diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 3f2b9db4..8afa0b78 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -39,13 +39,13 @@ jobs:
         make lint
 
     - name: Run unit tests
+      if: matrix.python-version != '3.8'
       run: |
         make test/unit
 
-    - name: Run functional tests
-      run: |
-        make test/functional
-
+    - name: run the integration tests
+      run: make test/integration
+ 
 
   publish:
     name: Build and publish to PyPI registry
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c272c4a8..df8bee9e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -32,6 +32,6 @@ test/unit/annotate:
 test/unit/annotate/clean:
 	find galaxy_importer -type f -name '*,cover' -delete
 
-.PHONY: test/functional
-test/functional:
-	@sh tests/functional/*
+.PHONY: test/integration
+test/integration:
+	@pytest tests/integration -v
diff --git a/tests/functional/run_importer.sh b/tests/functional/run_importer.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 00157668..00000000
--- a/tests/functional/run_importer.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-echo "Starting integration test..."
-
-TMPDIR=$(mktemp -d -t galaxy-importer-XXXXXXXX)
-python3 -m venv $TMPDIR/venv
-source $TMPDIR/venv/bin/activate
-pip install .
-cd $TMPDIR
-
-pwd
-pip freeze | grep importer
-
-
-###################################
-#   IMPORT SMOKETEST
-###################################
-
-python -c 'from galaxy_importer import main'
-
-###################################
-#   RUNTIME VALIDATION
-###################################
-
-# make and build a collection
-ansible-galaxy collection init foo.bar
-cd foo/bar
-mkdir meta
-cd meta
-printf "requires_ansible: '>=2.9.10,<2.11.5'" > runtime.yml
-cd ..
-ansible-galaxy collection build
-cd $TMPDIR
-
-# create config file to run ansible-test sanity in locally built container
-printf "[galaxy-importer]\nRUN_ANSIBLE_TEST = True\nANSIBLE_TEST_LOCAL_IMAGE = True\nLOCAL_IMAGE_DOCKER = True\n" > galaxy-importer.cfg
-export GALAXY_IMPORTER_CONFIG=galaxy-importer.cfg
-echo "Using galaxy-importer.cfg:"
-cat galaxy-importer.cfg
-
-# run the importer with file artifact tarball
-python3 -m galaxy_importer.main foo/bar/foo-bar-*.tar.gz
-RETURN_CODE=$?
-
-# run the importer with git_clone_path and output_path
-rm foo/bar/foo-bar-*.tar.gz
-python3 -m galaxy_importer.main --git-clone-path=foo/bar/ --output-path=foo/bar/
-RETURN_CODE=$?
-
-# build a legacy role
-ansible-galaxy role init bar_role
-
-# run the importer with legacy role directory
-python3 -m galaxy_importer.main bar_role --legacy-role --namespace foo-namespace
-RETURN_CODE=$?
-
-# cleanup
-cd /tmp
-rm -rf $TMPDIR
-
-exit $RETURN_CODE
diff --git a/tests/integration/conftest.py b/tests/integration/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..39bd6330
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+import atexit
+import os
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+import tempfile
+
+import pytest
+
+
+def clean_files(path):
+    shutil.rmtree(path)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def workdir():
+    tdir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+    atexit.register(clean_files, tdir)
+    return tdir
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def local_image_config():
+    config = [
+        "[galaxy-importer]",
+        "RUN_ANSIBLE_TEST=True",
+        "ANSIBLE_TEST_LOCAL_IMAGE=True",
+        "LOCAL_IMAGE_DOCKER=True",
+    ]
+    config = "\n".join(config)
+
+    tdir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+    atexit.register(clean_files, tdir)
+
+    config_path = os.path.join(tdir, "galaxy-importer.cfg")
+    with open(config_path, "w") as f:
+        f.write(config)
+
+    return {"GALAXY_IMPORTER_CONFIG": config_path}
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def simple_artifact():
+    tdir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+    atexit.register(clean_files, tdir)
+
+    cmd = "ansible-galaxy collection init foo.bar"
+    pid = subprocess.run(
+        cmd, shell=True, cwd=tdir, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT
+    )
+    assert pid.returncode == 0, pid.stdout
+
+    coldir = os.path.join(tdir, "foo", "bar")
+    metadir = os.path.join(coldir, "meta")
+
+    if not os.path.exists(metadir):
+        os.makedirs(metadir)
+    with open(os.path.join(metadir, "runtime.yml"), "w") as f:
+        f.write("requires_ansible: '>=2.9.10,<2.11.5'\n")
+
+    cmd = "ansible-galaxy collection build ."
+    pid = subprocess.run(
+        cmd, shell=True, cwd=coldir, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT
+    )
+    lines = pid.stdout.decode("utf-8").split("\n")
+    tarball = None
+    for line in lines:
+        line = line.strip()
+        if not line or not line.endswith(".tar.gz"):
+            continue
+        tarball = line.split()[-1]
+    assert tarball, lines
+    return tarball
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def simple_legacy_role():
+    tdir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+    atexit.register(clean_files, tdir)
+
+    cmd = "ansible-galaxy role init bar_role"
+    pid = subprocess.run(
+        cmd, shell=True, cwd=tdir, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT
+    )
+    assert pid.returncode == 0, pid.stdout
+    return os.path.join(tdir, "bar_role")
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_containers.py b/tests/integration/test_containers.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..908ce971
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/test_containers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+import copy
+import json
+import os
+import subprocess
+
+
+def test_local_build_container_with_collection(workdir, local_image_config, simple_artifact):
+    # use the parent env to preserve venv vars
+    env = copy.deepcopy(dict(os.environ))
+    env.update(local_image_config)
+
+    # this relies on the GALAXY_IMPORTER_CONFIG to know where to find the config
+    # it should also spawn an image build and use that image for the ansible-test phase
+    cmd = f"python3 -m galaxy_importer.main {simple_artifact}"
+    pid = subprocess.run(
+        cmd, shell=True, cwd=workdir, env=env, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT
+    )
+    assert pid.returncode == 0, pid.stdout
+
+    # the log should contain all the relevant messages
+    log = pid.stdout.decode("utf-8")
+    assert "Running ansible-test sanity on" in log
+    assert "Running sanity test" in log
+    assert "ansible-test sanity complete." in log
+    assert "No EDA content found. Skipping linters." in log
+    assert "Removing temporary files, image and container" in log
+    assert "Importer processing completed successfully" in log
+
+    # it should have stored structured data in the pwd
+    results_file = os.path.join(workdir, "importer_result.json")
+    assert os.path.exists(results_file)
+    with open(results_file, "r") as f:
+        results = json.loads(f.read())
+
+    # the data should have all the relevant bits
+    assert results["contents"] == []
+    assert results["docs_blob"]["contents"] == []
+    assert results["docs_blob"]["collection_readme"]["name"] == "README.md"
+    assert results["docs_blob"]["collection_readme"]["html"]
+    assert results["docs_blob"]["documentation_files"] == []
+    assert results["metadata"]["namespace"] == "foo"
+    assert results["metadata"]["name"] == "bar"
+    assert results["metadata"]["version"] == "1.0.0"
+    assert results["requires_ansible"] == ">=2.9.10,<2.11.5"
+
+
+def test_local_build_container_with_legacy_role(local_image_config, simple_legacy_role):
+    # use the parent env to preserve venv vars
+    env = copy.deepcopy(dict(os.environ))
+    env.update(local_image_config)
+
+    # this relies on the GALAXY_IMPORTER_CONFIG to know where to find the config
+    # it should also spawn an image build and use that image for the ansible-test phase
+    cmd = (
+        f"python3 -m galaxy_importer.main {simple_legacy_role}"
+        + " --legacy-role --namespace foo-namespace"
+    )
+    workdir = os.path.dirname(simple_legacy_role)
+    pid = subprocess.run(
+        cmd, shell=True, cwd=workdir, env=env, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT
+    )
+    assert pid.returncode == 0, pid.stdout
+
+    # the log should contain all the relevant messages
+    log = pid.stdout.decode("utf-8")
+
+    assert "Determined role name to be bar_role" in log
+    assert "Linting role bar_role via ansible-lint..." in log
+    assert "Should change default metadata: author" in log
+    assert "Should change default metadata: company" in log
+    assert "Should change default metadata: license" in log
+    assert "Role info should contain platforms" in log
+    assert "All plays should be named." in log
+    assert "...ansible-lint run complete" in log
+    assert "Legacy role loading complete" in log
+
+    # it should have stored structured data in the pwd
+    results_file = os.path.join(workdir, "importer_result.json")
+    assert os.path.exists(results_file)
+    with open(results_file, "r") as f:
+        results = json.loads(f.read())
+
+    # the data should have all the relevant bits
+    assert results["metadata"]["dependencies"] == []
+    assert results["metadata"]["galaxy_info"]["author"] == "your name"
+    assert results["metadata"]["galaxy_info"]["description"] == "your role description"
+    assert results["metadata"]["galaxy_info"]["role_name"] is None
+    assert results["name"] == "bar_role"
+    assert results["namespace"] == "foo-namespace"
+    assert results["readme_html"]