@pytest.mark.skipif with condition - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

Output of test skipped condition

What will be the result of running this pytest test function?

import sys
import pytest

@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform == 'win32', reason='Skip on Windows')
def test_example():
    assert True

PyTest

import sys
import pytest

@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform == 'win32', reason='Skip on Windows')
def test_example():
    assert True

A Test is skipped only on Windows platform

B Test runs and passes on all platforms

C Test fails on Windows platform

D Test is skipped on all platforms

💡 Hint

Think about what sys.platform returns and how skipif uses it.

The decorator @pytest.mark.skipif skips the test only if the condition is True. Here, the condition is sys.platform == 'win32', so the test is skipped only on Windows.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Assertion outcome with skipif condition

Given this test code, what is the assertion outcome when run on Linux?

import sys
import pytest

@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform != 'linux', reason='Only run on Linux')
def test_value():
    assert 2 + 2 == 4

PyTest

import sys
import pytest

@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform != 'linux', reason='Only run on Linux')
def test_value():
    assert 2 + 2 == 4

A Test is skipped on Linux

B Test runs and assertion passes on Linux

C Test runs and assertion fails on Linux

D Test is skipped on all platforms

💡 Hint

Check the condition sys.platform != 'linux' and what it means on Linux.

The skipif condition is True if platform is not Linux. On Linux, condition is False, so test runs and assertion passes.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Identify error in skipif usage

What error will this pytest code raise when run?

import pytest

@pytest.mark.skipif('sys.platform == "darwin"', reason='Skip on Mac')
def test_func():
    assert True

PyTest

import pytest

@pytest.mark.skipif('sys.platform == "darwin"', reason='Skip on Mac')
def test_func():
    assert True

A TypeError because condition is a string, not a boolean

B Test is skipped on MacOS

C Test runs and passes on all platforms

D SyntaxError due to wrong quotes

💡 Hint

Check the type of the condition argument in skipif.

The condition argument must be a boolean expression, not a string. Passing a string causes TypeError.

❓ framework

advanced

Using skipif with environment variable

Which option correctly skips a test if the environment variable TEST_ENV is not set to 'prod'?

PyTest

import os
import pytest

@pytest.mark.skipif(____, reason='Skip if not prod environment')
def test_env():
    assert True

A os.getenv('TEST_ENV') == 'prod'

B os.environ['TEST_ENV'] == 'prod'

C os.environ.get('TEST_ENV') == 'prod'

D os.getenv('TEST_ENV') != 'prod'

💡 Hint

Remember skipif skips when condition is True.

We want to skip if TEST_ENV is not 'prod', so condition should be True when env is not 'prod'. Option D correctly expresses that.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

Behavior of skipif with dynamic condition

Consider this test code:

import pytest
import random

@pytest.mark.skipif(random.choice([True, False]), reason='Random skip')
def test_random():
    assert True

What is the expected behavior when running pytest multiple times?

PyTest

import pytest
import random

@pytest.mark.skipif(random.choice([True, False]), reason='Random skip')
def test_random():
    assert True

A Test is randomly skipped or run each pytest run

B Test is always run because skipif ignores dynamic conditions

C Test is always skipped because condition is evaluated once at import

D Test raises an error due to random in skipif

💡 Hint

Think about when skipif condition is evaluated.

skipif condition is evaluated once when tests are collected, not at each test run. So random.choice is called once per pytest session, making skip or run fixed per run.