fix: show correct program name in argparse help/errors#14126
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RonnyPfannschmidt merged 4 commits intoMay 25, 2026
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Pull request overview
This pull request fixes issue #1764 by displaying the correct program name in argparse help and error messages based on how pytest was invoked. Previously, programmatic invocations could show confusing names like setup.py: error:.
Changes:
- Added
_get_prog_name()helper function to determine the appropriate program name based on invocation context - Modified
main()to accept a private_invoked_from_consoleparameter and pass the program name through the configuration chain - Updated
console_main()to set_invoked_from_console=Truewhen called from CLI - Extended
get_config(),_prepareconfig(), andConfig.__init__()to accept and propagate theprogparameter
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| src/_pytest/config/init.py | Implements the core logic for determining and setting the program name based on invocation context |
| testing/test_config.py | Adds comprehensive test coverage for the new functionality including unit tests for _get_prog_name() and integration tests for error/help messages |
| changelog/1764.improvement.rst | Documents the improvement for users |
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bluetech
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Jan 18, 2026
Display 'pytest', 'python -m pytest', or 'pytest.main()' based on how pytest was invoked, fixing confusing error messages when calling pytest.main() programmatically. Fixes pytest-dev#1764 Co-authored-by: Cursor AI <ai@cursor.sh> Co-authored-by: Anthropic Claude Opus 4 <claude@anthropic.com>
- Extract _main() so main() stays a clean public API without internal parameters leaking into autodoc - _get_prog_name() now takes a plain argv: Sequence[str] — the invoked_from_console boolean is gone; console_main resolves the prog name from sys.argv, main() always passes "pytest.main()" - Pass prog through Parser/PytestArgumentParser constructors instead of setting the attribute after construction - Simplify tests to match the new single-responsibility _get_prog_name Co-authored-by: Cursor AI <ai@cursor.sh> Co-authored-by: Anthropic Claude Opus 4 <claude@anthropic.com>
Make the real implementation _console_main() private. The public console_main() now emits PytestRemovedIn10Warning and delegates. Entry points (pyproject.toml) and __main__.py call _console_main directly so normal CLI usage is unaffected. Co-authored-by: Cursor AI <ai@cursor.sh> Co-authored-by: Anthropic Claude Opus 4 <claude@anthropic.com>
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The deprecated pytest.console_main() is referenced with :func: in the changelog fragment and deprecations.rst, but has no autofunction directive in the reference docs (intentionally, since it's being removed). Add it to nitpick_ignore so the RTD build passes. Co-authored-by: Cursor AI <ai@cursor.sh> Co-authored-by: Anthropic Claude Opus 4 <claude@anthropic.com>
nicoddemus
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May 25, 2026
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Nice, never noticed that particular wart.
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its one of the oldest bugs still open, oldest first is terrifying sometimes |
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Summary
pytest,python -m pytest, orpytest.main()in help/error messages based on how pytest was invokedsetup.py: error:when callingpytest.main()programmaticallyFixes #1764