diff --git a/tests/core/init_spec.lua b/tests/core/init_spec.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a1b4c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/core/init_spec.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+describe("init", function()
+  it("has correct environment for tests", function()
+    for _, path in ipairs({ "config", "data", "cache", "state" }) do
+      assert(vim.fn.stdpath(path):find(".tests/" .. path))
+    end
+  end)
+end)
diff --git a/tests/init.lua b/tests/init.lua
index b5a94e8..a72b101 100644
--- a/tests/init.lua
+++ b/tests/init.lua
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ function M.setup()
   vim.opt.runtimepath:append(M.root())
   vim.opt.packpath = { M.root(".tests/site") }
   M.load("nvim-lua/plenary.nvim")
+  vim.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME = M.root(".tests/config")
+  vim.env.XDG_DATA_HOME = M.root(".tests/data")
+  vim.env.XDG_STATE_HOME = M.root(".tests/state")
+  vim.env.XDG_CACHE_HOME = M.root(".tests/cache")
 end
 
 M.setup()