Celery Tests fail with pytest >= 3.3 (Fix)

The Fix

pip install celery==4.4.0rc5

Based on closed celery/celery issue #4626 · PR/commit linked

Production note: Most teams hit this during upgrades or environment changes. Roll out with a canary and smoke critical endpoints (health, OpenAPI/docs) before 100%.

Open PR/Commit

@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 case>=1.3.1
-pytest>=3.0,<3.3
+pytest>=3.8.0,<3.9
diff --git a/t/unit/conftest.py b/t/unit/conftest.py

fix.md

Option A — Upgrade to fixed release\npip install celery==4.4.0rc5\nWhen NOT to use: Do not apply this fix if using a pytest version lower than 3.8.\n\n

Why This Fix Works in Production

Trigger: Tests fail with pytest >= 3.3
Mechanism: Fixed the logging error introduced by pytest 3.4 by updating the pytest version and modifying the logging fixture.
Why the fix works: Fixed the logging error introduced by pytest 3.4 by updating the pytest version and modifying the logging fixture. (first fixed release: 4.4.0rc5).

Production impact:

If left unfixed, the same config can fail only in production (env differences), causing startup failures or partial feature outages.

Why This Breaks in Prod

Production symptom (often without a traceback): Tests fail with pytest >= 3.3

Proof / Evidence

GitHub issue: #4626
Fix PR: https://github.com/celery/celery/pull/4912
First fixed release: 4.4.0rc5
Reproduced locally: No (not executed)
Last verified: 2026-02-09
Confidence: 0.95
Did this fix it?: Yes (upstream fix exists)
Own content ratio: 0.76

Discussion

High-signal excerpts from the issue thread (symptoms, repros, edge-cases).

Jump to Sources Open on GitHub

“started work to fix the issue. @fladi could you check the latest pr https://github.com/celery/celery/pull/4912 ? and suggest clean ups?”

@auvipy · 2018-07-19 · source

Failure Signature (Search String)

Tests fail with pytest >= 3.3
The whole exceptions can be seen in the Debian CI build report [1].

Copy-friendly signature

signature.txt

Failure Signature
-----------------
Tests fail with pytest >= 3.3
The whole exceptions can be seen in the Debian CI build report [1].

Error Message

Signature-only (no traceback captured)

error.txt

Error Message
-------------
Tests fail with pytest >= 3.3
The whole exceptions can be seen in the Debian CI build report [1].

What Broke

Tests fail with RuntimeError, leading to CI build failures.

Fix Options (Details)

Option A — Upgrade to fixed release Safe default (recommended)

pip install celery==4.4.0rc5

When NOT to use: Do not apply this fix if using a pytest version lower than 3.8.

Use when you can deploy the upstream fix. It is usually lower-risk than long-lived workarounds.

Fix reference: https://github.com/celery/celery/pull/4912

First fixed release: 4.4.0rc5

Last verified: 2026-02-09. Validate in your environment.

When NOT to Use This Fix

Do not apply this fix if using a pytest version lower than 3.8.

Did This Fix Work in Your Case?

Quick signal helps us prioritize which fixes to verify and improve.

Prevention

Capture the exact failing error string in logs and tests so you can reproduce via a minimal script.
Pin production dependencies and upgrade only with a reproducible test that hits the failing path.

Version Compatibility Table

Version	Status
4.4.0rc5	Fixed

Related Issues

No related fixes found.

Cluster: celery:configuration-error Celery hub Celery best practices All hubs All clusters

Related clusters: Data consistency Duplicates Duplicate processing

Sources

We don’t republish the full GitHub discussion text. Use the links above for context.