ESP-IDF Tests with Pytest Guide

This documentation is a guide that introduces the following aspects:

  1. The basic idea of different test types in ESP-IDF

  2. How to apply the pytest framework to the test python scripts to make sure the apps are working as expected.

  3. ESP-IDF CI target test process

  4. Run ESP-IDF tests with pytest locally

  5. Tips and tricks on pytest

Disclaimer

In ESP-IDF, we use the following plugins by default:

All the introduced concepts and usages are based on the default behavior in ESP-IDF. Not all of them are available in vanilla pytest.

Installation

All dependencies could be installed by running the install script with the --enable-pytest argument, e.g., $ install.sh --enable-pytest.

Common Issues During Installation

No Package ‘dbus-1’ found

If you’re facing an error message like:

configure: error: Package requirements (dbus-1 >= 1.8) were not met:

No package 'dbus-1' found

Consider adjusting the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable if you
installed software in a non-standard prefix.

If you’re running under ubuntu system, you may need to run:

sudo apt-get install libdbus-glib-1-dev

or

sudo apt-get install libdbus-1-dev

For other linux distros, you may Google the error message and find the solution. This issue could be solved by installing the related header files.

Invalid command ‘bdist_wheel’

If you’re facing an error message like:

error: invalid command 'bdist_wheel'

You may need to run:

python -m pip install -U pip

Or

python -m pip install wheel

Before running the pip commands, please make sure you’re using the IDF python virtual environment.

Basic Concepts

Component-based Unit Tests

Component-based unit tests are our recommended way to test your component. All the test apps should be located under ${IDF_PATH}/components/<COMPONENT_NAME>/test_apps.

For example:

components/
└── my_component/
    ├── include/
    │   └── ...
    ├── test_apps/
    │   ├── test_app_1
    │   │   ├── main/
    │   │   │   └── ...
    │   │   ├── CMakeLists.txt
    │   │   └── pytest_my_component_app_1.py
    │   ├── test_app_2
    │   │   ├── ...
    │   │   └── pytest_my_component_app_2.py
    │   └── parent_folder
    │       ├── test_app_3
    │       │   ├── ...
    │       │   └── pytest_my_component_app_3.py
    │       └── ...
    ├── my_component.c
    └── CMakeLists.txt

Example Tests

Example Tests are tests for examples that are intended to demonstrate parts of the ESP-IDF functionality to our customers.

All the test apps should be located under ${IDF_PATH}/examples. For more information please refer to the Examples Readme .

For example:

examples/
└── parent_folder/
    └── example_1/
        ├── main/
        │   └── ...
        ├── CMakeLists.txt
        └── pytest_example_1.py

Custom Tests

Custom Tests are tests that aim to run some arbitrary test internally. They are not intended to demonstrate the ESP-IDF functionality to our customers in any way.

All the test apps should be located under ${IDF_PATH}/tools/test_apps. For more information please refer to the Custom Test Readme .

Pytest in ESP-IDF

Pytest Execution Process

  1. Bootstrapping Phase

    Create session-scoped caches:

    • port-target cache

    • port-app cache

  2. Collection Phase

    1. Get all the python files with the prefix pytest_

    2. Get all the test functions with the prefix test_

    3. Apply the params, and duplicate the test functions.

    4. Filter the test cases with CLI options. Introduced detailed usages here

  3. Test Running Phase

    1. Construct the fixtures. In ESP-IDF, the common fixtures are initialized in this order:

      1. pexpect_proc: pexpect instance

      2. app: IdfApp instance

        The information of the app, like sdkconfig, flash_files, partition_table, etc., would be parsed at this phase.

      3. serial: IdfSerial instance

        The port of the host which connected to the target type parsed from the app would be auto-detected. The flash files would be auto flashed.

      4. dut: IdfDut instance

    2. Run the real test function

    3. Deconstruct the fixtures in this order:

      1. dut

        1. close the serial port

        2. (Only for apps with unity test framework) generate junit report of the unity test cases

      2. serial

      3. app

      4. pexpect_proc: Close the file descriptor

    4. (Only for apps with unity test framework)

      Raise AssertionError when detected unity test failed if you call dut.expect_from_unity_output() in the test function.

  4. Reporting Phase

    1. Generate junit report of the test functions

    2. Modify the junit report test case name into ESP-IDF test case ID format: <target>.<config>.<test function name>

  5. Finalizing Phase (Only for apps with unity test framework)

    Combine the junit reports if the junit reports of the unity test cases are generated.

Getting Started Example

This code example is taken from pytest_console_basic.py .

@pytest.mark.esp32
@pytest.mark.esp32c3
@pytest.mark.generic
@pytest.mark.parametrize('config', [
    'history',
    'nohistory',
], indirect=True)
def test_console_advanced(config: str, dut: IdfDut) -> None:
    if config == 'history':
        dut.expect('Command history enabled')
    elif config == 'nohistory':
        dut.expect('Command history disabled')

Let’s go through this simple test case line by line in the following subsections.

Use Markers to Specify the Supported Targets

@pytest.mark.esp32     # <-- support esp32
@pytest.mark.esp32c3   # <-- support esp32c3
@pytest.mark.generic   # <-- test env "generic"

The above lines indicate that this test case supports target esp32 and esp32c3, the target board type should be “generic”. If you want to know what is the “generic” type refers to, you may run pytest --markers to get the detailed information of all markers.

Note

If the test case supports all officially ESP-IDF supported targets (You may check the value via “idf.py –list-targets”), you can use a special marker supported_targets to apply all of them in one line.

Use Params to Specify the sdkconfig Files

You can use pytest.mark.parametrize with “config” to apply the same test to different apps with different sdkconfig files. For more information about sdkconfig.ci.xxx files, please refer to the Configuration Files section under this readme .

@pytest.mark.parametrize('config', [
    'history',     # <-- run with app built by sdkconfig.ci.history
    'nohistory',   # <-- run with app built by sdkconfig.ci.nohistory
], indirect=True)  # <-- `indirect=True` is required

Overall, this test function would be replicated to 4 test cases:

  • esp32.history.test_console_advanced

  • esp32.nohistory.test_console_advanced

  • esp32c3.history.test_console_advanced

  • esp32c3.nohistory.test_console_advanced

Expect From the Serial output

def test_console_advanced(config: str, dut: IdfDut) -> None:  # The value of argument ``config`` is assigned by the parametrization.
    if config == 'history':
        dut.expect('Command history enabled')
    elif config == 'nohistory':
        dut.expect('Command history disabled')

When we’re using dut.expect(...), the string would be compiled into regex at first, and then seeks through the serial output until the compiled regex is matched, or a timeout is exceeded. You may have to pay extra attention when the string contains regex keyword characters, like parentheses, or square brackets.

Actually using dut.expect_exact(...) here is better, since it would seek until the string is matched. For further reading about the different types of expect functions, please refer to the pytest-embedded Expecting documentation.

Advanced Examples

Multi Dut Tests with the Same App

@pytest.mark.esp32s2
@pytest.mark.esp32s3
@pytest.mark.usb_host
@pytest.mark.parametrize('count', [
    2,
], indirect=True)
def test_usb_host(dut: Tuple[IdfDut, IdfDut]) -> None:
    device = dut[0]  # <-- assume the first dut is the device
    host = dut[1]    # <-- and the second dut is the host
    ...

After setting the param count to 2, all these fixtures are changed into tuples.

Multi Dut Tests with Different Apps

This code example is taken from pytest_wifi_getting_started.py .

@pytest.mark.esp32
@pytest.mark.multi_dut_generic
@pytest.mark.parametrize(
    'count, app_path', [
        (2,
         f'{os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "softAP")}|{os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "station")}'),
    ], indirect=True
)
def test_wifi_getting_started(dut: Tuple[IdfDut, IdfDut]) -> None:
    softap = dut[0]
    station = dut[1]
    ...

Here the first dut was flashed with the app softap , and the second dut was flashed with the app station .

Note

Here the app_path should be set with absolute path. the __file__ macro in python would return the absolute path of the test script itself.

Multi Dut Tests with Different Apps, and Targets

This code example is taken from pytest_wifi_getting_started.py . As the comment says, for now it’s not running in the ESP-IDF CI.

@pytest.mark.parametrize(
    'count, app_path, target', [
        (2,
         f'{os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "softAP")}|{os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "station")}',
         'esp32|esp32s2'),
        (2,
         f'{os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "softAP")}|{os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "station")}',
         'esp32s2|esp32'),
    ],
    indirect=True,
)
def test_wifi_getting_started(dut: Tuple[IdfDut, IdfDut]) -> None:
    softap = dut[0]
    station = dut[1]
    ...

Overall, this test function would be replicated to 2 test cases:

  • softap with esp32 target, and station with esp32s2 target

  • softap with esp32s2 target, and station with esp32 target

Support different targets with different sdkconfig files

This code example is taken from pytest_panic.py as an advanced example.

CONFIGS = [
    pytest.param('coredump_flash_bin_crc', marks=[pytest.mark.esp32, pytest.mark.esp32s2]),
    pytest.param('coredump_flash_elf_sha', marks=[pytest.mark.esp32]),  # sha256 only supported on esp32
    pytest.param('coredump_uart_bin_crc', marks=[pytest.mark.esp32, pytest.mark.esp32s2]),
    pytest.param('coredump_uart_elf_crc', marks=[pytest.mark.esp32, pytest.mark.esp32s2]),
    pytest.param('gdbstub', marks=[pytest.mark.esp32, pytest.mark.esp32s2]),
    pytest.param('panic', marks=[pytest.mark.esp32, pytest.mark.esp32s2]),
]

@pytest.mark.parametrize('config', CONFIGS, indirect=True)
...

Use Custom Class

Usually, you can write a custom class in these conditions:

  1. Add more reusable functions for a certain number of DUTs

  2. Add custom setup and teardown functions in different phases described here

This code example is taken from panic/conftest.py 

class PanicTestDut(IdfDut):
    ...

@pytest.fixture(scope='module')
def monkeypatch_module(request: FixtureRequest) -> MonkeyPatch:
    mp = MonkeyPatch()
    request.addfinalizer(mp.undo)
    return mp


@pytest.fixture(scope='module', autouse=True)
def replace_dut_class(monkeypatch_module: MonkeyPatch) -> None:
    monkeypatch_module.setattr('pytest_embedded_idf.dut.IdfDut', PanicTestDut)

monkeypatch_module provide a module-scoped monkeypatch fixture.

replace_dut_class is a module-scoped autouse fixture. This function replaces the IdfDut class with your custom class.

Mark Flaky Tests

Sometimes, our test is based on ethernet or wifi. The network may cause the test flaky. We could mark the single test case within the code repo.

This code example is taken from pytest_esp_eth.py 

@pytest.mark.flaky(reruns=3, reruns_delay=5)
def test_esp_eth_ip101(dut: IdfDut) -> None:
    ...

This flaky marker means that if the test function failed, the test case would rerun for a maximum of 3 times with 5 seconds delay.

Mark Known Failure Cases

Sometimes a test couldn’t pass for the following reasons:

  • Has a bug

  • The success ratio is too low because of environment issue, such as network issue. Retry couldn’t help

Now you may mark this test case with marker xfail with a user-friendly readable reason.

This code example is taken from pytest_panic.py 

@pytest.mark.xfail('config.getvalue("target") == "esp32s2"', reason='raised IllegalInstruction instead')
def test_cache_error(dut: PanicTestDut, config: str, test_func_name: str) -> None:

This marker means that if the test would be a known failure one on esp32s2.

Mark Nightly Run Test Cases

Some test cases are only triggered in nightly run pipelines due to a lack of runners.

@pytest.mark.nightly_run

This marker means that the test case would only be run with env var NIGHTLY_RUN or INCLUDE_NIGHTLY_RUN.

Mark Temp Disabled in CI

Some test cases which can pass locally may need to be temporarily disabled in CI due to a lack of runners.

@pytest.mark.temp_skip_ci(targets=['esp32', 'esp32s2'], reason='lack of runners')

This marker means that the test case could still be run locally with pytest --target esp32, but will not run in CI.

Run Unity Test Cases

For component-based unit test apps, one line could do the trick to run all single-board test cases, including normal test cases and multi-stage test cases:

def test_component_ut(dut: IdfDut):
    dut.run_all_single_board_cases()

It would also skip all the test cases with [ignore] mark.

If you need to run a group of test cases, you may run:

def test_component_ut(dut: IdfDut):
    dut.run_all_single_board_cases(group='psram')

It would trigger all test cases with module name [psram].

You may also see that there are some test scripts with the following statements, which are deprecated. Please use the suggested one as above.

def test_component_ut(dut: IdfDut):
    dut.expect_exact('Press ENTER to see the list of tests')
    dut.write('*')
    dut.expect_unity_test_output()

For further reading about our unit testing in ESP-IDF, please refer to our unit testing guide.

Run the Tests in CI

The workflow in CI is simple, build jobs -> target test jobs.

Build Jobs

Build Job Names

  • Component-based Unit Tests: build_pytest_components_<target>

  • Example Tests: build_pytest_examples_<target>

  • Custom Tests: build_pytest_test_apps_<target>

Build Job Commands

The command used by CI to build all the relevant tests is: python $IDF_PATH/tools/ci/ci_build_apps.py <parent_dir> --target <target> -vv --pytest-apps

All apps which supported the specified target would be built with all supported sdkconfig files under build_<target>_<config>.

For example, If you run python $IDF_PATH/tools/ci/ci_build_apps.py $IDF_PATH/examples/system/console/basic --target esp32 --pytest-apps, the folder structure would be like this:

basic
├── build_esp32_history/
│   └── ...
├── build_esp32_nohistory/
│   └── ...
├── main/
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── pytest_console_basic.py
└── ...

All the binaries folders would be uploaded as artifacts under the same directories.

Target Test Jobs

Target Test Job Names

  • Component-based Unit Tests: component_ut_pytest_<target>_<test_env>

  • Example Tests: example_test_pytest_<target>_<test_env>

  • Custom Tests: test_app_test_pytest_<target>_<test_env>

Target Test Job Commands

The command used by CI to run all the relevant tests is: pytest <parent_dir> --target <target> -m <test_env_marker>

All test cases with the specified target marker and the test env marker under the parent folder would be executed.

The binaries in the target test jobs are downloaded from build jobs, the artifacts would be placed under the same directories.

Run the Tests Locally

First you need to install ESP-IDF with additional python requirements:

$ cd $IDF_PATH
$ bash install.sh --enable-pytest
$ . ./export.sh

By default, the pytest script will look for the build directory in this order:

  • build_<target>_<sdkconfig>

  • build_<target>

  • build_<sdkconfig>

  • build

Which means, the simplest way to run pytest is calling idf.py build.

For example, if you want to run all the esp32 tests under the $IDF_PATH/examples/get-started/hello_world folder, you should run:

$ cd examples/get-started/hello_world
$ idf.py build
$ pytest --target esp32

If you have multiple sdkconfig files in your test app, like those sdkconfig.ci.* files, the simple idf.py build won’t apply the extra sdkconfig files. Let’s take $IDF_PATH/examples/system/console/basic as an example.

If you want to test this app with config history, and build with idf.py build, you should run

$ cd examples/system/console/basic
$ idf.py -DSDKCONFIG_DEFAULTS="sdkconfig.defaults;sdkconfig.ci.history" build
$ pytest --target esp32 --sdkconfig history

If you want to build and test with all sdkconfig files at the same time, you should use our CI script as an helper script:

$ cd examples/system/console/basic
$ python $IDF_PATH/tools/ci/ci_build_apps.py . --target esp32 -vv --pytest-apps
$ pytest --target esp32

The app with sdkconfig.ci.history will be built in build_esp32_history, and the app with sdkconfig.ci.nohistory will be built in build_esp32_nohistory. pytest --target esp32 will run tests on both apps.

Tips and Tricks

Filter the Test Cases

  • filter by target with pytest --target <target>

    pytest would run all the test cases that support specified target.

  • filter by sdkconfig file with pytest --sdkconfig <sdkconfig>

    if <sdkconfig> is default, pytest would run all the test cases with the sdkconfig file sdkconfig.defaults.

    In other cases, pytest would run all the test cases with sdkconfig file sdkconfig.ci.<sdkconfig>.

Add New Markers

We’re using two types of custom markers, target markers which indicate that the test cases should support this target, and env markers which indicate that the test case should be assigned to runners with these tags in CI.

You can add new markers by adding one line under the ${IDF_PATH}/conftest.py. If it’s a target marker, it should be added into TARGET_MARKERS. If it’s a marker that specifies a type of test environment, it should be added into ENV_MARKERS. The grammar should be: <marker_name>: <marker_description>.

Generate JUnit Report

You can call pytest with --junitxml <filepath> to generate the JUnit report. In ESP-IDF, the test case name would be unified as “<target>.<config>.<function_name>”.

Skip Auto Flash Binary

Skipping auto-flash binary every time would be useful when you’re debugging your test script.

You can call pytest with --skip-autoflash y to achieve it.

Record Statistics

Sometimes you may need to record some statistics while running the tests, like the performance test statistics.

You can use record_xml_attribute fixture in your test script, and the statistics would be recorded as attributes in the JUnit report.

Logging System

Sometimes you may need to add some extra logging lines while running the test cases.

You can use python logging module to achieve this.

Useful Logging Functions (as Fixture)

log_performance
def test_hello_world(
    dut: IdfDut,
    log_performance: Callable[[str, object], None],
) -> None:
    log_performance('test', 1)

The above example would log the performance item with pre-defined format: “[performance][test]: 1” and record it under the properties tag in the junit report if --junitxml <filepath> is specified. The junit test case node would look like:

<testcase classname="examples.get-started.hello_world.pytest_hello_world" file="examples/get-started/hello_world/pytest_hello_world.py" line="13" name="esp32.default.test_hello_world" time="8.389">
    <properties>
        <property name="test" value="1"/>
    </properties>
</testcase>
check_performance

We provide C macros TEST_PERFORMANCE_LESS_THAN and TEST_PERFORMANCE_GREATER_THAN to log the performance item and check if the value is in the valid range. Sometimes the performance item value could not be measured in C code, so we also provide a python function for the same purpose. Please note that using C macros is the preferred approach, since the python function couldn’t recognize the threshold values of the same performance item under different ifdef blocks well.

def test_hello_world(
    dut: IdfDut,
    check_performance: Callable[[str, float, str], None],
) -> None:
    check_performance('RSA_2048KEY_PUBLIC_OP', 123, 'esp32')
    check_performance('RSA_2048KEY_PUBLIC_OP', 19001, 'esp32')

The above example would first get the threshold values of the performance item RSA_2048KEY_PUBLIC_OP from components/idf_test/include/idf_performance.h and the target-specific one components/idf_test/include/esp32/idf_performance_target.h, then check if the value reached the minimum limit or exceeded the maximum limit.

Let’s assume the value of IDF_PERFORMANCE_MAX_RSA_2048KEY_PUBLIC_OP is 19000. so the first check_performance line would pass and the second one would fail with warning: [Performance] RSA_2048KEY_PUBLIC_OP value is 19001, doesn\'t meet pass standard 19000.0

Further Readings

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