diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 66bd623c..07df5fe7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -44,6 +44,9 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run smoke test
         run: VERBOSE=1 DEBUG=1 MOCHA_WEBDRIVER_HEADLESS=1 yarn run test:smoke
 
+      - name: Run python tests
+        run: yarn run test:python
+
       - name: Run main tests
         run: MOCHA_WEBDRIVER_HEADLESS=1 yarn run test
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 10ebbf23..48a1fd9f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -291,12 +291,42 @@ Testing:
 
 Variable | Purpose
 -------- | -------
-GRIST_TESTING_SOCKET | a socket used for out-of-channel communication during tests only.
+GRIST_TESTING_SOCKET    | a socket used for out-of-channel communication during tests only.
 GRIST_TEST_HTTPS_OFFSET | if set, adds https ports at the specified offset.  This is useful in testing.
-GRIST_TEST_SSL_CERT | if set, contains filename of SSL certificate.
-GRIST_TEST_SSL_KEY  | if set, contains filename of SSL private key.
-GRIST_TEST_LOGIN    | allow fake unauthenticated test logins (suitable for dev environment only).
-GRIST_TEST_ROUTER | if set, then the home server will serve a mock version of router api at /test/router
+GRIST_TEST_SSL_CERT     | if set, contains filename of SSL certificate.
+GRIST_TEST_SSL_KEY      | if set, contains filename of SSL private key.
+GRIST_TEST_LOGIN        | allow fake unauthenticated test logins (suitable for dev environment only).
+GRIST_TEST_ROUTER       | if set, then the home server will serve a mock version of router api at /test/router
+GREP_TESTS              | pattern for selecting specific tests to run (e.g. `env GREP_TESTS=ActionLog yarn test`).
+
+## Tests
+
+Tests are run automatically as part of CI when a PR is opened. However, it can be helpful to run tests locally
+before pushing your changes to GitHub. First, you'll want to make sure you've installed all dependencies:
+
+```
+yarn install
+yarn install:python
+```
+
+Then, you can run the main test suite like so:
+
+```
+yarn test
+```
+
+Python tests may also be run locally. (Note: currently requires Python 3.9.)
+
+```
+yarn test:python
+```
+
+For running specific tests, you can specify a pattern with the `GREP_TESTS` variable:
+
+```
+env GREP_TESTS=ChoiceList yarn test
+env GREP_TESTS=summary yarn test:python
+```
 
 ## License
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index b7b1dd20..49fdcea8 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
     "test:server": "GRIST_SESSION_COOKIE=grist_test_cookie NODE_PATH=_build:_build/stubs:_build/ext mocha _build/test/server/**/*.js _build/test/gen-server/**/*.js",
     "test:smoke": "NODE_PATH=_build:_build/stubs:_build/ext mocha _build/test/nbrowser/Smoke.js",
     "test:docker": "./test/test_under_docker.sh",
+    "test:python": "sandbox_venv3/bin/python sandbox/grist/runtests.py ${GREP_TESTS:+discover -p \"test*${GREP_TESTS}*.py\"}",
     "cli": "NODE_PATH=_build:_build/stubs:_build/ext node _build/app/server/companion.js"
   },
   "keywords": [