# pytest coverage exclude: omit files, folders and lines

> Omit files from pytest coverage with */generated/* patterns, exclude lines with pragma: no cover and exclude_also, and fix omits that don't work. Measured.

Web page: https://supercov.com/blog/pytest-coverage-exclude · Published 2026-11-08
All Supercov pages for agents: https://supercov.com/llms.txt · Full text: https://supercov.com/llms-full.txt

The omit patterns and pragmas that work with pytest-cov 7.1 and coverage.py 7.17, and six that look right but are not.

Put file patterns in `omit` under `[tool.coverage.run]` and start them with a
wildcard: `*/generated/*`. To leave out lines, add `# pragma: no cover`, and
add your own patterns with `exclude_also`, never `exclude_lines`.

## Exclude patterns at a glance

| To exclude | Write |
| --- | --- |
| A folder anywhere | `omit = ["*/generated/*"]` |
| A folder from the project root | `omit = ["src/shop/generated/*"]` |
| A file by name, in any folder | `omit = ["money.py"]` |
| From the command line | `coverage run --omit='*/generated/*' -m pytest` |
| One line or block | `# pragma: no cover` on the line that opens it |
| Every line like a pattern | `exclude_also = ["if __name__ == .__main__.:"]` |

pytest-cov has no `--omit` flag. It reads the same configuration as
coverage.py: `pyproject.toml`, `.coveragerc`, `setup.cfg` or `tox.ini`.

We ran every setup here with pytest 9.2.0, pytest-cov 7.1.0 and coverage.py
7.17.2 on Python 3.13. The project has a `shop` package under `src`, with a
generated client and a legacy module no test imports. With `--cov=shop` and no
exclusions, the report has 17 of 21 statements (81%).

## Omit files and folders

```toml
[tool.coverage.run]
omit = [
    "*/generated/*",
    "*/legacy/*",
]
```

```sh
pytest --cov=shop
```

The report then had 14 of 15 statements (93%). `src/shop/generated/*` did the
same. A pattern that starts with a wildcard is used as is; any other pattern
is read from the folder you run pytest in.

Use `--cov=shop`, not a bare `--cov`. A bare `--cov` measured our test file
too, and left out the legacy module no test imports. `--cov=shop` reported
that module, at 0 of 2 statements, and no test files.

## Exclude lines with pragma: no cover

```python
def fmt(cents: int) -> str:
    if cents < 0:  # pragma: no cover
        return "-" + fmt(-cents)
    return f"{cents // 100}.{cents % 100:02d}"
```

The comment on the `if` excludes the whole branch under it. Coverage.py 7.17
also excludes `if TYPE_CHECKING:` blocks and `...` stub bodies on its own.

To exclude every line of a kind, add a regular expression with
`exclude_also`:

```toml
[tool.coverage.report]
exclude_also = [
    "if __name__ == .__main__.:",
]
```

![Two columns. exclude_also keeps coverage.py's defaults, pragma: no cover, if TYPE_CHECKING and stub bodies, and adds your pattern: receipt.py has 5 of 5 statements. exclude_lines replaces the defaults with your pattern: the pragma is ignored and receipt.py has 7 of 9.](https://supercov.com/assets/pytest-coverage-exclude-flow-1360.6c2d9a956f.webp)

*The same pattern set two ways. exclude_lines drops coverage.py's defaults, pragma: no cover included.*

## Why your pytest coverage exclude isn't working

| What we tried | What happened |
| --- | --- |
| `omit = ["generated/*"]` | Nothing omitted: read from the run folder, not the package |
| `omit = ["src/shop/generated"]` (no `/*`) | Nothing omitted |
| `omit = ["shop.generated.*"]` (a module name) | Nothing omitted |
| `exclude_lines` instead of `exclude_also` | `# pragma: no cover` and `if TYPE_CHECKING:` stopped working: 7 of 9 statements instead of 5 of 5 |
| `omit` in `pyproject.toml` and a `.coveragerc` in the same folder | `.coveragerc` won; the `pyproject.toml` setting was ignored |
| A bare `--cov` | Test files in the report, unimported modules missing |

![A grid of six setups against five files. --cov=shop without omit keeps pricing, receipt, money and legacy, 17 of 21 statements. omit */generated/* or src/shop/generated/* leaves pricing and receipt, 14 of 15. omit generated/* or shop.generated.* removes nothing. A bare --cov adds the test file and drops legacy, 29 of 31.](https://supercov.com/assets/pytest-coverage-exclude-grid-1360.9e71b16e5d.webp)

*What each setup left in the report, measured with pytest-cov 7.1.0 and coverage.py 7.17.2.*

`exclude_lines` replaces coverage.py's default patterns, including the one for
`# pragma: no cover`. `exclude_also` adds to them. If you see `exclude_lines`
in an old answer, switch it.

`omit` also works under `[tool.coverage.report]`. There it hides files from
the report but still measures them, which looks the same in the report.

## What Supercov adds

```sh
npx supercov -- pytest
npx supercov runs latest gaps
```

Supercov runs the same pytest command and records which test covered each
line, with branches and MC/DC. It decides what counts from your source
directories, not from `omit`. See
[pytest-cov vs coverage.py](https://supercov.com/compare/pytest-cov-vs-coverage.md) for the two
ways to run coverage, and [Python code coverage](https://supercov.com/compare/python-code-coverage.md)
for the tools side by side.