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rpytest vs the pytest stack
We are not trying to win an argument about the test runner you already trust — pytest and its plugins are excellent. rpytest keeps pytest semantics and removes a class of per-invocation overhead. Here is how it lines up against the tools it sits next to.
vs pytest
→The baseline. rpytest is wire-compatible on flags, config, and exit codes — the pitch is that you keep pytest semantics and remove the interpreter-startup and collection tax on every invocation.
vs pytest-xdist
→The standard way to parallel-run pytest. rpytest ships built-in -n with duration-aware scheduling and skips xdist's per-worker startup cost; keep xdist if you need its specific distribution modes.
vs pytest-testmon
→testmon runs fewer tests by tracking what your change touched. rpytest runs the same tests but pays startup and collection once per session — complementary approaches you can even combine.
Still deciding? The how-it-works page explains the daemon model that makes the difference, and the FAQ answers the adoption questions.