diff --git a/test/dispatcher/Main.hs b/test/dispatcher/Main.hs
index 1fe3d13b3..348b19e78 100644
--- a/test/dispatcher/Main.hs
+++ b/test/dispatcher/Main.hs
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ import           Haskell.Ide.Engine.Plugin.Generic
 main :: IO ()
 main = do
   hSetBuffering stderr LineBuffering
-  setupStackFiles
+  setupBuildToolFiles
   config <- getHspecFormattedConfig "dispatcher"
   withFileLogging "main-dispatcher.log" $ do
     hspecWith config funcSpec
diff --git a/test/functional/Main.hs b/test/functional/Main.hs
index 603679786..cfc8a96bc 100644
--- a/test/functional/Main.hs
+++ b/test/functional/Main.hs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import           TestUtils
 
 main :: IO ()
 main = do
-  setupStackFiles
+  setupBuildToolFiles
   -- run a test session to warm up the cache to prevent timeouts in other tests
   putStrLn "Warming up HIE cache..."
   runSessionWithConfig (defaultConfig { messageTimeout = 120 }) hieCommand fullCaps "test/testdata" $
diff --git a/test/plugin-dispatcher/Main.hs b/test/plugin-dispatcher/Main.hs
index 6c8fc88b0..d6a125ee0 100644
--- a/test/plugin-dispatcher/Main.hs
+++ b/test/plugin-dispatcher/Main.hs
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import           Test.Hspec.Runner
 
 main :: IO ()
 main = do
-  setupStackFiles
+  setupBuildToolFiles
   config <- getHspecFormattedConfig "plugin-dispatcher"
   withFileLogging "plugin-dispatcher.log" $ hspecWith config newPluginSpec
 
diff --git a/test/unit/Main.hs b/test/unit/Main.hs
index d6f9c3880..a6e96715e 100644
--- a/test/unit/Main.hs
+++ b/test/unit/Main.hs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import qualified Spec
 
 main :: IO ()
 main = do
-  setupStackFiles
+  setupBuildToolFiles
   config <- getHspecFormattedConfig "unit"
   withFileLogging "main.log" $ hspecWith config $ Spec.spec
 
diff --git a/test/utils/TestUtils.hs b/test/utils/TestUtils.hs
index 75b7cf67a..e0ed044d9 100644
--- a/test/utils/TestUtils.hs
+++ b/test/utils/TestUtils.hs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 module TestUtils
   (
     withFileLogging
-  , setupStackFiles
+  , setupBuildToolFiles
   , testCommand
   , runSingle
   , runSingleReq
@@ -91,14 +91,30 @@ withFileLogging logFile f = do
 
 -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-setupStackFiles :: IO ()
-setupStackFiles =
+-- If an executable @stack@ is present on the system then setup stack files,
+-- otherwise specify a direct cradle with -isrc
+setupBuildToolFiles :: IO ()
+setupBuildToolFiles = do
+  stack <- findExecutable "stack"
+  let s = case stack of
+        Nothing -> setupDirectFilesIn
+        Just _  -> setupStackFilesIn
   forM_ files $ \f -> do
-    resolver <- readResolver
-    writeFile (f ++ "stack.yaml") $ stackFileContents resolver
-    writeFile (f ++ "hie.yaml") hieYamlCradleStackContents
+    s f
+    -- Cleanup stack directory in case the presence of stack has changed since
+    -- the last run
     removePathForcibly (f ++ ".stack-work")
 
+setupStackFilesIn :: FilePath -> IO ()
+setupStackFilesIn f = do
+  resolver <- readResolver
+  writeFile (f ++ "stack.yaml") $ stackFileContents resolver
+  writeFile (f ++ "hie.yaml") hieYamlCradleStackContents
+
+setupDirectFilesIn :: FilePath -> IO ()
+setupDirectFilesIn f =
+  writeFile (f ++ "hie.yaml") hieYamlCradleDirectContents
+
 -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 files :: [FilePath]
@@ -197,14 +213,23 @@ readResolverFrom yamlPath = do
 
 hieYamlCradleStackContents :: String
 hieYamlCradleStackContents = unlines
-  [ "# WARNING: THIS FILE IS AUTOGENERATED IN test/Main.hs. IT WILL BE OVERWRITTEN ON EVERY TEST RUN"
+  [ "# WARNING: THIS FILE IS AUTOGENERATED IN test/utils/TestUtils.hs. IT WILL BE OVERWRITTEN ON EVERY TEST RUN"
   , "cradle:"
   , "  stack:"
   ]
 
+hieYamlCradleDirectContents :: String
+hieYamlCradleDirectContents = unlines
+  [ "# WARNING: THIS FILE IS AUTOGENERATED IN test/utils/TestUtils.hs. IT WILL BE OVERWRITTEN ON EVERY TEST RUN"
+  , "cradle:"
+  , "  direct:"
+  , "    arguments:"
+  , "      - -isrc"
+  ]
+
 stackFileContents :: String -> String
 stackFileContents resolver = unlines
-  [ "# WARNING: THIS FILE IS AUTOGENERATED IN test/Main.hs. IT WILL BE OVERWRITTEN ON EVERY TEST RUN"
+  [ "# WARNING: THIS FILE IS AUTOGENERATED IN test/utils/TestUtils. IT WILL BE OVERWRITTEN ON EVERY TEST RUN"
   , "resolver: " ++ resolver
   , "packages:"
   , "- '.'"