# Configuration read in start\_suite of listener are not being shared with tests while running using Pabot

**URL:** <https://forum.robotframework.org/t/configuration-read-in-start-suite-of-listener-are-not-being-shared-with-tests-while-running-using-pabot/7891>\
**Category:** Pabot\
**Created:** [7 October 2024 16:33 UTC](https://forum.robotframework.org/t/configuration-read-in-start-suite-of-listener-are-not-being-shared-with-tests-while-running-using-pabot/7891 "2024-10-07T16:33:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![yadubhushan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7ea924/32.png) [@yadubhushan](https://forum.robotframework.org/u/yadubhushan)\
**Post date:** [7 October 2024 16:33 UTC](https://forum.robotframework.org/t/configuration-read-in-start-suite-of-listener-are-not-being-shared-with-tests-while-running-using-pabot/7891/1 "2024-10-07T16:33:39Z")

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We have few configurations to read only once while starting the suite and we are doing it as part of start\_suite function listener(v3). And we have few test level events being handled using start\_test function. When we run two tests in parallel using pabot, It looks like start\_suite is being considered before every test similar to start\_test. I have tried Pabot keyword ‘Run Setup Only once’ to ensure doing configuration setup only once, but then the configurations are not available for the other test. Is there a way to achieve this using Pabot? Could someone assist me on this?

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**Author:** ![burr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@burr](https://forum.robotframework.org/u/burr)\
**Post date:** [7 October 2024 18:26 UTC](https://forum.robotframework.org/t/configuration-read-in-start-suite-of-listener-are-not-being-shared-with-tests-while-running-using-pabot/7891/2 "2024-10-07T18:26:19Z")

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Hi,

When you run two testcases in parallel they are in different processes similar to if you ran them from two command lines at the same time. If there are only two testcases, then each process is starting a new suite for each testcase.

`Run Setup Only Once` will ensure a keyword is only run in the first testcase “process” to hit it, but any variables it configures would of course not be available to other the other processes.

You could split your configuration in two, so that actions that should only ever be done once are protected behind `Run Setup Only Once` and the rest of the configuration is done everywhere.

If all the testcases need to know the results of that first set of actions, you can transfer values between processes. See: [PabotLib](https://pabot.org/PabotLib.html#valuetransfer). You will also need to make sure the other processes wait for the first process to finish with what ever it needs to do first, but PabotLib provides several ways to do that.

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**Author:** ![yadubhushan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7ea924/32.png) [@yadubhushan](https://forum.robotframework.org/u/yadubhushan)\
**Post date:** [7 October 2024 19:15 UTC](https://forum.robotframework.org/t/configuration-read-in-start-suite-of-listener-are-not-being-shared-with-tests-while-running-using-pabot/7891/3 "2024-10-07T19:15:38Z")

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@burr Thanks for the response

So, If one wants to design their own test automation framework on top of Robot framework and want to use pabot for parallel execution, They might need to consider this behavior of processes and design setup and teardown (suite and test level) functions accordingly beforehand so that they would not need to do rework later to support parallel executions

Is my understanding right here?

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**Author:** ![burr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@burr](https://forum.robotframework.org/u/burr)\
**Post date:** [8 October 2024 14:54 UTC](https://forum.robotframework.org/t/configuration-read-in-start-suite-of-listener-are-not-being-shared-with-tests-while-running-using-pabot/7891/4 "2024-10-08T14:54:53Z")

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Yes - test cases running in separate processes do not implicitly share memory (“variables”), so each needs to be configured (“setup”) separately. However you can explicitly share variables between them, which using Pabotlib makes easier.

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**Author:** ![yadubhushan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7ea924/32.png) [@yadubhushan](https://forum.robotframework.org/u/yadubhushan)\
**Post date:** [9 October 2024 01:16 UTC](https://forum.robotframework.org/t/configuration-read-in-start-suite-of-listener-are-not-being-shared-with-tests-while-running-using-pabot/7891/5 "2024-10-09T01:16:55Z")

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@burr Thanks
