[Python] Allure Report Setup Guide | Visualize pytest × Playwright Results Beautifully

When automating tests with pytest, you’ll often want to share results as something more readable than a plain HTML table. With Allure Report, you can output pytest results as rich HTML reports complete with graphs, screenshots, and step-by-step details. This article covers everything from setting up Allure in a Python × pytest environment to generating screenshot-attached reports and integrating with GitHub Actions.

Adding Allure Report to your pytest setup lets you output beautiful HTML reports with graphs, screenshots, and step-level detail — taking your QA reporting to the next level.

pytest-html works fine for basic reporting, but as your test suite grows you’ll start running into these frustrations:

• Hard to see at a glance which tests failed and why
• No way to view failure causes with screenshots attached
• No visibility into test run history or trends

Allure solves all of these problems — it’s the most widely used report framework in the test automation field. This article walks you through everything from installation to report generation and CI/CD integration.

① pytest-html vs Allure: Which Should You Use?

Let’s start by comparing Allure and pytest-html side by side.

② How to Install Allure for Python × pytest

Allure requires two separate installations: the Python Allure adapter and the Allure CLI for generating HTML reports.

Installing the Python Package

First, install the Allure adapter that integrates with pytest.

# Install allure-pytest
pip install allure-pytest

# Add to requirements.txt
# allure-pytest

Installing the Allure CLI

Next, install the Allure CLI that generates HTML reports. The CLI requires Java to be installed. Installation varies by OS.

# macOS (using Homebrew)
brew install allure

# Windows (using Scoop)
scoop install allure

# Linux (manual install)
# 1. Download the zip from the Allure official site
# 2. Extract and add bin/ to your PATH

# Verify installation
allure --version

③ How to Generate an Allure Report with pytest

Allure works in two steps: first generate result files during the pytest run, then convert them to an HTML report using the CLI.

STEP 1: Run Tests (Generate Result Files)

Run pytest with the --alluredir option to output Allure result files into the specified folder.

# Output result files to allure-results folder
pytest --alluredir=allure-results

# Run only smoke tests and output results
pytest -m smoke --alluredir=allure-results

# Clear existing result files before running
pytest --alluredir=allure-results --clean-alluredir

STEP 2: Generate and View the HTML Report

Once result files are generated, convert them to an HTML report using the Allure CLI. There are two approaches: one for local viewing and one for CI/CD artifact storage.

# Launch a local server and open in browser (for local viewing)
allure serve allure-results

# Output as HTML files (for CI/CD artifact storage)
allure generate allure-results -o allure-report --clean

Sample Execution Output

$ pytest --alluredir=allure-results -v

========================= test session starts ==========================
collected 3 items

tests/smoke/test_login_smoke.py::test_login_success          PASSED  [ 33%]
tests/smoke/test_login_smoke.py::test_login_wrong_password   PASSED  [ 66%]
tests/smoke/test_login_smoke.py::test_login_locked_out_user  PASSED  [100%]

========================== 3 passed in 5.34s ===========================

$ allure serve allure-results
Starting web server...
Server started at: http://127.0.0.1:PORT/

④ How to Add Allure Info (step & severity) to pytest Tests

Allure’s real power comes from adding decorators to your test code to enrich reports with detailed information.

Basic Decorators

Combine the following decorators to categorize tests by feature, severity, and story in the report.

import allure
import pytest
from pages.login_page import LoginPage

@allure.epic("Authentication")         # Top-level category (product feature)
@allure.feature("Login")               # Mid-level category (feature name)
@allure.story("Successful Login")      # Sub-level category (user story)
@allure.severity(allure.severity_level.CRITICAL)  # Severity level
@pytest.mark.smoke
def test_login_success(page, base_url, valid_credentials):
    """Verify that a valid login succeeds"""

    with allure.step("Navigate to login page"):
        login_page = LoginPage(page)
        login_page.navigate(f"https://{base_url}/")

    with allure.step("Enter credentials and submit"):
        login_page.login(
            valid_credentials["username"],
            valid_credentials["password"]
        )

    with allure.step("Verify URL after login"):
        assert page.url.endswith("/inventory.html"), \
            f"URL after login does not match expected: {page.url}"

Severity Levels

⑤ How to Auto-Attach Screenshots with Playwright × Allure

One of the most powerful features of the Playwright × Allure combination is automatic screenshot attachment on failure. Adding this to conftest.py applies it to every test automatically.

Add the following code to tests/conftest.py. It captures a screenshot at the moment a test fails and attaches it to the Allure report.

# Add to tests/conftest.py

import allure
import pytest

@pytest.hookimpl(tryfirst=True, hookwrapper=True)
def pytest_runtest_makereport(item, call):
    """Attach a screenshot to the Allure report when a test fails"""
    outcome = yield
    report = outcome.get_result()

    # When the test has failed
    if report.when == "call" and report.failed:
        # Only when the test uses the page fixture
        page = item.funcargs.get("page")
        if page:
            screenshot = page.screenshot()
            allure.attach(
                screenshot,
                name="Screenshot on failure",
                attachment_type=allure.attachment_type.PNG
            )

To attach a screenshot manually at any point during a test, use the following approach:

import allure

def test_add_to_cart(logged_in_page):
    page = logged_in_page

    with allure.step("Add item to cart"):
        page.click("[data-test='add-to-cart-sauce-labs-backpack']")

        # Manually attach a screenshot at this point
        allure.attach(
            page.screenshot(),
            name="After adding to cart",
            attachment_type=allure.attachment_type.PNG
        )

    with allure.step("Verify cart badge count"):
        badge = page.locator(".shopping_cart_badge").text_content()
        assert badge == "1"

⑥ pytest.ini Configuration for Allure

Add Allure-specific settings to pytest.ini so you don’t have to type --alluredir manually on every run.

# pytest.ini
[pytest]
testpaths = tests

addopts =
    -v
    --tb=short
    --alluredir=allure-results
    --clean-alluredir

markers =
    smoke: Smoke tests
    regression: Regression tests
    e2e: E2E tests

⑦ How to Auto-Generate Allure Reports in GitHub Actions

Here’s the configuration for auto-generating Allure reports in GitHub Actions and saving them as artifacts. Copy and use this YAML file directly.

# .github/workflows/allure.yml

name: E2E Tests with Allure Report

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Python 3.11
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: "3.11"

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
          pip install -r requirements.txt

      - name: Install Playwright browsers
        run: playwright install chromium --with-deps

      - name: Run tests (output Allure result files)
        run: pytest --alluredir=allure-results
        continue-on-error: true   # continue even if tests fail

      - name: Set up Allure CLI
        uses: simple-elf/allure-setup-action@master
        with:
          allure_version: "2.27.0"

      - name: Generate Allure HTML report
        run: allure generate allure-results -o allure-report --clean

      - name: Upload report as artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        if: always()
        with:
          name: allure-report
          path: allure-report/
          retention-days: 30

FAQ

⚠️ 7 Common Pitfalls When Setting Up Allure Report

Allure has more moving parts than simpler tools, which means more places to get stuck. Knowing these pitfalls in advance will save you a lot of unnecessary debugging.

📋 Summary

Start by installing allure-pytest and the Allure CLI, then try the two-command flow: pytest --alluredir=allure-results → allure serve allure-results. From there, add steps and screenshots incrementally to make your reports richer over time.