diff --git a/examples/conftest.py b/examples/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a83207cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# tests directory-specific settings - this file is run automatically
+# by pytest before any tests are run
+
+import sys
+from os.path import abspath, dirname, join
+
+
+# allow having multiple repository checkouts and not needing to remember to rerun
+# 'pip install -e .[dev]' when switching between checkouts and running tests.
+git_repo_path = abspath(join(dirname(dirname(__file__)), "src"))
+sys.path.insert(1, git_repo_path)
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a83207cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# tests directory-specific settings - this file is run automatically
+# by pytest before any tests are run
+
+import sys
+from os.path import abspath, dirname, join
+
+
+# allow having multiple repository checkouts and not needing to remember to rerun
+# 'pip install -e .[dev]' when switching between checkouts and running tests.
+git_repo_path = abspath(join(dirname(dirname(__file__)), "src"))
+sys.path.insert(1, git_repo_path)