diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 7ffe1e6d..2d1551bc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@ jobs:
       # however, it still gets the modified files and we can continue
       # Error: The head commit for this pull_request event is not ahead of the base commit.
       continue-on-error: true
+    # save workspaces to speed up testing
+    - name: set CAPA_SAVE_WORKSPACE environment variable
+      run: echo "CAPA_SAVE_WORKSPACE=True" >> $GITHUB_ENV
     - name: Run thorough lint on modified rule files
       run: |
         cd rules/