diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 422b80a37e0ccb8ea96ce7b4fd0ae4950396dff6..7cdea2c95252d349d02e60015a761b2afa5fcc6b 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -28,12 +28,10 @@ before_script:
   - python manage.py makemigrations
   - python manage.py makemigrations api
   - python manage.py migrate
-  - echo "from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model; User =
-    get_user_model(); User.objects.create_superuser('root',
-    'root@srct.gmu.edu', 'root') " | python manage.py shell
-
+  - echo "from django.contrib.auth.models import User; User.objects.filter(username='$WOPEN_SUPERUSER$WOPEN_EMAIL_DOMAIN').delete(); User.objects.create_superuser('$WOPEN_SUPERUSER$WOPEN_EMAIL_DOMAIN', '$WOPEN_SUPERUSER', 'admin')" | python manage.py shell
+  - python3 manage.py loaddata --format json categoriesFixture locationFixture openTimeFixture scheduleFixture settingsFixture
 whats-open-py3.7:
   image: library/python:3.7
   type: test
   script:
-    - echo "Done 😄"
+    - python3 manage.py test --verbosity 2 --keepdb --noinput api.tests.APIClientTests
diff --git a/whats-open/api/tests/APIClientTests.py b/whats-open/api/tests/APIClientTests.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4b3e92722bec891942115ce74c8c0094f088a877
--- /dev/null
+++ b/whats-open/api/tests/APIClientTests.py
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+from rest_framework.test import APITestCase, APITransactionTestCase, APIClient
+from django.contrib.auth.models import User # AnonymousUser, 
+from os import environ as env
+# https://stackoverflow.com/questions/44450533/difference-between-testcase-and-transactiontestcase-classes-in-django-test
+# ^APITestCase vs APITransactionTestCase
+
+# https://www.django-rest-framework.org/api-guide/testing/
+# ^DRF testing guide
+
+# https://django-testing-docs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/fixtures.html
+# ^testing with fixtures
+
+# https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5875111/running-a-specific-test-case-in-django-when-your-app-has-a-tests-directory
+# ^running the tests
+
+client = APIClient()
+user = User.objects.get(username=env["WOPEN_SUPERUSER"] + env["WOPEN_EMAIL_DOMAIN"])
+client.force_authenticate(user=user)
+
+
+class AlertsTests(APITestCase):
+    def test_read(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/alerts/')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_ordering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/alerts/?ordering=urgency_tag')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_search(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/alerts/?search=srct&format=json')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_filtering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/alerts/?urgency_tag=major&format=json')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+
+class CategoriesTests(APITestCase):
+    def test_read(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/categories/')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_ordering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/categories/?ordering=name')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_search(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/categories/?search=din&format=json')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_filtering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/categories/?name=dining&format=json')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+
+class facilitiesTests(APITestCase):
+    def test_read(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/facilities/')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_ordering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/facilities/?ordering=-facility_classifier')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_search(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/facilities/?search=south&format=json')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_filtering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/facilities/?facility_name=Southside')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+
+class LocationsTests(APITestCase):
+    def test_read(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/locations/')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_ordering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/locations/?ordering=-address')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_search(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/locations/?search=johnson&format=json')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_filtering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/locations/?building=Johnson+Center&format=json')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+
+class ScheduleTests(APITestCase):
+    def test_read(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/schedules/')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_ordering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/schedules/?ordering=name')
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    """Invalid value south?"""
+    def test_search(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/schedules/?search=Southside+[Fall+%2FSpring+Hours]')
+        #print(dir(response))
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+    def test_filtering(self):
+        response = client.get('/api/schedules/?name=&valid_start=&valid_end=&twenty_four_hours=true')
+        self.assertTrue(response.status_code == 200)
+    
+    def test_post(self):
+        response = client.post('/api/schedules/', {
+                                "name": "hi",
+                                "valid_start": None,
+                                "valid_end": None,
+                                "twenty_four_hours": False
+                                }, format='json')
+        assert response.status_code == 201
+
+# class OpenTimeTests(APITestCase):
+#     def test_read(self):
+#         response = client.get('/api/categories/')
+#         assert response.status_code == 200
+    
+#     def test_ordering(self):
+#         self.assertTrue(True)
+    
+#     def test_search(self):
+#         self.assertTrue(True)
+    
+#     def test_filtering(self):
+#         self.assertTrue(True)
+    
+#     def test_post(self):
+#         client.post('/notes/', {'title': 'new idea'}, format='json')
+#         self.assertTrue(True)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/whats-open/settings/settings.py b/whats-open/settings/settings.py
index b195f9c54dae3a1c3cae6a0002e9ca74cd030d91..852f5f5f08f1046190a48aeccce86a1b2451536a 100644
--- a/whats-open/settings/settings.py
+++ b/whats-open/settings/settings.py
@@ -148,6 +148,12 @@ DATABASES = {
         "PASSWORD": environ["WOPEN_DB_PASSWORD"],
         "HOST": environ["WOPEN_DB_HOST"],
         "PORT": environ["WOPEN_DB_PORT"],
+        'TEST': {
+            'NAME': environ["WOPEN_DB_NAME"],
+            'OPTIONS': {
+                "init_command": "SET storage_engine=MEMORY",
+            }
+        },
     }
 }