diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index e091143..fcdb216 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ install:
     fi
   - pip install doit
   - doit install_test_deps
+  - pip freeze
 
 # command to run tests
 script: doit test
diff --git a/tests/test_magics.py b/tests/test_magics.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe58986
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_magics.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import os
+
+import nbformat
+
+import pytest
+
+from utils import build_nb
+
+
+pytest_plugins = "pytester"
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("magic, expected_pass", [
+    (r"%dirs", True),
+    (r"%precision bad", False),
+    (r"%this_magic_does_not_exist", False)
+])
+def test_magics(testdir, magic, expected_pass):
+    nb = build_nb([
+        # In [1]:
+        magic,
+    ])
+    nb_name = 'test_magics'
+    nbformat.write(nb, os.path.join(
+        str(testdir.tmpdir), nb_name+".ipynb"))
+
+    # using subprocess because otherwise second and subsequent tests always fail (some state left over somewhere in the jupyter stack)
+    result = testdir.runpytest_subprocess('--nbval-lax', '--current-env', '-s', '-v')
+
+    assert result.ret == (not expected_pass)
+
+    result.stdout.fnmatch_lines_random(
+        ["*collected 1 item*",
+         "{nb_name}::ipynb::Cell 0 {result}".format(nb_name=nb_name, result="PASSED" if expected_pass else "FAILED")])