diff --git a/.github/actions/int-test/entrypoint.sh b/.github/actions/int-test/entrypoint.sh
index 3cec53f2e1..22140df096 100644
--- a/.github/actions/int-test/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/.github/actions/int-test/entrypoint.sh
@@ -7,4 +7,4 @@ export ATLAS_PRIVATE_KEY="${INPUT_ATLAS_PRIVATE_KEY}"
 # otherwise we may get strange "Detected Programmatic Focus - setting exit status to 197"
 export GINKGO_EDITOR_INTEGRATION="true"
 
-ginkgo --label-filter="${INPUT_TEST_NAME}" --timeout 80m -v -nodes="${INPUT_PARALLEL_NODES}" "${INPUT_TEST_PATH}"
+AKO_INT_TEST=1 ginkgo --label-filter="${INPUT_TEST_NAME}" --timeout 80m -v -nodes="${INPUT_PARALLEL_NODES}" "${INPUT_TEST_PATH}"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
index 292eb612a6..d0310f2334 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
@@ -242,8 +242,8 @@ jobs:
 
           # no `long-run`, no `broken` tests. `Long-run` tests run as a separate job
           [[ $TEST_NAME == 'long-run' ]]  &&  filter='long-run && !broken' || filter="$TEST_NAME"' && !long-run && !broken' && \
-          echo 'Running: ginkgo --label-filter="${filter}" --timeout 120m --nodes=10 --cover --v' && \
-          ginkgo --label-filter="${filter}" --timeout 120m --nodes=10  --flake-attempts=1 --cover --v --coverpkg=github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/pkg/...
+          echo 'Running: AKO_E2E_TEST=1 ginkgo --label-filter="${filter}" --timeout 120m --nodes=10 --cover --v' && \
+          AKO_E2E_TEST=1 ginkgo --label-filter="${filter}" --timeout 120m --nodes=10  --flake-attempts=1 --cover --v --coverpkg=github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/pkg/...
       - name: Upload operator logs
         if: ${{ failure() }}
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-int.yml b/.github/workflows/test-int.yml
index ef6605cc3b..02cee8c4dd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-int.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-int.yml
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ jobs:
           go install github.com/onsi/gomega/...
           
           cd ${{ matrix.path }}
-          ginkgo --label-filter="${TEST_NAME}" --timeout 90m --v --nodes="${PARALLEL_NODES}" --flake-attempts=1 --cover --coverpkg=github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/pkg/...
+          AKO_INT_TEST=1 ginkgo --label-filter="${TEST_NAME}" --timeout 90m --v --nodes="${PARALLEL_NODES}" --flake-attempts=1 --cover --coverpkg=github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/pkg/...
 
       - name: Upload coverage to Codecov
         uses: codecov/codecov-action@v3
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-unit.yml b/.github/workflows/test-unit.yml
index c6344d7f4e..6b3c4b6057 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-unit.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-unit.yml
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ jobs:
       - run: go version
 
       - name: Run testing
-        run: CGO_ENABLED=0 go test -v $(go list ./pkg/...) -coverprofile=coverage.out
+        run: CGO_ENABLED=0 go test -v $(go list ./... |grep -v 'test/int\|test/e2e') -coverprofile=coverage.out
 
       - name: Upload coverage to Codecov
         uses: codecov/codecov-action@v3
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index ae40316383..3e0d4364f6 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ ifndef TARGET_OS
 TARGET_OS := $(shell go env GOOS)
 endif
 
+GO_UNIT_TEST_FOLDERS=$(shell go list ./... |grep -v 'test/int\|test/e2e')
+
 # DEFAULT_CHANNEL defines the default channel used in the bundle.
 # Add a new line here if you would like to change its default config. (E.g DEFAULT_CHANNEL = "stable")
 # To re-generate a bundle for any other default channel without changing the default setup, you can:
@@ -92,7 +94,7 @@ all: manager ## Build all binaries
 
 .PHONY: unit-test
 unit-test:
-	go test -race -cover ./pkg/...
+	go test -race -cover $(GO_UNIT_TEST_FOLDERS)
 
 .PHONY: int-test
 int-test: ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR = $(shell pwd)/testbin
diff --git a/scripts/e2e_local.sh b/scripts/e2e_local.sh
index c5fa5c5e1a..c326f56eba 100755
--- a/scripts/e2e_local.sh
+++ b/scripts/e2e_local.sh
@@ -40,4 +40,4 @@ export MCLI_PUBLIC_API_KEY="${public_key}"
 export MCLI_PRIVATE_API_KEY="${private_key}"
 export MCLI_ORG_ID="${org_id}"
 export IMAGE_URL="${image}" #for helm chart
-ginkgo --label-filter="${focus_key}" --timeout 120m -v test/e2e/
+AKO_E2E_TEST=1 ginkgo --label-filter="${focus_key}" --timeout 120m -v test/e2e/
diff --git a/scripts/int_local.sh b/scripts/int_local.sh
index 53cb93fd4f..a5fde120c8 100755
--- a/scripts/int_local.sh
+++ b/scripts/int_local.sh
@@ -16,4 +16,4 @@ export MCLI_PUBLIC_API_KEY="${public_key}"
 export MCLI_PRIVATE_API_KEY="${private_key}"
 export MCLI_ORG_ID="${org_id}"
 
-ginkgo --label-filter="${label}" --timeout 80m -v ./test/int -coverprofile cover.out
\ No newline at end of file
+AKO_INT_TEST=1 ginkgo --label-filter="${label}" --timeout 80m -v ./test/int -coverprofile cover.out
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/e2e/e2e_suite_test.go b/test/e2e/e2e_suite_test.go
index 5513d5d422..88995144df 100644
--- a/test/e2e/e2e_suite_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/e2e_suite_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package e2e_test
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/test/e2e/api/atlas"
 	"github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/test/e2e/config"
 	"github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/test/e2e/utils"
+	"github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/test/helper"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -27,11 +29,18 @@ var (
 )
 
 func TestE2e(t *testing.T) {
+	if !helper.Enabled("AKO_E2E_TEST") {
+		t.Skip("Skipping e2e tests, AKO_E2E_TEST is not set")
+	}
 	RegisterFailHandler(Fail)
 	RunSpecs(t, "E2E Suite")
 }
 
 var _ = BeforeSuite(func() {
+	if !helper.Enabled("AKO_E2E_TEST") {
+		fmt.Println("Skipping e2e BeforeSuite, AKO_E2E_TEST is not set")
+		return
+	}
 	GinkgoWriter.Write([]byte("==============================Before==============================\n"))
 	SetDefaultEventuallyTimeout(EventuallyTimeout)
 	SetDefaultEventuallyPollingInterval(PollingInterval)
diff --git a/test/helper/enable.go b/test/helper/enable.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f860b7093b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/helper/enable.go
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+package helper
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+func Enabled(envvar string) bool {
+	value := strings.ToLower(os.Getenv(envvar))
+	return value == "1"
+}
diff --git a/test/int/clusterwide/integration_suite_test.go b/test/int/clusterwide/integration_suite_test.go
index bc1311cc03..0f46fbd409 100644
--- a/test/int/clusterwide/integration_suite_test.go
+++ b/test/int/clusterwide/integration_suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package int
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/pkg/controller/atlasdatabaseuser"
 	"github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/pkg/controller/watch"
+	"github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/test/helper"
 
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/envtest"
@@ -74,11 +76,18 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 func TestAPIs(t *testing.T) {
+	if !helper.Enabled("AKO_INT_TEST") {
+		t.Skip("Skipping int tests, AKO_INT_TEST is not set")
+	}
 	RegisterFailHandler(Fail)
 	RunSpecs(t, "Project Controller Suite")
 }
 
 var _ = BeforeSuite(func() {
+	if !helper.Enabled("AKO_INT_TEST") {
+		fmt.Println("Skipping int BeforeSuite, AKO_INT_TEST is not set")
+		return
+	}
 	done := make(chan interface{})
 	go func() {
 		logger := ctrzap.NewRaw(ctrzap.UseDevMode(true), ctrzap.WriteTo(GinkgoWriter), ctrzap.StacktraceLevel(zap.ErrorLevel))
diff --git a/test/int/integration_suite_test.go b/test/int/integration_suite_test.go
index 797c98a3d8..2f386ba504 100644
--- a/test/int/integration_suite_test.go
+++ b/test/int/integration_suite_test.go
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/pkg/controller/atlasdatafederation"
+	"github.com/mongodb/mongodb-atlas-kubernetes/test/helper"
 
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client/config"
 
@@ -91,6 +92,9 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 func TestAPIs(t *testing.T) {
+	if !helper.Enabled("AKO_INT_TEST") {
+		t.Skip("Skipping int tests, AKO_INT_TEST is not set")
+	}
 	RegisterFailHandler(Fail)
 	RunSpecs(t, "Atlas Operator Integration Test Suite")
 }
@@ -100,6 +104,10 @@ func TestAPIs(t *testing.T) {
 // The first function starts the envtest (done only once by the 1st node). The second function is called on each of
 // the ginkgo nodes and initializes all reconcilers and clients that will be used by the test.
 var _ = SynchronizedBeforeSuite(func() []byte {
+	if !helper.Enabled("AKO_INT_TEST") {
+		fmt.Println("Skipping int SynchronizedBeforeSuite, AKO_INT_TEST is not set")
+		return nil
+	}
 	By("bootstrapping test environment")
 
 	testEnv = &envtest.Environment{