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The key practical details are making the driver accessible to the hook, choosing which failure phases matter, and ensuring screenshot errors do not hide the original test failure.
How the Selenium and pytest pieces fit together
Selenium’s Python WebDriver offers save_screenshot(path) and get_screenshot_as_file(path) to save the current browser window as a PNG. It can also return PNG bytes or Base64 data for attaching an image to a report instead of writing a file. The Selenium API describes screenshot capture as an interface for drivers or HTML elements that can capture an image and store it in different ways. See the Selenium Python WebDriver API.
Neither screenshot method knows whether a pytest test has failed. pytest creates reports for the setup, call, and teardown phases. Its report hook lets you inspect a report after it is produced and decide whether to collect an artifact. The example below follows pytest’s wrapper-style hook pattern from its basic patterns and examples; the phase names are described in its API reference.
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Save a PNG after a failed pytest test
Put the hook and fixture below in conftest.py. This example launches Chrome, makes the driver available on the test item, and captures only failures in the test body (call). Change the fixture to match your project’s browser setup; if you already have a driver fixture, expose that same live driver to the hook rather than opening a second browser.
import re
from pathlib import Path
import pytest
from selenium import webdriver
@pytest.fixture
def driver(request):
browser = webdriver.Chrome()
request.node.driver = browser
yield browser
browser.quit()
@pytest.hookimpl(wrapper=True, tryfirst=True)
def pytest_runtest_makereport(item, call):
report = yield
if report.when != "call" or not report.failed:
return report
browser = getattr(item, "driver", None)
if browser is None:
return report
artifact_dir = Path("screenshots")
artifact_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
# pytest node IDs distinguish parameterized cases; sanitize for filenames.
safe_name = re.sub(r"[^A-Za-z0-9_.-]+", "_", item.nodeid)
path = artifact_dir / f"{safe_name}.png"
try:
saved = browser.save_screenshot(str(path))
if not saved:
print(f"Screenshot write failed: {path}")
except Exception as exc:
# Keep artifact-collection failure from replacing the test failure.
print(f"Screenshot capture failed for {item.nodeid}: {exc}")
return report
A test using the fixture can request it normally:
def test_homepage_title(driver):
driver.get("https://example.com")
assert driver.title == "Expected title"
Run the suite with pytest. On a failed test-body assertion, the hook attempts to write a PNG beneath screenshots/, creating that directory if needed. Make your CI job retain that directory as an artifact if you need to inspect it after the job ends; storage and retention are CI-provider settings, not Selenium behavior.
Why capture during the call report
The hook runs after pytest’s report for a phase is available. For a call-phase failure, the test’s fixture teardown has not yet run, so the driver fixture shown above has not reached browser.quit(). That ordering matters: Selenium must still be able to communicate with the browser session. The report-hook pattern is not a way to resurrect a driver that another fixture or hook has already closed.
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Expose the existing driver, not a second one
Many suites create the WebDriver in a fixture, a base test class, or a plugin. The hook needs access to the same driver that displayed the failing page. In the example, request.node.driver = browser is the bridge between a function-scoped fixture and the test item inspected by pytest. If your fixture has another scope or your suite stores the driver elsewhere, adapt this bridge accordingly. Do not create an unrelated browser in the failure hook: it would capture a new page, not the state that failed.
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The example filters on report.when == "call", which means it captures an assertion or exception raised while the test body runs. pytest also makes reports for setup and teardown. Those phases need deliberate handling because a driver might not exist yet during setup, or might already have been closed by teardown when its report becomes available.
- Call failures: Usually the most useful default. The browser fixture is active while the test body runs, so a hook can capture the page before fixture cleanup.
- Setup failures: Capture only if setup got far enough to create a usable driver and your hook can reach it. A failure before browser initialization has no page to screenshot.
- Teardown failures: Decide where capture belongs in fixture finalization. The report may be produced after teardown code has run; a hook at that point cannot rely on a still-open browser. If the page state before closing is important, arrange capture in teardown logic before calling
quit(), while preserving the original teardown exception.
Changing the phase filter to capture every failed report without considering driver lifecycle can lead to duplicate images or capture attempts after the session is gone.
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Use a file, bytes, or Base64 depending on the report
A PNG file is straightforward for CI artifact collection. Selenium also supports retrieving screenshot data as bytes or Base64, which can suit a test report that embeds images. The Selenium API documents the Python methods and their return formats at the WebDriver reference.
When saving directly, check the boolean result: Selenium documents False when the file cannot be written. This can happen if the path is invalid or unwritable. Capture may also raise a WebDriver exception if the session is no longer available or the browser cannot take the image. Record that artifact failure without replacing the assertion or exception that made the test fail in the first place.
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Prevent overwritten or unusable screenshot artifacts
A simple filename based only on item.name can collide when tests are parameterized or share a name in different modules. Concurrent pytest workers can also write to the same path. The sample uses item.nodeid and sanitizes it for a filesystem filename, which helps distinguish cases, but parallel workers or repeated runs may still require a worker-specific subdirectory or a unique suffix. Ensure your CI artifact collector picks up the same path where the hook writes.
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- Create the destination directory before saving, or handle directory-creation errors as artifact failures.
- Use filesystem-safe names: node IDs can contain parameter values and characters unsuitable for some operating systems.
- Keep output paths unique across parameterized cases, modules, retries, and parallel workers.
- Decide how long CI retains the files and whether retries should replace or preserve earlier attempt images.
A screenshot records visible browser state at the instant it is taken. It does not explain the complete cause by itself. Keep the assertion text and pytest failure output; where useful, collect browser logs or page source as separate diagnostics. pytest’s guidance on flaky tests discusses the value of UI failure screenshots as diagnostic evidence, not as a substitute for understanding the failure.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When an existing Java wrapper may be a better fit
If the project is already written in Java and uses Selenide, use its integrations rather than transplanting the Python pytest hook. Selenide documents automatic screenshots for some of its own failed checks, a JUnit 4 ScreenShooter.failedTests() rule, and a TestNG ScreenShooter listener. See Selenide’s screenshot documentation.
That behavior is framework-specific: automatic capture for Selenide checks does not establish coverage for every Java assertion or failure source. Confirm that the integration used by your installed version covers the failures you care about. Selenium’s Java TakesScreenshot API is a separate lower-level option; its version 4.28.0 reference documents capture targets and the possibility of a screenshot exception at TakesScreenshot. Selenium also shows cross-language capture examples in its WebDriver documentation.
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Troubleshooting failed Selenium screenshots
No screenshot appears
- The hook did not run: Confirm
conftest.pyis in the test’s collection path and the hook uses pytest’s supported wrapper form for the installed pytest version. - The hook filtered out the report: The sample captures only
callfailures, not setup or teardown reports. - The driver is missing: Verify the test requests the fixture and that the fixture attaches the live instance to the item the hook receives.
The screenshot is blank, stale, or from the wrong page
- Wrong driver: Ensure the hook receives the same browser used by the failing test, not another session.
- Capture happened too late: Move capture ahead of driver shutdown; a closed session cannot provide the relevant page.
- The page had not reached the expected state: The image only represents what was visible when capture occurred. Use explicit waits in the test before the interaction or assertion when page timing is part of the problem.
The hook reports an I/O or WebDriver error
- File write failure: Check that the artifact directory exists or can be created, the path is valid, and the process can write there. Treat a false return from
save_screenshot()as a failed artifact save. - WebDriver exception: Check whether the browser session is still alive and whether another teardown path closed it. Keep exception handling around artifact collection so the test’s original failure remains visible.
- Files overwrite each other: Include a case-specific name and isolate output by worker or retry where needed.
Or skip the browser setup
If what you need is a fresh screenshot of a public page rather than the exact browser state from a failed Selenium session, ScreenshotNeo can return a page screenshot through one API request. It is not a replacement for capturing the live test browser at the moment of failure; it captures the URL through its own service. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can Selenium take a screenshot automatically when an assertion fails?
Selenium provides the capture methods, but automatic capture requires connecting them to a test framework hook, listener, or wrapper that detects failures.
Does this pytest example capture a failed fixture setup?
No. It intentionally captures only the call phase; setup and teardown need separate lifecycle handling.
Can I attach a screenshot to a pytest report instead of saving a PNG file?
Yes. Selenium can return screenshot bytes or Base64 data; the report integration must then embed or attach that data.
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