• Rule → test file: Top-level scenarios go to default_test.py. Scenarios inside a Rule go to <rule>_test.py.
• Feature title → directory: Shopping Cart → tests/features/shopping_cart/.
• Scenario Outline → decorators: <placeholder> columns become @given() parameters with inferred Hypothesis strategies. Example rows become @example() decorators.

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TDD workflow

1. pytest --collect-only → stubs generated with @pytest.mark.skip
2. Remove @pytest.mark.skip, write the test body → test runs and fails (red)
3. Fix the implementation → test passes (green)
4. Add new scenarios to .feature files → only new stubs get the skip marker

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Configuration

All configuration lives under [tool.beehave] in pyproject.toml:

[tool.beehave]
features_dir = "docs/features"      # default: docs/features
tests_dir = "tests/features"        # default: tests/features
default_strategy = "text"           # default: text (Hypothesis strategy for placeholders)
background_check_numeric = true     # default: true
background_check_string = true      # default: true

If features_dir does not exist, the plugin exits silently.

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Requirements

	Version
Python	>= 3.14
pytest	>= 6.0
beehave	>= 0.4.0

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Contributing

git clone https://github.com/nullhack/pytest-beehave
cd pytest-beehave
uv sync --all-extras
uv run task test && uv run task lint && uv run task static-check

Bug reports and pull requests welcome on GitHub.

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License

MIT — see LICENSE.