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+# tests/functional_tests
+
+## Description
+
+This directory contains functional tests for at_c. These tests utilize the virtual environment to run atServers and an atDirectory server to simulate a close production level environment. 
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+In order to run the functional tests you will need to have the following installed:
+
+1. Docker Compose 1.29.2+ (any version should work though)
+
+2. CMake 3.24+
+
+## Running The Tests
+
+1. Clone the repository
+
+2. Copy the contents of the `keys/` directory into your system's atsign keys folder (`~/.atsign/keys/`).
+
+The following command should do the trick:
+
+```bash
+cd tests/functional_tests/tools/virtualenv/keys
+cp -r * ~/.atsign/keys/
+```
+
+3. Add `vip.ve.atsign.zone` to your `/etc/hosts` file. This is necessary for the tests to run.
+
+```bash
+echo "127.0.0.1 vip.ve.atsign.zone" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
+```
+
+4. Navigate to the `tests/functional_tests/tools/virtualenv` directory. This directory has some tools for starting up the virtual environment.
+
+```bash
+cd tests/functional_tests/tools/virtualenv
+```
+
+5. Run the `start_virtualenv.sh` script. This script will start up the virtual environment. You may need to use `sudo`.
+
+```bash
+./start_virtualenv.sh
+```
+
+6. After a few seconds, the virtual environment should be up and running. You should now run PKAM so that you are able to PKAM authenticate to any of the atServers.
+
+```bash
+./pkam_virtualenv.sh
+```
+
+7. Now you can run the tests. Navigate back to the `tests/functional_tests/tools` directory.
+
+```bash
+cd ../
+```
+
+8. Run the `build.sh` script. This script will build the tests.
+
+```bash
+./build.sh
+```
+
+9. Run the `ctest.sh` script which will run ctest on the built binaries.
+
+```bash
+./ctest.sh
+```
+
+The last few lines of the output should look something like this:
+
+```
+100% tests passed, 0 tests failed out of 9
+
+Total Test time (real) =  19.99 sec
+```