Run pylint standalone instead of via pytest-pylint

[ogajduse]

Summary

CI is currently broken on every PR (unrelated to their actual changes, e.g. #435): build (3.9-3.13) fails with

PluginValidationError: Plugin '...' for hook 'pytest_collect_file'
hookimpl definition: pytest_collect_file(path, parent)
Argument(s) {'path'} are declared in the hookimpl but can not be found in the hookspec

pytest-pylint 0.21.0 (latest release on PyPI) hardcodes the pre-pytest-7 pytest_collect_file(path, parent) hookimpl signature with no version guard (unlike pytest-flakes, which already branches on pytest version internally). pytest 9.0 finally removed the long-deprecated path parameter (slated for removal since 7.0; a premature removal in 8.1.0 was yanked and reverted), so any environment that resolves latest pytest now fails at pytest_configure, before a single test runs.

pytest-pylint looks effectively dead upstream: carsongee/pytest-pylint's last commit was 2024-04-13 (over 2 years ago) — which is also the commit that merged carsongee/pytest-pylint#193 (pathlib.Path in hooks, the actual fix for this) without ever cutting a release containing it. A follow-up pytest-9 compat PR (carsongee/pytest-pylint#196) has sat open and unaddressed since 2025-12-16. So there's no unpinned-pytest-compatible release to wait for, and pinning to their git HEAD would mean depending on an unmaintained, unversioned commit.

Fix

Decouple pylint from pytest's plugin/collection API entirely instead: run it as its own tox command rather than through pytest --pylint. This keeps pytest unpinned/latest and doesn't depend on the health of pytest-pylint at all going forward. .pylintrc already scopes to the obal package via ignore=docs,tests, so pylint --rcfile=.pylintrc obal covers the same files pytest-pylint was checking.

Verification

Fresh venv, latest everything (pytest==9.1.1, pylint==4.0.6): full suite 171 passed, pylint clean (10.00/10).

No other tox/CI/docs config references pytest-pylint or --pylint (checked .github/workflows/, requirements-test.txt, README/docs).

[ogajduse]

I wish I could tag the packaging group for review.

[evgeni]

I wish I could tag the packaging group for review.

And why can't you?

[evgeni]

In obsah we ended up pinning pytest instead: theforeman/obsah#121

Not saying the one solution is better than the other, but we should probably use the same in both places?

(The new pytest also broke other plugins if I recall correctly, even if not used here)

[ogajduse]

I wish I could tag the packaging group for review.

And why can't you?

I just can't. Github does not give me the option in the Reviewers menu when I search for packaging in the search box in the dropdown. 🤷

[ogajduse]

In obsah we ended up pinning pytest instead: theforeman/obsah#121

Not saying the one solution is better than the other, but we should probably use the same in both places?

(The new pytest also broke other plugins if I recall correctly, even if not used here)

quoting from the PR description

arsongee/pytest-pylint's last commit was 2024-04-13

So I'd consider stopping using this pytest plugin in obsah too. Would you like me to raise a PR in obsah too?

[evgeni]

So I'd consider stopping using this pytest plugin in obsah too. Would you like me to raise a PR in obsah too?

Sounds good to me.