Reports and Output

By default behave prints a readable console report. For CI archives, dashboards, and trend tracking you need machine-readable or shareable formats. The -f / --format and -o / --output options select the formatter and where its output goes, and you can combine several pairs in one run.

Built-in Formatters

Format	Output	Typical use
`pretty`	Colored console tree of features, scenarios, and steps	Local development (default)
`progress`	One character per step: `.` passed, `F` failed, `S` skipped	Fast console overview
`html`	Single styled HTML file	Emailing results, static hosting
`json`	Machine-readable JSON of the whole run	Custom pipelines, trend storage
`junit`	JUnit XML	CI systems (Jenkins, GitLab, GitHub Actions)

Writing Report Files

# console stays pretty; archives go to reports/
behave -f pretty -f html -o reports -f junit -o reports -f json -o reports

Every -f is paired with the next -o. Without -o, the report is written to standard output, so a second console-oriented format will overwrite your pretty output on the screen.

Reading the JSON Report

The JSON format mirrors the run: a list of features, each with scenarios, each with steps, including status, duration, and error text. A small script can turn it into a dashboard:

import json

with open("reports/report.json") as fh:
    run = json.load(fh)

total = sum(len(s["steps"]) for f in run for s in f["scenarios"])
failed = sum(1 for f in run for s in f["scenarios"]
             for st in s["steps"] if st["status"] == "failed")
print(f"{total} steps, {failed} failed")

Tips

Put stable format/output settings in behave.ini so every run archives its results.
Give the HTML file a predictable name if your CI links to it directly.
Use the JUnit file for pass/fail gating and the JSON file for anything deeper.

Summary

Pair -f with -o to emit pretty, progress, HTML, JSON, and JUnit reports. Gate CI on the JUnit file and store the JSON for trend analysis; the HTML file is what humans read.