---
id: pytest-incremental
version: "0.6.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# pytest-incremental — an incremental test runner (pytest plugin)

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 196.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

pytest-incremental is a pytest plugin designed to accelerate test feedback loops during development. It tracks file modifications between test runs and uses that information to reorder test execution and skip tests that are unlikely to be affected by recent changes. This allows developers to get faster feedback when running tests interactively, rather than waiting for the entire test suite to complete each time.

The plugin analyzes your project structure to understand dependencies between code and tests, then uses this analysis along with file change detection to make intelligent decisions about which tests to run and in what order. However, the package has been abandoned for 1938 days, with the last release in April 2021, raising concerns about compatibility with modern pytest versions and recent Python releases.

Use it for:

- Speed up local test-driven development by running only tests affected by recent code changes.
- Reduce feedback latency in development by prioritizing tests most likely to catch regressions.
- Optimize test execution order to fail fast on high-impact tests before running the full suite.
- Accelerate interactive development workflows where developers run tests frequently between code edits.

## Worth the install?

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

pytest-incremental is a pytest plugin that speeds up test execution by analyzing project structure and file changes to reorder tests and skip unchanged ones.

No. The package is abandoned (last release April 2021, 1938 days without updates) and high install friction is reported. Compatibility with current pytest and Python versions is unverified. For modern incremental testing, consider actively maintained alternatives.

## Install

pip install pytest-incremental
uv add pytest-incremental
poetry add pytest-incremental

## Installing pytest-incremental

Before you install: High install friction reported. Package is abandoned as of 1938 days ago with no recent maintenance, last release in April 2021.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package freely with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install pytest-incremental==0.6.0

import pytest_incremental

# Run pytest normally; the plugin activates automatically
pytest

Verify before relying:

- Compatibility with pytest versions released after April 2021.
- Whether the plugin works correctly with Python 3.10 and later.
- Current state of the GitHub repository and issue resolution.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: high
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 196.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

pytest incremental testing, faster pytest runs, skip unchanged tests, test execution optimization, pytest plugin file tracking, selective test runner, pytest performance, pytest-plugin, abandoned

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