How to speed up pytest

Question

Is there some way to speed up the repeated execution of pytest? It seems to spend a lot of time collecting tests, even if I specify which files to execute on th

Answer 1

If you have some antivirus software running, try turning it off. I had this exact same problem. Collecting tests ran incredibly slow. It turned out to be my antivirus software (Avast) that was causing the problem. When I disabled the antivirus software, test collection ran about five times faster. I tested it several times, turning the antivirus on and off, so I have no doubt that was the cause in my case.

Edit: To be clear, I don't think antivirus should be turned off and left off. I just recommend turning it off temporarily to see if it is the source of the slow down. In my case, it was, so I looked for other antivirus solutions that didn't have the same issue.