diff --git a/.github/workflows/python_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/python_tests.yml
index 314ccbb..55dfda0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/python_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/python_tests.yml
@@ -37,4 +37,4 @@ jobs:
       run: |
         pip install pytest
         cd scripts
-        python run_tests.py --unit
+        python run_tests.py --unit --num_cores auto
diff --git a/scripts/run_tests.py b/scripts/run_tests.py
index 14f0cae..748cd43 100755
--- a/scripts/run_tests.py
+++ b/scripts/run_tests.py
@@ -134,9 +134,7 @@ def run_unit_tests(
 
     # run tests using multiple cores?
     if parallel:
-        from multiprocessing import cpu_count
-
-        args.extend(["-n", str(cpu_count() // 2), "--durations=10"])
+        args.extend(["-n", str(os.cpu_count()), "--durations=10"])
 
     # run only a subset of the tests?
     if pattern is not None: