pytest-glaze 0.3.3

A thin, transparent coat that makes your test output shine.

🏺 pytest-glaze

A thin, transparent coat that makes your test output shine.

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pytest-glaze is an opt-in pytest output formatter. Pass --glaze to activate a compact, color-semantic display. Failures surface inline — no scrolling to a deferred block — and every color carries a consistent meaning across every line type.

Get started in 30 seconds:

pip install pytest-glaze   # or: uv add pytest-glaze
pytest --glaze tests/

No configuration required. The --glaze flag activates the formatter and silences the default reporter in one step.

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Why pytest-glaze?

The default pytest reporter is designed for completeness. pytest-glaze is designed for reading speed. When you are deep in a debugging session the question is always the same: what failed, and what exactly was wrong?

	Default reporter	pytest-rich / pytest-pretty	pytest-glaze
Failures inline	✗ deferred block	Partial	✓
Consistent color semantics	✗	Partial	✓
Zero extra dependencies	✓	✗ Rich required	✓
Compact — one line per result	✗	✗	✓
Per-file summaries	✗	✗	✓
BDD-aware (pytest-bdd)	✗	✗	✓

Color convention

Every color carries one meaning, applied consistently across every line type. Colors adapt automatically to the active theme (--glaze-theme).

Diff convention: pytest-glaze follows pytest's assertion semantics, not git diff convention. - marks the expected value (green — the target your test asserts). + marks the received value (red — what your code actually produced). This is the inverse of git, where - means removed and + means added.

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Installation

pip install pytest-glaze      # standard / venv
pip3 install pytest-glaze     # macOS system Python
uv add pytest-glaze           # uv projects
poetry add pytest-glaze       # poetry projects

pytest-glaze registers itself via pytest's plugin system automatically — no conftest.py entry or pytest_plugins declaration needed. Activate it per-run with the --glaze flag.

Requirements

• Python ≥ 3.10
• pytest ≥ 7.0

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Usage

Opt-in via --glaze

pytest-glaze is auto-registered by pytest on install but opt-in by default — it activates only when you pass --glaze:

pytest --glaze tests/

This means existing CI pipelines and teammates who haven't installed the package are unaffected. The default reporter runs unchanged until you explicitly pass the flag.

Always-on via pyproject.toml

To activate glaze for every run without passing --glaze each time, add it to your pytest configuration:

# pyproject.toml
[tool.pytest.ini_options]
addopts = "--glaze"

Or in pytest.ini:

[pytest]
addopts = --glaze

Makefile (strongly recommended)

A Makefile gives you precise control: glaze on by default, raw output available when you need to debug the formatter itself. This is the recommended setup for any project with a regular test workflow.

PYTEST := uv run pytest          # or: python -m pytest
TESTS  := tests/

# Core formatter flags.
# --glaze activates pytest-glaze and silences the default reporter.
FMT := --glaze

# Optional pass-through filters
SUITE ?=
CASE  ?=
K     ?=
ARGS  ?=

_PATH  := $(if $(SUITE),$(SUITE),$(TESTS))
_KFLAG := $(if $(K),-k "$(K)",$(if $(CASE),-k "$(CASE)",))

.PHONY: test test-fast test-unit test-raw

## test        Run suite with glaze output.
##             SUITE=, CASE=, K= for filtering. ARGS= for raw pytest flags.
##             Examples:
##               make test
##               make test SUITE=tests/test_entities.py
##               make test CASE=test_return_statuses_dict
##               make test K="sprint and not slow"
# PYTHONPATH=. is only needed for editable/development installs where
# pytest_glaze is not yet on sys.path. Remove it if using pip install.
test:
	@PYTHONPATH=. $(PYTEST) $(FMT) $(_PATH) $(_KFLAG) $(ARGS)

## test-fast   Stop on first failure (-x). Accepts same filters as `test`.
test-fast:
	@PYTHONPATH=. $(PYTEST) $(FMT) -x $(_PATH) $(_KFLAG) $(ARGS)

## test-unit   Unit tests only — clean pass/fail signal, no intentional failures.
test-unit:
	@PYTHONPATH=. $(PYTEST) $(FMT) tests/test_parsers.py tests/test_colorizer.py tests/test_plugin.py $(_KFLAG) $(ARGS)

## test-raw    Raw default pytest output. Useful for debugging the formatter.
test-raw:
	@$(PYTEST) $(_PATH) $(_KFLAG) $(ARGS)

## help        List all targets.
help:
	@grep -E '^##' Makefile | sed 's/^## /  /'

Skip glaze for a single run

Omit --glaze to use the default reporter. If you have --glaze in pytest.ini or pyproject.toml and need to override it:

pytest -p no:pytest_glaze tests/

Disabling color

pytest-glaze respects the NO_COLOR convention. Set NO_COLOR=1 to suppress all ANSI color output — useful for CI environments, plain-text log consumers, and accessibility needs:

NO_COLOR=1 pytest --glaze tests/

Color is also suppressed automatically when stdout is not a TTY (e.g. when piping output to a file or another command):

pytest --glaze tests/ > results.txt

To force color output even when stdout is not a TTY — useful for CI systems that capture output but still want ANSI codes:

FORCE_COLOR=1 pytest --glaze tests/

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Theme selection

pytest-glaze ships with dark and light color palettes. The active theme is selected via --glaze-theme:

pytest --glaze --glaze-theme=dark tests/    # explicit dark
pytest --glaze --glaze-theme=light tests/   # explicit light
pytest --glaze --glaze-theme=auto tests/    # auto-detect (default)

With auto (the default), pytest-glaze detects your terminal background through a chain of sources — first match wins:

Priority	Source	Details
1	$GLAZE_THEME env var	Set to dark, light, or auto — highest priority, overrides everything
2	$COLORFGBG	Set by xterm, iTerm2, urxvt, Konsole at terminal startup
3	OSC 11 query	Queries terminal directly via /dev/tty — works even when stdout is piped through make or scripts. Supports Ghostty, Kitty, WezTerm, and most modern terminals. Skipped in tmux/screen sessions
4	$TERM_PROGRAM / $TERMINAL_EMULATOR	Apple_Terminal → light; vscode → reads $VSCODE_THEME_KIND; JetBrains-JediTerm → reads $TERMINAL_BACKGROUND
5	Windows console API	Reads background color via ctypes on Windows
6	Fallback	Defaults to dark — the safer choice for unknown terminals

Environment variable override:

# Force light theme regardless of terminal settings
GLAZE_THEME=light pytest --glaze tests/

# Or add to your shell profile for always-on
export GLAZE_THEME=light

Always-on via pyproject.toml:

[tool.pytest.ini_options]
addopts = "--glaze --glaze-theme=light"

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What it formats

Passing tests

Passing tests render as compact single lines — one line per test, grouped by file and class. No noise, no clutter. Pure green signal.

Failing assertions — inline, never deferred

Assertion failures render immediately below the failing test — no scrolling to a separate deferred block. Received values are red, expected values are green, prose context stays soft peach.

Dict and list diffs

Received values render in red, expected values in green. Diff markers (- expected, + received) follow the same color convention. Prose context lines stay soft peach so the values stand out.

Approximate equality (pytest.approx)

Obtained renders in red — the wrong value. Expected renders in green — the target. Table column alignment is preserved so list and dict comparisons stay readable.

Skips, xfail, and xpass

XFAIL renders in bright red — an expected failure is still a red signal worth tracking. XPASS renders in yellow — an unexpected pass is a surprise worth investigating, but not an error.

Fixture errors

Setup and teardown errors are classified separately from test failures. A passing test body followed by a teardown ERROR both appear — neither is silently swallowed.

Captured output (shown only on failures)

Captured output sections are suppressed on passing tests and rendered inline on failures — no separate output block to hunt for.

Per-file summaries

Each file group closes with a => N passed, N failed summary line. Gives instant orientation in multi-file runs without reading every result.

Class-based test grouping

Class names render as section headers. Method names render without the class prefix. Non-class tests render as before — no header, just the test name.

BDD support (pytest-bdd)

pytest-glaze has first-class support for pytest-bdd. Install pytest-bdd alongside pytest-glaze and BDD scenarios render with Feature/Scenario headers, per-step results, and the same color semantics as regular tests.

Requirements

pip install pytest-bdd      # standard / venv
pip3 install pytest-bdd     # macOS system Python
uv add pytest-bdd           # uv projects
poetry add pytest-bdd       # poetry projects

Compact mode (default)

By default pytest-glaze renders BDD scenarios in compact mode — one line per scenario. Failures and errors always show full step-by-step output so you can see exactly where things went wrong.

Full step-by-step mode (--bdd-steps)

Pass --bdd-steps to see every step for every scenario:

pytest --glaze --bdd-steps tests/bdd/

Supported scenario types

pytest-glaze handles every pytest-bdd scenario type:

Type	Rendering
All steps pass	Compact PASS line (default) or full steps (--bdd-steps)
Failing assertion in Then	Full steps with colored assert X == Y E line
Non-assertion error in When	Full steps with ExceptionType: message E line
Error in Given (setup crash)	ERROR on the Given step
Step not found	ERROR on the missing step, trimmed message
Skipped (@pytest.mark.skip)	--- SKIP Scenario: … with reason
Skipped via Gherkin tag (@skip)	Same as above via pytest_bdd_apply_tag
Xfail	Last step gets --- XFAIL badge
Xpass	Last step gets --- XPASS badge
Background steps	Dim Background: label before first background step
Scenario Outline	One compact/full line per example row
Multiple example tables	Each table's rows rendered independently
Docstring arguments	Transparent — steps render normally
Datatable arguments	Transparent — steps render normally
Teardown failure	--- ERROR teardown failed after the scenario line
Unicode scenario/step names	Fully supported
Tagged scenarios	Tags applied as pytest marks, rendering unaffected
Rule blocks	Scenarios inside Rules render identically
Shared steps (conftest)	Transparent — steps render normally
Wildcard * keyword	Rendered as continuation step
Generic @step decorator	Rendered identically to @given/@when/@then

Makefile targets for BDD

BDD_TESTS := tests/bdd/

FILE     ?=   # scope to a single file:  make test-bdd FILE=test_checkout
SCENARIO ?=   # scope to a scenario:     make test-bdd SCENARIO="Guest completes a purchase"

_BDD_PATH  := $(if $(FILE),tests/bdd/$(FILE).py,$(BDD_TESTS))
_BDD_KFLAG := $(if $(SCENARIO),-k "$(SCENARIO)",)

## test-bdd          Compact BDD output (default).
test-bdd:
	@PYTHONPATH=. $(PYTEST) $(FMT) $(_BDD_PATH) $(_BDD_KFLAG) $(ARGS)

## test-bdd-steps    Full step-by-step BDD output.
test-bdd-steps:
	@PYTHONPATH=. $(PYTEST) $(FMT) --bdd-steps $(_BDD_PATH) $(_BDD_KFLAG) $(ARGS)

## test-bdd-gherkin  Native pytest-bdd Gherkin terminal reporter (-v).
test-bdd-gherkin:
	@PYTHONPATH=. $(PYTEST) --gherkin-terminal-reporter -v $(_BDD_PATH) $(_BDD_KFLAG) $(ARGS)

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Noise suppression

pytest-glaze automatically suppresses lines that add no value in compact output — before any line is rendered:

• Omitting N identical items, use -vv to show
• Use -v to get more diff
• Full diff:

The meaningful diff lines remain. The noise does not.

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Compatibility

pytest-glaze is a pure formatter with no opinion on how you write your tests. It works alongside:

• pytest-cov — coverage reporting is unaffected
• pytest-xdist — formatting output is compatible; BDD hook ordering under parallel workers is not explicitly tested
• pytest-bdd — full BDD-aware rendering (see above)
• pytest-mock, pytest-asyncio, and any plugin that doesn't replace the terminal reporter

Note: Any plugin that also replaces the terminal reporter (e.g. pytest-rich) will conflict. Use one formatter at a time.

If you have addopts = "--glaze" in pyproject.toml or pytest.ini and hit a conflict error, override it for that run:

pytest -p no:pytest_glaze tests/

Or remove --glaze from addopts and pass it explicitly only when you want glaze output.

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Contributing

pytest-glaze is a personal project. If you find a failure shape the formatter doesn't handle well, open an issue with the raw pytest output and I'll take a look. Pull requests are welcome.

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License

MIT © mikejmz24

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pytest-glaze — because your test output deserves a coat of glaze. 🏺