diff --git a/R/atlas_media.R b/R/atlas_media.R
index 12bedbb7..9380e494 100644
--- a/R/atlas_media.R
+++ b/R/atlas_media.R
@@ -107,12 +107,15 @@ build_media_id <- function(df, media_fields){
   }else{
     purrr::map(media_fields, .f = \(a){
      df |>
-        tidyr::unnest_longer(col = a) |>
+       tidyr::unnest_longer(col = tidyselect::any_of(a)) |>
        dplyr::mutate(media_id = as.character(.data[[a]]),
                      media_type = as.character(a),
                     .before = 1) |>
        dplyr::filter(!is.na(.data$media_id)) |>
        dplyr::select(- tidyselect::any_of(media_fields))
+        # break pipe at this point because tidyselect can't handle -any_of()
+       # keep_cols <- colnames(result)[!(colnames(result) %in% media_fields)]
+       # dplyr::select(result, tidyselect::any_of(keep_cols))
     }) |>
     dplyr::bind_rows()
   }
diff --git a/R/capture_species.R b/R/capture_species.R
index ec43e6ab..e323bcce 100644
--- a/R/capture_species.R
+++ b/R/capture_species.R
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ capture_species_atlas <- function(.query){
       if(!is.null(.query$group_by)){
         .query$distinct$name <- .query$group_by$name
       }else{
-        cli::cli_error("No variable supplied to `distinct()`")
+        cli::cli_abort("No variable supplied to `distinct()`")
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/R/check.R b/R/check.R
index 97487eda..ff39b7d1 100644
--- a/R/check.R
+++ b/R/check.R
@@ -277,8 +277,8 @@ check_fields_gbif_counts <- function(.query){
   # First get filters
   # set fields that can be queried using predicates or downloaded
   valid_download_fields <- .query[["metadata/fields"]] |>
-    filter(download_field == TRUE) |>
-    dplyr::pull(id)
+    dplyr::filter(.data$download_field == TRUE) |>
+    dplyr::pull("id")
   valid_assertions <- .query[["metadata/assertions"]]$id
   valid_any <- c(valid_download_fields, valid_assertions)
 
@@ -302,13 +302,12 @@ check_fields_gbif_counts <- function(.query){
     facets <- .query$body$group_by$name
     # check for invalid facets
     valid_search_fields <- .query[["metadata/fields"]] |>
-      filter(search_field == TRUE) |>
+      dplyr::filter(.data$search_field == TRUE) |>
       dplyr::pull(id)
      if (!all(facets %in% valid_search_fields)) {
        invalid_facets <- facets[!(facets %in% valid_search_fields)]
        group_by_invalid <- glue::glue_collapse(invalid_facets, sep = ", ")
      }
-    # }
   }
   
   c(filter_invalid, group_by_invalid)
diff --git a/R/collect_distributions.R b/R/collect_distributions.R
index 202c1485..c23f4a65 100644
--- a/R/collect_distributions.R
+++ b/R/collect_distributions.R
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ collect_distributions <- function(.query){
   result <- query_API(.query)
   # NOTE: below is consistent with `collect_distributions_metadata()` (+ geometry)
   result <- result |>
-    bind_rows() |>
-    select("gid", 
+    dplyr::bind_rows() |>
+    dplyr::select("gid", 
            "family", 
            "genus_name", 
            "scientific", 
@@ -16,14 +16,14 @@ collect_distributions <- function(.query){
            "area_km",
            "data_resource_uid",
            "geometry") |>
-    rename(
+    dplyr::rename(
       "id" = "gid", # this is chosen as ID because it is called by later APIs
       "genus" = "genus_name",
       "species" = "scientific",
       "taxon_concept_id" = "lsid",
       "label" = "area_name",
       "common_name" = "common_nam")  |>
-    mutate("common_name" = trimws(.data$common_name))
+    dplyr::mutate("common_name" = trimws(.data$common_name))
   result$geometry <- sf::st_as_sfc(result$geometry, crs=4326)
   return(sf::st_as_sf(result))
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/R/collect_metadata.R b/R/collect_metadata.R
index bba5c9e1..583ca0bb 100644
--- a/R/collect_metadata.R
+++ b/R/collect_metadata.R
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ tidy_list_columns <- function(x){
     list_names <- names(x)[list_check]
     list_tibbles <- purrr::map(list_names,
                               \(a){
-                                tibble::tibble({{a}} := list(x[[a]]))
+                                tibble::tibble({{a}} == list(x[[a]]))
                               })
   }else{
     list_tibbles <- NULL
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ tidy_list_columns <- function(x){
     make_nulls_safe() |>
     tibble::as_tibble() |>
     dplyr::bind_cols(list_tibbles) |>
-    dplyr::select(!!!names(x)) # reorder columns to same as `x`
+    dplyr::select(tidyselect::any_of(names(x))) # reorder columns to same as `x`
 }
 
 #' Internal function to ensure rows can be converted to tibble
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ collect_fields <- function(.query){
     
     if(is_gbif()){
       # we need to join some local metadata to GBIF info
-      df <- galah:::gbif_internal_archived$search_fields |>
+      df <- gbif_internal_archived$search_fields |>
         dplyr::mutate(search_field = TRUE)
 
       # organise information from the API
diff --git a/R/collect_metadata_unnest.R b/R/collect_metadata_unnest.R
index 39c77a57..db9b7e56 100644
--- a/R/collect_metadata_unnest.R
+++ b/R/collect_metadata_unnest.R
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ collect_fields_unnest <- function(.query,
       purrr::pluck(!!!list("facets", 1, "counts")) |>
       dplyr::bind_rows() |>
       dplyr::rename_with(camel_to_snake_case) |>
-      dplyr::rename({{facet}} := "name") |>
+      dplyr::rename({{facet}} == "name") |>
       parse_select(.query)
     
   }else{ 
@@ -33,10 +33,10 @@ collect_fields_unnest <- function(.query,
     if(nrow(result) > 0){
       result |>
         dplyr::mutate(
-          field_name := stringr::str_extract(result$i18nCode, "(?<=\\.).*"),
+          field_name == stringr::str_extract(result$i18nCode, "(?<=\\.).*"),
           .before = 1) |>
         dplyr::rename_with(camel_to_snake_case) |>
-        dplyr::rename({{facet}} := "field_name") |>
+        dplyr::rename({{facet}} == "field_name") |>
         parse_select(.query)
     }else{ # i.e. catch empty results
       result
@@ -72,7 +72,6 @@ collect_lists_unnest <- function(.query){
 
   # extract additional raw fields columns
   clean_kvp_values <- function(df){
-    browser()
     if(any(colnames(df) == "kvpValues")){
       if(any(lengths(df$kvpValues) > 0)){
         df <- df |>
diff --git a/R/collect_taxa.R b/R/collect_taxa.R
index 8daeec81..2d4337d3 100644
--- a/R/collect_taxa.R
+++ b/R/collect_taxa.R
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ collect_identifiers <- function(.query){
     # we avoid `is_gbif()` here because other atlases use GBIF APIs
     result$success <- TRUE
     result <- result |>
-      dplyr::relocate(success, .before = 1) |>
+      dplyr::relocate("success", .before = 1) |>
       parse_rename(.query)
   }
   
diff --git a/R/compound.R b/R/compound.R
index dd527b1a..83eb9ced 100644
--- a/R/compound.R
+++ b/R/compound.R
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ compound.prequery <- function(x, mint_doi = FALSE, ...){
   if(stringr::str_detect(x$type, "^metadata")){
     build_query_set_metadata(x)
   }else if(stringr::str_detect(x$type, "^files")){
-    list(as_query_media_files(x, ...)) |>
+    list(capture_media_files(x, ...)) |>
       as_query_set()
   }else if(x$type == "data/distribtions"){
     build_query_set_distributions(x)
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ build_query_set_distributions <- function(x, ...){
   }else{
     if(!is.null(x$identify)){
       result <- list(
-        collapse_taxa(list(identify = x$identify)) # wrong syntax?
+        capture_taxa(list(identify = x$identify)) # wrong syntax?
       )
       result[[2]] <- capture_distributions_data(x) # NOTE: shouldn't call microfunctions directly
     }else{
diff --git a/R/dplyr-glimpse.R b/R/dplyr-glimpse.R
index 0a1c8ded..7a5cd8a8 100644
--- a/R/dplyr-glimpse.R
+++ b/R/dplyr-glimpse.R
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
 #' frame. It's a little like [str()] applied to a data frame but it tries to 
 #' show you as much data as possible. This implementation is specific 
 #' to `galah` and is evaluated lazily. `r lifecycle::badge("experimental")`
-#' 
+#' @param x An object of class `data_request`
+#' @param ... Other arguments, currently ignored
 #' @details
 #' This implementation of [glimpse()] actually involves changing the API call
 #' sent to the server, then returning a novel object class with it's own 
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ glimpse.data_request <- function(x, ...){
 #' @rdname glimpse.data_request
 #' @export
 print.occurrences_glimpse <- function(x, ...){
-  y <- capture.output(dplyr::glimpse(x))
+  y <- utils::capture.output(dplyr::glimpse(x))
   n_text <- attr(x, 'total_n') |>
     formatC(big.mark = ",")
   y[[1]] <- glue::glue("Rows: {n_text}")
diff --git a/R/filter_object_classes.R b/R/filter_object_classes.R
index 0d182978..97d23932 100644
--- a/R/filter_object_classes.R
+++ b/R/filter_object_classes.R
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 #' 
 #' In galah, there are several ways to provide filter information. To ensure
 #' these are handled and printed correctly, they are assigned classes
-#' @param x a list
-#' @rdname filter_object_classes
+#' @param x a list, or object of supported class
+#' @name filter_object_classes
 #' @order 1
 #' @export
 as_data_filter <- function(x){
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ as_files_filter <- function(x){
 # Print functions for the above
 
 #' @rdname filter_object_classes
+#' @param ... Additional arguments, currently ignored
 #' @order 5
 #' @export
 print.data_filter <- function(x, ...){
diff --git a/R/galah_bbox.R b/R/galah_bbox.R
index e3ff76e0..af6f954a 100644
--- a/R/galah_bbox.R
+++ b/R/galah_bbox.R
@@ -87,10 +87,10 @@ galah_bbox <- function(...) {
     } else {
       if (inherits(query, c("sf", "sfc"))) {
         query <- query |> 
-          sf::st_bbox(crs = st_crs("WGS84"))
+          sf::st_bbox(crs = sf::st_crs("WGS84"))
         bbox_coords <- round(query, 5)
         query <- query |> 
-          sf::st_as_sfc(crs = st_crs("WGS84")) # FIXME: should we define the projection?
+          sf::st_as_sfc(crs = sf::st_crs("WGS84")) # FIXME: should we define the projection?
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/R/galah_polygon.R b/R/galah_polygon.R
index 3e9ebc3f..fb2d8f9d 100644
--- a/R/galah_polygon.R
+++ b/R/galah_polygon.R
@@ -120,8 +120,8 @@ parse_polygon <- function(query,
   } else {
     
     # remove space after "POLYGON" if present
-    if(str_detect(query, "POLYGON \\(\\("))
-      query <- string::str_replace(query, "POLYGON \\(\\(", "POLYGON\\(\\(")
+    if(stringr::str_detect(query, "POLYGON \\(\\("))
+      query <- stringr::str_replace(query, "POLYGON \\(\\(", "POLYGON\\(\\(")
     
     if (stringr::str_detect(query, "POLYGON") &
         !stringr::str_detect(query, "MULTIPOLYGON")) {
diff --git a/R/handle_quosures.R b/R/handle_quosures.R
index db1b924e..2d568051 100644
--- a/R/handle_quosures.R
+++ b/R/handle_quosures.R
@@ -468,7 +468,7 @@ parse_in <- function(x, excl){
 #' @noRd
 #' @keywords internal
 parse_c <- function(x, excl){ 
-  if(length(quo_get_expr(x)) < 2L){
+  if(length(rlang::quo_get_expr(x)) < 2L){
     filter_error()
   }
   # convert to logical format using OR statements
diff --git a/R/print.R b/R/print.R
index cb1db2e8..38306524 100644
--- a/R/print.R
+++ b/R/print.R
@@ -182,10 +182,10 @@ print.prequery <- print.query
 print.computed_query <- function(x, ...){
   # calculate arrange/slice info
   if(!is.null(x$arrange)){
-    arrange <- galah_pale_green(glue("\n
+    arrange <- galah_pale_green(glue::glue("\n
                               arrange: {x$arrange$variable} ({x$arrange$direction})"))
     if(x$arrange$slice_called == TRUE){
-      slice <- galah_pale_green(glue("\n
+      slice <- galah_pale_green(glue::glue("\n
                               slice: {x$arrange$slice_n}"))
     }else{
       slice <- NULL
diff --git a/R/search_all.R b/R/search_all.R
index d7b5b061..e1aa5240 100644
--- a/R/search_all.R
+++ b/R/search_all.R
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 #' @param all_fields `r lifecycle::badge("experimental")` If `TRUE`, 
 #'   `show_values()` also returns all columns available from the API, rather
 #'   than the 'default' columns traditionally provided via galah.
+#' @param One or more objects accepted by the taxonomic lookup services. See 
+#' [taxonomic_searches] for details
 #' @details There are six categories of information, each with their own 
 #' specific sub-functions to look-up each type of information. 
 #' The available types of information for `search_all()` are:
diff --git a/R/show_values.R b/R/show_values.R
index ec3201f7..cbbbcb70 100644
--- a/R/show_values.R
+++ b/R/show_values.R
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ show_values <- function(df,
   if(isTRUE(all_fields)){
     request_metadata() |>
       filter({{type}} == {{match_name}}) |>
-      select(everything()) |>
+      select(tidyselect::everything()) |>
       unnest() |>
       collect()
   }else{
diff --git a/R/utilities_internal.R b/R/utilities_internal.R
index f677162f..fd9f8ddb 100644
--- a/R/utilities_internal.R
+++ b/R/utilities_internal.R
@@ -483,8 +483,8 @@ reasons_supported <- function(){
   atlas <- potions::pour("atlas", "region")
   supported_atlases <- request_metadata(type = "apis") |>
     collect() |>
-    dplyr::filter(type == "metadata/reasons") |>
-    dplyr::pull(atlas)
+    dplyr::filter(.data$type == "metadata/reasons") |>
+    dplyr::pull("atlas")
   atlas %in% supported_atlases
 }
 
diff --git a/SPECIES_EXAMPLE.R b/SPECIES_EXAMPLE.R
deleted file mode 100644
index df3885ed..00000000
--- a/SPECIES_EXAMPLE.R
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-# tests of dplyr syntax for converting occurrences to useful species-level 
-# summaries within a single pipe.
-
-# load libraries
-library(galah)
-library(dplyr)
-
-# get example occurrence dataset
-galah_config(email = "martinjwestgate@gmail.com")
-testdata <- galah_call() |>
-  identify("perameles") |>
-  select(speciesID, group = "basic") |>
-  filter(year == 2020) |>
-  collect()
-
-# number of records
-testdata |> 
-  count()
-
-# number of records per species
-testdata |>
-  count(speciesID)
-
-# number of species (aka `atlas_counts(type = "species")`)
-testdata |>
-  summarize(count = n_distinct(speciesID))
-
-# one row per species (aka `atlas_species()`)
-testdata |>
-  distinct(speciesID, .keep_all = TRUE)
-# Noting that this requires care with `select()` to return sensible results
-
-# show only which species are present in the query (aka `show_values()`)
-testdata |>
-  distinct(speciesID, .keep_all = FALSE)
-
-# get species (and optionally, record) counts grouped by a second factor
-testdata |>
-  group_by(basisOfRecord) |>
-  summarize(n_records = n(),
-            n_spp = n_distinct(speciesID))
-
-# get one row per species, showing number of records
-testdata |>
-testdata |>
-  group_by(speciesID) |>
-  mutate(count = n()) |>
-  distinct(.keep_all = TRUE)
-
-
-# example species download for comparison purposes
-# noting syntax may change
-testspecies <- galah_call() |>
-  identify("perameles") |>
-  filter(year == 2020) |>
-  group_by(speciesID) |>
-  collect()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/man/filter_object_classes.Rd b/man/filter_object_classes.Rd
index d81a0a4a..548920de 100644
--- a/man/filter_object_classes.Rd
+++ b/man/filter_object_classes.Rd
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 % Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
 % Please edit documentation in R/filter_object_classes.R
-\name{as_data_filter}
+\name{filter_object_classes}
+\alias{filter_object_classes}
 \alias{as_data_filter}
 \alias{as_predicates_filter}
 \alias{as_metadata_filter}
@@ -28,7 +29,9 @@ as_files_filter(x)
 \method{print}{files_filter}(x, ...)
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{x}{a list}
+\item{x}{a list, or object of supported class}
+
+\item{...}{Additional arguments, currently ignored}
 }
 \description{
 In galah, there are several ways to provide filter information. To ensure
diff --git a/man/glimpse.data_request.Rd b/man/glimpse.data_request.Rd
index a58d8f1b..d83bb614 100644
--- a/man/glimpse.data_request.Rd
+++ b/man/glimpse.data_request.Rd
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@
 
 \method{print}{occurrences_glimpse}(x, ...)
 }
+\arguments{
+\item{x}{An object of class \code{data_request}}
+
+\item{...}{Other arguments, currently ignored}
+}
 \description{
 \code{\link[=glimpse]{glimpse()}} is like a transposed version of \code{\link[=print]{print()}}: columns run down the page,
 and data runs across. This makes it possible to see every column in a data
diff --git a/man/search_all.Rd b/man/search_all.Rd
index 8f491d77..d9b0c709 100644
--- a/man/search_all.Rd
+++ b/man/search_all.Rd
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ case-sensitive.}
 \item{all_fields}{\ifelse{html}{\href{https://lifecycle.r-lib.org/articles/stages.html#experimental}{\figure{lifecycle-experimental.svg}{options: alt='[Experimental]'}}}{\strong{[Experimental]}} If \code{TRUE},
 \code{show_values()} also returns all columns available from the API, rather
 than the 'default' columns traditionally provided via galah.}
+
+\item{One}{or more objects accepted by the taxonomic lookup services. See
+\link{taxonomic_searches} for details}
 }
 \value{
 An object of class \code{tbl_df} and \code{data.frame} (aka a tibble)
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-atlas_species.R b/tests/testthat/test-atlas_species.R
index 5f339b56..d06167ba 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-atlas_species.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-atlas_species.R
@@ -157,6 +157,8 @@ test_that("atlas_species reformats column names when empty tibble is returned",
 })
 
 test_that("`atlas_species()` accepts `distinct()` to set the grouping variable", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
+  
   genera <- galah_call() |>
     identify("Limnodynastidae") |>
     distinct(genusID) |>
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-authentication.R b/tests/testthat/test-authentication.R
index c2c8cc99..9729d5ab 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-authentication.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-authentication.R
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 quiet_config <- purrr::quietly(galah_config)
 
 test_that("`request_metadata()` works for type = `config`", {
-  skip_on_ci(); skip_on_cran()
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   result <- request_metadata(type = "config") |>
     collect()
   expect_equal(nrow(result), 1)
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ test_that("`request_metadata()` works for type = `config`", {
 })
 
 test_that("`request_metadata()` caches type `config` correctly", {
-  skip_on_ci(); skip_on_cran()
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   reset_cache()
   x <- request_metadata(type = "config") |>
     collect()
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-count.R b/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-count.R
index 9c035123..56e1fb7f 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-count.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-count.R
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ test_that("`count()` handles 'taxonConceptID' as a 'group by' variable", {
 })
 
 test_that("`count()` handles 'speciesID' as a 'group by' variable", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   # FIXME: Currently returns colname `speciesID.https://biodiversity.org`
   counts <- galah_call() |>
     filter(year == 1900,
@@ -306,6 +307,7 @@ test_that("`group_by()` works when > 1 `filter()`", {
 })
 
 test_that("`select()` works for count queries", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   x <- galah_call() |>
     filter(year == 2024,
            genus == "Crinia") |>
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-distinct.R b/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-distinct.R
index 7d1078f9..ed105765 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-distinct.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-distinct.R
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ test_that("`distinct(.keep_all = TRUE)` sets species queries", {
 })
 
 test_that("`distinct(.keep_all = TRUE)` accepts non-species-level groupings", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   genera <- galah_call() |>
     identify("Limnodynastidae") |>
     distinct(genusID, .keep_all = TRUE) |>
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-galah_polygon.R b/tests/testthat/test-galah_polygon.R
index b2e71b41..97506ae0 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-galah_polygon.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-galah_polygon.R
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ test_that("galah_polygon checks inputs", {
 })
 
 test_that("galah_polygon finds polygon errors 1" , {
-  skip_on_cran()
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   invalid_wkt <- "POLYGON((145.71622941565508 -32.17848852726597,))"
   expect_error(galah_polygon(invalid_wkt))
   # NOTE: 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-international-GBIF-predicates.R b/tests/testthat/test-international-GBIF-predicates.R
index f6610048..9091a638 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-international-GBIF-predicates.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-international-GBIF-predicates.R
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ test_that("`galah_filter()` returns predicates for GBIF", {
 })
 
 test_that("`filter()` handles a single entry for GBIF", {
-   skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   x <- galah_call() |>
     filter(year == 2024) |>
     count() |>
@@ -141,6 +141,8 @@ test_that("`filter()` handles `OR` and `%in%` for GBIF", {
 })
 
 test_that("`filter()` handles multiple queries including != for GBIF", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
+
   x <- galah_call() |>
     filter(year == 2024, country != "AU") |>  # FIXME: countryCode fails with cryptic warning
     count() |>
@@ -158,6 +160,8 @@ test_that("`filter()` handles multiple queries including != for GBIF", {
 })
 
 test_that("`filter()` handles `between()` for GBIF", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
+
   x <- galah_call() |>
     filter(dplyr::between(year, 2010, 2020)) |>
     group_by(year) |>
@@ -173,6 +177,7 @@ test_that("`filter()` handles `between()` for GBIF", {
 })
 
 test_that("filter() handles !() for GBIF", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
 
   # exclude some levels of basisOfRecord
   excluded_categories <- c("OCCURRENCE", "LIVING_SPECIMEN", "HUMAN_OBSERVATION")
@@ -198,6 +203,8 @@ test_that("filter() handles !() for GBIF", {
 })
 
 test_that("filter() handles `is.na()` for GBIF", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
+
   # missing values
   x <- galah_call() |>
     filter(is.na(country)) |>
@@ -224,6 +231,8 @@ test_that("filter() handles `is.na()` for GBIF", {
 })
 
 test_that("filter() handles c() for GBIF", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
+
   # effectively parses this as 'in' as per GBIF instructions
   country_vector <- c("AU", "US", "NL")
 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-request_metadata_select.R b/tests/testthat/test-request_metadata_select.R
index f0621800..8c7cd8de 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-request_metadata_select.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-request_metadata_select.R
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ test_that("`request_metadata()` works with `select()` for remote APIs *without*
 })
 
 test_that("`request_metadata()` works with `select()` for remote APIs *with* default columns", {
-  skip_if_offline()
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   type_list <- c("assertions",
                  "fields",
                  "licences",
@@ -174,6 +174,8 @@ test_that("`request_metadata()` works with `select()` for remote APIs *with* def
 })
 
 test_that("`request_metdata()` works with `select()` for `type = 'taxa'`", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
+
   query <- request_metadata() |>
     identify("Crinia") |>
     select(everything()) |>
@@ -197,6 +199,7 @@ test_that("`request_metdata()` works with `select()` for `type = 'taxa'`", {
 })
 
 test_that("`request_metdata()` works with `select()` for complex taxa", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   crinia_tibble <- tibble::tibble(kingdom = "Animalia",
                                   phylum = "Chordata",
                                   genus = "Crinia")
@@ -223,6 +226,7 @@ test_that("`request_metdata()` works with `select()` for complex taxa", {
 })
 
 test_that("`request_metdata()` works with `select()` for `type = 'identifiers'`", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   tcid <- search_taxa("Chordata") |>
     dplyr::pull("taxon_concept_id")
   query <- request_metadata() |>
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-show_all.R b/tests/testthat/test-show_all.R
index 76d27667..89684ce9 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-show_all.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-show_all.R
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ test_that("all `show_all()` functions return correctly with all syntax", {
 
 # lists queries are noisy, so run separately
 test_that("`show_all_lists()` functions work correctly", {
+  skip_if_offline(); skip_on_ci()
   quiet_lists <- function(...){
     list_fun <- purrr::quietly(show_all_lists)
     list_fun(...) |>