Reusing test suites

[Saga789]

Hi. Is there a way to use same test suites during pabot execution?
Example:
I have test_suites 1 - 4 and I run two scenarios with robot commands:
robot test_suite1.robot test_suite3.robot test_suite4.robot
robot test_suite2.robot test_suite3.robot test_suite4.robot
I'd like to run the two scenarios simultaneously. I try to use "--processes 2 --ordering order.txt test_suite1.robot test_suite2.robot test_suite3.robot test_suite4.robot" with config file:

{
--suite Suites.Test Suite 1
--suite Suites.Test Suite 3
--suite Suites.Test Suite 4
}
{
--suite Suites.Test Suite 2
--suite Suites.Test Suite 3
--suite Suites.Test Suite 4
}

After running this command first scenario executed test suites 1, 3, 4 but second scenario executed only test suite 2.
How can I run the scenarios as described above?

[joonaskuisma]

Hi @Saga789 !

The --ordering argument is strictly for grouping suites or tests, as its name suggests. It cannot add or remove tests from execution—it only modifies the execution order, grouping, and scheduling.

If you want to duplicate the execution of specific tests, --prerunmodifier (or in Pabot's case, --pabotprerunmodifier) could maybe be an option—provided you create a suitable modifier yourself.

Alternative Approach

In your example, I’d suggest renaming suites 3 and 4 differently based on whether suite 1 or 2 is their prerequisite. This implies that there is some dependency between these suites, meaning the results of 3 and 4 may vary depending on what was executed in 1 or 2.

Another possible solution could be merging suites 1 and 2 into a single suite and parameterizing the execution. For instance:

• In args1.txt:

--variable presuite:1

• In args2.txt:

--variable presuite:2

Then, you could execute:
pabot --processes 2 --argumentfile1 args1.txt --argumentfile2 args2.txt <your_test_folder>

This way, the execution would be controlled by a variable(s), and both scenarios could run in parallel.

Feel free to ask or share more details about the contents of suites 1 and 2.

Hope this helps! 🚀

[joonaskuisma]

I am cleaning Pabot's issues and this looks more like a usage / Q&A topic, so I’m moving it to Discussions → Q&A where it’s easier for others to find and benefit from the answer.

Feel free to continue the conversation there 👍