---
id: pytest-pylint
version: "0.21.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# pytest-pylint — pytest plugin to check source code with pylint

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 616.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

pytest-pylint is a pytest plugin that runs pylint static analysis checks as part of your test suite. Instead of running pylint separately, you invoke it through pytest with the `--pylint` flag, and it lints your source code according to your pylintrc configuration. You can choose which pylint message types (Errors, Failures, Warnings, Conventions) cause the test to fail, run linting in parallel across multiple cores, and optionally output results to a file. The plugin caches successful lint checks to speed up reruns when files haven't changed.

The package depends on pytest, pylint, and tomli (for TOML configuration support). It's designed for teams that want linting feedback integrated into their continuous test workflow rather than as a separate CI step, and it supports regex-based ignore patterns and smart pylintrc discovery.

Use it for:

- Enforce code quality gates in CI/CD by failing the build on pylint errors or warnings during test runs.
- Run linting checks in parallel across multiple CPU cores to speed up large codebases.
- Restrict test execution to only pylint checks (skipping unit tests) with `py.test --pylint -m pylint`.
- Cache lint results between test reruns to avoid re-linting unchanged files.
- Integrate custom pylintrc files and ignore patterns into your pytest workflow without separate configuration.

## Worth the install?

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

Integrates pylint code analysis into pytest, allowing you to run linting checks as part of your test suite and configure which rule types (errors, warnings, conventions) cause test failures.

Yes, if you want linting integrated into pytest and your project targets Python 3.8–3.12 with pytest >= 7.0 and pylint >= 2.15. The plugin is stable and low-friction to install, but dormant maintenance means it won't receive updates for new pytest or pylint versions—verify compatibility with your specific versions before relying on it in new projects.

## Install

pip install pytest-pylint
uv add pytest-pylint
poetry add pytest-pylint

## Installing pytest-pylint

Before you install: Low friction install with three straightforward runtime dependencies. Maintenance is dormant—last release was over a year ago—but the package is marked Production/Stable and supports current Python versions. No recent activity suggests the plugin works as-is for its scope.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute this plugin freely with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.

Quickstart:

pip install pytest-pylint

# In your test run:
py.test --pylint

# Or with options:
py.test --pylint --pylint-rcfile=/path/to/.pylintrc --pylint-error-types=EF

Requires pylint >= 2.15 and pytest >= 7.0; Python >= 3.7 required.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the plugin works correctly with pytest 8.0+ (description notes it 'should work' but lacks confirmation).
- Current status of any compatibility issues with the latest pylint releases beyond 2.15.
- Practical experience with the plugin on Python 3.12 in production environments.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 616.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

pytest pylint integration, run pylint with pytest, code linting in test suite, pylint test plugin, static code analysis pytest, pylint error checking, lint tests fail build, pytest-plugin, code-quality, linting

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