diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 18a36ed08b..8093007bbe 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ numpy
 matplotlib
 scipy
 Cython
-khmer>=2.1,<3
+git+https://github.com/dib-lab/khmer@feature/nodegraph_distance#egg=khmer
 sphinx
 alabaster
 recommonmark
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 6713a0443d..8bc7894f3d 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -11,5 +11,6 @@ deps=
     redis
 commands=
     pip install -e .[test]
+    pip install -r requirements.txt
     make coverage
     codecov --gcov-glob third-party