diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 2dfef304e383e6470567807613f3cf6adba64fd6..a4cfa7c1b13e2919b545ebf846398db44bce5ae9 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,14 @@ stages:
   - analyze
 
 
+# print some info on the runner setup
+.print-common-info: &print-common-info
+  - echo "--------------------------------------------\n"
+  - python3 --version
+  - pip3 freeze | grep "numpy\|scipy\|YAML\|pytest\|black\|isort\|flake8"
+  - echo "--------------------------------------------\n\n"
+
+
 # script anchor for updating the codec repo
 .get-codec-binaries: &get-codec-binaries
   - dir=$(pwd)
@@ -33,6 +41,7 @@ test_audiotools_convert:
   tags:
     - linux
   script:
+    - *print-common-info
     - python3 -m pytest -n auto tests/test_audiotools_convert.py
 
 # run some test configs for item creation
@@ -41,6 +50,7 @@ test_processing:
   tags:
     - linux
   script:
+    - *print-common-info
     - *get-codec-binaries
     - python3 -m pytest -n auto tests/test_processing.py