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Skipping Tests and Expected Failures

Skipping tests

Skip a test when:

  • a dependency isn’t available
  • a feature is not supported on the OS
skip_examples.py
import sys
import unittest
 
 
class TestPlatform(unittest.TestCase):
    @unittest.skipIf(sys.platform.startswith("win"), "Not supported on Windows")
    def test_linux_only_behavior(self):
        self.assertTrue(True)
 
    @unittest.skip("Temporarily disabled")
    def test_disabled(self):
        self.assertTrue(False)
skip_examples.py
import sys
import unittest
 
 
class TestPlatform(unittest.TestCase):
    @unittest.skipIf(sys.platform.startswith("win"), "Not supported on Windows")
    def test_linux_only_behavior(self):
        self.assertTrue(True)
 
    @unittest.skip("Temporarily disabled")
    def test_disabled(self):
        self.assertTrue(False)

Expected failures

Use when:

  • you want to keep a failing test visible
  • you’re tracking known issues
expected_failure.py
import unittest
 
 
class TestKnownBug(unittest.TestCase):
    @unittest.expectedFailure
    def test_buggy_behavior(self):
        self.assertEqual(1, 2)
expected_failure.py
import unittest
 
 
class TestKnownBug(unittest.TestCase):
    @unittest.expectedFailure
    def test_buggy_behavior(self):
        self.assertEqual(1, 2)

Tip

Don’t overuse skips—treat them as temporary.

🧪 Try It Yourself

Exercise 1 – Write a unittest TestCase

Exercise 2 – assertRaises

Exercise 3 – setUp and tearDown

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