pytest-language-server 🔥

A blazingly fast Language Server Protocol (LSP) implementation for pytest, built with Rust.

Demo

pytest-language-server demo

Showcasing go-to-definition, code completion, hover documentation, and code actions. Demo also vibed into existence. ✨

Shamelessly vibed into existence 🤖✨

This entire LSP implementation was built from scratch in a single AI-assisted coding session. No template. No boilerplate. Just pure vibes and Rust. That's right - a complete, working Language Server Protocol implementation for pytest, vibed into reality through the power of modern AI tooling. Even this message about vibing was vibed into existence.

Features

🎯 Go to Definition

Jump directly to fixture definitions from anywhere they're used:

Local fixtures in the same file
Fixtures in conftest.py files
Third-party fixtures from pytest plugins (pytest-mock, pytest-asyncio, etc.)
Respects pytest's fixture shadowing/priority rules

✨ Code Completion

Smart auto-completion for pytest fixtures:

Context-aware: Only triggers inside test functions and fixture functions
Hierarchy-respecting: Suggests fixtures based on pytest's priority rules (same file > conftest.py > third-party)
Rich information: Shows fixture source file and docstring
No duplicates: Automatically filters out shadowed fixtures
Works everywhere: Completions available in both function parameters and function bodies
Supports both sync and async functions

🔍 Find References

Find all usages of a fixture across your entire test suite:

Works from fixture definitions or usage sites
Character-position aware (distinguishes between fixture name and parameters)
Shows references in all test files
Correctly handles fixture overriding and hierarchies
LSP spec compliant: Always includes the current position in results

📚 Hover Documentation

View fixture information on hover:

Fixture signature
Source file location
Docstring (with proper formatting and dedenting)
Markdown support in docstrings

💡 Code Actions (Quick Fixes)

One-click fixes for common pytest issues:

Add missing fixture parameters: Automatically add undeclared fixtures to function signatures
Smart insertion: Handles both empty and existing parameter lists
Editor integration: Works with any LSP-compatible editor's quick fix menu
LSP compliant: Full support for CodeActionKind::QUICKFIX

⚠️ Diagnostics & Quick Fixes

Detect and fix common pytest fixture issues with intelligent code actions:

Undeclared Fixture Detection:

Detects when fixtures are used in function bodies but not declared as parameters
Line-aware scoping: Correctly handles local variables assigned later in the function
Hierarchy-aware: Only reports fixtures that are actually available in the current file's scope
Works in tests and fixtures: Detects undeclared usage in both test functions and fixture functions
Excludes built-in names (self, request) and actual local variables

One-Click Quick Fixes:

Code actions to automatically add missing fixture parameters
Intelligent parameter insertion (handles both empty and existing parameter lists)
Works with both single-line and multi-line function signatures
Triggered directly from diagnostic warnings

Example:

@pytest.fixture
def user_db():
    return Database()

def test_user(user_db):  # ✅ user_db properly declared
    user = user_db.get_user(1)
    assert user.name == "Alice"

def test_broken():  # ⚠️ Warning: 'user_db' used but not declared
    user = user_db.get_user(1)  # 💡 Quick fix: Add 'user_db' fixture parameter
    assert user.name == "Alice"

How to use quick fixes:

Place cursor on the warning squiggle
Trigger code actions menu (usually Cmd+. or Ctrl+. in most editors)
Select "Add 'fixture_name' fixture parameter"
The parameter is automatically added to your function signature

⚡️ Performance

Built with Rust for maximum performance:

Fast workspace scanning with concurrent file processing
Efficient AST parsing using rustpython-parser
Lock-free data structures with DashMap
Minimal memory footprint

Installation

Choose your preferred installation method:

📦 PyPI (Recommended)

The easiest way to install for Python projects:

# Using uv (recommended)
uv tool install pytest-language-server

# Or with pip
pip install pytest-language-server

# Or with pipx (isolated environment)
pipx install pytest-language-server

🍺 Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

Install via Homebrew for system-wide availability:

brew install bellini666/tap/pytest-language-server

To add the tap first:

brew tap bellini666/tap https://github.com/bellini666/pytest-language-server
brew install pytest-language-server

🦀 Cargo (Rust)

Install from crates.io if you have Rust installed:

cargo install pytest-language-server

📥 Pre-built Binaries

Download pre-built binaries from the GitHub Releases page.

Available for:

Linux: x86_64, aarch64, armv7 (glibc and musl)
macOS: Intel and Apple Silicon
Windows: x64 and x86

🔨 From Source

Build from source for development or customization:

git clone https://github.com/bellini666/pytest-language-server
cd pytest-language-server
cargo build --release

The binary will be at target/release/pytest-language-server.

Setup

Neovim (with nvim-lspconfig)

require'lspconfig'.pytest_lsp.setup{
  cmd = { "pytest-language-server" },
  filetypes = { "python" },
  root_dir = function(fname)
    return require'lspconfig'.util.root_pattern('pyproject.toml', 'setup.py', 'setup.cfg', 'pytest.ini')(fname)
  end,
}

Zed

Install from the extensions marketplace:

Open Zed
Open the command palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
Search for "zed: extensions"
Search for "pytest Language Server"
Click "Install"

The extension downloads platform-specific binaries from GitHub Releases. If you prefer to use your own installation (via pip, cargo, or brew), place pytest-language-server in your PATH.

VS Code

The extension includes pre-built binaries - no separate installation required!

Install from the Visual Studio Marketplace:

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X)
Search for "pytest Language Server"
Click "Install"

Works out of the box with zero configuration!

IntelliJ IDEA / PyCharm

The plugin includes pre-built binaries - no separate installation required!

Install from the JetBrains Marketplace:

Open PyCharm or IntelliJ IDEA
Go to Settings/Preferences → Plugins
Search for "pytest Language Server"
Click "Install"

Requires PyCharm 2024.2+ or IntelliJ IDEA 2024.2+ with Python plugin.

Other Editors

Any editor with LSP support can use pytest-language-server. Configure it to run the pytest-language-server command.

Configuration

Logging

Control log verbosity with the RUST_LOG environment variable:

# Minimal logging (default)
RUST_LOG=warn pytest-language-server

# Info level
RUST_LOG=info pytest-language-server

# Debug level (verbose)
RUST_LOG=debug pytest-language-server

# Trace level (very verbose)
RUST_LOG=trace pytest-language-server

Logs are written to stderr, so they won't interfere with LSP communication.

Virtual Environment Detection

The server automatically detects your Python virtual environment:

Checks for .venv/, venv/, or env/ in your project root
Falls back to $VIRTUAL_ENV environment variable
Scans third-party pytest plugins for fixtures

Code Actions / Quick Fixes

Code actions are automatically available on diagnostic warnings. If code actions don't appear in your editor:

Check LSP capabilities: Ensure your editor supports code actions (most modern editors do)
Enable debug logging: Use RUST_LOG=info to see if actions are being created
Verify diagnostics: Code actions only appear where there are warnings
Trigger manually: Use your editor's code action keybinding (Cmd+. / Ctrl+.)

For detailed troubleshooting, see CODE_ACTION_TESTING.md.

CLI Commands

In addition to the LSP server mode, pytest-language-server provides useful command-line tools:

Fixtures List

View all fixtures in your test suite with a hierarchical tree view:

# List all fixtures
pytest-language-server fixtures list tests/

# Skip unused fixtures
pytest-language-server fixtures list tests/ --skip-unused

# Show only unused fixtures
pytest-language-server fixtures list tests/ --only-unused

The output includes:

Color-coded display: Files in cyan, directories in blue, used fixtures in green, unused in gray
Usage statistics: Shows how many times each fixture is used
Smart filtering: Hides files and directories with no matching fixtures
Hierarchical structure: Visualizes fixture organization across conftest.py files

Example output:

Fixtures tree for: /path/to/tests

conftest.py (7 fixtures)
├── another_fixture (used 2 times)
├── cli_runner (used 7 times)
├── database (used 6 times)
├── generator_fixture (used 1 time)
├── iterator_fixture (unused)
├── sample_fixture (used 7 times)
└── shared_resource (used 5 times)
subdir/
└── conftest.py (4 fixtures)
    ├── cli_runner (used 7 times)
    ├── database (used 6 times)
    ├── local_fixture (used 4 times)
    └── sample_fixture (used 7 times)

This command is useful for:

Auditing fixture usage across your test suite
Finding unused fixtures that can be removed
Understanding fixture organization and hierarchy
Documentation - visualizing available fixtures for developers

Supported Fixture Patterns

Decorator Style

@pytest.fixture
def my_fixture():
    """Fixture docstring."""
    return 42

Assignment Style (pytest-mock)

mocker = pytest.fixture()(_mocker)

Async Fixtures

@pytest.fixture
async def async_fixture():
    return await some_async_operation()

Fixture Dependencies

@pytest.fixture
def fixture_a():
    return "a"

@pytest.fixture
def fixture_b(fixture_a):  # Go to definition works on fixture_a
    return fixture_a + "b"

Fixture Priority Rules

pytest-language-server correctly implements pytest's fixture shadowing rules:

Same file: Fixtures defined in the same file have highest priority
Closest conftest.py: Searches parent directories for conftest.py files
Virtual environment: Third-party plugin fixtures

Fixture Overriding

The LSP correctly handles complex fixture overriding scenarios:

# conftest.py (parent)
@pytest.fixture
def cli_runner():
    return "parent runner"

# tests/conftest.py (child)
@pytest.fixture
def cli_runner(cli_runner):  # Overrides parent
    return cli_runner  # Uses parent

# tests/test_example.py
def test_example(cli_runner):  # Uses child
    pass

When using find-references:

Clicking on the function name def cli_runner(...) shows references to the child fixture
Clicking on the parameter cli_runner(cli_runner) shows references to the parent fixture
Character-position aware to distinguish between the two

Supported Third-Party Fixtures

Automatically discovers fixtures from popular pytest plugins:

pytest-mock: mocker, class_mocker
pytest-asyncio: event_loop
pytest-django: Database fixtures
pytest-cov: Coverage fixtures
And any other pytest plugin in your environment

Architecture

Language: Rust 🦀
LSP Framework: tower-lsp
Parser: rustpython-parser
Concurrency: tokio async runtime
Data Structures: DashMap for lock-free concurrent access

Development

Prerequisites

Rust 1.83+ (2021 edition)
Python 3.10+ (for testing)

Building

cargo build --release

Running Tests

cargo test

Logging During Development

RUST_LOG=debug cargo run

Security

Security is a priority. This project includes:

Automated dependency vulnerability scanning (cargo-audit)
License compliance checking (cargo-deny)
Daily security audits in CI/CD
Dependency review on pull requests
Pre-commit security hooks

See SECURITY.md for our security policy and how to report vulnerabilities.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Development Setup

Install pre-commit hooks:
```
pre-commit install
```
Run security checks locally:
```
cargo audit
cargo clippy
cargo test
```

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Built with:

tower-lsp - LSP framework
rustpython-parser - Python AST parsing
tokio - Async runtime

Special thanks to the pytest team for creating such an amazing testing framework.

Made with ❤️ and Rust. Shamelessly vibed into existence. Blazingly fast. 🔥

When you need a pytest LSP and the vibes are just right. ✨

pytest-language-server 0.9.0