Test Executor Skill

Purpose

This skill provides systematic test execution capabilities across different test types (unit, integration, e2e) with proper configuration, parallel execution, test filtering, and comprehensive reporting.

When to Use

• Running unit tests for a module or feature
• Executing integration tests with external dependencies
• Running full test suite before commit/PR
• Debugging failing tests with verbose output
• Checking test execution time and performance
• Running tests in different environments (dev, CI/CD)

Test Execution Workflow

1. Test Discovery and Planning

Identify Test Scope:

# Discover all test files
pytest --collect-only

# Count tests by directory
pytest --collect-only tests/unit/
pytest --collect-only tests/integration/
pytest --collect-only tests/e2e/

# Show test structure
pytest --collect-only -q

Analyze Test Organization:

# List all test files
find tests/ -name "test_*.py" -o -name "*_test.py"

# Count tests by type
ls tests/unit/test_*.py | wc -l
ls tests/integration/test_*.py | wc -l

# Check for test markers
grep -r "@pytest.mark" tests/

Deliverable: Test inventory and execution plan

---

2. Unit Test Execution

Run All Unit Tests:

# Basic execution
pytest tests/unit/

# Verbose output with test names
pytest tests/unit/ -v

# Extra verbose with test details
pytest tests/unit/ -vv

# Show print statements
pytest tests/unit/ -s

# Fail fast (stop on first failure)
pytest tests/unit/ -x

# Run last failed tests only
pytest tests/unit/ --lf

Run Specific Tests:

# Run specific test file
pytest tests/unit/test_feature.py

# Run specific test function
pytest tests/unit/test_feature.py::test_function_name

# Run specific test class
pytest tests/unit/test_feature.py::TestClassName

# Run specific test method
pytest tests/unit/test_feature.py::TestClassName::test_method_name

# Run tests matching pattern
pytest tests/unit/ -k "test_create"
pytest tests/unit/ -k "test_create or test_update"
pytest tests/unit/ -k "not slow"

Run with Markers:

# Run only fast tests
pytest tests/unit/ -m "not slow"

# Run only smoke tests
pytest tests/unit/ -m "smoke"

# Run tests with multiple markers
pytest tests/unit/ -m "smoke and not slow"

# List available markers
pytest --markers

Deliverable: Unit test execution results

---

3. Integration Test Execution

Run Integration Tests:

# Run all integration tests
pytest tests/integration/ -v

# Run with longer timeout for external services
pytest tests/integration/ --timeout=300

# Run with specific environment
ENV=test pytest tests/integration/

# Skip slow integration tests
pytest tests/integration/ -m "not slow"

Run with Database/Services:

# Run with test database
pytest tests/integration/ --db-url=sqlite:///test.db

# Run with Docker containers (if using testcontainers)
pytest tests/integration/ --with-docker

# Run with mocked external services
pytest tests/integration/ --mock-external

# Run with real external services
pytest tests/integration/ --real-services

Deliverable: Integration test results

---

4. End-to-End Test Execution

Run E2E Tests:

# Run all E2E tests
pytest tests/e2e/ -v

# Run with specific browser (if web app)
pytest tests/e2e/ --browser=chrome
pytest tests/e2e/ --browser=firefox

# Run headless
pytest tests/e2e/ --headless

# Run with screenshots on failure
pytest tests/e2e/ --screenshot-on-failure

Deliverable: E2E test results

---

5. Parallel Test Execution

Run Tests in Parallel:

# Install pytest-xdist if not installed
pip install pytest-xdist

# Run with auto CPU detection
pytest tests/unit/ -n auto

# Run with specific number of workers
pytest tests/unit/ -n 4

# Run with load balancing
pytest tests/unit/ -n auto --dist=loadscope

# Run with worksteal for uneven test distribution
pytest tests/unit/ -n auto --dist=worksteal

Performance Optimization:

# Show slowest tests
pytest tests/unit/ --durations=10

# Show slowest 20 tests
pytest tests/unit/ --durations=20

# Profile test execution
pytest tests/unit/ --profile

# Run with timing
time pytest tests/unit/

Deliverable: Parallel execution metrics

---

6. Test Debugging

Debug Failing Tests:

# Show full diff on assertion failures
pytest tests/unit/ -vv

# Drop into debugger on failure
pytest tests/unit/ --pdb

# Drop into debugger on first failure
pytest tests/unit/ -x --pdb

# Show local variables in traceback
pytest tests/unit/ -l

# Show captured output on failure
pytest tests/unit/ --tb=short
pytest tests/unit/ --tb=long
pytest tests/unit/ --tb=native

Rerun Failed Tests:

# Rerun last failed tests
pytest tests/unit/ --lf

# Run failed first, then others
pytest tests/unit/ --ff

# Rerun failed tests with more verbosity
pytest tests/unit/ --lf -vv

# Clear cache and rerun
pytest tests/unit/ --cache-clear

Deliverable: Debug output and failure analysis

---

7. Test Reporting

Generate Test Reports:

# Generate JUnit XML report (for CI/CD)
pytest tests/ --junitxml=reports/junit.xml

# Generate HTML report
pip install pytest-html
pytest tests/ --html=reports/report.html --self-contained-html

# Generate JSON report
pip install pytest-json-report
pytest tests/ --json-report --json-report-file=reports/report.json

# Generate multiple reports
pytest tests/ \
  --junitxml=reports/junit.xml \
  --html=reports/report.html \
  --self-contained-html

Test Summary:

# Short summary
pytest tests/ -q

# Summary with reasons for skipped/failed tests
pytest tests/ -ra

# Summary for passed tests
pytest tests/ -rP

# Summary for failed tests
pytest tests/ -rf

# Summary for errors
pytest tests/ -rE

# Summary for all
pytest tests/ -rA

Deliverable: Test reports in multiple formats

---

8. CI/CD Integration

Run Tests in CI/CD Pipeline:

# Standard CI test run
pytest tests/ \
  --junitxml=reports/junit.xml \
  --cov=src \
  --cov-report=xml \
  --cov-report=html \
  -v

# With strict markers (fail on unknown markers)
pytest tests/ --strict-markers

# With warnings as errors
pytest tests/ -W error

# With maximum verbosity for CI logs
pytest tests/ -vv --tb=short

GitHub Actions Example:

# .github/workflows/test.yml
- name: Run tests
  run: |
    pytest tests/ \
      --junitxml=reports/junit.xml \
      --cov=src \
      --cov-report=xml \
      --cov-fail-under=80 \
      -v

Deliverable: CI/CD-ready test execution

---

Test Execution Patterns

Full Test Suite

# Complete test run with all checks
pytest tests/ \
  -v \
  --cov=src \
  --cov-report=html \
  --cov-report=term-missing \
  --junitxml=reports/junit.xml \
  --html=reports/report.html \
  --self-contained-html

Fast Feedback Loop

# Quick tests for development
pytest tests/unit/ \
  -x \
  --ff \
  --tb=short \
  -q

Pre-Commit Tests

# Run before committing changes
pytest tests/unit/ tests/integration/ \
  -v \
  --cov=src \
  --cov-fail-under=80

Nightly/Comprehensive Tests

# Full test suite including slow tests
pytest tests/ \
  -v \
  --cov=src \
  --cov-report=html \
  --durations=20 \
  --junitxml=reports/junit.xml

---

Test Configuration

pytest.ini Configuration

# pytest.ini
[pytest]
testpaths = tests
python_files = test_*.py *_test.py
python_classes = Test*
python_functions = test_*

# Markers
markers =
    slow: marks tests as slow (deselect with '-m "not slow"')
    integration: marks tests as integration tests
    e2e: marks tests as end-to-end tests
    smoke: marks tests as smoke tests

# Options
addopts =
    -v
    --strict-markers
    --tb=short
    --disable-warnings

# Coverage
[coverage:run]
source = src
omit = tests/*,*/__init__.py

[coverage:report]
exclude_lines =
    pragma: no cover
    def __repr__
    raise AssertionError
    raise NotImplementedError
    if __name__ == .__main__.:

pyproject.toml Configuration

# pyproject.toml
[tool.pytest.ini_options]
testpaths = ["tests"]
python_files = ["test_*.py", "*_test.py"]
addopts = [
    "-v",
    "--strict-markers",
    "--tb=short",
]
markers = [
    "slow: marks tests as slow",
    "integration: marks integration tests",
    "e2e: marks end-to-end tests",
]

[tool.coverage.run]
source = ["src"]
omit = ["tests/*", "*/__init__.py"]

[tool.coverage.report]
fail_under = 80
exclude_lines = [
    "pragma: no cover",
    "def __repr__",
    "raise NotImplementedError",
]

---

Test Execution Checklist

Pre-Execution

• Virtual environment activated
• Dependencies installed
• Test database/services running (if needed)
• Environment variables set
• Previous test artifacts cleaned

Execution

• Unit tests running and passing
• Integration tests running and passing
• E2E tests running and passing (if applicable)
• No skipped tests (or justified)
• No flaky tests detected

Post-Execution

• All tests passed
• Test reports generated
• Coverage calculated (separate skill)
• Performance metrics captured
• Cleanup completed

---

Common Test Execution Commands

Quick Reference

# Fast unit tests
pytest tests/unit/ -x --ff -q

# All tests with coverage
pytest tests/ --cov=src --cov-report=term-missing

# CI/CD full run
pytest tests/ \
  --junitxml=reports/junit.xml \
  --cov=src \
  --cov-report=xml \
  --cov-fail-under=80 \
  -v

# Debug specific test
pytest tests/unit/test_feature.py::test_function -vv --pdb

# Parallel execution
pytest tests/unit/ -n auto

# Performance analysis
pytest tests/ --durations=10

# Rerun failures
pytest tests/ --lf -vv

---

Test Execution Troubleshooting

Tests Not Found

# Check test discovery
pytest --collect-only

# Verify pytest.ini configuration
cat pytest.ini

# Check file naming
ls tests/test_*.py

Import Errors

# Check PYTHONPATH
echo $PYTHONPATH

# Install package in development mode
pip install -e .

# Verify imports
python -c "import src.module"

Slow Tests

# Identify slow tests
pytest tests/ --durations=20

# Run in parallel
pytest tests/ -n auto

# Skip slow tests during development
pytest tests/ -m "not slow"

Flaky Tests

# Run tests multiple times
for i in {1..10}; do pytest tests/ || break; done

# Run in random order
pip install pytest-randomly
pytest tests/ --randomly-seed=1234

# Use pytest-rerunfailures
pip install pytest-rerunfailures
pytest tests/ --reruns 3

---

Integration with Test Runner Specialist

Input: Test execution request from specialist agent Process: Execute tests with appropriate configuration Output: Test results, execution logs, and metrics Next Step: Coverage analysis by coverage-analyzer skill

---

Test Execution Best Practices

Development

• Run unit tests frequently (every few minutes)
• Use -x --ff for fast feedback
• Focus on relevant tests with -k pattern matching
• Keep unit tests fast (< 1 minute total)

Pre-Commit

• Run unit and integration tests
• Verify coverage meets threshold
• Check for flaky tests
• Ensure all tests pass

CI/CD

• Run full test suite
• Generate reports for tracking
• Fail on coverage below threshold
• Run tests in parallel for speed
• Archive test artifacts

Debugging

• Use -vv for detailed output
• Use --pdb to drop into debugger
• Use -l to show local variables
• Run single test in isolation

---

Supporting Resources

• pytest documentation: https://docs.pytest.org
• pytest-cov: Coverage plugin
• pytest-xdist: Parallel execution plugin
• pytest-html: HTML report generation

---

Success Metrics

• All tests discovered and executed
• Test execution time acceptable (unit < 1 min, full < 10 min)
• Test reports generated successfully
• No flaky tests detected
• Tests pass consistently
• Performance metrics captured