Getting Started

Installation

pip install behavex

Behave Version Compatibility

BehaveX is compatible with the following Behave versions:

  • Behave 1.2.6 (stable, widely tested)

  • Behave >= 1.3.0

BehaveX automatically installs a compatible version of Behave. If you need a specific version:

# For Behave 1.2.6 (stable)
pip install behavex behave==1.2.6

# For Behave 1.3.0 or newer (latest)
pip install behavex behave>=1.3.0

Quick Start

Run BehaveX from the command line the same way as Behave:

# Run all scenarios
behavex

# Run scenarios tagged @smoke with 4 parallel processes
behavex -t=@smoke --parallel-processes=4

# Run and output reports to a specific folder
behavex -t=@smoke -o=test-results

Execution Examples

  • Run scenarios tagged as TAG_1 but not TAG_2:

    # v1 syntax (all Behave versions)
behavex -t=@TAG_1 -t=~@TAG_2

# v2 syntax (Cucumber Style, Behave 1.3.0+)
behavex -t="@TAG_1 and not @TAG_2"

  • Run scenarios tagged as TAG_1 or TAG_2:

    # v1 syntax
behavex -t=@TAG_1,@TAG_2

# v2 syntax
behavex -t="@TAG_1 or @TAG_2"

  • Run scenarios with 4 parallel processes:

    behavex -t=@TAG_1 --parallel-processes=4 --parallel-scheme=scenario

  • Run scenarios from specific folders:

    behavex features/features_folder_1 features/features_folder_2 --parallel-processes=2

  • Run scenarios from a specific feature file:

    behavex features_folder_1/sample_feature.feature --parallel-processes=2

  • Perform a dry run and generate the HTML report:

    behavex -t=@TAG_1 --dry-run

  • Run with execution ordering enabled:

    behavex -t=@TAG_1 --order-tests --parallel-processes=2

  • Run complex tag expressions (Behave 1.3.0+):

    behavex -t="(@api or @ui) and @high_priority and not @flaky" --parallel-processes=4

See Tag Expressions for the full filtering reference.

Migration to BehaveX 4.5.0 + Behave >= 1.3.0

When upgrading to BehaveX 4.5.0 with Behave 1.3.0 or newer, be aware of the following:

Breaking Changes in Behave >= 1.3.0

  • Case-sensitive step definitions: Step definitions are now case-sensitive. Mismatches between feature files and step definitions cause “undefined step” errors.

  • Trailing colons in steps: Steps with trailing colons (:) are no longer automatically cleaned by Behave and may not be detected properly.

  • Relative imports: Using relative paths in imports may cause issues. Update to absolute import paths.

BehaveX 4.5.0 Changes

  • Error status preservation: BehaveX now preserves the original “error” status from Behave instead of converting it to “failed” (except in HTML reports). This may affect tools expecting the previous behavior.

Resources