factory_boy

Spec sheet

Purpose

factory_boy replaces static test fixtures with customizable factories for complex objects.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Audience

It is a fixtures replacement tool for Python tests.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

License

The project is distributed under the MIT License.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Build strategies

Factories can build unsaved instances, create saved instances, or return stub objects.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Community support

The documentation directs users to GitHub Issues and a Google Groups mailing list for questions and suggestions.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Debugging

Detailed logging is available through the factory logger, and factory.debug() is provided as a debugging helper.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Distribution

The documentation gives PyPI installation and Git source installation instructions.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Factory syntax

Factories use a declarative syntax to define attributes for creating Python objects.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Generated data

factory_boy uses the Faker library to generate realistic random values.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Generated values

It uses Faker for realistic random values and provides helpers to reseed random values for reproducible tests.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Inheritance

It supports multiple factories for a class, including inheritance.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

ORM integrations

Documented ORM integrations include Django, Mogo, MongoEngine, and SQLAlchemy.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

ORM support

The documentation describes integrations for Django, Mogo, MongoEngine, and SQLAlchemy.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Python support

The support policy covers active Python versions and PyPy3.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Related objects

SubFactory creates associated objects and uses the associated factory's strategy.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Reproducible randomness

The factory.random module provides helpers for managing random seeds.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

SQLAlchemy requirement

SQLAlchemyModelFactory requires a session object configured through sqlalchemy_session or sqlalchemy_session_factory.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Support channels

The project directs users to GitHub Issues and welcomes questions and suggestions on its mailing list.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Supported runtimes

The support policy says factory_boy supports active Python versions and PyPy3.Read 9 Oct 2026 · factoryboy.readthedocs.io

Where Specifiction places it

• Test Data Generation Tools#23 of 287.0