diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1b059d30..561322aa 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -147,6 +147,10 @@ $ make frontend-test
 $ make frontend-lint
 ```
 
+Backend tests can be run without docker with the env files
+`env.d/development/common` and `env.d/development/common.test`.
+`common.test` must overwrite some variables in `common`.
+
 **Adding content**
 
 You can create a basic demo site by running this command:
diff --git a/env.d/development/common.test b/env.d/development/common.test
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..476a0d6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/env.d/development/common.test
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Test environment configuration for running tests without docker
+# Base configuration is loaded from 'common' file
+
+DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=impress.settings
+DJANGO_CONFIGURATION=Test
+DB_PORT=15432
+AWS_S3_ENDPOINT_URL=http://localhost:9000
\ No newline at end of file