diff --git a/test/unit/cli/test_annotate.py b/test/unit/cli/test_annotate.py
index bc0c1ca4..17f5127b 100644
--- a/test/unit/cli/test_annotate.py
+++ b/test/unit/cli/test_annotate.py
@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@ class TestCliAnnotate(unittest.TestCase):
                 model_file_path,
                 "--output-h5ad-file",
                 f"{query_dataset_file_path}.output",
+                # avoid having mflow create conda env or virtualenv when in test env;
+                # this avoids making pip remote requests and is also faster
+                "--mlflow-env-manager", "local"
             ],
         )