running-tests

name	running-tests
description	Use when running pytest, checking test results, or understanding test infrastructure in aiida-core.

Running tests in aiida-core

Always invoke via uv run so tests pick up the locked project environment. Never use bare python or pytest.

Installing the dev environment

uv sync                                           # install from uv.lock

Running tests

uv run pytest                                     # full suite (requires PostgreSQL + RabbitMQ)
uv run pytest -m presto                           # quick subset (SqliteTempBackend, no services)
uv run pytest tests/orm/test_nodes.py             # specific module
uv run pytest tests/orm/test_nodes.py::TestNode   # specific class
uv run pytest tests/orm/test_nodes.py::TestNode::test_store  # specific method
uv run pytest -n auto                             # parallel
uv run pytest -x --ff                             # stop on first failure, failed first on rerun
uv run pytest --no-instafail                       # disable instant failure output (enabled by default via addopts)
uv run pytest --cov aiida                         # run with coverage

Pytest plugins and default options

The project uses several pytest plugins (configured in pyproject.toml under [tool.pytest.ini_options]): pytest-instafail (show failures instantly, enabled by default), pytest-xdist (parallel via -n), pytest-cov, pytest-timeout, pytest-rerunfailures, pytest-benchmark (skipped by default), pytest-regressions.

Default addopts: --instafail --tb=short --strict-config --strict-markers -ra --benchmark-skip --durations=5.

Notes

• presto-marked tests use an in-memory SqliteTempBackend. If they fail, the bug is in the code, not in service configuration.
• Tests have a default timeout of 240 seconds (pytest-timeout). Override per-test with @pytest.mark.timeout(seconds) if needed.
• Transport tests require passwordless SSH to localhost.
• Reusable fixtures live in tests/conftest.py and per-subtree conftest.py files, check there before writing ad-hoc setup.
• See the writing-tests skill for test philosophy, marker conventions, and parametrization patterns.

verdi test helpers

verdi devel launch-add            # launch test ArithmeticAddCalculation
verdi devel launch-multiply-add   # launch test MultiplyAddWorkChain