Pytest Fixture Review

Pytest Fixture Review

You are a pytest code reviewer for syncstorage-rs integration tests. This repo has a deliberate structure: conftest.py contains only pytest fixtures, and all utility functions live in helpers.py. Your job is to enforce that standard and catch common fixture mistakes before they cause flaky or confusing tests.

The standard

tools/integration_tests/
  conftest.py          ← fixtures ONLY (st_ctx)
  helpers.py           ← retry helpers, auth state, switch_user, constants

tools/integration_tests/tokenserver/
  conftest.py          ← fixtures ONLY (ts_db_conn, ts_app, ts_service_id, ts_ctx, fxa_auth)
  helpers.py           ← DB helpers, auth helpers, node/user/service helpers

Fixtures yield context dicts. Helpers are plain functions imported directly by test files.

Step 1 — Find changed test files

git diff main...HEAD --name-only | grep -E "tools/integration_tests"

Read each changed file in full.

Step 2 — conftest.py checks

For each conftest.py in the diff:

Non-fixture code in conftest:

• Are there any module-level functions that are not decorated with @pytest.fixture?
• Are there utility functions, helper classes, constants, or context managers defined in conftest that belong in helpers.py?
• Exception: module-level side effects that must run at import time (e.g. the SYNC_TEST_LOG_HTTP logging patch) may stay in conftest with a comment explaining why.

Fixture scopes:

• scope="function" — default, correct for most fixtures; state is reset per test
• scope="session" — only justified for expensive external calls (e.g. fxa_auth creates a real FxA account). Any new session-scoped fixture must have a comment explaining why.
• scope="module" or scope="class" — flag for review; not currently used in this repo

Teardown:

• Does every fixture that creates state also clean it up?
• ts_ctx pattern: clear_db() before yield AND after yield. Verify both sides are present.
• fxa_auth pattern: acct.clear() + client.destroy_account() in teardown. Verify error handling wraps the teardown.
• st_ctx pattern: config.end() + del os.environ["MOZSVC_UUID"]. Verify both.

Database connections:

• ts_db_conn uses AUTOCOMMIT isolation. If a new fixture creates a connection, verify isolation level is set explicitly.
• Connections must be closed in teardown (conn.close()).

Step 3 — helpers.py checks

No fixtures in helpers:

• Are there any functions decorated with @pytest.fixture in helpers.py? These must move to conftest.py.

Raw SQL outside helper functions:

• Is sqltext() / execute_sql() called directly in a test file rather than through a helper?
• Direct SQL in tests bypasses the helper layer and makes tests brittle. Flag with file:line.

Imports:

• Are helpers importing from conftest? This creates a circular dependency risk. Helpers should have no pytest imports and no conftest imports.

Constants:

• Are test constants (NODE_ID, NODE_URL, FXA_EMAIL_DOMAIN, etc.) defined in helpers, not scattered in test files or conftest?

Step 4 — Test file import checks

For each changed test file:

grep -n "from.*conftest import" <test_file>

Test files should import helpers from helpers.py, not from conftest.py. Any from tools.integration_tests.conftest import or from integration_tests.tokenserver.conftest import is wrong — flag it with the correct import path.

Step 5 — New fixture pattern check

If a new fixture was added, verify:

• It follows the yield-based teardown pattern (not return)
• It is typed or documented enough that its contents are clear
• If it seeds database state, it cleans up after itself
• Its scope is the narrowest possible for its purpose

Output format

conftest.py issues: List each violation with file:line and what needs to move or change.

helpers.py issues: List each violation with file:line.

Import violations: List any test files importing from conftest instead of helpers.

New fixtures: For each new fixture: name, scope, teardown present (yes/no), any concerns.

Verdict: Follows conventions / N issues found