pytest-shard
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you are running pytest on a CI platform that supports parallel jobs and your test suite is stable. The plugin is simple and has no known vulnerabilities. However, do not adopt it for new projects: the package is abandoned and will not receive updates for future pytest or Python versions. Consider it only if you have an existing CI setup that already uses it or if you can commit to maintaining a fork.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires pytest to be installed; intended for CI environments that can set shard-id and num-shards parameters.
- Low install friction with a single runtime dependency on pytest.
- However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2020-12-11 and no commits since 2023-08-22—so it will not receive bug fixes or compatibility updates for future Python or pytest versions.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license is permissive and imposes no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source projects.
last release 2020-12-11 (2072 days) · last repo commit 2023-08-22 · 38 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 1,797,137 downloads/mo, #3,548 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pytest-shard
pytest --shard-id=0 --num-shards=2- Whether the package remains compatible with current pytest versions and modern Python releases beyond 3.8
- Whether hash-based sharding produces balanced test distribution across workers in practice
What it is and what it does
pytest-shard is a pytest plugin that divides your test suite across multiple CI workers or machines by hashing individual test names and assigning each test to a shard. It works at the finest granularity—individual test cases—so even a single parameterized test or file can be split across workers. You run pytest with two flags: --shard-id (which worker this is) and --num-shards (total number of workers), and the plugin automatically routes each test to its assigned shard.
The package is designed for continuous integration pipelines that support parallel jobs, such as CircleCI or Travis CI. It does not balance based on test runtime—all shards receive roughly equal numbers of tests—and is meant to complement tools like pytest-xdist, which parallelizes across CPU cores on a single machine. The package is no longer maintained; its last release was in December 2020.
Use it for
- Split a large test suite across multiple CircleCI workers using CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX and CIRCLE_NODE_TOTAL environment variables.
- Parallelize test execution on Travis CI by distributing test cases across multiple build jobs.
- Reduce total CI build time by running disjoint test shards on separate machines without test interdependencies.
- Enable fine-grained parallelism even when all tests live in a single file or parameterized test method.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you are running pytest on a CI platform that supports parallel jobs and your test suite is stable.
The plugin is simple and has no known vulnerabilities. However, do not adopt it for new projects: the package is abandoned and will not receive updates for future pytest or Python versions. Consider it only if you have an existing CI setup that already uses it or if you can commit to maintaining a fork.
Install
pytest-shard on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a single runtime dependency on pytest. However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2020-12-11 and no commits since 2023-08-22—so it will not receive bug fixes or compatibility updates for future Python or pytest versions.
Requires pytest to be installed; intended for CI environments that can set shard-id and num-shards parameters.
License in practice
MIT license is permissive and imposes no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source projects.
Quickstart
pip install pytest-shard
pytest --shard-id=0 --num-shards=2Verify before relying
- Whether the package remains compatible with current pytest versions and modern Python releases beyond 3.8
- Whether hash-based sharding produces balanced test distribution across workers in practice
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.6 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagepytest |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 2,072 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 1,797,137 / month, #3,548 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaFramework :: PytestIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Topic :: Software Development :: Testing |
Evidence: pytest_shard-0.1.2-py3-none-any.whl
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