diff --git a/tests/unit/__init__.py b/tests/unit/__init__.py
index e69de29bb..8266c675a 100644
--- a/tests/unit/__init__.py
+++ b/tests/unit/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+import os
+from os.path import dirname, sep, abspath
+
+# In unit tests the user settings from unit/settings/test_settings.yml are used.
+os.environ['SEARX_SETTINGS_PATH'] = abspath(
+    dirname(__file__) + sep + 'settings' + sep + 'test_settings.yml')
diff --git a/tests/unit/settings/test_settings.yml b/tests/unit/settings/test_settings.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a975c8739
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/settings/test_settings.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# This SearXNG setup is used in unit tests
+
+use_default_settings: true
+search:
+  formats: [html, csv, json, rss]