RevitDevTool.PyTest

pytest plugin for testing CAD/BIM API code inside host applications via RevitDevTool Named Pipe bridge. Supports Revit, AutoCAD-family, and any host exposing a DevToolsPipeServer pipe. Tests run inside a live host process — write standard pytest, execute remotely.

Installation

pip install revitdevtool_pytest

Dependencies

Package	Version
Python	>= 3.10
pytest	>= 9.0
pywin32	>= 311

Requirements

• Windows (Named Pipes)
• A host application with RevitDevTool add-in installed and loaded

Supported Hosts

Pre-registered

Host Name	Application	Pipe Prefix
revit	Autodesk Revit	Revit
autocad	AutoCAD	AutoCad
civil3d	Civil 3D	Civil3D
plant3d	Plant 3D	Plant3D
acadarch	AutoCAD Architecture	AcadArch
acadmech	AutoCAD Mechanical	AcadMech
acadmep	AutoCAD MEP	AcadMep
acadelec	AutoCAD Electrical	AcadElec
acadmap3d	AutoCAD Map 3D	AcadMap3D
navisworks	Navisworks	Navisworks
rhino	Rhino	Rhino
tekla	Tekla Structures	Tekla

Any host

Any host name works — unknown names get a fallback config using the name as pipe prefix. Connect via auto-discovery or --host-pipe.

Pipe Name Format

Pipes follow {Host}_{Version}_{PID} (e.g. Revit_2025_12345, Rhino_8.0_9999). Version can be any format — year, semver, etc.

Project Setup

Recommended: scaffold your project with uv or pixi:

# uv
uv init my-revit-tests
cd my-revit-tests
uv add revitdevtool_pytest

# pixi (uses pyproject.toml as manifest)
pixi init --format pyproject my-revit-tests
cd my-revit-tests
pixi add --pypi revitdevtool_pytest

Configuration

Add plugin settings to [tool.pytest.ini_options] in your pyproject.toml:

[tool.pytest.ini_options]
host_name = "revit"
host_version = "2025"
host_launch = false
host_launch_timeout = "180"

Option	Type	Default	Description
host_name	string	"revit"	Host application name (see Supported Hosts above).
host_version	string	—	Host version (e.g. "2025", "8.0"). Required when host_launch = true.
host_launch	bool	false	Force-launch a new host instance (skip reusing existing free instances).
host_timeout	string	"60"	Per-test execution timeout in seconds.
host_launch_timeout	string	"120"	Seconds to wait for host to start.
host_pipe	string	—	Explicit pipe name (bypasses auto-discovery).

CLI flags override INI settings:

# Revit
pytest --host-launch --host-version=2025 -v

# AutoCAD
pytest --host autocad --host-version=2026 -v

# Civil 3D
pytest --host civil3d --host-version=2026 -v

Connection Behavior

• Default (host_launch = false): plugin auto-discovers a running host instance matching host_version via Named Pipe scan. If none found, exits with error.
• Force launch (host_launch = true): always spawns a new host process, waits for its pipe to appear, then connects. Existing instances are ignored.

Print Output

Captured print() output from tests running inside the host is automatically shown in the terminal for passing tests (equivalent to -rP). No extra flags needed.

Usage

Fixtures

Define fixtures in conftest.py that provide host API objects:

import pytest

# Revit fixtures
@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
def revit_uiapp():
    return __revit__  # UIApplication injected by RevitDevTool

@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
def revit_app(revit_uiapp):
    return revit_uiapp.Application

@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
def revit_doc(revit_uiapp):
    return revit_uiapp.ActiveUIDocument.Document

Writing Tests

def test_active_view(revit_doc):
    view = revit_doc.ActiveView
    print(f"Active View: {view.Name}")
    assert view.Name is not None

def test_revit_version(revit_app):
    assert "2025" in revit_app.VersionName

PEP 723 Dependencies

Declare test-suite dependencies in conftest.py using PEP 723 metadata. RevitDevTool auto-installs them before test execution:

# /// script
# dependencies = [
#   "numpy>=2.0",
#   "polars>=1.0",
# ]
# ///

Running Tests

# With pyproject.toml configured:
pytest

# Override version for a single run:
pytest --host-version=2026 -v

# Target a different host:
pytest --host autocad --host-version=2026 -v

# Using uv or pixi:
uv run pytest
pixi run pytest

How It Works

1. pytest discovers and collects tests locally
2. Plugin intercepts pytest_runtestloop, connects to the host via Named Pipe
3. Test nodeids are sent to the host's PytestRunner.py (embedded in RevitDevTool)
4. Tests execute inside the host's Python.NET environment with full API access
5. Results (pass/fail/skip, stdout, stderr, tracebacks) are returned via pipe
6. Plugin maps results back to standard pytest reports

IDE Integration

VS Code / Cursor

{
    "python.testing.pytestEnabled": true,
    "python.testing.pytestArgs": ["tests"]
}

PyCharm

Enable pytest as the test runner. Plugin auto-detects IDE adapters and disables streaming to avoid duplicate results in the test tree.

License

MIT