diff --git a/dev-requirements.txt b/dev-requirements.txt
index 0e8b396b8..e2dad4a52 100644
--- a/dev-requirements.txt
+++ b/dev-requirements.txt
@@ -4,6 +4,5 @@ pytest==6.1.2
 flake8==3.8.4
 pytest-timeout==1.4.2
 pytest-asyncio==0.14.0
-asgi-lifespan==1.0.1
 requests==2.24.0
 httpx==0.16.1
diff --git a/gns3server/api/routes/controller/dependencies/authentication.py b/gns3server/api/routes/controller/dependencies/authentication.py
index f50d89bbb..c4986577e 100644
--- a/gns3server/api/routes/controller/dependencies/authentication.py
+++ b/gns3server/api/routes/controller/dependencies/authentication.py
@@ -23,12 +23,15 @@ from gns3server import schemas
 from gns3server.db.repositories.users import UsersRepository
 from gns3server.services import auth_service
 
+from .database import get_repository
 
 oauth2_scheme = OAuth2PasswordBearer(tokenUrl="/v3/users/login")  # FIXME: URL prefix
 
 
-async def get_user_from_token(token: str = Depends(oauth2_scheme),
-                              user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends()) -> schemas.User:
+async def get_user_from_token(
+        token: str = Depends(oauth2_scheme),
+        user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends(get_repository(UsersRepository))
+) -> schemas.User:
 
     username = auth_service.get_username_from_token(token)
     user = await user_repo.get_user_by_username(username)
diff --git a/gns3server/db/database.py b/gns3server/api/routes/controller/dependencies/database.py
similarity index 53%
rename from gns3server/db/database.py
rename to gns3server/api/routes/controller/dependencies/database.py
index 7d131caca..b1dbaa126 100644
--- a/gns3server/db/database.py
+++ b/gns3server/api/routes/controller/dependencies/database.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2020 GNS3 Technologies Inc.
 #
@@ -15,12 +15,24 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
-import os
+from typing import Callable, Type
+from fastapi import Depends, Request
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
-from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine
-from sqlalchemy.orm import declarative_base
+from gns3server.db.repositories.base import BaseRepository
 
-SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL = os.environ.get("DATABASE_URI", "sqlite:///./sql_app.db")
 
-engine = create_async_engine(SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL, connect_args={"check_same_thread": False})
-Base = declarative_base()
+async def get_db_session(request: Request) -> AsyncSession:
+
+    session = AsyncSession(request.app.state._db_engine)
+    try:
+        yield session
+    finally:
+        await session.close()
+
+
+def get_repository(repo: Type[BaseRepository]) -> Callable:
+
+    def get_repo(db_session: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db_session)) -> Type[BaseRepository]:
+        return repo(db_session)
+    return get_repo
diff --git a/gns3server/api/routes/controller/users.py b/gns3server/api/routes/controller/users.py
index e832a8e80..75f9c3fb7 100644
--- a/gns3server/api/routes/controller/users.py
+++ b/gns3server/api/routes/controller/users.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ API routes for users.
 """
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, status
-from fastapi.security import OAuth2PasswordBearer, OAuth2PasswordRequestForm
+from fastapi.security import OAuth2PasswordRequestForm
 from uuid import UUID
 from typing import List
 
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ from gns3server.db.repositories.users import UsersRepository
 from gns3server.services import auth_service
 
 from .dependencies.authentication import get_current_active_user
+from .dependencies.database import get_repository
 
 import logging
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ router = APIRouter()
 
 
 @router.get("", response_model=List[schemas.User])
-async def get_users(user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends()) -> List[schemas.User]:
+async def get_users(user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends(get_repository(UsersRepository))) -> List[schemas.User]:
     """
     Get all users.
     """
@@ -48,7 +49,10 @@ async def get_users(user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends()) -> List[schemas.User
 
 
 @router.post("", response_model=schemas.User, status_code=status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
-async def create_user(new_user: schemas.UserCreate, user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends()) -> schemas.User:
+async def create_user(
+        new_user: schemas.UserCreate,
+        user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends(get_repository(UsersRepository))
+) -> schemas.User:
     """
     Create a new user.
     """
@@ -63,7 +67,10 @@ async def create_user(new_user: schemas.UserCreate, user_repo: UsersRepository =
 
 
 @router.get("/{user_id}", response_model=schemas.User)
-async def get_user(user_id: UUID, user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends()) -> schemas.User:
+async def get_user(
+        user_id: UUID,
+        user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends(get_repository(UsersRepository))
+) -> schemas.User:
     """
     Get an user.
     """
@@ -75,9 +82,11 @@ async def get_user(user_id: UUID, user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends()) -> sch
 
 
 @router.put("/{user_id}", response_model=schemas.User)
-async def update_user(user_id: UUID,
-                      update_user: schemas.UserUpdate,
-                      user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends()) -> schemas.User:
+async def update_user(
+        user_id: UUID,
+        update_user: schemas.UserUpdate,
+        user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends(get_repository(UsersRepository))
+) -> schemas.User:
     """
     Update an user.
     """
@@ -89,7 +98,7 @@ async def update_user(user_id: UUID,
 
 
 @router.delete("/{user_id}", status_code=status.HTTP_204_NO_CONTENT)
-async def delete_user(user_id: UUID, user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends()):
+async def delete_user(user_id: UUID, user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends(get_repository(UsersRepository))):
     """
     Delete an user.
     """
@@ -100,8 +109,10 @@ async def delete_user(user_id: UUID, user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends()):
 
 
 @router.post("/login", response_model=schemas.Token)
-async def login(user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends(),
-                form_data: OAuth2PasswordRequestForm = Depends()) -> schemas.Token:
+async def login(
+        user_repo: UsersRepository = Depends(get_repository(UsersRepository)),
+        form_data: OAuth2PasswordRequestForm = Depends()
+) -> schemas.Token:
     """
     User login.
     """
diff --git a/gns3server/api/server.py b/gns3server/api/server.py
index a01a772dc..f63bb3cfd 100644
--- a/gns3server/api/server.py
+++ b/gns3server/api/server.py
@@ -45,34 +45,43 @@ import logging
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-app = FastAPI(title="GNS3 controller API",
-              description="This page describes the public controller API for GNS3",
-              version="v3")
+def get_application() -> FastAPI:
 
-origins = [
-    "http://127.0.0.1",
-    "http://localhost",
-    "http://127.0.0.1:8080",
-    "http://localhost:8080",
-    "http://127.0.0.1:3080",
-    "http://localhost:3080",
-    "http://gns3.github.io",
-    "https://gns3.github.io"
-]
+    application = FastAPI(
+        title="GNS3 controller API",
+        description="This page describes the public controller API for GNS3",
+        version="v3"
+    )
 
-app.add_middleware(
-    CORSMiddleware,
-    allow_origins=origins,
-    allow_credentials=True,
-    allow_methods=["*"],
-    allow_headers=["*"],
-)
+    origins = [
+        "http://127.0.0.1",
+        "http://localhost",
+        "http://127.0.0.1:8080",
+        "http://localhost:8080",
+        "http://127.0.0.1:3080",
+        "http://localhost:3080",
+        "http://gns3.github.io",
+        "https://gns3.github.io"
+    ]
 
-app.add_event_handler("startup", tasks.create_startup_handler(app))
-app.add_event_handler("shutdown", tasks.create_shutdown_handler(app))
-app.include_router(index.router, tags=["Index"])
-app.include_router(controller.router, prefix="/v3")
-app.mount("/v3/compute", compute_api)
+    application.add_middleware(
+            CORSMiddleware,
+            allow_origins=origins,
+            allow_credentials=True,
+            allow_methods=["*"],
+            allow_headers=["*"],
+        )
+
+    application.add_event_handler("startup", tasks.create_startup_handler(application))
+    application.add_event_handler("shutdown", tasks.create_shutdown_handler(application))
+    application.include_router(index.router, tags=["Index"])
+    application.include_router(controller.router, prefix="/v3")
+    application.mount("/v3/compute", compute_api)
+
+    return application
+
+
+app = get_application()
 
 
 @app.exception_handler(ControllerError)
diff --git a/gns3server/core/tasks.py b/gns3server/core/tasks.py
index 4c134564a..6f1b59c5a 100644
--- a/gns3server/core/tasks.py
+++ b/gns3server/core/tasks.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def create_startup_handler(app: FastAPI) -> Callable:
             loop.set_debug(True)
 
         # connect to the database
-        await connect_to_db()
+        await connect_to_db(app)
 
         await Controller.instance().start()
         # Because with a large image collection
diff --git a/gns3server/db/models.py b/gns3server/db/models.py
index dddfa9a64..a211859f6 100644
--- a/gns3server/db/models.py
+++ b/gns3server/db/models.py
@@ -21,7 +21,10 @@ from sqlalchemy import Boolean, Column, ForeignKey, Integer, String, DateTime, f
 from sqlalchemy.orm import relationship
 from sqlalchemy.types import TypeDecorator, CHAR
 from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import UUID
-from .database import Base
+
+from sqlalchemy.orm import declarative_base
+
+Base = declarative_base()
 
 
 class GUID(TypeDecorator):
@@ -68,11 +71,14 @@ class BaseTable(Base):
                         onupdate=func.current_timestamp())
 
 
+def generate_uuid():
+    return str(uuid.uuid4())
+
 class User(BaseTable):
 
     __tablename__ = "users"
 
-    user_id = Column(GUID, primary_key=True, default=str(uuid.uuid4()))
+    user_id = Column(GUID, primary_key=True, default=generate_uuid)
     username = Column(String, unique=True, index=True)
     email = Column(String, unique=True, index=True)
     full_name = Column(String)
diff --git a/gns3server/db/repositories/base.py b/gns3server/db/repositories/base.py
index 9ab53e117..ab7c5ca3b 100644
--- a/gns3server/db/repositories/base.py
+++ b/gns3server/db/repositories/base.py
@@ -16,14 +16,10 @@
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
-from ..database import engine
 
 
 class BaseRepository:
 
-    async def db(self):
-        session = AsyncSession(engine)
-        try:
-            yield session
-        finally:
-            await session.close()
+    def __init__(self, db_session: AsyncSession) -> None:
+
+        self._db_session = db_session
diff --git a/gns3server/db/repositories/users.py b/gns3server/db/repositories/users.py
index a8b6f7686..587d12a5a 100644
--- a/gns3server/db/repositories/users.py
+++ b/gns3server/db/repositories/users.py
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ from typing import Optional, List
 from sqlalchemy import select, update, delete
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
-from ..database import engine
 from .base import BaseRepository
 
 import gns3server.db.models as models
@@ -30,73 +29,66 @@ from gns3server.services import auth_service
 
 class UsersRepository(BaseRepository):
 
-    def __init__(self) -> None:
+    def __init__(self, db_session: AsyncSession) -> None:
 
-        super().__init__()
+        super().__init__(db_session)
         self._auth_service = auth_service
 
     async def get_user(self, user_id: UUID) -> Optional[models.User]:
 
-        async with AsyncSession(engine) as session:
-            result = await session.execute(select(models.User).where(models.User.user_id == user_id))
-            return result.scalars().first()
+        result = await self._db_session.execute(select(models.User).where(models.User.user_id == user_id))
+        return result.scalars().first()
 
     async def get_user_by_username(self, username: str) -> Optional[models.User]:
 
-        async with AsyncSession(engine) as session:
-            result = await session.execute(select(models.User).where(models.User.username == username))
-            return result.scalars().first()
+        result = await self._db_session.execute(select(models.User).where(models.User.username == username))
+        return result.scalars().first()
 
     async def get_user_by_email(self, email: str) -> Optional[models.User]:
 
-        async with AsyncSession(engine) as session:
-            result = await session.execute(select(models.User).where(models.User.email == email))
-            return result.scalars().first()
+        result = await self._db_session.execute(select(models.User).where(models.User.email == email))
+        return result.scalars().first()
 
     async def get_users(self) -> List[models.User]:
 
-        async with AsyncSession(engine) as session:
-            result = await session.execute(select(models.User))
-            return result.scalars().all()
+        result = await self._db_session.execute(select(models.User))
+        return result.scalars().all()
 
     async def create_user(self, user: schemas.UserCreate) -> models.User:
 
-        async with AsyncSession(engine) as session:
-            hashed_password = self._auth_service.hash_password(user.password)
-            db_user = models.User(username=user.username,
-                                  email=user.email,
-                                  full_name=user.full_name,
-                                  hashed_password=hashed_password)
-            session.add(db_user)
-            await session.commit()
-            await session.refresh(db_user)
-            return db_user
+        hashed_password = self._auth_service.hash_password(user.password)
+        db_user = models.User(
+            username=user.username,
+            email=user.email,
+            full_name=user.full_name,
+            hashed_password=hashed_password
+        )
+        self._db_session.add(db_user)
+        await self._db_session.commit()
+        await self._db_session.refresh(db_user)
+        return db_user
 
     async def update_user(self, user_id: UUID, user_update: schemas.UserUpdate) -> Optional[models.User]:
 
-        async with AsyncSession(engine) as session:
+        update_values = user_update.dict(exclude_unset=True)
+        password = update_values.pop("password", None)
+        if password:
+            update_values["hashed_password"] = self._auth_service.hash_password(password=password)
 
-            update_values = user_update.dict(exclude_unset=True)
-            password = update_values.pop("password", None)
-            if password:
-                update_values["hashed_password"] = self._auth_service.hash_password(password=password)
+        query = update(models.User) \
+            .where(models.User.user_id == user_id) \
+            .values(update_values)
 
-            print(update_values)
-            query = update(models.User) \
-                .where(models.User.user_id == user_id) \
-                .values(update_values)
-
-            await session.execute(query)
-            await session.commit()
-            return await self.get_user(user_id)
+        await self._db_session.execute(query)
+        await self._db_session.commit()
+        return await self.get_user(user_id)
 
     async def delete_user(self, user_id: UUID) -> bool:
 
-        async with AsyncSession(engine) as session:
-            query = delete(models.User).where(models.User.user_id == user_id)
-            result = await session.execute(query)
-            await session.commit()
-            return result.rowcount > 0
+        query = delete(models.User).where(models.User.user_id == user_id)
+        result = await self._db_session.execute(query)
+        await self._db_session.commit()
+        return result.rowcount > 0
             #except:
             #    await session.rollback()
 
diff --git a/gns3server/db/tasks.py b/gns3server/db/tasks.py
index 615ea6360..092834451 100644
--- a/gns3server/db/tasks.py
+++ b/gns3server/db/tasks.py
@@ -15,20 +15,26 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
-from sqlalchemy.exc import SQLAlchemyError
+import os
+
+from fastapi import FastAPI
+from sqlalchemy.exc import SQLAlchemyError
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine
 
-from .database import engine
 from .models import Base
 
 import logging
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-async def connect_to_db() -> None:
+async def connect_to_db(app: FastAPI) -> None:
 
+    db_url = os.environ.get("GNS3_DATABASE_URI", "sqlite:///./sql_app.db")
+    engine = create_async_engine(db_url, connect_args={"check_same_thread": False}, future=True)
     try:
         async with engine.begin() as conn:
             await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.create_all)
             log.info("Successfully connected to the database")
+        app.state._db_engine = engine
     except SQLAlchemyError as e:
         log.error(f"Error while connecting to the database: {e}")
diff --git a/gns3server/services/authentication.py b/gns3server/services/authentication.py
index 2a9d097e6..785607273 100644
--- a/gns3server/services/authentication.py
+++ b/gns3server/services/authentication.py
@@ -35,10 +35,6 @@ ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES = 30
 pwd_context = CryptContext(schemes=["bcrypt"], deprecated="auto")
 
 
-#class AuthException(BaseException):
-#    pass
-
-
 class AuthService:
 
     def hash_password(self, password: str) -> str:
@@ -49,14 +45,19 @@ class AuthService:
 
         return pwd_context.verify(password, hashed_password)
 
-    def create_access_token(self, username):
+    def create_access_token(
+            self,
+            username,
+            secret_key: str = SECRET_KEY,
+            expires_in: int = ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES
+    ) -> str:
 
-        expire = datetime.utcnow() + timedelta(minutes=ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES)
+        expire = datetime.utcnow() + timedelta(minutes=expires_in)
         to_encode = {"sub": username, "exp": expire}
-        encoded_jwt = jwt.encode(to_encode, SECRET_KEY, algorithm=ALGORITHM)
+        encoded_jwt = jwt.encode(to_encode, secret_key, algorithm=ALGORITHM)
         return encoded_jwt
 
-    def get_username_from_token(self, token: str) -> Optional[str]:
+    def get_username_from_token(self, token: str, secret_key: str = SECRET_KEY) -> Optional[str]:
 
         credentials_exception = HTTPException(
             status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ class AuthService:
             headers={"WWW-Authenticate": "Bearer"},
         )
         try:
-            payload = jwt.decode(token, SECRET_KEY, algorithms=[ALGORITHM])
+            payload = jwt.decode(token, secret_key, algorithms=[ALGORITHM])
             username: str = payload.get("sub")
             if username is None:
                 raise credentials_exception
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 1ebd35fe7..078af8627 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 uvicorn==0.11.8  # force version to 0.11.8 because of https://github.com/encode/uvicorn/issues/841
-fastapi==0.61.2
+fastapi==0.62.0
 websockets==8.1
 python-multipart==0.0.5
 aiohttp==3.7.2
diff --git a/tests/api/routes/controller/test_users.py b/tests/api/routes/controller/test_users.py
index 522703bea..4038ece06 100644
--- a/tests/api/routes/controller/test_users.py
+++ b/tests/api/routes/controller/test_users.py
@@ -17,46 +17,237 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from fastapi import FastAPI, status
-from fastapi.encoders import jsonable_encoder
+from typing import Optional, Union
+from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, status
+from starlette.datastructures import Secret
 from httpx import AsyncClient
+from jose import jwt
 
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from gns3server.db.repositories.users import UsersRepository
+from gns3server.services import auth_service
+from gns3server.services.authentication import SECRET_KEY, ALGORITHM
 from gns3server.schemas.users import User
 
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.asyncio
 
 
-# async def test_route_exist(app: FastAPI, client: AsyncClient) -> None:
-#
-#     params = {"username": "test_username", "email": "user@email.com", "password": "test_password"}
-#     response = await client.post(app.url_path_for("create_user"), json=params)
-#     assert response.status_code != status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND
-#
-#
-# async def test_users_can_register_successfully(app: FastAPI, client: AsyncClient) -> None:
-#
-#     user_repo = UsersRepository()
-#     params = {"username": "test_username2", "email": "user2@email.com", "password": "test_password2"}
-#
-#     # make sure the user doesn't exist in the database
-#     user_in_db = await user_repo.get_user_by_username(params["username"])
-#     assert user_in_db is None
-#
-#     # register the user
-#     res = await client.post(app.url_path_for("create_user"), json=params)
-#     assert res.status_code == status.HTTP_201_CREATED
-#
-#     # make sure the user does exists in the database now
-#     user_in_db = await user_repo.get_user_by_username(params["username"])
-#     assert user_in_db is not None
-#     assert user_in_db.email == params["email"]
-#     assert user_in_db.username == params["username"]
-#
-#     # check that the user returned in the response is equal to the user in the database
-#     created_user = User(**res.json()).json()
-#     print(created_user)
-#     #print(user_in_db.__dict__)
-#     test = jsonable_encoder(user_in_db.__dict__, exclude={"_sa_instance_state", "hashed_password"})
-#     print(test)
-#     assert created_user == test
+class TestUserRoutes:
+
+    async def test_route_exist(self, app: FastAPI, client: AsyncClient) -> None:
+
+        new_user = {"username": "test_user1", "email": "user1@email.com", "password": "test_password"}
+        response = await client.post(app.url_path_for("create_user"), json=new_user)
+        assert response.status_code != status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND
+
+    async def test_users_can_register_successfully(
+            self,
+            app: FastAPI,
+            client: AsyncClient,
+            db_session: AsyncSession
+    ) -> None:
+
+        user_repo = UsersRepository(db_session)
+        params = {"username": "test_user2", "email": "user2@email.com", "password": "test_password"}
+
+        # make sure the user doesn't exist in the database
+        user_in_db = await user_repo.get_user_by_username(params["username"])
+        assert user_in_db is None
+
+        # register the user
+        res = await client.post(app.url_path_for("create_user"), json=params)
+        assert res.status_code == status.HTTP_201_CREATED
+
+        # make sure the user does exists in the database now
+        user_in_db = await user_repo.get_user_by_username(params["username"])
+        assert user_in_db is not None
+        assert user_in_db.email == params["email"]
+        assert user_in_db.username == params["username"]
+
+        # check that the user returned in the response is equal to the user in the database
+        created_user = User(**res.json()).json()
+        assert created_user == User.from_orm(user_in_db).json()
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "attr, value, status_code",
+        (
+                ("email", "user2@email.com", status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST),
+                ("username", "test_user2", status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST),
+                ("email", "invalid_email@one@two.io", status.HTTP_422_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY),
+                ("password", "short", status.HTTP_422_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY),
+                ("username", "user2@#$%^<>", status.HTTP_422_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY),
+                ("username", "ab", status.HTTP_422_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY),
+        )
+    )
+    async def test_user_registration_fails_when_credentials_are_taken(
+            self,
+            app: FastAPI,
+            client: AsyncClient,
+            attr: str,
+            value: str,
+            status_code: int,
+    ) -> None:
+
+        new_user = {"email": "not_taken@email.com", "username": "not_taken_username", "password": "test_password"}
+        new_user[attr] = value
+        res = await client.post(app.url_path_for("create_user"), json=new_user)
+        assert res.status_code == status_code
+
+    async def test_users_saved_password_is_hashed(
+        self,
+        app: FastAPI,
+        client: AsyncClient,
+        db_session: AsyncSession
+    ) -> None:
+
+        user_repo = UsersRepository(db_session)
+        new_user = {"username": "test_user3", "email": "user3@email.com", "password": "test_password"}
+
+        # send post request to create user and ensure it is successful
+        res = await client.post(app.url_path_for("create_user"), json=new_user)
+        assert res.status_code == status.HTTP_201_CREATED
+
+        # ensure that the users password is hashed in the db
+        # and that we can verify it using our auth service
+        user_in_db = await user_repo.get_user_by_username(new_user["username"])
+        assert user_in_db is not None
+        assert user_in_db.hashed_password != new_user["password"]
+        assert auth_service.verify_password(new_user["password"], user_in_db.hashed_password)
+
+
+class TestAuthTokens:
+
+    async def test_can_create_token_successfully(
+            self,
+            app: FastAPI,
+            client: AsyncClient,
+            test_user: User
+    ) -> None:
+
+        token = auth_service.create_access_token(test_user.username)
+        payload = jwt.decode(token, SECRET_KEY, algorithms=[ALGORITHM])
+        username = payload.get("sub")
+        assert username == test_user.username
+
+    async def test_token_missing_user_is_invalid(self, app: FastAPI, client: AsyncClient) -> None:
+
+        token = auth_service.create_access_token(None)
+        with pytest.raises(jwt.JWTError):
+            jwt.decode(token, SECRET_KEY, algorithms=[ALGORITHM])
+
+    async def test_can_retrieve_username_from_token(
+            self,
+            app: FastAPI,
+            client: AsyncClient,
+            test_user: User
+    ) -> None:
+
+        token = auth_service.create_access_token(test_user.username)
+        username = auth_service.get_username_from_token(token)
+        assert username == test_user.username
+
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "secret, wrong_token",
+        (
+                (SECRET_KEY, "asdf"),  # use wrong token
+                (SECRET_KEY, ""),  # use wrong token
+                ("ABC123", "use correct token"),  # use wrong secret
+        ),
+    )
+    async def test_error_when_token_or_secret_is_wrong(
+            self,
+            app: FastAPI,
+            client: AsyncClient,
+            test_user: User,
+            secret: Union[Secret, str],
+            wrong_token: Optional[str],
+    ) -> None:
+
+        token = auth_service.create_access_token(test_user.username)
+        if wrong_token == "use correct token":
+            wrong_token = token
+        with pytest.raises(HTTPException):
+            auth_service.get_username_from_token(wrong_token, secret_key=str(secret))
+
+
+class TestUserLogin:
+
+    async def test_user_can_login_successfully_and_receives_valid_token(
+            self,
+            app: FastAPI,
+            client: AsyncClient,
+            test_user: User,
+    ) -> None:
+
+        client.headers["content-type"] = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
+        login_data = {
+            "username": test_user.username,
+            "password": "user1_password",
+        }
+        res = await client.post(app.url_path_for("login"), data=login_data)
+        assert res.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+
+        # check that token exists in response and has user encoded within it
+        token = res.json().get("access_token")
+        payload = jwt.decode(token, SECRET_KEY, algorithms=[ALGORITHM])
+        assert "sub" in payload
+        username = payload.get("sub")
+        assert username == test_user.username
+
+        # check that token is proper type
+        assert "token_type" in res.json()
+        assert res.json().get("token_type") == "bearer"
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "username, password, status_code",
+        (
+            ("wrong_username", "user1_password", status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED),
+            ("user1", "wrong_password", status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED),
+            ("user1", None, status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED),
+        ),
+    )
+    async def test_user_with_wrong_creds_doesnt_receive_token(
+        self,
+        app: FastAPI,
+        client: AsyncClient,
+        test_user: User,
+        username: str,
+        password: str,
+        status_code: int,
+    ) -> None:
+
+        client.headers["content-type"] = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
+        login_data = {
+            "username": username,
+            "password": password,
+        }
+        res = await client.post(app.url_path_for("login"), data=login_data)
+        assert res.status_code == status_code
+        assert "access_token" not in res.json()
+
+
+class TestUserMe:
+
+    async def test_authenticated_user_can_retrieve_own_data(
+            self,
+            app: FastAPI,
+            authorized_client: AsyncClient,
+            test_user: User,
+    ) -> None:
+
+        res = await authorized_client.get(app.url_path_for("get_current_active_user"))
+        assert res.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        user = User(**res.json())
+        assert user.username == test_user.username
+        assert user.email == test_user.email
+        assert user.user_id == test_user.user_id
+
+    async def test_user_cannot_access_own_data_if_not_authenticated(
+            self, app: FastAPI,
+            client: AsyncClient,
+            test_user: User,
+    ) -> None:
+
+        res = await client.get(app.url_path_for("get_current_active_user"))
+        assert res.status_code == status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index b91392d32..4e0241c4f 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import os
 
 from fastapi import FastAPI
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession, create_async_engine
-from asgi_lifespan import LifespanManager
 from httpx import AsyncClient
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -17,25 +16,16 @@ from gns3server.config import Config
 from gns3server.compute import MODULES
 from gns3server.compute.port_manager import PortManager
 from gns3server.compute.project_manager import ProjectManager
-from gns3server.db.database import Base
+from gns3server.db.models import Base, User
+from gns3server.db.repositories.users import UsersRepository
+from gns3server.api.routes.controller.dependencies.database import get_db_session
+from gns3server.schemas.users import UserCreate
+from gns3server.services import auth_service
 
 sys._called_from_test = True
 sys.original_platform = sys.platform
 
 
-SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL = "sqlite:///./test.db"
-
-engine = create_async_engine(
-    SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL, connect_args={"check_same_thread": False}
-)
-
-
-async def start_db():
-    async with engine.begin() as conn:
-        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.drop_all)
-        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.create_all)
-
-
 if sys.platform.startswith("win") and sys.version_info < (3, 8):
     @pytest.yield_fixture(scope="session")
     def event_loop(request):
@@ -49,34 +39,64 @@ if sys.platform.startswith("win") and sys.version_info < (3, 8):
         yield loop
         asyncio.set_event_loop(None)
 
+# https://github.com/pytest-dev/pytest-asyncio/issues/68
+# this event_loop is used by pytest-asyncio, and redefining it
+# is currently the only way of changing the scope of this fixture
+@pytest.yield_fixture(scope="session")
+def event_loop(request):
 
-# @pytest.mark.asyncio
-# @pytest.fixture(scope="session", autouse=True)
-# async def database_connection() -> None:
-#
-#     from gns3server.db.tasks import connect_to_db
-#     os.environ["DATABASE_URI"] = "sqlite:///./sql_app_test.db"
-#     await connect_to_db()
-#     yield
+    loop = asyncio.get_event_loop_policy().new_event_loop()
+    yield loop
+    loop.close()
 
 
-@pytest.fixture#(scope="session")
-async def app() -> FastAPI:
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+async def app(db_engine) -> FastAPI:
 
-    from gns3server.api.server import app as gns3_app
-    gns3_app.add_event_handler("startup", start_db())
-    return gns3_app
+    async with db_engine.begin() as conn:
+        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.drop_all)
+        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.create_all)
+    from gns3server.api.server import app as gns3app
+    yield gns3app
 
 
-# Grab a reference to our database when needed
-#@pytest.fixture
-#def db(app: FastAPI) -> Database:
-#    return app.state._db
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+def db_engine():
+
+    db_url = os.getenv("GNS3_TEST_DATABASE_URI", "sqlite:///:memory:")  # "sqlite:///./sql_test_app.db"
+    engine = create_async_engine(db_url, connect_args={"check_same_thread": False}, future=True)
+    yield engine
+    engine.sync_engine.dispose()
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="class")
+async def db_session(app: FastAPI, db_engine):
+
+    # recreate database tables for each class
+    # preferred and faster way would be to rollback the session/transaction
+    # but it doesn't work for some reason
+    async with db_engine.begin() as conn:
+        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.drop_all)
+        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.create_all)
+
+    session = AsyncSession(db_engine)
+    try:
+        yield session
+    finally:
+        await session.close()
+
 
 @pytest.fixture
-async def client(app: FastAPI) -> AsyncClient:
+async def client(app: FastAPI, db_session: AsyncSession) -> AsyncClient:
+
+    async def _get_test_db():
+        try:
+            yield db_session
+        finally:
+            pass
+
+    app.dependency_overrides[get_db_session] = _get_test_db
 
-    #async with LifespanManager(app):
     async with AsyncClient(
             app=app,
             base_url="http://test-api",
@@ -85,6 +105,32 @@ async def client(app: FastAPI) -> AsyncClient:
         yield client
 
 
+@pytest.fixture
+async def test_user(db_session: AsyncSession) -> User:
+
+    new_user = UserCreate(
+        username="user1",
+        email="user1@email.com",
+        password="user1_password",
+    )
+    user_repo = UsersRepository(db_session)
+    existing_user = await user_repo.get_user_by_username(new_user.username)
+    if existing_user:
+        return existing_user
+    return await user_repo.create_user(new_user)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def authorized_client(client: AsyncClient, test_user: User) -> AsyncClient:
+
+    access_token = auth_service.create_access_token(test_user.username)
+    client.headers = {
+        **client.headers,
+        "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}",
+    }
+    return client
+
+
 @pytest.fixture
 def controller_config_path(tmpdir):