pytest-remotedata
Pytest plugin for controlling remote data access.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. This is a lightweight, actively maintained plugin with no security vulnerabilities, permissive licensing, and low install friction. It solves a real problem for packages with internet-dependent tests. Install it if your test suite includes tests that access remote data and you want to keep local runs fast.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction install with only pytest and packaging as dependencies.
- Actively maintained with a release 11 days ago; supports current Python versions (3.9 through 3.14).
License · maintenance · safety
BSD-3-Clause (permissive) — BSD-3-Clause is permissive; you can use this in commercial projects with minimal restrictions, provided you include the license notice.
last release 2026-08-03 (11 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-03 · 24 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 429,009 downloads/mo, #6,742 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pytest-remotedata
import pytest
from urllib.request import urlopen
@pytest.mark.remote_data
def test_remote_data():
urlopen('https://example.org')
# Run with: pytest --remote-data- Whether strict remote data checking (remote_data_strict) works with all test runners or only specific configurations.
- Performance impact of the plugin on large test suites with many marked tests.
What it is and what it does
pytest-remotedata is a pytest plugin that provides decorators to mark tests that require internet access or should run only when offline. It originated in the astropy package but is now standalone for general use. The plugin adds a --remote-data command-line option to pytest, allowing you to control whether remote-data tests execute, skip, or run only for specific data sources (like astropy). By default, marked tests are skipped, keeping local test runs fast; you opt in to running them with explicit flags.
The plugin is useful when your package has features that depend on downloading data or calling external APIs, but you want those tests isolated from your regular test suite. It lets you mark individual test functions, methods, or classes with @pytest.mark.remote_data or @pytest.mark.internet_off, then control their execution from the command line without editing test code. It also supports strict mode to catch accidental network access in unmarked tests.
Use it for
- Mark tests that download datasets or call external APIs, then skip them in CI to keep builds fast.
- Run only internet-dependent tests on demand with --remote-data, keeping local development cycles quick.
- Enforce that unmarked tests never access the network by enabling strict mode in setup.cfg.
- Organize tests by data source (e.g., --remote-data=astropy) to run only tests for specific providers.
- Test offline behavior by running only @pytest.mark.internet_off tests to verify graceful degradation.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
This is a lightweight, actively maintained plugin with no security vulnerabilities, permissive licensing, and low install friction. It solves a real problem for packages with internet-dependent tests. Install it if your test suite includes tests that access remote data and you want to keep local runs fast.
Install
pytest-remotedata on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with only pytest and packaging as dependencies. Actively maintained with a release 11 days ago; supports current Python versions (3.9 through 3.14).
License in practice
BSD-3-Clause is permissive; you can use this in commercial projects with minimal restrictions, provided you include the license notice.
Quickstart
pip install pytest-remotedata
import pytest
from urllib.request import urlopen
@pytest.mark.remote_data
def test_remote_data():
urlopen('https://example.org')
# Run with: pytest --remote-dataVerify before relying
- Whether strict remote data checking (remote_data_strict) works with all test runners or only specific configurations.
- Performance impact of the plugin on large test suites with many marked tests.
Package facts
| License | BSD-3-Clause permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagespytestpackaging |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 11 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 429,009 / month, #6,742 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableFramework :: PytestIntended Audience :: DevelopersOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonTopic :: Software Development :: TestingTopic :: Utilities |
Evidence: pytest_remotedata-0.4.2-py3-none-any.whl
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See also pytest-astropy · pytest-doctestplus · pytest-dependency · pytest-skip-slow · pytest-astropy-header · pytest-filter-subpackage · pytest-skip-markers · pytest-only · pytest-run-parallel · flaky