diff --git a/tests/test_pacman.py b/tests/test_pacman.py
index e651db5..4b1a964 100644
--- a/tests/test_pacman.py
+++ b/tests/test_pacman.py
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 # MIT licensed
 # Copyright (c) 2013-2020 lilydjwg <lilydjwg@gmail.com>, et al.
 
+import pathlib
 import shutil
 import pytest
 pytestmark = [pytest.mark.asyncio,
               pytest.mark.skipif(shutil.which("pacman") is None,
-                                 reason="requires pacman command")]
+                                 reason="requires pacman command"),
+              pytest.mark.skipif(not pathlib.Path("/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db").exists(),
+                                 reason="requires synced pacman databases")]
 
 async def test_pacman(get_version):
     assert await get_version("ipw2100-fw", {