Python run configurations

This topic summarizes the run configurations available for Python. Each table provides keys that are available within a run configuration and their descriptions.

python

Runs Python scripts.

`type` (required)	Specifies the configuration type
`name` (required)	Specifies the configuration name displayed in the Run & Debug window
`file` Either file or module is required	Specifies the path to the Python script to be executed To execute a module, use `module`
`module` Either module or file is required	Specifies the name of the module to be executed To execute a Python script, use `file`
`arguments`	Specifies the arguments that will be passed to the script or module
`environment`	Custom environment variables for the process, specified as a JSON object. To define an environment variable, add a property where the key is the variable name and the value is its value. For example: "environment": { "PYTHONUNBUFFERED": "1", "PYTHONWARNINGS": "ignore" }
`dependsOn`	Names of other configurations to run before this configuration. For example: `"dependsOn": ["first", "second"]`. For details, see Chained run configurations.
`workingDir`	Working directory for the run configuration.
`allowParallelRun`	If set to `true`, multiple instances of this configuration can run simultaneously.

Example

The following configuration runs script.py passing 60 as the argument:
{ "type": "python", "name": "run_script", "module": "script", "arguments": ["60"], }

python-tests

Runs Python tests by using either pytest or unittest testing framework.

`type` (required)	Specifies the configuration type
`name` (required)	Specifies the configuration name displayed in the Run & Debug window
`testFramework` (required)	Specifies the testing framework. Possible values are: `pytest` `unittest`
`targetType`	Specifies the type of the `targets` parameter items. Possible values are: `module` (default) `path`
`targets` (required)	Specifies the tests to be executed. Depending on the value of `targetType`, the list can contain: names of Python modules and test classes paths to Python files and folders with tests The unittest framework doesn't support multiple targets of the `path` type.
`arguments`	Lists the command-line options to be passed to the testing framework. For the full list of available command-line options, refer to: pytest documentation unittest documentation
`environment`	Custom environment variables for the process, specified as a JSON object. To define an environment variable, add a property where the key is the variable name and the value is its value. For example: "environment": { "PYTHONUNBUFFERED": "1", "PYTHONWARNINGS": "ignore" }
`dependsOn`	Names of other configurations to run before this configuration. For example: `"dependsOn": ["first", "second"]`. For details, see Chained run configurations.
`workingDir`	Working directory for the run configuration.
`allowParallelRun`	If set to `true`, multiple instances of this configuration can run simultaneously.

Examples

The following configuration uses pytest to run the tests in test_car.py and the tests directory. The -k not brake argument specifies that only the methods that don't contain "brake" in their names should be executed.
{ "type": "python-tests", "name": "pytest", "testFramework": "pytest", "targetType": "path", "targets": ["test_car.py", "tests"], "arguments": ["-k not brake"], }
The following configuration uses unittest to run the tests in tests/test_car.py. The --failfast argument specifies that the testing should be stopped on the first failure.
{ "type": "python-tests", "name": "unittest", "testFramework": "unittest", "targetType": "path", "targets": ["tests/test_car.py"], "arguments": ["--failfast"], }

22 May 2025