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python -m unittest discover -t . foo
where foo is a package
will not trigger load_tests in foo/__init__.py.
To reproduce:
mkdir -p demo/tests
cd demo
cat <<EOF > tests/__init__.py
import sys
import os
def load_tests(loader, tests, pattern):
 print("HI WE ARE LOADING!")
 this_dir = os.path.dirname(__file__)
 tests.addTest(loader.discover(start_dir=this_dir, pattern=pattern))
 return tests
EOF
python -m unittest discover -t . tests