How can I avoid extra newlines when using the `pytest_terminal_summary` hook?

General Discussions
1

In my conftest.py, I implemented the hook like this:

```python
def pytest_terminal_summary(terminalreporter, exitstatus, config):
    terminalreporter.section("My session")
    terminalreporter.write("My message")

The output works fine when tests pass:

====================================== test session starts ======================================

...                                    

========================================== My session ===========================================
My message
================================ 1 passed, 8 deselected in 2.06s ================================

But when tests fail, the newline is missing:

========================================== My session ===========================================
My message==================================== short test summary info ====================================
FAILED tests/test_example.py::test_example - assert 0
================================ 1 failed, 8 deselected in 2.32s ================================


I also tried `terminalreporter.line()` and `terminalreporter.write_line()`, but neither gives consistent results with proper newlines in all cases. Is there a cleaner way to write a line in `pytest_terminal_summary` without having extra or missing newlines?
2

A simple trick I use is always calling write_line() rather than write(). write() doesn’t automatically add a newline, which is why you see it merged with the next section when tests fail. For example:

def pytest_terminal_summary(terminalreporter, exitstatus, config):
    terminalreporter.section("My session")
    terminalreporter.write_line("My message")

write_line() ensures proper newlines in all cases — whether tests pass or fail — and keeps the formatting consistent with pytest’s built-in summaries.

3

If you need precise control over spacing, you can append \n to your write() calls. I’ve used this when I want a custom gap between my section and the summary:

def pytest_terminal_summary(terminalreporter, exitstatus, config):
    terminalreporter.section("My session")
    terminalreporter.write("My message\n")

It’s a small change but fixes the issue of messages running into the pytest summary, especially when there are failures.

4

I found the most robust approach is to always pair section() with write_line() and avoid write(). section() handles its own formatting, and write_line() respects newlines reliably:

def pytest_terminal_summary(terminalreporter, exitstatus, config):
    terminalreporter.section("My session")
    terminalreporter.write_line("My message")
    terminalreporter.write_line("")  # optional extra space for readability
````Preformatted text`


This ensures the custom summary section is clearly separated, whether the tests pass or fail. I now use this pattern in all my plugins to avoid weird formatting issues.