pytest norecursedirs is explicitly set, overriding defaults

What it detects

The project has norecursedirs explicitly set in a pytest config file and does not have testpaths configured. The check also verifies that directories corresponding to pytest’s default norecursedirs entries exist in the repository but are missing from the custom list.

Why it matters

Setting norecursedirs replaces pytest’s built-in default list instead of extending it. If your custom value omits directories that are in the defaults (e.g., .git, node_modules, __pycache__, .tox, venv, CVS), pytest will recurse into them, adding significant overhead to test collection.

If testpaths is already configured, the scope of test discovery is fixed and norecursedirs is less impactful.

Suggested action

Add the missing default directories to your norecursedirs list, or remove the setting to fall back to pytest defaults.

How to verify

Run pytest --collect-only and check which directories are being scanned.