scripttest

2.0.post1 verified Fri May 01 auth: no python maintenance

A library for testing command-line scripts (CLI applications) in Python. It provides a TestEnvironment that captures stdout, stderr, and simulates stdin. Current version 2.0.post1. Release cadence is low; no new releases for several years.

pip install scripttest

Common errors

error AttributeError: module 'scripttest' has no attribute 'testing' ↓

cause Importing from scripttest.testing in scripttest 2.x raises AttributeError because the submodule is removed.

fix

Use 'from scripttest import TestEnvironment'.

error TypeError: cannot unpack non-iterable Result object ↓

cause Unpacking the result of env.run() as a tuple is no longer supported in scripttest 2.x.

fix

Access result.stdout, result.stderr, result.returncode instead of unpacking.

Warnings

breaking TestEnvironment.run() no longer returns a tuple; it returns a Result object with .stdout, .stderr, .returncode attributes. Code using tuple unpacking (stdout, stderr, returncode) in scripttest 1.x will break. ↓

fix Access attributes: result.stdout, result.stderr, result.returncode instead of unpacking.

deprecated scripttest.testing module is deprecated; import TestEnvironment directly from scripttest. ↓

fix Use 'from scripttest import TestEnvironment'.

gotcha By default, TestEnvironment runs commands in a temporary directory. Access to the current working directory or files outside the temp dir may require explicit path setup. ↓

fix Use env.set_cwd('/path') or pass cwd to run().

Imports

TestEnvironment
wrong
```
from scripttest.testing import TestEnvironment
```
correct
```
from scripttest import TestEnvironment
```
In version 1.x TestEnvironment was in scripttest.testing; in 2.x it's imported directly from scripttest.

Quickstart

Basic usage: create a TestEnvironment, then run a command using env.run(). Check stdout, stderr, and returncode.

import os
import sys
from scripttest import TestEnvironment

def test_hello_world():
    env = TestEnvironment()
    # Run a simple echo command
    result = env.run('echo', 'Hello World')
    assert result.stdout == 'Hello World\n'
    assert result.returncode == 0
    print("Test passed!")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    test_hello_world()