How to tell py.test to skip certain directories?

If you have several directories with different parents you can specify different --ignore parameters:

py.test --ignore=somedir --ignore=otherdir --ignore=etcdir

• new option: --ignore will prevent specified path from collection.
  Can be specified multiple times.

py.test --ignore=somedir worked for me

In pytest.ini:

[pytest]
addopts = --ignore=somedir --ignore=someotherdir

I solved the mystery: If a pytest section is found in one of the possible config files (pytest.ini, tox.ini and setup.cfg), pytest will not look for any others so be sure you define the py.test options in a single file.

I would suggest using setup.cfg.