From: Bartosz Sławecki <bartosz@ilikepython.com>
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2025 14:58:23 +0000 (+0200)
Subject: gh-44538: Mention nested classes/functions in doctest docs (GH-137870)
X-Git-Tag: v3.15.0a1~654
X-Git-Url: http://git.ipfire.org/gitweb.cgi?a=commitdiff_plain;h=138ed6db9f89171983dc32af4e7ad2e73d46a940;p=thirdparty%2FPython%2Fcpython.git

gh-44538: Mention nested classes/functions in doctest docs (GH-137870)
---

diff --git a/Doc/library/doctest.rst b/Doc/library/doctest.rst
index 5a2c6bdd27c3..02b73ccd3f3d 100644
--- a/Doc/library/doctest.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/doctest.rst
@@ -350,6 +350,13 @@ searches them recursively for docstrings, which are then scanned for tests.
 Any classes found are recursively searched similarly, to test docstrings in
 their contained methods and nested classes.
 
+.. note::
+
+   ``doctest`` can only automatically discover classes and functions that are
+   defined at the module level or inside other classes.
+
+   Since nested classes and functions only exist when an outer function
+   is called, they cannot be discovered. Define them outside to make them visible.
 
 .. _doctest-finding-examples: