diff --git a/.vscodeignore b/.vscodeignore
index c16cc91d3..b06755b2f 100644
--- a/.vscodeignore
+++ b/.vscodeignore
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
+.github
 .vscode
+.vscode-test
 .gitignore
+.hashibot.hcl
 src/
+out/*.test.*
 out/test/
 .eslintignore
 .eslintrc.js
 tsconfig.json
-lsp/
\ No newline at end of file
+lsp/
+testfixture/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/extension.ts b/src/extension.ts
index 5421d87a9..75c524594 100644
--- a/src/extension.ts
+++ b/src/extension.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import { runCommand } from './terraformCommand';
 const clients: Map<string, LanguageClient> = new Map();
 let extensionPath: string;
 
-export async function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext): Promise<void> {
+export async function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext): Promise<any> {
 	extensionPath = context.extensionPath;
 	const commandOutput = vscode.window.createOutputChannel('Terraform');
 	// get rid of pre-2.0.0 settings
@@ -81,8 +81,11 @@ export async function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext): Promise<void>
 	);
 
 	if (enabled()) {
-		return vscode.commands.executeCommand('terraform.enableLanguageServer');
+		await vscode.commands.executeCommand('terraform.enableLanguageServer');
 	}
+
+	// export public API
+	return { pathToBinary };
 }
 
 export function deactivate(): Promise<void[]> {
diff --git a/src/test/helper.ts b/src/test/helper.ts
index 9190715aa..e7c3a2a3c 100644
--- a/src/test/helper.ts
+++ b/src/test/helper.ts
@@ -6,13 +6,9 @@ export let editor: vscode.TextEditor;
 export let documentEol: string;
 export let platformEol: string;
 
-export async function activate(docUri: vscode.Uri): Promise<void> {
-	// The extensionId is `publisher.name` from package.json
-	const ext = vscode.extensions.getExtension('hashicorp.terraform');
-	await ext.activate();
-	// allow server to initialize
-	await sleep(5000);
+export async function open(docUri: vscode.Uri): Promise<void> {
 	try {
+		await activated();
 		doc = await vscode.workspace.openTextDocument(docUri);
 		editor = await vscode.window.showTextDocument(doc);
 	} catch (e) {
@@ -21,6 +17,30 @@ export async function activate(docUri: vscode.Uri): Promise<void> {
 	}
 }
 
+let _activatedPromise: Promise<void>
+async function activated() {
+	if (!_activatedPromise) {
+		try {
+			// The extensionId is `publisher.name` from package.json
+			const ext = vscode.extensions.getExtension('hashicorp.terraform');
+			if (!ext.isActive) {
+				console.log('Activating hashicorp.terraform extension');
+				await ext.activate();
+			} else {
+				console.log('hashicorp.terraform is already active');
+			}
+			// make sure language server download is complete
+			await ext.exports.pathToBinary();
+			// TODO: implement proper synchronization/status check in LS
+			// give server(s) some time to startup
+			_activatedPromise = sleep(3000);
+		} catch (err) {
+			_activatedPromise = Promise.reject(err);
+		}
+	}
+	return _activatedPromise;
+}
+
 export async function sleep(ms: number): Promise<void> {
 	return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
 }
diff --git a/src/test/index.ts b/src/test/index.ts
index 2d32cc5d7..1736e1f2e 100644
--- a/src/test/index.ts
+++ b/src/test/index.ts
@@ -2,12 +2,13 @@ import * as path from 'path';
 import * as Mocha from 'mocha';
 import * as glob from 'glob';
 
-export function run(): Promise<void> {
+export async function run(): Promise<void> {
 	// Create the mocha test
 	const mocha = new Mocha({
 		ui: 'tdd',
 		color: true
 	});
+	// integration tests require long activation time
 	mocha.timeout(100000);
 
 	const testsRoot = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
diff --git a/src/test/runTest.ts b/src/test/runTest.ts
index 3ada24bb6..b2292d297 100644
--- a/src/test/runTest.ts
+++ b/src/test/runTest.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,23 @@
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { runTests } from 'vscode-test';
+import * as del from 'del';
+import { exec } from '../utils';
+
+async function terraformInit() {
+  const cwd = process.cwd();
+  process.chdir('testFixture');
+  const { stdout } = await exec('terraform init -no-color');
+  console.log(stdout);
+  process.chdir(cwd);
+}
 
 async function main(): Promise<void> {
   try {
+    // initialize terraform before vscode opens
+    await terraformInit();
     // The folder containing the Extension Manifest package.json
     // Passed to `--extensionDevelopmentPath`
+    // this is also the process working dir, even if vscode opens another folder
     const extensionDevelopmentPath = path.resolve(__dirname, '../../');
 
     // The path to the extension test runner script
@@ -12,11 +25,15 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
     const extensionTestsPath = path.resolve(__dirname, './index');
 
     // Download VS Code, unzip it and run the integration test
-    await runTests({ extensionDevelopmentPath, extensionTestsPath });
+    // start in the fixtures folder to prevent the language server from walking all the
+    // project root folders, like node_modules
+    await runTests({ extensionDevelopmentPath, extensionTestsPath, launchArgs: ['testFixture'] });
   } catch (err) {
     console.error(err);
     console.error('Failed to run tests');
-    process.exit(1);
+    process.exitCode = 1;
+  } finally {
+    await del('testFixture/.terraform', { force: true });
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/test/setup.test.ts b/src/test/setup.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 41f7c5b82..000000000
--- a/src/test/setup.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-import * as Mocha from 'mocha';
-import { exec } from '../utils';
-
-Mocha.before(async () => {
-	try {
-		const cwd = process.cwd();
-		process.chdir('testFixture');
-		const {stdout, stderr} = await exec('terraform init -no-color');
-		console.log(stdout);
-		console.log(stderr);
-		process.chdir(cwd);
-	} catch (err) {
-		console.error(err);
-		throw err;
-	}
-});
diff --git a/src/test/symbols.test.ts b/src/test/symbols.test.ts
index db163caa6..bdd18c93f 100644
--- a/src/test/symbols.test.ts
+++ b/src/test/symbols.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import * as vscode from 'vscode';
 import * as assert from 'assert';
-import { getDocUri, activate } from './helper';
+import { getDocUri, open } from './helper';
 
 suite('document symbols', () => {
 	const docUri = getDocUri('sample.tf');
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ suite('document symbols', () => {
 });
 
 async function testSymbols(docUri: vscode.Uri, symbolNames: string[]) {
-	await activate(docUri);
+	await open(docUri);
 	// Executing the command `vscode.executeDocumentSymbolProvider` to simulate triggering completion
 	const symbols = (await vscode.commands.executeCommand('vscode.executeDocumentSymbolProvider', docUri)) as vscode.SymbolInformation[];