diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 41907f331d7..cb379611ef3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -13,10 +13,12 @@ docs/book/book/
 
 # skip bin
 bin/*
-testbin/*
-testdata/project-v3-addon/testbin/*
-testdata/project-v3-multigroup/testbin/*
-testdata/project-v3/testbin/*
+testdata/project-v3-addon/bin/*
+testdata/project-v3-multigroup/bin/*
+testdata/project-v3/bin/*
+testdata/project-v2-addon/bin/*
+testdata/project-v2-multigroup/bin/*
+testdata/project-v2/bin/*
 docs/book/src/multiversion-tutorial/testdata/project/bin/*
 docs/book/src/cronjob-tutorial/testdata/project/bin/*
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9269277c5fc..2548a998524 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -42,11 +42,14 @@ help:  ## Display this help
 .PHONY: build
 build: ## Build the project locally
 	go build -o bin/kubebuilder ./cmd
+	go build -o bin/tooling ./tooling/main.go
+
 
 .PHONY: install
 install: ## Build and install the binary with the current source code. Use it to test your changes locally.
 	make build
 	cp ./bin/kubebuilder $(shell go env GOPATH)/bin/kubebuilder
+	cp ./bin/tooling $(shell go env GOPATH)/bin/tooling
 
 ##@ Development
 
@@ -59,7 +62,7 @@ generate: ## Update/generate all mock data. You should run this commands to upda
 	go mod tidy
 
 .PHONY: generate-testdata
-generate-testdata: ## Update/generate the testdata in $GOPATH/src/sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder
+generate-testdata:  ## Update/generate the testdata in $GOPATH/src/sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder
 	GO111MODULE=on ./generate_testdata.sh
 
 .PHONY: lint
diff --git a/docs/book/src/quick-start.md b/docs/book/src/quick-start.md
index ffd207d94f4..139a31758a3 100644
--- a/docs/book/src/quick-start.md
+++ b/docs/book/src/quick-start.md
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ arch=$(go env GOARCH)
 curl -L https://go.kubebuilder.io/dl/2.3.1/${os}/${arch} | tar -xz -C /tmp/
 ```
 
-If you are using a Kubebuilder plugin version less than version `v3+`, you must configure the Kubernetes binaries required for the [envtest][envtest], run: 
+If you are using a Kubebuilder CLI version =< `v2.3.1`, you must configure the Kubernetes binaries required for the [envtest][envtest], run: 
 
 ```bash
 # move to a long-term location and put it on your path
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 50ca1db89b0..50d10e3202e 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ github.com/prometheus/tsdb v0.7.1/go.mod h1:qhTCs0VvXwvX/y3TZrWD7rabWM+ijKTux40T
 github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid v0.0.0-20150106093220-6724a57986af/go.mod h1:XWv6SoW27p1b0cqNHllgS5HIMJraePCO15w5zCzIWYg=
 github.com/russross/blackfriday/v2 v2.0.1/go.mod h1:+Rmxgy9KzJVeS9/2gXHxylqXiyQDYRxCVz55jmeOWTM=
 github.com/shurcooL/sanitized_anchor_name v1.0.0/go.mod h1:1NzhyTcUVG4SuEtjjoZeVRXNmyL/1OwPU0+IJeTBvfc=
+github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.2.0 h1:juTguoYk5qI21pwyTXY3B3Y5cOTH3ZUyZCg1v/mihuo=
 github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.2.0/go.mod h1:LxeOpSwHxABJmUn/MG1IvRgCAasNZTLOkJPxbbu5VWo=
 github.com/soheilhy/cmux v0.1.4/go.mod h1:IM3LyeVVIOuxMH7sFAkER9+bJ4dT7Ms6E4xg4kGIyLM=
 github.com/spaolacci/murmur3 v0.0.0-20180118202830-f09979ecbc72/go.mod h1:JwIasOWyU6f++ZhiEuf87xNszmSA2myDM2Kzu9HwQUA=
@@ -120,6 +121,7 @@ go.uber.org/zap v1.10.0/go.mod h1:vwi/ZaCAaUcBkycHslxD9B2zi4UTXhF60s6SWpuDF0Q=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20180904163835-0709b304e793/go.mod h1:6SG95UA2DQfeDnfUPMdvaQW0Q7yPrPDi9nlGo2tz2b4=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20190308221718-c2843e01d9a2 h1:VklqNMn3ovrHsnt90PveolxSbWFaJdECFbxSq0Mqo2M=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20190308221718-c2843e01d9a2/go.mod h1:djNgcEr1/C05ACkg1iLfiJU5Ep61QUkGW8qpdssI0+w=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20191011191535-87dc89f01550 h1:ObdrDkeb4kJdCP557AjRjq69pTHfNouLtWZG7j9rPN8=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20191011191535-87dc89f01550/go.mod h1:yigFU9vqHzYiE8UmvKecakEJjdnWj3jj499lnFckfCI=
 golang.org/x/lint v0.0.0-20181026193005-c67002cb31c3/go.mod h1:UVdnD1Gm6xHRNCYTkRU2/jEulfH38KcIWyp/GAMgvoE=
 golang.org/x/lint v0.0.0-20190313153728-d0100b6bd8b3/go.mod h1:6SW0HCj/g11FgYtHlgUYUwCkIfeOF89ocIRzGO/8vkc=
diff --git a/pkg/plugin/v2/scaffolds/internal/templates/controller/controller_suitetest.go b/pkg/plugin/v2/scaffolds/internal/templates/controller/controller_suitetest.go
index 80913f122c2..fbd867e3388 100644
--- a/pkg/plugin/v2/scaffolds/internal/templates/controller/controller_suitetest.go
+++ b/pkg/plugin/v2/scaffolds/internal/templates/controller/controller_suitetest.go
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ type SuiteTest struct {
 	file.BoilerplateMixin
 	file.ResourceMixin
 
-	// CRDDirectoryRelativePath define the Path for the CRD when it is multigroup
-	CRDDirectoryRelativePath string
+	// RelativePath define the Path for the root when it is multigroup
+	RelativePath string
 }
 
 // SetTemplateDefaults implements file.Template
@@ -56,9 +56,9 @@ func (f *SuiteTest) SetTemplateDefaults() error {
 
 	// If is multigroup the path needs to be ../../ since it has
 	// the group dir.
-	f.CRDDirectoryRelativePath = `".."`
-	if f.MultiGroup {
-		f.CRDDirectoryRelativePath = `"..", ".."`
+	f.RelativePath = `".."`
+	if f.MultiGroup && f.Resource.Group != "" {
+		f.RelativePath = `"..", ".."`
 	}
 
 	return nil
@@ -148,9 +148,12 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 
 	By("bootstrapping test environment")
 	testEnv = &envtest.Environment{
-		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join({{ .CRDDirectoryRelativePath }}, "config", "crd", "bases")},
+		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join({{ .RelativePath }}, "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -170,4 +173,31 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them. 
+func configEnvTestBinaries()  {
+	binPath := filepath.Join({{ .RelativePath }}, "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
 `
diff --git a/pkg/plugin/v2/scaffolds/internal/templates/makefile.go b/pkg/plugin/v2/scaffolds/internal/templates/makefile.go
index a680b7cd385..ce9c0cbe402 100644
--- a/pkg/plugin/v2/scaffolds/internal/templates/makefile.go
+++ b/pkg/plugin/v2/scaffolds/internal/templates/makefile.go
@@ -70,8 +70,24 @@ endif
 all: manager
 
 # Run tests
-test: generate fmt vet manifests
-	go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+test: generate fmt vet manifests tooling 
+	$(TOOLING); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+
+# get the kubebuilder tooling
+tooling:
+ifeq (, $(shell which tooling))
+	@{ \
+	set -e ;\
+	TOOLING_TMP_DIR=$$(mktemp -d) ;\
+	cd $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	go mod init tmp ;\
+	go get sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/tooling ;\
+	rm -rf $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	}
+TOOLING=$(GOBIN)/tooling
+else
+TOOLING=$(shell which tooling)
+endif
 
 # Build manager binary
 manager: generate fmt vet
diff --git a/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/init.go b/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/init.go
index 642e820431b..d182a21a8cf 100644
--- a/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/init.go
+++ b/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/init.go
@@ -42,9 +42,6 @@ const (
 	ControllerToolsVersion = "v0.3.0"
 	// KustomizeVersion is the kubernetes-sigs/kustomize version to be used in the project
 	KustomizeVersion = "v3.5.4"
-	// ControllerRuntimeEnvTestVersion version to be used to download the envtest setup script
-	// todo: update the tag release when the next version of the project be released with this script
-	ControllerRuntimeEnvTestVersion = "master"
 
 	imageName = "controller:latest"
 )
@@ -115,7 +112,6 @@ func (s *initScaffolder) scaffold() error {
 			BoilerplatePath:                 s.boilerplatePath,
 			ControllerToolsVersion:          ControllerToolsVersion,
 			KustomizeVersion:                KustomizeVersion,
-			ControllerRuntimeEnvTestVersion: ControllerRuntimeEnvTestVersion,
 		},
 		&templates.Dockerfile{},
 		&templates.DockerignoreFile{},
diff --git a/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/config/controller/controller_suitetest.go b/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/config/controller/controller_suitetest.go
index de0eead25df..bc64e8df2fe 100644
--- a/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/config/controller/controller_suitetest.go
+++ b/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/config/controller/controller_suitetest.go
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ type SuiteTest struct {
 	file.BoilerplateMixin
 	file.ResourceMixin
 
-	// CRDDirectoryRelativePath define the Path for the CRD when it is multigroup
-	CRDDirectoryRelativePath string
+	// RelativePath define the Path for the root when it is multigroup
+	RelativePath string
 }
 
 // SetTemplateDefaults implements file.Template
@@ -56,9 +56,9 @@ func (f *SuiteTest) SetTemplateDefaults() error {
 
 	// If is multigroup the path needs to be ../../ since it has
 	// the group dir.
-	f.CRDDirectoryRelativePath = `".."`
+	f.RelativePath = `".."`
 	if f.MultiGroup && f.Resource.Group != "" {
-		f.CRDDirectoryRelativePath = `"..", ".."`
+		f.RelativePath = `"..", ".."`
 	}
 
 	return nil
@@ -148,9 +148,12 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 
 	By("bootstrapping test environment")
 	testEnv = &envtest.Environment{
-		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join({{ .CRDDirectoryRelativePath }}, "config", "crd", "bases")},
+		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join({{ .RelativePath }}, "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -170,4 +173,31 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them. 
+func configEnvTestBinaries()  {
+	binPath := filepath.Join({{ .RelativePath }}, "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
 `
diff --git a/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/gitignore.go b/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/gitignore.go
index d78ae478ee0..3910f8d3195 100644
--- a/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/gitignore.go
+++ b/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/gitignore.go
@@ -46,7 +46,6 @@ const gitignoreTemplate = `
 *.so
 *.dylib
 bin
-testbin/*
 
 # Test binary, build with ` + "`go test -c`" + `
 *.test
diff --git a/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/makefile.go b/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/makefile.go
index 34a657aa99a..737c345b69a 100644
--- a/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/makefile.go
+++ b/pkg/plugin/v3/scaffolds/internal/templates/makefile.go
@@ -34,8 +34,6 @@ type Makefile struct {
 	ControllerToolsVersion string
 	// Kustomize version to use in the project
 	KustomizeVersion string
-	// ControllerRuntimeEnvTestVersion version to be used to download the envtest setup script
-	ControllerRuntimeEnvTestVersion string
 }
 
 // SetTemplateDefaults implements input.Template
@@ -72,11 +70,24 @@ endif
 all: manager
 
 # Run tests
-ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR=$(shell pwd)/testbin
-test: generate fmt vet manifests
-	mkdir -p ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}
-	test -f ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh || curl -sSLo ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/controller-runtime/{{ .ControllerRuntimeEnvTestVersion }}/hack/setup-envtest.sh
-	source ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh; fetch_envtest_tools $(ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR); setup_envtest_env $(ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+test: generate fmt vet manifests tooling 
+	$(TOOLING); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+
+# get the kubebuilder tooling
+tooling:
+ifeq (, $(shell which tooling))
+	@{ \
+	set -e ;\
+	TOOLING_TMP_DIR=$$(mktemp -d) ;\
+	cd $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	go mod init tmp ;\
+	go get sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/tooling ;\
+	rm -rf $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	}
+TOOLING=$(GOBIN)/tooling
+else
+TOOLING=$(shell which tooling)
+endif
 
 # Build manager binary
 manager: generate fmt vet
diff --git a/testdata/project-v2-addon/Makefile b/testdata/project-v2-addon/Makefile
index f6362e191e3..2f1bbbe8a07 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v2-addon/Makefile
+++ b/testdata/project-v2-addon/Makefile
@@ -14,8 +14,24 @@ endif
 all: manager
 
 # Run tests
-test: generate fmt vet manifests
-	go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+test: generate fmt vet manifests tooling 
+	$(TOOLING); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+
+# get the kubebuilder tooling
+tooling:
+ifeq (, $(shell which tooling))
+	@{ \
+	set -e ;\
+	TOOLING_TMP_DIR=$$(mktemp -d) ;\
+	cd $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	go mod init tmp ;\
+	go get sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/tooling ;\
+	rm -rf $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	}
+TOOLING=$(GOBIN)/tooling
+else
+TOOLING=$(shell which tooling)
+endif
 
 # Build manager binary
 manager: generate fmt vet
diff --git a/testdata/project-v2-addon/controllers/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v2-addon/controllers/suite_test.go
index 7a1e21d2a31..c4ee5403b91 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v2-addon/controllers/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v2-addon/controllers/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -85,3 +89,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/Makefile b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/Makefile
index f6362e191e3..2f1bbbe8a07 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/Makefile
+++ b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/Makefile
@@ -14,8 +14,24 @@ endif
 all: manager
 
 # Run tests
-test: generate fmt vet manifests
-	go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+test: generate fmt vet manifests tooling 
+	$(TOOLING); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+
+# get the kubebuilder tooling
+tooling:
+ifeq (, $(shell which tooling))
+	@{ \
+	set -e ;\
+	TOOLING_TMP_DIR=$$(mktemp -d) ;\
+	cd $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	go mod init tmp ;\
+	go get sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/tooling ;\
+	rm -rf $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	}
+TOOLING=$(GOBIN)/tooling
+else
+TOOLING=$(shell which tooling)
+endif
 
 # Build manager binary
 manager: generate fmt vet
diff --git a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/crew/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/crew/suite_test.go
index a60ba01768e..65a6b7d6af0 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/crew/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/crew/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -79,3 +83,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/foo.policy/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/foo.policy/suite_test.go
index aae53ef9e43..4f6c44b01ce 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/foo.policy/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/foo.policy/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -79,3 +83,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/sea-creatures/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/sea-creatures/suite_test.go
index 333399337c4..78cc8c56e0b 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/sea-creatures/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/sea-creatures/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -58,6 +59,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -83,3 +87,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/ship/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/ship/suite_test.go
index bff73c3d2c0..1c8344af4ca 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/ship/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v2-multigroup/controllers/ship/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -59,6 +60,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -87,3 +91,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v2/Makefile b/testdata/project-v2/Makefile
index f6362e191e3..2f1bbbe8a07 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v2/Makefile
+++ b/testdata/project-v2/Makefile
@@ -14,8 +14,24 @@ endif
 all: manager
 
 # Run tests
-test: generate fmt vet manifests
-	go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+test: generate fmt vet manifests tooling 
+	$(TOOLING); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+
+# get the kubebuilder tooling
+tooling:
+ifeq (, $(shell which tooling))
+	@{ \
+	set -e ;\
+	TOOLING_TMP_DIR=$$(mktemp -d) ;\
+	cd $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	go mod init tmp ;\
+	go get sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/tooling ;\
+	rm -rf $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	}
+TOOLING=$(GOBIN)/tooling
+else
+TOOLING=$(shell which tooling)
+endif
 
 # Build manager binary
 manager: generate fmt vet
diff --git a/testdata/project-v2/controllers/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v2/controllers/suite_test.go
index 3567d134501..6ab833e3bdc 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v2/controllers/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v2/controllers/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -85,3 +89,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3-addon/Makefile b/testdata/project-v3-addon/Makefile
index 52f5e92d39f..66d02fdc552 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3-addon/Makefile
+++ b/testdata/project-v3-addon/Makefile
@@ -14,11 +14,24 @@ endif
 all: manager
 
 # Run tests
-ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR=$(shell pwd)/testbin
-test: generate fmt vet manifests
-	mkdir -p ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}
-	test -f ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh || curl -sSLo ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/controller-runtime/master/hack/setup-envtest.sh
-	source ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh; fetch_envtest_tools $(ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR); setup_envtest_env $(ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+test: generate fmt vet manifests tooling 
+	$(TOOLING); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+
+# get the kubebuilder tooling
+tooling:
+ifeq (, $(shell which tooling))
+	@{ \
+	set -e ;\
+	TOOLING_TMP_DIR=$$(mktemp -d) ;\
+	cd $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	go mod init tmp ;\
+	go get sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/tooling ;\
+	rm -rf $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	}
+TOOLING=$(GOBIN)/tooling
+else
+TOOLING=$(shell which tooling)
+endif
 
 # Build manager binary
 manager: generate fmt vet
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3-addon/controllers/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v3-addon/controllers/suite_test.go
index 3c600ebd2d6..a3973cad4cf 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3-addon/controllers/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v3-addon/controllers/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -85,3 +89,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/Makefile b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/Makefile
index 52f5e92d39f..66d02fdc552 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/Makefile
+++ b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/Makefile
@@ -14,11 +14,24 @@ endif
 all: manager
 
 # Run tests
-ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR=$(shell pwd)/testbin
-test: generate fmt vet manifests
-	mkdir -p ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}
-	test -f ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh || curl -sSLo ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/controller-runtime/master/hack/setup-envtest.sh
-	source ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh; fetch_envtest_tools $(ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR); setup_envtest_env $(ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+test: generate fmt vet manifests tooling 
+	$(TOOLING); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+
+# get the kubebuilder tooling
+tooling:
+ifeq (, $(shell which tooling))
+	@{ \
+	set -e ;\
+	TOOLING_TMP_DIR=$$(mktemp -d) ;\
+	cd $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	go mod init tmp ;\
+	go get sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/tooling ;\
+	rm -rf $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	}
+TOOLING=$(GOBIN)/tooling
+else
+TOOLING=$(shell which tooling)
+endif
 
 # Build manager binary
 manager: generate fmt vet
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/crew/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/crew/suite_test.go
index 873c85527a5..394c2e3e26f 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/crew/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/crew/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -79,3 +83,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/foo.policy/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/foo.policy/suite_test.go
index 0cff9b12f95..0fa741c12fd 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/foo.policy/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/foo.policy/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -79,3 +83,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/sea-creatures/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/sea-creatures/suite_test.go
index 96cbdd6fe37..fc332a60b30 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/sea-creatures/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/sea-creatures/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -58,6 +59,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -83,3 +87,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/ship/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/ship/suite_test.go
index 14c42187090..139bd4feb97 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/ship/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/ship/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -59,6 +60,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -87,3 +91,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/suite_test.go
index 2268aac80a6..149131d2057 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v3-multigroup/controllers/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -79,3 +83,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3/Makefile b/testdata/project-v3/Makefile
index 52f5e92d39f..66d02fdc552 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3/Makefile
+++ b/testdata/project-v3/Makefile
@@ -14,11 +14,24 @@ endif
 all: manager
 
 # Run tests
-ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR=$(shell pwd)/testbin
-test: generate fmt vet manifests
-	mkdir -p ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}
-	test -f ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh || curl -sSLo ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/controller-runtime/master/hack/setup-envtest.sh
-	source ${ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR}/setup-envtest.sh; fetch_envtest_tools $(ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR); setup_envtest_env $(ENVTEST_ASSETS_DIR); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+test: generate fmt vet manifests tooling 
+	$(TOOLING); go test ./... -coverprofile cover.out
+
+# get the kubebuilder tooling
+tooling:
+ifeq (, $(shell which tooling))
+	@{ \
+	set -e ;\
+	TOOLING_TMP_DIR=$$(mktemp -d) ;\
+	cd $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	go mod init tmp ;\
+	go get sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/tooling ;\
+	rm -rf $$TOOLING_TMP_DIR ;\
+	}
+TOOLING=$(GOBIN)/tooling
+else
+TOOLING=$(shell which tooling)
+endif
 
 # Build manager binary
 manager: generate fmt vet
diff --git a/testdata/project-v3/controllers/suite_test.go b/testdata/project-v3/controllers/suite_test.go
index 0e1020cb400..b47091d7db5 100644
--- a/testdata/project-v3/controllers/suite_test.go
+++ b/testdata/project-v3/controllers/suite_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 package controllers
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -57,6 +58,9 @@ var _ = BeforeSuite(func(done Done) {
 		CRDDirectoryPaths: []string{filepath.Join("..", "config", "crd", "bases")},
 	}
 
+	By("configuring env test binaries")
+	configEnvTestBinaries()
+
 	var err error
 	cfg, err = testEnv.Start()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
@@ -85,3 +89,30 @@ var _ = AfterSuite(func() {
 	err := testEnv.Stop()
 	Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
 })
+
+// configEnvTestBinaries will check if the required binaries are in the bin directory
+// of the project and configure to use them.
+func configEnvTestBinaries() {
+	binPath := filepath.Join("..", "bin")
+	if hasEnvTestBinaries(binPath) {
+		os.Setenv("KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS", binPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// hasEnvTestBinaries will return true when the kubebuilder tools binaries are found
+// in the path informed
+func hasEnvTestBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/tooling/go.mod b/tooling/go.mod
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..647e55eabd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tooling/go.mod
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+module sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/tooling
+
+go 1.13
+
+require (
+	github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.7.0
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20201008064518-c1f3e3309c71 // indirect
+)
diff --git a/tooling/go.sum b/tooling/go.sum
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..844153dc09c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tooling/go.sum
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
+github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
+github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
+github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
+github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.7.0 h1:ShrD1U9pZB12TX0cVy0DtePoCH97K8EtX+mg7ZARUtM=
+github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.7.0/go.mod h1:yWOB1SBYBC5VeMP7gHvWumXLIWorT60ONWic61uBYv0=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.2.2 h1:bSDNvY7ZPG5RlJ8otE/7V6gMiyenm9RtJ7IUVIAoJ1w=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.2.2/go.mod h1:a8OnRcib4nhh0OaRAV+Yts87kKdq0PP7pXfy6kDkUVs=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20191026070338-33540a1f6037 h1:YyJpGZS1sBuBCzLAR1VEpK193GlqGZbnPFnPV/5Rsb4=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20191026070338-33540a1f6037/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20201008064518-c1f3e3309c71 h1:ZPX6UakxrJCxWiyGWpXtFY+fp86Esy7xJT/jJCG8bgU=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20201008064518-c1f3e3309c71/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
diff --git a/tooling/main.go b/tooling/main.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f6b68126703
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tooling/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2020 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+)
+
+// defaultKubebuilderPath is the fixed value defined in the controller-runtime to looking for the
+// binaries.
+const defaultKubebuilderPath = "/usr/local/kubebuilder/bin"
+
+func main() {
+	log.Infof("Checking EnvTest binaries")
+
+	if hasBinaries(defaultKubebuilderPath) {
+		log.Infof("EnvTest binaries found in : ", defaultKubebuilderPath)
+		os.Exit(0)
+	}
+
+	currentPath, err := os.Getwd()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Error(err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
+	binPath := filepath.Join(currentPath, "bin")
+
+	if hasBinaries(binPath) {
+		log.Info("EnvTest binaries found in bin/")
+		os.Exit(0)
+	}
+
+	log.Infof("Setting up EnvTest")
+	log.Infof("Downloading EnvTest tools")
+
+	envtest_tools_archive_name := getEnvToolsArchiveName()
+	envtest_tools_download_url := "https://storage.googleapis.com/kubebuilder-tools/" + envtest_tools_archive_name
+
+	cmd := exec.Command("curl", "-sL", envtest_tools_download_url, "-o", envtest_tools_archive_name)
+	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		log.Error(err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
+	if _, err := os.Stat(binPath); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		log.Infof("Creating bin/ directory")
+		err = os.Mkdir(binPath, 0755)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Errorf("error to create the bin/ directory :", err)
+			os.Exit(1)
+		}
+	}
+
+	cmd = exec.Command("tar", "-C", binPath, "--strip-components=2", "-zvxf", envtest_tools_archive_name)
+	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		log.Error(err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
+	cmd = exec.Command("rm", "-rf", filepath.Join(currentPath,envtest_tools_archive_name))
+	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		log.Error(err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+}
+
+// getEnvToolsArchiveName will return the name of the env tools archive based or the arch and so
+func getEnvToolsArchiveName() string {
+	cmd := exec.Command("go", "env", "GOARCH")
+	goarch, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Error(err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
+	cmd = exec.Command("go", "env", "GOOS")
+	goos, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Error(err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
+	return fmt.Sprintf("kubebuilder-tools-%s-%s-%s.tar.gz", "1.16.4", strings.TrimSpace(string(goos)), strings.TrimSpace(string(goarch)))
+}
+
+
+// hasBinaries will return true when the testbin exist and has the binaries
+func hasBinaries(path string) bool {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(path); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "etcd")); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kube-apiserver")); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(path, "kubectl")); os.IsNotExist(err)  {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
+