diff --git a/updated conftest b/updated conftest
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+# Pytest fixtures / env helpers for project (dataset path, quick sample loader)
+import os
+import pytest
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+DEFAULT_DATA_ROOT = os.environ.get("MALARIA_DATA_ROOT", "data/cell_images")
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+def data_root():
+    """Return the dataset root path used by tests and quick scripts."""
+    root = Path(DEFAULT_DATA_ROOT)
+    if not root.exists():
+        pytest.skip(f"Dataset root '{root}' does not exist. Set MALARIA_DATA_ROOT or create the folder.")
+    return root
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+def sample_image_path(data_root):
+    """Return a single sample image path for smoke tests."""
+    parasitized = list((data_root / "Parasitized").glob("*"))
+    uninfected = list((data_root / "Uninfected").glob("*"))
+    sample = (parasitized + uninfected)
+    if not sample:
+        pytest.skip("No images found in dataset folders.")
+    return sample[0]
+
+def pytest_addoption(parser):
+    parser.addoption("--data-root", action="store", default=DEFAULT_DATA_ROOT,
+                     help="Path to malaria dataset root containing Parasitized/ and