diff --git a/bindep.txt b/bindep.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..00264487
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bindep.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+ruby-devel [test platform:rpm]
+ruby-dev [test platform:dpkg]
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index fc916874..61b3db7f 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ commands =
          -i E006          \
          -e 'E*'"
 
+[testenv:bindep]
+# Do not install any requirements. We want this to be fast and work even if
+# system dependencies are missing, since it's used to tell you what system
+# dependencies are missing! This also means that bindep must be installed
+# separately, outside of the requirements files.
+deps = bindep
+commands = bindep test
+
 [testenv:linters]
 # Note: centos developer env requires ruby-devel
 # Ubuntu developer env requires ruby-dev