---
id: coverage-enable-subprocess
version: "1.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# coverage_enable_subprocess — enable python coverage for subprocesses

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 223.7K/mo

## What it is and what it does

This package solves the problem of measuring code coverage across subprocess boundaries in Python. When you run tests or applications that spawn child processes, coverage.py normally only tracks the parent process. This package installs a .pth file into your Python environment that activates coverage.py's process_startup feature automatically, enabling coverage collection in subprocesses without requiring explicit code changes.

The package is designed for test suites that spawn multiple processes in parallel or that change directories during execution. You configure it by setting the COVERAGE_PROCESS_START environment variable to point to a .coveragerc file, and then any Python process started in that environment will automatically have coverage tracking enabled. The package depends only on coverage being installed.

Use it for:

- Measure code coverage in test suites that spawn worker processes or run tests in parallel.
- Track coverage across multiprocessing applications without modifying application code.
- Collect coverage data from subprocess calls in build or deployment scripts.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Installs a .pth file that automatically enables coverage.py's subprocess tracking in your Python environment, allowing coverage measurement across spawned processes without manual instrumentation.

No. The package is abandoned (last release 2016, last commit 2018) with no indication of compatibility with modern Python or coverage versions. The problem it solves—subprocess coverage tracking—may now be better addressed by current coverage.py features or alternative approaches. Only install if you are locked to a legacy Python version and coverage version where this package is known to work.

## Install

pip install coverage-enable-subprocess
uv add coverage-enable-subprocess
poetry add coverage-enable-subprocess

## Installing coverage_enable_subprocess

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with no complex dependencies beyond coverage itself. However, the package is abandoned—last release was in 2016 and last commit in 2018—so it may not work reliably with modern Python or coverage versions.

License in practice: MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it safe for most projects.

Quickstart:

pip install coverage-enable-subprocess
export COVERAGE_PROCESS_START=$PWD/.coveragerc
python your_script.py
coverage report

Requires coverage to be installed; the .pth mechanism depends on Python's site-packages directory being writable and site.py being active.

Verify before relying:

- Compatibility with current coverage.py versions and modern Python (3.8+) is unclear given the 2016 release date.
- Whether the .pth mechanism still works as intended on current Python installations and virtual environments.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 223.7K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

coverage subprocess tracking, python coverage multiprocess, coverage.py process startup, enable coverage in subprocesses, coverage measurement spawned processes, coverage-measurement, subprocess-tracking, abandoned

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