diff --git a/test/core.lua b/test/core.lua
index ba104c90a..0d21fa38f 100644
--- a/test/core.lua
+++ b/test/core.lua
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+config.targets = 'core'
+
 local function clean_path(p)
     -- todo: replace with dfhack.filesystem call?
     return p:gsub('\\', '/'):gsub('//', '/'):gsub('/$', '')
diff --git a/test/encoding.lua b/test/encoding.lua
index cb0a72664..afed4bf8b 100644
--- a/test/encoding.lua
+++ b/test/encoding.lua
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+config.targets = 'core'
+
 function test.toSearchNormalized()
     expect.eq(dfhack.toSearchNormalized(''), '')
     expect.eq(dfhack.toSearchNormalized('abcd'), 'abcd')
diff --git a/test/test.lua b/test/test.lua
index 11f038d66..679325d2e 100644
--- a/test/test.lua
+++ b/test/test.lua
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+config.targets = 'core'
+
 function test.internal_in_test()
     expect.true_(dfhack.internal.IN_TEST)
 end