Django Test Runner

A VS Code extension that resolves the Python test path from your cursor position and runs it with a configurable command. Built for Django but works with any Python test runner — pytest, unittest, nose2, tox, and more.

Works in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and VSCodium.

Features

• Run Closest Method Test — runs the test method nearest to your cursor
• Run Closest Class Tests — runs all tests in the class nearest to your cursor
• Run Current File Tests — runs all tests in the current file
• Run Current App Tests — runs all tests in the current app
• Run Previous Tests — re-runs the last test command
• Smart Parsing — indentation-aware class/method detection that correctly handles nested classes and strings containing "class"
• Terminal Reuse — reuses a single "Django Test Runner" terminal instead of creating new ones

All commands are available from the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P).

How It Works

The extension builds a test command from your settings and sends it to the terminal:

[prefixCommand] [pythonPath] [manageProgram] [testPath] [flags]

For a standard Django project with manage.py in the workspace root, no configuration is needed. The default manageProgram is manage.py test, so running "Run Closest Method Test" produces something like:

python manage.py test myapp.tests.test_models.MyTestCase.test_create

Configuration

Setting	Type	Default	Description
python.djangoTestRunner.manageProgram	string	"manage.py test"	The test command. Can be any command that accepts a test path.
python.djangoTestRunner.prefixCommand	string	""	Prefix before the command (env vars, cd, docker, etc.)
python.djangoTestRunner.flags	string	""	Flags appended after the test path
python.djangoTestRunner.useVSCodePythonPath	boolean	true	Use the Python interpreter from the Python extension
python.djangoTestRunner.stripRootFolder	boolean	false	Strip the first folder from the test path
python.djangoTestRunner.rootPackageName	string	""	Root package name to strip from test paths
python.djangoTestRunner.djangoNose	boolean	false	Use colon separator for django-nose syntax

Examples

Since the command is fully configurable, you can adapt it to any setup:

// pytest
{ "python.djangoTestRunner.manageProgram": "pytest", "python.djangoTestRunner.useVSCodePythonPath": false }

// Docker Compose
{ "python.djangoTestRunner.prefixCommand": "docker compose exec web", "python.djangoTestRunner.useVSCodePythonPath": false }

// Poetry
{ "python.djangoTestRunner.prefixCommand": "poetry run" }

// tox
{ "python.djangoTestRunner.manageProgram": "tox -- ", "python.djangoTestRunner.useVSCodePythonPath": false }

// manage.py in a subdirectory (e.g., src/)
{ "python.djangoTestRunner.prefixCommand": "cd src &&", "python.djangoTestRunner.stripRootFolder": true }

Set useVSCodePythonPath to false whenever your test command already includes a Python interpreter or doesn't need one (pytest, tox, docker, etc.).

Keybindings

No default keybindings are included to avoid conflicts with VS Code built-ins. Add your own in keybindings.json (Cmd+Shift+P > "Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON)"):

[
    { "key": "ctrl+t ctrl+m", "command": "python.djangoTestRunner.runMethodTests" },
    { "key": "ctrl+t ctrl+c", "command": "python.djangoTestRunner.runClassTests" },
    { "key": "ctrl+t ctrl+f", "command": "python.djangoTestRunner.runFileTests" },
    { "key": "ctrl+t ctrl+a", "command": "python.djangoTestRunner.runAppTests" },
    { "key": "ctrl+t ctrl+p", "command": "python.djangoTestRunner.runPreviousTests" }
]

Troubleshooting

Wrong test path? Use stripRootFolder or rootPackageName to adjust the path prefix. This is common when manage.py lives in a subdirectory.

Python path not detected? Ensure the Python extension is installed and an interpreter is selected, or set useVSCodePythonPath to false.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and guidelines.

License

MIT