diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9c6e3e7d0..a1324948a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 * `selectize`, `remove_button`, and `options` parameters of `ui.input_select()` have been deprecated; use `ui.input_selectize()` instead. (Thanks, @ErdaradunGaztea!) (#1947)
 
+* Added `timeout_secs` parameter to `create_app_fixture` to allow testing apps with longer startup times. (#2033)
+
 ### Bug fixes
 
 * Fixed an issue with `ui.Chat()` sometimes wanting to scroll a parent element. (#1996)
diff --git a/shiny/pytest/_fixture.py b/shiny/pytest/_fixture.py
index 385733dd7..61dfe050b 100644
--- a/shiny/pytest/_fixture.py
+++ b/shiny/pytest/_fixture.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 def create_app_fixture(
     app: PurePath | str | list[PurePath | str],
     scope: ScopeName = "module",
+    timeout_secs: float = 30,
 ):
     """
     Create a fixture for a local Shiny app directory.
@@ -70,6 +71,8 @@ def create_app_fixture(
         will be created once per module. See [Pytest fixture
         scopes](https://docs.pytest.org/en/stable/how-to/fixtures.html#fixture-scopes)
         for more details.
+    timeout_secs
+        The maximum number of seconds to wait for the app to become ready.
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -133,7 +136,7 @@ def get_app_path(request: pytest.FixtureRequest, app: PurePath | str):
         @pytest.fixture(scope=scope, params=app)
         def fixture_func(request: pytest.FixtureRequest):
             app_path = get_app_path(request, request.param)
-            sa_gen = shiny_app_gen(app_path)
+            sa_gen = shiny_app_gen(app_path, timeout_secs=timeout_secs)
             yield next(sa_gen)
 
     else:
@@ -142,7 +145,7 @@ def fixture_func(request: pytest.FixtureRequest):
         @pytest.fixture(scope=scope)
         def fixture_func(request: pytest.FixtureRequest):
             app_path = get_app_path(request, app)
-            sa_gen = shiny_app_gen(app_path)
+            sa_gen = shiny_app_gen(app_path, timeout_secs=timeout_secs)
             yield next(sa_gen)
 
     return fixture_func