I discovered why this code that was given in http://groups.google.com/group/pylons-discuss/browse_thread/thread/ec52fe65b960567/12b36231ff4dfb97?hl=en&lnk=gst&q=unit#12b36231ff4dfb97 does not work.

def test_session(self): import pylons

pylons.session._push_object({'user':'user_id'}) response = self.app.get(url_for('/')) pylons.session._pop_object()

This code puts the dictionary on the session stack, but then another object is pushed on the stack in pylons/wsgiapp.py:146 from the environ['pylons.environ_config']['session'] If you do a session._pop_object() in you controller you pop out the empty session and get your session on the top of the stack. It works, but I still want to find a cleaner way of doing it.