pytest collected zero tests

Playbook ID: pytest-no-tests Category: test Severity: medium Tags: pytest, python, test, collection, discovery

What this failure means

pytest exited with code 5 because it collected zero tests. No tests matched the given path, filter expression, or marker constraint.

Common log signals

collected 0 items
no tests ran
exit code: 5
exit code 5
ExitCode.NO_TESTS_COLLECTED
no tests were run
ERROR: not found:
collected 0 items / 1 error

Diagnosis

pytest reserves exit code 5 for the specific condition where it starts successfully, finishes collection, and finds nothing to run. This is distinct from a collection error (exit code 2) or a test failure (exit code 1).

Common causes:

• The test path passed to pytest does not match any test files or functions.
• A -k expression or -m marker filter excludes every collected item.
• Test files exist but do not match the configured python_files or python_functions glob patterns.
• The working directory is wrong so pytest cannot discover the test root.
• testpaths in pytest.ini or pyproject.toml points at a non-existent directory, or the test directory was not checked out by a shallow clone.

Fix steps

1. Run collection in dry-run mode to see what pytest discovers:

   pytest --collect-only
   

2. If using a path argument, confirm the path exists and contains test files prefixed test_ or suffixed _test.py.

3. Check for an overly restrictive -k or -m filter in the pytest invocation or in addopts inside pytest.ini / pyproject.toml:

   # pyproject.toml — watch for addopts entries that exclude by default
   [tool.pytest.ini_options]
   addopts = "-m not slow"
   

4. Verify testpaths points at the correct directory:

   python -m pytest --co -q 2>&1 | head -20
   

5. If the test directory requires generation or exists only on certain branches, ensure the CI job checks it out before running pytest.

Validation

• pytest --collect-only returns at least one test item with exit code 0.
• pytest exits with code 0 (tests ran) rather than code 5 (nothing collected).

Likely files to inspect

• pytest.ini
• pyproject.toml
• setup.cfg
• conftest.py

Run Faultline

faultline analyze build.log
faultline explain pytest-no-tests
faultline workflow build.log --json --mode agent

Search phrases this page answers

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• ExitCode.NO_TESTS_COLLECTED
• faultline explain pytest-no-tests
• Python pytest collected zero tests

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