---
id: nose-py3
version: "1.9.0"
license: GNU LGPL
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: aging
---

# nose-py3 — nose extends unittest to make testing easier - python3 version

License: copyleft · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 159.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

nose-py3 is a Python 3 fork of the nose testing framework that builds on unittest's capabilities. It automatically discovers tests in files and directories matching naming patterns like "test_*" or "*_test", then runs them with enhanced reporting—notably capturing and displaying stdout from failing tests for easier debugging.

The package is plugin-extensible, with built-in support for doctest, code coverage, profiling, and flexible test selection by attributes. It offers a middle ground between unittest's verbosity and pytest's modern approach, though it is no longer actively developed—the repository shows minimal recent activity despite being marked stable.

Use it for:

- Run existing unittest-based test suites with automatic discovery instead of manual test collection
- Debug test failures by viewing captured print output without modifying test code
- Measure code coverage across a test suite using nose's built-in coverage plugin
- Migrate from older nose to Python 3 when the original nose no longer works with your Python version

## Worth the install?

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

nose-py3 extends unittest with automatic test discovery and execution, finding and running tests by naming convention with enhanced output including captured stdout from failures.

Yes, if you have an existing nose-based test suite that needs Python 3 support and you want to avoid rewriting tests for pytest. No, if starting a new project—pytest is the modern standard and actively maintained. The aging maintenance status and lack of recent updates mean this is best treated as a compatibility shim for legacy codebases rather than a foundation for new test infrastructure.

## Install

pip install nose-py3
uv add nose-py3
poetry add nose-py3

## Installing nose-py3

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance status is aging—last commit was 2026-02-14 and the package has not been updated since 2025-12-05, though the repository remains active and not archived.

License in practice: Licensed under GNU LGPL (copyleft). Users must comply with copyleft obligations if they distribute derivative works or link this library into proprietary code.

Quickstart:

pip install nose-py3

from nose import run
run()

Verify before relying:

- Whether nose-py3 is actively maintained or if the original nose project is the recommended alternative for new projects
- Compatibility with modern Python versions and current testing frameworks like pytest

## Package facts

- License: GNU LGPL (copyleft)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 159.3K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

test runner python3, unittest discovery, automatic test finding, nose testing framework, test execution with output capture, legacy-testing, unittest-extension

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/nose-py3) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/nose-py3/)