diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 0c689738..2082bb82 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -3,9 +3,17 @@ PACKAGES = notesserver notesapi
 
 validate: test.requirements test
 
+pytest: test-start-services test test-stop-services
+
 test: clean
 	python -Wd -m pytest
 
+test-start-services:
+	docker compose -f notesserver/docker-compose.test.yml --project-name=edxnotesapi_test up -d --remove-orphans
+
+test-stop-services:
+	docker compose -f notesserver/docker-compose.test.yml --project-name=edxnotesapi_test stop
+
 pii_check: test.requirements pii_clean
 	DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=notesserver.settings.test code_annotations django_find_annotations --config_file .pii_annotations.yml \
 		--lint --report --coverage
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index fbaaec7e..321452c0 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -47,8 +47,21 @@ Configuration
 Running Tests
 *************
 
-Run ``make validate`` install the requirements, run the tests, and run
-lint.
+Install requirements::
+
+   make test.requirements
+
+Start mysql/elasticsearch services::
+
+   make test-start-services
+
+Run unit tests::
+
+   make test
+
+Run quality checks::
+
+   make quality
 
 How To Resync The Index
 ***********************
diff --git a/notesserver/docker-compose.test.yml b/notesserver/docker-compose.test.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0dc73b6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/notesserver/docker-compose.test.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+services:
+    mysql:
+        image: mysql:8.0
+        environment:
+            MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD:
+            MYSQL_ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD: "yes"
+            MYSQL_DATABASE: "edx_notes_api"
+        ports:
+            - 127.0.0.1:3306:3306
+
+    elasticsearch:
+        image: elasticsearch:7.13.4
+        environment:
+            discovery.type: single-node
+            bootstrap.memory_lock: "true"
+            ES_JAVA_OPTS: "-Xms512m -Xmx512m"
+        ports:
+            - 127.0.0.1:9200:9200