diff --git a/packaging/cockpit-starter-kit.spec.in b/packaging/cockpit-starter-kit.spec.in
index 244e2cb..1502e95 100644
--- a/packaging/cockpit-starter-kit.spec.in
+++ b/packaging/cockpit-starter-kit.spec.in
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ appstream-util validate-relax --nonet %{buildroot}/%{_datadir}/metainfo/*
 # drop source maps, they are large and just for debugging
 find %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/cockpit/ -name '*.map' | xargs --no-run-if-empty rm --verbose
 
+%check
+# this can't be meaningfully tested during package build; tests happen through
+# FMF (see plans/all.fmf) during package gating
+
 %files
 %doc README.md
 %license LICENSE dist/index.js.LICENSE.txt.gz