---
id: nosexcover
version: "1.0.11"
license: BSD
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# nosexcover — Extends nose.plugins.cover to add Cobertura-style XML reports

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 103.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

nosexcover is a plugin for the nose test runner that generates Cobertura-style XML coverage reports. It wraps nose's built-in coverage plugin and outputs results to a structured XML file (coverage.xml by default) instead of or in addition to the standard text report. This format is widely recognized by CI/CD systems and code-quality dashboards for parsing and visualizing test coverage.

The plugin accepts all standard nose coverage options (like --cover-package) and adds --xcoverage-file to customize the output filename. However, the package has been abandoned since 2016 and targets only Python 2.6–3.3, making it unsuitable for modern projects. It is useful only for legacy codebases that remain on nose and older Python versions.

Use it for:

- Generate XML coverage reports from nose test runs for integration into legacy CI/CD pipelines that expect Cobertura format.
- Export coverage metrics to code-quality dashboards or SonarQube instances that parse XML coverage files.
- Maintain coverage tracking in projects still using nose and Python 2.7 without upgrading to modern test frameworks.

## Worth the install?

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

Generates Cobertura-style XML coverage reports as a plugin for the nose test runner, extending the built-in coverage plugin with structured output suitable for CI/CD integration.

No. The package is abandoned (last release 2016, last commit 2019) and targets unsupported Python versions (2.6–3.3). Modern projects should use pytest with pytest-cov or coverage.py directly, which support current Python versions and are actively maintained. Install only if you are maintaining a legacy nose-based project locked to Python 2.7 or early Python 3 and cannot migrate.

## Install

pip install nosexcover
uv add nosexcover
poetry add nosexcover

## Installing nosexcover

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2016-10-30 and last commit 2019-12-17. It targets Python 2.6–3.3, which are now unsupported. Use only if your project is locked to legacy nose and Python versions.

License in practice: BSD license (permissive) places no significant restrictions on use, modification, or distribution.

Quickstart:

pip install nosexcover
nosetests --with-xcoverage --cover-package=myapp --xcoverage-file=coverage.xml

Requires nose test runner and Python 2.6–3.3; no support for modern Python versions or pytest.

Verify before relying:

- Whether this plugin works with nose versions released after 2016 or with modern Python 3.x releases beyond 3.3.
- Compatibility with current CI/CD systems that may have dropped support for legacy nose and Python 2.

## Package facts

- License: BSD (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 103.3K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

nose coverage xml report, cobertura xml coverage plugin, nose test coverage xml, coverage report xml format, nose xcover plugin, legacy-testing, coverage-reporting

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