diff --git a/t/annotate-tests.sh b/t/annotate-tests.sh
index cc01d89150..f1b9a6ce4d 100644
--- a/t/annotate-tests.sh
+++ b/t/annotate-tests.sh
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ test_expect_success 'blame evil merge' '
 
 test_expect_success 'blame huge graft' '
 	test_when_finished "git checkout branch2" &&
-	test_when_finished "rm -f .git/info/grafts" &&
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf .git/info" &&
 	graft= &&
 	for i in 0 1 2
 	do
@@ -168,6 +168,7 @@ test_expect_success 'blame huge graft' '
 			graft="$graft$commit " || return 1
 		done
 	done &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	printf "%s " $graft >.git/info/grafts &&
 	check_count -h 00 01 1 10 1
 '
diff --git a/t/lib-submodule-update.sh b/t/lib-submodule-update.sh
index f7c7df0ca4..03e0abbdb8 100644
--- a/t/lib-submodule-update.sh
+++ b/t/lib-submodule-update.sh
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ prolog () {
 # should be updated to an existing commit.
 reset_work_tree_to () {
 	rm -rf submodule_update &&
-	git clone submodule_update_repo submodule_update &&
+	git clone --template= submodule_update_repo submodule_update &&
 	(
 		cd submodule_update &&
 		rm -rf sub1 &&
@@ -902,13 +902,14 @@ test_submodule_switch_recursing_with_args () {
 	'
 	# ... but an ignored file is fine.
 	test_expect_$RESULTOI "$command: added submodule removes an untracked ignored file" '
-		test_when_finished "rm submodule_update/.git/info/exclude" &&
+		test_when_finished "rm -rf submodule_update/.git/info" &&
 		prolog &&
 		reset_work_tree_to_interested no_submodule &&
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
 			git branch -t add_sub1 origin/add_sub1 &&
 			: >sub1 &&
+			mkdir .git/info &&
 			echo sub1 >.git/info/exclude &&
 			$command add_sub1 &&
 			test_superproject_content origin/add_sub1 &&
@@ -951,7 +952,9 @@ test_submodule_switch_recursing_with_args () {
 		reset_work_tree_to_interested add_sub1 &&
 		(
 			cd submodule_update &&
+			rm -rf .git/modules/sub1/info &&
 			git branch -t replace_sub1_with_file origin/replace_sub1_with_file &&
+			mkdir .git/modules/sub1/info &&
 			echo ignored >.git/modules/sub1/info/exclude &&
 			: >sub1/ignored &&
 			$command replace_sub1_with_file &&
diff --git a/t/t0003-attributes.sh b/t/t0003-attributes.sh
index 143f100517..f7ee2f2ff0 100755
--- a/t/t0003-attributes.sh
+++ b/t/t0003-attributes.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 test_description=gitattributes
 
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 attr_check_basic () {
@@ -284,7 +285,7 @@ test_expect_success 'using --git-dir and --work-tree' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'setup bare' '
-	git clone --bare . bare.git
+	git clone --template= --bare . bare.git
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'bare repository: check that .gitattribute is ignored' '
@@ -315,6 +316,7 @@ test_expect_success 'bare repository: check that --cached honors index' '
 test_expect_success 'bare repository: test info/attributes' '
 	(
 		cd bare.git &&
+		mkdir info &&
 		(
 			echo "f	test=f" &&
 			echo "a/i test=a/i"
@@ -360,6 +362,7 @@ test_expect_success SYMLINKS 'symlinks respected in core.attributesFile' '
 
 test_expect_success SYMLINKS 'symlinks respected in info/attributes' '
 	test_when_finished "rm .git/info/attributes" &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	ln -s ../../attr .git/info/attributes &&
 	attr_check file set
 '
diff --git a/t/t0008-ignores.sh b/t/t0008-ignores.sh
index 5575dade8e..c70d11bc91 100755
--- a/t/t0008-ignores.sh
+++ b/t/t0008-ignores.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 test_description=check-ignore
 
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 init_vars () {
@@ -225,7 +226,8 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 		!globaltwo
 		globalthree
 	EOF
-	cat <<-\EOF >>.git/info/exclude
+	mkdir .git/info &&
+	cat <<-\EOF >.git/info/exclude
 		per-repo
 	EOF
 '
@@ -543,9 +545,9 @@ test_expect_success_multi 'submodule from subdirectory' '' '
 
 test_expect_success 'global ignore not yet enabled' '
 	expect_from_stdin <<-\EOF &&
-		.git/info/exclude:7:per-repo	per-repo
+		.git/info/exclude:1:per-repo	per-repo
 		a/.gitignore:2:*three	a/globalthree
-		.git/info/exclude:7:per-repo	a/per-repo
+		.git/info/exclude:1:per-repo	a/per-repo
 	EOF
 	test_check_ignore "-v globalone per-repo a/globalthree a/per-repo not-ignored a/globaltwo"
 '
@@ -566,10 +568,10 @@ test_expect_success 'global ignore with -v' '
 	enable_global_excludes &&
 	expect_from_stdin <<-EOF &&
 		$global_excludes:1:globalone	globalone
-		.git/info/exclude:7:per-repo	per-repo
+		.git/info/exclude:1:per-repo	per-repo
 		$global_excludes:3:globalthree	globalthree
 		a/.gitignore:2:*three	a/globalthree
-		.git/info/exclude:7:per-repo	a/per-repo
+		.git/info/exclude:1:per-repo	a/per-repo
 		$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	globaltwo
 	EOF
 	test_check_ignore "-v globalone per-repo globalthree a/globalthree a/per-repo not-ignored globaltwo"
diff --git a/t/t0028-working-tree-encoding.sh b/t/t0028-working-tree-encoding.sh
index 416eeabdb9..c196fdb0ee 100755
--- a/t/t0028-working-tree-encoding.sh
+++ b/t/t0028-working-tree-encoding.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
 export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY/lib-encoding.sh"
 
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@ test_expect_success 'check $GIT_DIR/info/attributes support' '
 	test_when_finished "rm -f test.utf32.git" &&
 	test_when_finished "git reset --hard HEAD" &&
 
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo "*.utf32 text working-tree-encoding=utf-32" >.git/info/attributes &&
 	git add test.utf32 &&
 
diff --git a/t/t1011-read-tree-sparse-checkout.sh b/t/t1011-read-tree-sparse-checkout.sh
index 63a553d7b3..742f0fa909 100755
--- a/t/t1011-read-tree-sparse-checkout.sh
+++ b/t/t1011-read-tree-sparse-checkout.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ test_description='sparse checkout tests
   A	init.t
 '
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-read-tree.sh
 
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ test_expect_success 'read-tree without .git/info/sparse-checkout' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'read-tree with .git/info/sparse-checkout but disabled' '
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo >.git/info/sparse-checkout &&
 	read_tree_u_must_succeed -m -u HEAD &&
 	git ls-files -t >result &&
diff --git a/t/t1090-sparse-checkout-scope.sh b/t/t1090-sparse-checkout-scope.sh
index d1833c0f31..3a14218b24 100755
--- a/t/t1090-sparse-checkout-scope.sh
+++ b/t/t1090-sparse-checkout-scope.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ test_description='sparse checkout scope tests'
 GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
 export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 test_expect_success 'setup' '
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ test_expect_success 'create feature branch' '
 
 test_expect_success 'perform sparse checkout of main' '
 	git config --local --bool core.sparsecheckout true &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo "!/*" >.git/info/sparse-checkout &&
 	echo "/a" >>.git/info/sparse-checkout &&
 	echo "/c" >>.git/info/sparse-checkout &&
@@ -73,7 +75,7 @@ test_expect_success 'skip-worktree on files outside sparse patterns' '
 
 test_expect_success 'in partial clone, sparse checkout only fetches needed blobs' '
 	test_create_repo server &&
-	git clone "file://$(pwd)/server" client &&
+	git clone --template= "file://$(pwd)/server" client &&
 
 	test_config -C server uploadpack.allowfilter 1 &&
 	test_config -C server uploadpack.allowanysha1inwant 1 &&
@@ -85,6 +87,7 @@ test_expect_success 'in partial clone, sparse checkout only fetches needed blobs
 	git -C server commit -m message &&
 
 	test_config -C client core.sparsecheckout 1 &&
+	mkdir client/.git/info &&
 	echo "!/*" >client/.git/info/sparse-checkout &&
 	echo "/a" >>client/.git/info/sparse-checkout &&
 	git -C client fetch --filter=blob:none origin &&
diff --git a/t/t1301-shared-repo.sh b/t/t1301-shared-repo.sh
index 84bf1970d8..93a2f91f8a 100755
--- a/t/t1301-shared-repo.sh
+++ b/t/t1301-shared-repo.sh
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ done
 test_expect_success 'shared=all' '
 	mkdir sub &&
 	cd sub &&
-	git init --shared=all &&
+	git init --template= --shared=all &&
 	test 2 = $(git config core.sharedrepository)
 '
 
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM 'update-server-info honors core.sharedRepository'
 	git add a1 &&
 	test_tick &&
 	git commit -m a1 &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	umask 0277 &&
 	git update-server-info &&
 	actual="$(ls -l .git/info/refs)" &&
diff --git a/t/t2018-checkout-branch.sh b/t/t2018-checkout-branch.sh
index 52e51b0726..771c3c3c50 100755
--- a/t/t2018-checkout-branch.sh
+++ b/t/t2018-checkout-branch.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 test_description='checkout'
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 # Arguments: [!] <branch> <oid> [<checkout options>]
@@ -257,11 +258,12 @@ test_expect_success 'checkout -b to a new branch preserves mergeable changes des
 		git checkout branch1-scratch &&
 		test_might_fail git branch -D branch3 &&
 		git config core.sparseCheckout false &&
-		rm .git/info/sparse-checkout" &&
+		rm -rf .git/info" &&
 
 	test_commit file2 &&
 
 	echo stuff >>file1 &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo file2 >.git/info/sparse-checkout &&
 	git config core.sparseCheckout true &&
 
diff --git a/t/t2400-worktree-add.sh b/t/t2400-worktree-add.sh
index 2f564d533d..f3242fef6b 100755
--- a/t/t2400-worktree-add.sh
+++ b/t/t2400-worktree-add.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ test_description='test git worktree add'
 GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
 export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 . "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-rebase.sh
@@ -229,6 +230,7 @@ test_expect_success 'checkout with grafts' '
 	SHA1=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
 	test_commit def &&
 	test_commit xyz &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo "$(git rev-parse HEAD) $SHA1" >.git/info/grafts &&
 	cat >expected <<-\EOF &&
 	xyz
@@ -559,6 +561,8 @@ test_expect_success 'git worktree --no-guess-remote option overrides config' '
 '
 
 post_checkout_hook () {
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf .git/hooks" &&
+	mkdir .git/hooks &&
 	test_hook -C "$1" post-checkout <<-\EOF
 	{
 		echo $*
diff --git a/t/t3426-rebase-submodule.sh b/t/t3426-rebase-submodule.sh
index 0ad3a07bf4..7a9f1127a4 100755
--- a/t/t3426-rebase-submodule.sh
+++ b/t/t3426-rebase-submodule.sh
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ git_rebase_interactive () {
 	ls -1pR * >>actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual &&
 	set_fake_editor &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo "fake-editor.sh" >.git/info/exclude &&
 	may_only_be_test_must_fail "$2" &&
 	$2 git rebase -i "$1"
diff --git a/t/t3507-cherry-pick-conflict.sh b/t/t3507-cherry-pick-conflict.sh
index 979e843c65..f32799e046 100755
--- a/t/t3507-cherry-pick-conflict.sh
+++ b/t/t3507-cherry-pick-conflict.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ test_description='test cherry-pick and revert with conflicts
 GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
 export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 pristine_detach () {
@@ -558,6 +559,7 @@ test_expect_success 'cherry-pick preserves sparse-checkout' '
 		echo \"/*\" >.git/info/sparse-checkout
 		git read-tree --reset -u HEAD
 		rm .git/info/sparse-checkout" &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo /unrelated >.git/info/sparse-checkout &&
 	git read-tree --reset -u HEAD &&
 	test_must_fail git cherry-pick -Xours picked>actual &&
diff --git a/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh b/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh
index 1a68e89a55..eaa0b22ece 100755
--- a/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh
+++ b/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ commit id embedding:
 
 '
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 SUBSTFORMAT=%H%n
@@ -143,6 +144,7 @@ test_expect_success 'populate workdir' '
 test_expect_success \
     'add ignored file' \
     'echo ignore me >a/ignored &&
+     mkdir .git/info &&
      echo ignored export-ignore >.git/info/attributes'
 
 test_expect_success 'add files to repository' '
@@ -157,7 +159,8 @@ test_expect_success 'setup export-subst' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'create bare clone' '
-	git clone --bare . bare.git &&
+	git clone --template= --bare . bare.git &&
+	mkdir bare.git/info &&
 	cp .git/info/attributes bare.git/info/attributes
 '
 
diff --git a/t/t5001-archive-attr.sh b/t/t5001-archive-attr.sh
index 712ae52299..2f6eef5e37 100755
--- a/t/t5001-archive-attr.sh
+++ b/t/t5001-archive-attr.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 test_description='git archive attribute tests'
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 SUBSTFORMAT='%H (%h)%n'
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ extract_tar_to_dir () {
 
 test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	echo ignored >ignored &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo ignored export-ignore >>.git/info/attributes &&
 	git add ignored &&
 
@@ -46,7 +48,8 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 
 	git commit -m. &&
 
-	git clone --bare . bare &&
+	git clone --template= --bare . bare &&
+	mkdir bare/info &&
 	cp .git/info/attributes bare/info/attributes
 '
 
diff --git a/t/t5002-archive-attr-pattern.sh b/t/t5002-archive-attr-pattern.sh
index a66b5ba27e..78ab75f1bc 100755
--- a/t/t5002-archive-attr-pattern.sh
+++ b/t/t5002-archive-attr-pattern.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 test_description='git archive attribute pattern tests'
 
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 test_expect_exists() {
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ test_expect_missing() {
 
 test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	echo ignored >ignored &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo ignored export-ignore >>.git/info/attributes &&
 	git add ignored &&
 
@@ -54,7 +56,8 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 
 	git commit -m. &&
 
-	git clone --bare . bare &&
+	git clone --template= --bare . bare &&
+	mkdir bare/info &&
 	cp .git/info/attributes bare/info/attributes
 '
 
diff --git a/t/t5003-archive-zip.sh b/t/t5003-archive-zip.sh
index 3992d08158..fc499cdff0 100755
--- a/t/t5003-archive-zip.sh
+++ b/t/t5003-archive-zip.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 test_description='git archive --format=zip test'
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 SUBSTFORMAT=%H%n
@@ -121,6 +122,7 @@ test_expect_success 'prepare file list' '
 test_expect_success \
     'add ignored file' \
     'echo ignore me >a/ignored &&
+     mkdir .git/info &&
      echo ignored export-ignore >.git/info/attributes'
 
 test_expect_success 'add files to repository' '
@@ -139,7 +141,8 @@ test_expect_success 'setup export-subst and diff attributes' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'create bare clone' '
-	git clone --bare . bare.git &&
+	git clone --template= --bare . bare.git &&
+	mkdir bare.git/info &&
 	cp .git/info/attributes bare.git/info/attributes &&
 	# Recreate our changes to .git/config rather than just copying it, as
 	# we do not want to clobber core.bare or other settings.
diff --git a/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh b/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh
index fbf0d64578..be0b5641ff 100755
--- a/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh
+++ b/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh
@@ -361,13 +361,14 @@ test_expect_success 'replace-objects invalidates commit-graph' '
 test_expect_success 'commit grafts invalidate commit-graph' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY" &&
 	test_when_finished rm -rf graft &&
-	git clone full graft &&
+	git clone --template= full graft &&
 	(
 		cd graft &&
 		git commit-graph write --reachable &&
 		test_path_is_file .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
 		H1=$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD~1) &&
 		H3=$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD~3) &&
+		mkdir .git/info &&
 		echo "$H1 $H3" >.git/info/grafts &&
 		git -c core.commitGraph=false log >expect &&
 		git -c core.commitGraph=true log >actual &&
diff --git a/t/t5505-remote.sh b/t/t5505-remote.sh
index 0aad0eb4d2..6c7370f87f 100755
--- a/t/t5505-remote.sh
+++ b/t/t5505-remote.sh
@@ -1003,11 +1003,12 @@ test_expect_success 'migrate a remote from named file in $GIT_DIR/remotes' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'migrate a remote from named file in $GIT_DIR/branches' '
-	git clone one six &&
+	git clone --template= one six &&
 	origin_url=$(pwd)/one &&
 	(
 		cd six &&
 		git remote rm origin &&
+		mkdir .git/branches &&
 		echo "$origin_url#main" >.git/branches/origin &&
 		git remote rename origin origin &&
 		test_path_is_missing .git/branches/origin &&
@@ -1018,10 +1019,11 @@ test_expect_success 'migrate a remote from named file in $GIT_DIR/branches' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'migrate a remote from named file in $GIT_DIR/branches (2)' '
-	git clone one seven &&
+	git clone --template= one seven &&
 	(
 		cd seven &&
 		git remote rm origin &&
+		mkdir .git/branches &&
 		echo "quux#foom" > .git/branches/origin &&
 		git remote rename origin origin &&
 		test_path_is_missing .git/branches/origin &&
diff --git a/t/t5516-fetch-push.sh b/t/t5516-fetch-push.sh
index 9ca0f8c144..f3356f9ea8 100755
--- a/t/t5516-fetch-push.sh
+++ b/t/t5516-fetch-push.sh
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ This test checks the following functionality:
 GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
 export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 D=$(pwd)
@@ -26,7 +27,8 @@ mk_empty () {
 	repo_name="$1"
 	test_when_finished "rm -rf \"$repo_name\"" &&
 	test_path_is_missing "$repo_name" &&
-	git init "$repo_name" &&
+	git init --template= "$repo_name" &&
+	mkdir "$repo_name"/.git/hooks &&
 	git -C "$repo_name" config receive.denyCurrentBranch warn
 }
 
@@ -78,7 +80,7 @@ mk_test_with_hooks() {
 
 mk_child() {
 	test_when_finished "rm -rf \"$2\"" &&
-	git clone "$1" "$2"
+	git clone --template= "$1" "$2"
 }
 
 check_push_result () {
@@ -937,6 +939,7 @@ test_expect_success 'fetch with branches' '
 	mk_empty testrepo &&
 	git branch second $the_first_commit &&
 	git checkout second &&
+	mkdir testrepo/.git/branches &&
 	echo ".." > testrepo/.git/branches/branch1 &&
 	(
 		cd testrepo &&
@@ -950,6 +953,7 @@ test_expect_success 'fetch with branches' '
 
 test_expect_success 'fetch with branches containing #' '
 	mk_empty testrepo &&
+	mkdir testrepo/.git/branches &&
 	echo "..#second" > testrepo/.git/branches/branch2 &&
 	(
 		cd testrepo &&
@@ -964,7 +968,11 @@ test_expect_success 'fetch with branches containing #' '
 test_expect_success 'push with branches' '
 	mk_empty testrepo &&
 	git checkout second &&
+
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf .git/branches" &&
+	mkdir .git/branches &&
 	echo "testrepo" > .git/branches/branch1 &&
+
 	git push branch1 &&
 	(
 		cd testrepo &&
@@ -976,7 +984,11 @@ test_expect_success 'push with branches' '
 
 test_expect_success 'push with branches containing #' '
 	mk_empty testrepo &&
+
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf .git/branches" &&
+	mkdir .git/branches &&
 	echo "testrepo#branch3" > .git/branches/branch2 &&
+
 	git push branch2 &&
 	(
 		cd testrepo &&
diff --git a/t/t5550-http-fetch-dumb.sh b/t/t5550-http-fetch-dumb.sh
index f0d9cd584d..3ca621f33b 100755
--- a/t/t5550-http-fetch-dumb.sh
+++ b/t/t5550-http-fetch-dumb.sh
@@ -422,7 +422,8 @@ test_expect_success 'set up evil alternates scheme' '
 	sha1=$(git -C "$victim" rev-parse HEAD) &&
 
 	evil=$HTTPD_DOCUMENT_ROOT_PATH/evil.git &&
-	git init --bare "$evil" &&
+	git init --template= --bare "$evil" &&
+	mkdir "$evil/info" &&
 	# do this by hand to avoid object existence check
 	printf "%s\\t%s\\n" $sha1 refs/heads/main >"$evil/info/refs"
 '
diff --git a/t/t6001-rev-list-graft.sh b/t/t6001-rev-list-graft.sh
index 7294147334..16635ecc33 100755
--- a/t/t6001-rev-list-graft.sh
+++ b/t/t6001-rev-list-graft.sh
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ do
 	"
 
 	test_expect_success 'with grafts' "
+		mkdir -p .git/info &&
 		echo '$B0 $A2' >.git/info/grafts &&
 		check $type $B2 -- $B2 $B1 $B0 $A2 $A1 $A0
 	"
diff --git a/t/t6101-rev-parse-parents.sh b/t/t6101-rev-parse-parents.sh
index a3a41c7a3e..d20723d627 100755
--- a/t/t6101-rev-parse-parents.sh
+++ b/t/t6101-rev-parse-parents.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
 export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 
 TEST_PASSES_SANITIZE_LEAK=true
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 test_cmp_rev_output () {
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	git merge -m next --allow-unrelated-histories start2 &&
 	test_commit final &&
 
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	test_seq 40 |
 	while read i
 	do
diff --git a/t/t6435-merge-sparse.sh b/t/t6435-merge-sparse.sh
index 74562e1235..fde4aa3cd1 100755
--- a/t/t6435-merge-sparse.sh
+++ b/t/t6435-merge-sparse.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 test_description='merge with sparse files'
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 # test_file $filename $content
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	git rm modify_delete &&
 	test_commit_this ours &&
 	git config core.sparseCheckout true &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	echo "/checked-out" >.git/info/sparse-checkout &&
 	git reset --hard &&
 	test_must_fail git merge theirs
diff --git a/t/t7063-status-untracked-cache.sh b/t/t7063-status-untracked-cache.sh
index 9936cc329e..f5050b75b2 100755
--- a/t/t7063-status-untracked-cache.sh
+++ b/t/t7063-status-untracked-cache.sh
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ test_expect_success 'core.untrackedCache is unset' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'setup' '
-	git init worktree &&
+	git init --template= worktree &&
 	cd worktree &&
 	mkdir done dtwo dthree &&
 	touch one two three done/one dtwo/two dthree/three &&
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	test-tool chmtime =-300 done dtwo dthree &&
 	test-tool chmtime =-300 . &&
 	git add one two done/one &&
+	mkdir .git/info &&
 	: >.git/info/exclude &&
 	git update-index --untracked-cache &&
 	test_oid_cache <<-EOF
diff --git a/t/t7418-submodule-sparse-gitmodules.sh b/t/t7418-submodule-sparse-gitmodules.sh
index f87e524d6d..57d7ab3ece 100755
--- a/t/t7418-submodule-sparse-gitmodules.sh
+++ b/t/t7418-submodule-sparse-gitmodules.sh
@@ -31,8 +31,9 @@ test_expect_success 'sparse checkout setup which hides .gitmodules' '
 		test_tick &&
 		git commit -m "Add submodule"
 	) &&
-	git clone upstream super &&
+	git clone --template= upstream super &&
 	(cd super &&
+		mkdir .git/info &&
 		cat >.git/info/sparse-checkout <<-\EOF &&
 		/*
 		!/.gitmodules
diff --git a/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh b/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh
index a4476dc492..3ad80526c4 100755
--- a/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh
+++ b/t/t7814-grep-recurse-submodules.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ This test verifies the recurse-submodules feature correctly greps across
 submodules.
 '
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 GIT_TEST_FATAL_REGISTER_SUBMODULE_ODB=1
@@ -471,8 +472,10 @@ test_expect_failure 'grep --textconv: superproject .gitattributes (from index) d
 test_expect_failure 'grep --textconv: superproject .git/info/attributes does not affect submodules' '
 	reset_and_clean &&
 	test_config_global diff.d2x.textconv "sed -e \"s/d/x/\"" &&
-	super_attr="$(git rev-parse --git-path info/attributes)" &&
+	super_info="$(git rev-parse --git-path info)" &&
+	super_attr="$super_info/attributes" &&
 	test_when_finished "rm -f \"$super_attr\"" &&
+	mkdir "$super_info" &&
 	echo "a diff=d2x" >"$super_attr" &&
 
 	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
@@ -516,7 +519,8 @@ test_expect_failure 'grep --textconv correctly reads submodule .git/info/attribu
 	reset_and_clean &&
 	test_config_global diff.d2x.textconv "sed -e \"s/d/x/\"" &&
 
-	submodule_attr="$(git -C submodule rev-parse --path-format=absolute --git-path info/attributes)" &&
+	submodule_info="$(git -C submodule rev-parse --path-format=absolute --git-path info)" &&
+	submodule_attr="$submodule_info/attributes" &&
 	test_when_finished "rm -f \"$submodule_attr\"" &&
 	echo "a diff=d2x" >"$submodule_attr" &&
 
diff --git a/t/t8001-annotate.sh b/t/t8001-annotate.sh
index a536a621b2..d7167f5539 100755
--- a/t/t8001-annotate.sh
+++ b/t/t8001-annotate.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ test_description='git annotate'
 GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
 export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 PROG='git annotate'
diff --git a/t/t8002-blame.sh b/t/t8002-blame.sh
index ee4fdd8f18..0147de304b 100755
--- a/t/t8002-blame.sh
+++ b/t/t8002-blame.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ test_description='git blame'
 GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
 export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 PROG='git blame -c'
diff --git a/t/t8012-blame-colors.sh b/t/t8012-blame-colors.sh
index 90c75dbb28..c3a5f6d01f 100755
--- a/t/t8012-blame-colors.sh
+++ b/t/t8012-blame-colors.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ test_description='colored git blame'
 GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
 export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
 
+TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE=1
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 PROG='git blame -c'
diff --git a/t/test-lib.sh b/t/test-lib.sh
index 8cabb4d10f..7726d1da88 100644
--- a/t/test-lib.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib.sh
@@ -1456,7 +1456,9 @@ remove_trash_directory "$TRASH_DIRECTORY" || {
 remove_trash=t
 if test -z "$TEST_NO_CREATE_REPO"
 then
-	git init "$TRASH_DIRECTORY" >&3 2>&4 ||
+	git init \
+	    ${TEST_CREATE_REPO_NO_TEMPLATE:+--template=} \
+	    "$TRASH_DIRECTORY" >&3 2>&4 ||
 	error "cannot run git init"
 else
 	mkdir -p "$TRASH_DIRECTORY"