diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 3bd5f62..e36f10d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ jobs:
       run: cd python && pip install -e .
     - name: Install packages needed for tests
       run: pip install pytest pytest-asyncio pytest-cov boto3 kachery_cloud
+    - name: Run non-api tests
+      run: cd python && pytest -m "not api" tests/ # make sure we are not depending on any of the additional packages in requirements.txt
+    - name: Install packages needed for api tests
+      run: pip install -r requirements.txt
     - name: Run tests and collect coverage
       run: cd python && pytest --cov protocaas --cov-report=xml --cov-report=term tests/
     - uses: codecov/codecov-action@v3
diff --git a/python/pytest.ini b/python/pytest.ini
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a40183
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/pytest.ini
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+[pytest]
+markers =
+    api: tests for api that require the api packages to be installed
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/python/tests/test_api.py b/python/tests/test_api.py
index f9b6def..9106439 100644
--- a/python/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/python/tests/test_api.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.api
 async def test_api():
     from protocaas.api_helpers.routers.gui.project_routes import create_project, CreateProjectRequest
     from protocaas.api_helpers.routers.gui.project_routes import set_project_name, SetProjectNameRequest