Overview

pytest 8.4, released on June 2, 2025, adds a terminal progress indicator and now fails tests that return a non-None value.

Main Features

Terminal progress

A progress indicator is displayed during test execution, showing real-time completion percentage.

python 
# pytest now shows progress:
# tests/test_app.py [25%]
# tests/test_utils.py [50%]
# tests/test_api.py [100%]

def test_addition():
    assert 2 + 2 == 4

def test_string():
    assert 'hello'.upper() == 'HELLO'

Non-None return failure

Test functions returning a non-None value now trigger a failure. This catches accidental return instead of assert.

python 
# FAIL: returns True instead of assert
def test_wrong():
    return 2 + 2 == 4  # pytest 8.4 fails here

# CORRECT: use assert
def test_correct():
    assert 2 + 2 == 4  # OK

Sources