Skip to content

Recommended Stack

A modern Python stack for Automation QA Engineers in 2026.

Core

Tool Purpose Install
Python 3.12+ Runtime uv python install 3.12
uv Package manager curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh \| sh
pytest Testing framework uv add --dev pytest

API Testing

Tool Purpose Install
requests Sync HTTP client uv add requests
httpx Async HTTP client uv add httpx
pydantic Response validation uv add pydantic

When to Use Each

Scenario Tool
Simple API tests requests
Async or high-volume API tests httpx
Schema validation pydantic

UI Testing

Tool Purpose Install
playwright Browser automation (recommended) uv add playwright
selenium Browser automation (legacy) uv add selenium

When to Use Each

Scenario Tool
New projects Playwright
Legacy projects already using Selenium Selenium
Fast, stable E2E tests Playwright

Code Quality

Tool Purpose Install
ruff Linting + formatting uv add --dev ruff
mypy Type checking uv add --dev mypy
pre-commit Git hooks uv add --dev pre-commit
pytest-cov Test coverage uv add --dev pytest-cov

Data & Config

Tool Purpose Install
pydantic-settings Config from env vars uv add pydantic-settings
faker Generate test data uv add --dev faker

Reporting

Tool Purpose Install
allure-pytest Rich test reports uv add --dev allure-pytest
pytest-html Simple HTML reports uv add --dev pytest-html

CI/CD

Tool Purpose
GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline
GitLab CI CI/CD pipeline

Minimal pyproject.toml

[project]
name = "aqa-project"
version = "1.0.0"
requires-python = ">=3.12"
dependencies = [
    "requests>=2.32.0",
    "pydantic>=2.9.0",
    "playwright>=1.49.0",
]

[project.optional-dependencies]
dev = [
    "pytest>=8.3.0",
    "pytest-cov>=6.0.0",
    "pytest-asyncio>=0.24.0",
    "ruff>=0.8.0",
    "mypy>=1.13.0",
    "pre-commit>=4.0.0",
    "allure-pytest>=2.13.0",
    "faker>=33.0.0",
]

[tool.pytest.ini_options]
testpaths = ["tests"]
addopts = "-v --tb=short --strict-markers"

[tool.ruff]
target-version = "py312"
line-length = 120

[tool.ruff.lint]
select = ["E", "F", "I", "N", "W", "UP", "B", "SIM", "RUF"]

[tool.mypy]
python_version = "3.12"
strict = true

[tool.coverage.run]
source = ["src"]
branch = true

[tool.coverage.report]
fail_under = 100
show_missing = true

Project Structure

aqa-project/
├── src/
│   ├── clients/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── user_client.py
│   ├── pages/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── login_page.py
│   ├── models/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── user.py
│   └── utils/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       └── helpers.py
├── tests/
│   ├── conftest.py
│   ├── unit/
│   ├── integration/
│   └── e2e/
├── pyproject.toml
├── uv.lock
└── .gitignore

Further Learning

Official Documentation

Resource URL
Python Docs docs.python.org
pytest Docs docs.pytest.org
Playwright Docs playwright.dev/python
Pydantic Docs docs.pydantic.dev
uv Docs docs.astral.sh/uv
Ruff Docs docs.astral.sh/ruff

Books & Guides

Resource Topic
Clean Code (Robert Martin) Code quality principles
Python Testing with pytest Practical pytest guide
Architecture Patterns with Python Domain-driven design in Python
Real Python (realpython.com) Tutorials and deep dives
testdriven.io Test automation best practices

Practice

Resource Purpose
exercism.io/tracks/python Python coding exercises
leetcode.com Algorithm practice (Python)
github.com — awesome-pytest pytest plugins and resources

Summary

This guide covered:

  • Python fundamentals — types, control flow, data structures, functions
  • OOP — classes, inheritance, composition, dunder methods
  • Error handling — exceptions, logging, file operations
  • Testing — pytest, fixtures, parametrize, test architecture
  • Automation — API testing, UI automation, design patterns
  • Code quality — ruff, mypy, coverage, CI/CD
  • Advanced topics — decorators, generators, async, performance
  • Best practices — security, pitfalls, interview prep

Use this guide as a reference and come back to any section when you need it.