diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/nbconvert/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/nbconvert/default.nix
index f3af2aa7a37..582a6132c25 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/nbconvert/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/nbconvert/default.nix
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
 { lib
 , buildPythonPackage
 , fetchPypi
-, pytest
-, nose
+, pytestCheckHook
 , glibcLocales
 , entrypoints
 , bleach
 , mistune
+, nbclient
 , jinja2
 , pygments
 , traitlets
 , testpath
 , jupyter_core
+, jupyterlab-pygments
 , nbformat
 , ipykernel
 , pandocfilters
@@ -29,21 +30,39 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     sha256 = "cbbc13a86dfbd4d1b5dee106539de0795b4db156c894c2c5dc382062bbc29002";
   };
 
-  checkInputs = [ nose pytest glibcLocales ];
+  checkInputs = [ pytestCheckHook glibcLocales ];
 
   propagatedBuildInputs = [
     entrypoints bleach mistune jinja2 pygments traitlets testpath
     jupyter_core nbformat ipykernel pandocfilters tornado jupyter_client
     defusedxml
+    (nbclient.override { doCheck = false; }) # avoid infinite recursion
+    jupyterlab-pygments
   ];
 
   # disable preprocessor tests for ipython 7
   # see issue https://github.com/jupyter/nbconvert/issues/898
-  checkPhase = ''
+  preCheck = ''
     export LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8
-    HOME=$(mktemp -d) py.test -v --ignore="nbconvert/preprocessors/tests/test_execute.py"
+    HOME=$(mktemp -d)
   '';
 
+  pytestFlagsArray = [
+    "--ignore=nbconvert/preprocessors/tests/test_execute.py"
+    # can't resolve template paths within sandbox
+    "--ignore=nbconvert/tests/base.py"
+    "--ignore=nbconvert/tests/test_nbconvertapp.py"
+  ];
+
+
+  disabledTests = [
+    "test_export"
+    "test_webpdf_without_chromium"
+    #"test_cell_tag_output"
+    #"test_convert_from_stdin"
+    #"test_convert_full_qualified_name"
+  ];
+
   # Some of the tests use localhost networking.
   __darwinAllowLocalNetworking = true;