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Ward

Ward is a modern test framework for Python with a focus on productivity and readability.

Install / Use

/learn @darrenburns/Ward

README

<img src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/5740731/119056107-085c6900-b9c2-11eb-9699-f54ef4945623.png" width="350px">

Codecov Documentation Status PyPI version

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Ward is a Python testing framework with a focus on productivity and readability. It gives you the tools you need to write well-documented and scalable tests.

[!IMPORTANT]
I am no longer actively maintaining this project.

<img alt="Ward typical test output example" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/5740731/118399779-a795ff00-b656-11eb-8fca-4ceb03151f3e.png">

Features

See the full set of features in the documentation.

Descriptive test names: describe what your tests do using strings, not function names.

@test("simple addition")  # you can use markdown in these descriptions!
def _():
    assert 1 + 2 == 3  # you can use plain assert statements!

Modular test dependencies: manage test setup/teardown code using fixtures that rely on Python's import system, not name matching.

@fixture
def user():
    return User(name="darren")


@test("the user is called darren")
def _(u=user):
    assert u.name == "darren"

Support for asyncio: define your tests and fixtures with async def and call asynchronous code within them.

@fixture
async def user():
    u = await create_user()
    return await u.login()


@test("the logged in user has a last session date")
async def _(user=user):
    last_session = await get_last_session_date(user.id)
    assert is_recent(last_session, get_last_session_date)

Powerful test selection: limit your test run not only by matching test names/descriptions, but also on the code contained in the body of the test.

ward --search "Database.get_all_users"

Or use tag expressions for more powerful filtering.

ward --tags "(unit or integration) and not slow"

Parameterised testing: write a test once, and run it multiple times with different inputs by writing it in a loop.

for lhs, rhs, res in [
    (1, 1, 2),
    (2, 3, 5),
]:

    @test("simple addition")
    def _(left=lhs, right=rhs, result=res):
        assert left + right == result

Cross platform: Tested on Mac OS, Linux, and Windows.

Speedy: Ward's suite of ~320 tests run in less than half a second on my machine.

Zero config: Sensible defaults mean running ward with no arguments is enough to get started. Can be configured using pyproject.toml or the command line if required.

Extendable: Ward has a plugin system built with pluggy, the same framework used by pytest.

Colourful, human readable output: quickly pinpoint and fix issues with detailed output for failing tests.

<img alt="Ward failing test output example" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/5740731/120125898-5dfaf780-c1b2-11eb-9acd-b9cd0ff24110.png">

Getting Started

Have a look at the documentation!

How to Contribute

Contributions are very welcome and encouraged!

See the contributing guide for information on how you can take part in the development of Ward.

View on GitHub
GitHub Stars1.2k
CategoryDevelopment
Updated2d ago
Forks55

Languages

Python

Security Score

100/100

Audited on Apr 3, 2026

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