diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/vignette.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/vignette.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..efc59468e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/vignette.md
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# use_vignette() gives useful errors
+
+    Code
+      use_vignette()
+    Error <simpleError>
+      argument "name" is missing, with no default
+    Code
+      use_vignette("bad name")
+    Error <usethis_error>
+      'bad name' is not a valid filename for a vignette. It must:
+      * Start with a letter.
+      * Contain only letters, numbers, '_', and '-'.
+
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-vignette.R b/tests/testthat/test-vignette.R
index 6ad515efd..b8534b8cb 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-vignette.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-vignette.R
@@ -1,28 +1,25 @@
-test_that("use_vignette() requires a package", {
-  skip_if_not_installed("rmarkdown")
+# use_vignette ------------------------------------------------------------
 
+test_that("use_vignette() requires a package", {
   create_local_project()
+
   expect_usethis_error(use_vignette(), "not an R package")
 })
 
-test_that("use_vignette() requires a `name`", {
-  skip_if_not_installed("rmarkdown")
-
+test_that("use_vignette() gives useful errors", {
   create_local_package()
-  expect_error(use_vignette(), "no default")
-})
 
-test_that("valid_vignette_name() works", {
-  expect_true(valid_vignette_name("perfectly-valid-name"))
-  expect_false(valid_vignette_name("01-test"))
-  expect_false(valid_vignette_name("test.1"))
+  expect_snapshot(error = TRUE, {
+    use_vignette()
+    use_vignette("bad name")
+  })
 })
 
 test_that("use_vignette() does the promised setup", {
-  skip_if_not_installed("rmarkdown")
-
   create_local_package()
+
   use_vignette("name", "title")
+  expect_proj_file("vignettes/name.Rmd")
 
   ignores <- read_utf8(proj_path(".gitignore"))
   expect_true("inst/doc" %in% ignores)
@@ -38,9 +35,19 @@ test_that("use_vignette() does the promised setup", {
   )
 })
 
+# use_article -------------------------------------------------------------
+
 test_that("use_article goes in article subdirectory", {
   create_local_package()
 
   use_article("test")
   expect_proj_file("vignettes/articles/test.Rmd")
 })
+
+# helpers -----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+test_that("valid_vignette_name() works", {
+  expect_true(valid_vignette_name("perfectly-valid-name"))
+  expect_false(valid_vignette_name("01-test"))
+  expect_false(valid_vignette_name("test.1"))
+})