feat: add --skip-resource-checks flag to bypass hardware capability g…

[ajbozarth]

Misc PR

Type of PR

• Bug Fix
• New Feature
• Documentation
• Other

Description

• Link to Issue: Fixes feat: add --skip-resource-checks flag to bypass hardware capability gates #758

Adds a --skip-resource-checks pytest flag that bypasses require_gpu and require_ram hardware-capability gates. When passed, tests that would normally be skipped due to insufficient VRAM or RAM will run regardless — useful for verifying test logic on under-spec machines or reproducing failures reported from higher-spec hardware.

The flag is wired through pytest_configure (which runs before test collection) by setting the _MELLEA_SKIP_RESOURCE_CHECKS env var, which the predicates check at call time. The same env var can be set directly as a CI escape hatch. API credential and Ollama checks are intentionally unaffected.

Testing

• Tests added to the respective file if code was changed
• New code has 100% coverage if code as added
• Ensure existing tests and github automation passes (a maintainer will kick off the github automation when the rest of the PR is populated)

Attribution

• AI coding assistants used

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[ajbozarth]

@planetf1 what do you think? this spun out of one of our old discussions

[psschwei]

Review Summary

Verdict: Request minor changes — the approach is sound but has a few gaps to address.

What's good

• Clean separation of concerns: flag registered in conftest, propagated as env var, consumed in predicates. The predicates don't need to know about pytest config.
• Correctly scoped — only bypasses GPU/RAM checks, leaving API key and Ollama checks alone.
• Early return placement avoids slow hardware detection (sysctl subprocess, torch.cuda init) when bypassed.
• Docs honestly mention "tests may fail naturally" on machines with no GPU.

Issues to address

1. No tests for the new feature
A simple unit test with monkeypatch.setenv verifying the predicates return non-skipping markers would prevent regressions:

def test_require_gpu_bypass(monkeypatch):
    monkeypatch.setenv("_MELLEA_SKIP_RESOURCE_CHECKS", "1")
    marker = require_gpu(min_vram_gb=9999)
    assert marker.args[0] is False

2. docs/examples/conftest.py already has --ignore-gpu-check / --ignore-ram-check / --ignore-all-checks
The project now has two parallel mechanisms for skipping hardware checks. A user passing --skip-resource-checks won't get examples bypassed. At minimum, document the gap or file a follow-up issue to unify them.

3. test/MARKERS_GUIDE.md not updated
This is the canonical reference for resource gating predicates but has no mention of the new override flag.

4. Empty reason="" on bypass (predicates.py:97, predicates.py:130)
Consistent with existing pattern (line 108), but reason="resource check bypassed (--skip-resource-checks)" would help debugging with pytest -rs.

5. conftest.py:265-267 — try/except could be simplified
Using config.getoption("skip_resource_checks", default=False) (dest name, not flag name) avoids the need for the try/except block entirely.

6. Leading underscore on public env var (_MELLEA_SKIP_RESOURCE_CHECKS)
The docs present this as a user-facing CI escape hatch, but _ conventionally means internal. Consider MELLEA_SKIP_RESOURCE_CHECKS if it's a supported interface.

Minor / nice-to-have

• Add a pytest_unconfigure hook to clean up the env var (matters if pytest is invoked programmatically multiple times in the same process).
• One-line addition to AGENTS.md Section 1 quick reference.