diff --git a/tests/home-env-fixture.cpp b/tests/home-env-fixture.cpp
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/home-env-fixture.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) 2014,  Regents of the University of California
+ *
+ * This file is part of NSL (NDN Signature Logger).
+ * See AUTHORS.md for complete list of NSL authors and contributors.
+ *
+ * NSL is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
+ * of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation,
+ * either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * NSL is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY;
+ * without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
+ * PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
+ * NSL, e.g., in COPYING.md file.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * See AUTHORS.md for complete list of nsl authors and contributors.
+ */
+
+#include "common.hpp"
+#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
+
+#include "boost-test.hpp"
+
+namespace nsl {
+namespace tests {
+
+class HomeEnvFixture
+{
+public:
+  HomeEnvFixture()
+  {
+    // initialize KeyChain from test specific HOME: TEST_HOME_PATH
+    if (std::getenv("HOME"))
+      m_HOME = std::getenv("HOME");
+
+    setenv("HOME", "tests/test-home", 1);
+  }
+
+  ~HomeEnvFixture()
+  {
+    boost::filesystem::remove_all(boost::filesystem::path("/tmp/test/nsl"));
+
+    if (!m_HOME.empty())
+      setenv("HOME", m_HOME.c_str(), 1);
+    else
+      unsetenv("HOME");
+  }
+
+private:
+  std::string m_HOME;
+
+  Name m_newIdentity;
+};
+
+BOOST_GLOBAL_FIXTURE(HomeEnvFixture)
+
+} // namespace tests
+} // namespace nsl