A Background is added to have a group of steps. It is close to a Scenario. We can add a context to multiple Scenarios with Background. It is run prior to every Scenario of a feature, but post the execution of before hooks.

Background is generally used for executing preconditions like login Scenarios or database connection, and so on.

A Background description can be added for the better human readability. It can appear only for a single time in a feature file and must be declared prior to a Scenario or Scenario Outline.

A Background should not be used to create a complex state (only if it cannot be avoided). This segment should be brief and authentic. Also, we should avoid having a large number of scenarios within one feature file.

Feature File with Background

The feature file with background for the feature titled payment process is as follows −

Feature − Payment Process
   Background:
      Given launch application
      Then Input credentials
   Scenario − Credit card transaction
      Given user is on credit card payment screen
      Then user should be able to complete credit card payment
   Scenario − Debit card transaction
      Given user is on debit card payment screen
      Then user should be able to complete debit card payment

Corresponding Step Implementation File

The file is given below −

from behave import *
@given(''launch application'')
def launch_application(context):
   print(''launch application'')
@then(''Input credentials'')
def input_credentials(context):
   print(''Input credentials'')
@given(''user is on credit card payment screen'')
def credit_card_pay(context):
   print(''User is on credit card payment screen'')
@then(''user should be able to complete credit card payment'')
def credit_card_pay_comp(context):
   print(''user should be able to complete credit card pay'')
@given(''user is on debit card payment screen'')
def debit_card_pay(context):
   print(''User is on debit card payment screen'')
@then(''user should be able to complete debit card payment'')
def debit_card_pay_comp(context):
   print(''user should be able to complete debit card payment'')

Output

The output obtained after running the feature file is mentioned below and the command used here is behave –no-capture -f plain.

The continued output is as follows −

The output shows the Background steps (Given Launch applications & Then Input Credentials) running twice before each of the Scenarios.