diff --git a/tests/__main__.py b/tests/__main__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4314ea3368
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/__main__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# main entry point into the test folder tests runned under pytest
+import pytest
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    pytest.main()