# Coverage.py API

There are a few different ways to use coverage.py programmatically.

The API to coverage.py is in a module called `coverage`. Most of the interface is in the `coverage.Coverage` class. Methods on the Coverage object correspond roughly to operations available in the command line interface. For example, a simple use would be:

    import coverage

    cov = coverage.Coverage()
    cov.start()

    # .. call your code ..

    cov.stop()
    cov.save()

    cov.html_report()

Any of the methods can raise specialized exceptions described in Coverage exceptions.

Coverage.py supports plugins that can change its behavior, to collect information from non-Python files, or to perform complex configuration. See Plug-in classes for details.

If you want to access the data that coverage.py has collected, the `coverage.CoverageData` class provides an API to read coverage.py data files.

Warning

Only the published documented portions of the API are supported. Other names you may find in modules or objects can change their behavior at any time. Please limit yourself to documented methods to avoid problems.

All internal code in coverage.py has docstrings; this does not make them part of the public supported API. Many internal names have no leading underscore; this does not make them part of the public supported API. If classes or functions are not documented in this published documentation, they are not supported.

For more intensive data use, you might want to access the coverage.py database file directly. The schema is subject to change, so this is for advanced uses only. Coverage.py database schema explains more.

- The Coverage class
- Coverage exceptions
- coverage module
- Plug-in classes
- The CoverageData class
- Coverage.py database schema