diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5087ce1eb7..05cb58a3d4 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -179,39 +179,6 @@
 /gitweb/gitweb.cgi
 /gitweb/static/gitweb.js
 /gitweb/static/gitweb.min.*
-/test-chmtime
-/test-ctype
-/test-config
-/test-date
-/test-delta
-/test-dump-cache-tree
-/test-dump-split-index
-/test-dump-untracked-cache
-/test-fake-ssh
-/test-scrap-cache-tree
-/test-genrandom
-/test-hashmap
-/test-index-version
-/test-line-buffer
-/test-match-trees
-/test-mergesort
-/test-mktemp
-/test-parse-options
-/test-path-utils
-/test-prio-queue
-/test-read-cache
-/test-regex
-/test-revision-walking
-/test-run-command
-/test-sha1
-/test-sha1-array
-/test-sigchain
-/test-string-list
-/test-submodule-config
-/test-subprocess
-/test-svn-fe
-/test-urlmatch-normalization
-/test-wildmatch
 /common-cmds.h
 *.tar.gz
 *.dsc
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a83e322f46..6c4e2dbbc8 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -621,7 +621,7 @@ TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X += test-svn-fe
 TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X += test-urlmatch-normalization
 TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X += test-wildmatch
 
-TEST_PROGRAMS = $(patsubst %,%$X,$(TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X))
+TEST_PROGRAMS = $(patsubst %,t/helper/%$X,$(TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X))
 
 # List built-in command $C whose implementation cmd_$C() is not in
 # builtin/$C.o but is linked in as part of some other command.
@@ -1898,7 +1898,7 @@ VCSSVN_OBJS += vcs-svn/fast_export.o
 VCSSVN_OBJS += vcs-svn/svndiff.o
 VCSSVN_OBJS += vcs-svn/svndump.o
 
-TEST_OBJS := $(patsubst test-%$X,test-%.o,$(TEST_PROGRAMS))
+TEST_OBJS := $(patsubst %$X,%.o,$(TEST_PROGRAMS))
 OBJECTS := $(LIB_OBJS) $(BUILTIN_OBJS) $(PROGRAM_OBJS) $(TEST_OBJS) \
 	$(XDIFF_OBJS) \
 	$(VCSSVN_OBJS) \
@@ -2205,7 +2205,7 @@ bin-wrappers/%: wrap-for-bin.sh
 	@mkdir -p bin-wrappers
 	$(QUIET_GEN)sed -e '1s|#!.*/sh|#!$(SHELL_PATH_SQ)|' \
 	     -e 's|@@BUILD_DIR@@|$(shell pwd)|' \
-	     -e 's|@@PROG@@|$(@F)|' < $< > $@ && \
+	     -e 's|@@PROG@@|$(patsubst test-%,t/helper/test-%,$(@F))|' < $< > $@ && \
 	chmod +x $@
 
 # GNU make supports exporting all variables by "export" without parameters.
@@ -2225,25 +2225,25 @@ perf: all
 
 .PHONY: test perf
 
-test-ctype$X: ctype.o
+t/helper/test-ctype$X: ctype.o
 
-test-date$X: date.o ctype.o
+t/helper/test-date$X: date.o ctype.o
 
-test-delta$X: diff-delta.o patch-delta.o
+t/helper/test-delta$X: diff-delta.o patch-delta.o
 
-test-line-buffer$X: vcs-svn/lib.a
+t/helper/test-line-buffer$X: vcs-svn/lib.a
 
-test-parse-options$X: parse-options.o parse-options-cb.o
+t/helper/test-parse-options$X: parse-options.o parse-options-cb.o
 
-test-svn-fe$X: vcs-svn/lib.a
+t/helper/test-svn-fe$X: vcs-svn/lib.a
 
 .PRECIOUS: $(TEST_OBJS)
 
-test-%$X: test-%.o GIT-LDFLAGS $(GITLIBS)
+t/helper/test-%$X: t/helper/test-%.o GIT-LDFLAGS $(GITLIBS)
 	$(QUIET_LINK)$(CC) $(ALL_CFLAGS) -o $@ $(ALL_LDFLAGS) $(filter %.o,$^) $(filter %.a,$^) $(LIBS)
 
-check-sha1:: test-sha1$X
-	./test-sha1.sh
+check-sha1:: t/helper/test-sha1$X
+	t/helper/test-sha1.sh
 
 SP_OBJ = $(patsubst %.o,%.sp,$(C_OBJ))
 
@@ -2450,8 +2450,8 @@ profile-clean:
 	$(RM) $(addsuffix *.gcno,$(addprefix $(PROFILE_DIR)/, $(object_dirs)))
 
 clean: profile-clean coverage-clean
-	$(RM) *.o *.res refs/*.o block-sha1/*.o ppc/*.o compat/*.o compat/*/*.o
-	$(RM) xdiff/*.o vcs-svn/*.o ewah/*.o builtin/*.o
+	$(RM) *.res
+	$(RM) $(OBJECTS)
 	$(RM) $(LIB_FILE) $(XDIFF_LIB) $(VCSSVN_LIB)
 	$(RM) $(ALL_PROGRAMS) $(SCRIPT_LIB) $(BUILT_INS) git$X
 	$(RM) $(TEST_PROGRAMS) $(NO_INSTALL)
diff --git a/t/helper/.gitignore b/t/helper/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d6e8b36798
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/helper/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/test-chmtime
+/test-ctype
+/test-config
+/test-date
+/test-delta
+/test-dump-cache-tree
+/test-dump-split-index
+/test-dump-untracked-cache
+/test-fake-ssh
+/test-scrap-cache-tree
+/test-genrandom
+/test-hashmap
+/test-index-version
+/test-line-buffer
+/test-match-trees
+/test-mergesort
+/test-mktemp
+/test-parse-options
+/test-path-utils
+/test-prio-queue
+/test-read-cache
+/test-regex
+/test-revision-walking
+/test-run-command
+/test-sha1
+/test-sha1-array
+/test-sigchain
+/test-string-list
+/test-submodule-config
+/test-subprocess
+/test-svn-fe
+/test-urlmatch-normalization
+/test-wildmatch
diff --git a/test-chmtime.c b/t/helper/test-chmtime.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-chmtime.c
rename to t/helper/test-chmtime.c
diff --git a/test-config.c b/t/helper/test-config.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-config.c
rename to t/helper/test-config.c
diff --git a/test-ctype.c b/t/helper/test-ctype.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-ctype.c
rename to t/helper/test-ctype.c
diff --git a/test-date.c b/t/helper/test-date.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-date.c
rename to t/helper/test-date.c
diff --git a/test-delta.c b/t/helper/test-delta.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-delta.c
rename to t/helper/test-delta.c
diff --git a/test-dump-cache-tree.c b/t/helper/test-dump-cache-tree.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-dump-cache-tree.c
rename to t/helper/test-dump-cache-tree.c
diff --git a/test-dump-split-index.c b/t/helper/test-dump-split-index.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-dump-split-index.c
rename to t/helper/test-dump-split-index.c
diff --git a/test-dump-untracked-cache.c b/t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-dump-untracked-cache.c
rename to t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
diff --git a/test-fake-ssh.c b/t/helper/test-fake-ssh.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-fake-ssh.c
rename to t/helper/test-fake-ssh.c
diff --git a/test-genrandom.c b/t/helper/test-genrandom.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-genrandom.c
rename to t/helper/test-genrandom.c
diff --git a/test-hashmap.c b/t/helper/test-hashmap.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-hashmap.c
rename to t/helper/test-hashmap.c
diff --git a/test-index-version.c b/t/helper/test-index-version.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-index-version.c
rename to t/helper/test-index-version.c
diff --git a/test-line-buffer.c b/t/helper/test-line-buffer.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-line-buffer.c
rename to t/helper/test-line-buffer.c
diff --git a/test-match-trees.c b/t/helper/test-match-trees.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-match-trees.c
rename to t/helper/test-match-trees.c
diff --git a/test-mergesort.c b/t/helper/test-mergesort.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-mergesort.c
rename to t/helper/test-mergesort.c
diff --git a/test-mktemp.c b/t/helper/test-mktemp.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-mktemp.c
rename to t/helper/test-mktemp.c
diff --git a/test-parse-options.c b/t/helper/test-parse-options.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-parse-options.c
rename to t/helper/test-parse-options.c
diff --git a/test-path-utils.c b/t/helper/test-path-utils.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-path-utils.c
rename to t/helper/test-path-utils.c
diff --git a/test-prio-queue.c b/t/helper/test-prio-queue.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-prio-queue.c
rename to t/helper/test-prio-queue.c
diff --git a/test-read-cache.c b/t/helper/test-read-cache.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-read-cache.c
rename to t/helper/test-read-cache.c
diff --git a/test-regex.c b/t/helper/test-regex.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-regex.c
rename to t/helper/test-regex.c
diff --git a/test-revision-walking.c b/t/helper/test-revision-walking.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-revision-walking.c
rename to t/helper/test-revision-walking.c
diff --git a/test-run-command.c b/t/helper/test-run-command.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-run-command.c
rename to t/helper/test-run-command.c
diff --git a/test-scrap-cache-tree.c b/t/helper/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-scrap-cache-tree.c
rename to t/helper/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
diff --git a/test-sha1-array.c b/t/helper/test-sha1-array.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-sha1-array.c
rename to t/helper/test-sha1-array.c
diff --git a/test-sha1.c b/t/helper/test-sha1.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-sha1.c
rename to t/helper/test-sha1.c
diff --git a/test-sha1.sh b/t/helper/test-sha1.sh
similarity index 96%
rename from test-sha1.sh
rename to t/helper/test-sha1.sh
index cef4bcc866..750b95a0a1 100755
--- a/test-sha1.sh
+++ b/t/helper/test-sha1.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
 dd if=/dev/zero bs=1048576 count=100 2>/dev/null |
-/usr/bin/time ./test-sha1 >/dev/null
+/usr/bin/time t/helper/test-sha1 >/dev/null
 
 while read expect cnt pfx
 do
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ do
 			test -z "$pfx" || echo "$pfx"
 			dd if=/dev/zero bs=1048576 count=$cnt 2>/dev/null |
 			perl -pe 'y/\000/g/'
-		} | ./test-sha1 $cnt
+		} | ./t/helper/test-sha1 $cnt
 	)
 	if test "$expect" = "$actual"
 	then
diff --git a/test-sigchain.c b/t/helper/test-sigchain.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-sigchain.c
rename to t/helper/test-sigchain.c
diff --git a/test-string-list.c b/t/helper/test-string-list.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-string-list.c
rename to t/helper/test-string-list.c
diff --git a/test-submodule-config.c b/t/helper/test-submodule-config.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-submodule-config.c
rename to t/helper/test-submodule-config.c
diff --git a/test-subprocess.c b/t/helper/test-subprocess.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-subprocess.c
rename to t/helper/test-subprocess.c
diff --git a/test-svn-fe.c b/t/helper/test-svn-fe.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-svn-fe.c
rename to t/helper/test-svn-fe.c
diff --git a/test-urlmatch-normalization.c b/t/helper/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-urlmatch-normalization.c
rename to t/helper/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
diff --git a/test-wildmatch.c b/t/helper/test-wildmatch.c
similarity index 100%
rename from test-wildmatch.c
rename to t/helper/test-wildmatch.c
diff --git a/t/t5601-clone.sh b/t/t5601-clone.sh
index c1efb8e445..150aeaf713 100755
--- a/t/t5601-clone.sh
+++ b/t/t5601-clone.sh
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ test_expect_success 'clone checking out a tag' '
 
 setup_ssh_wrapper () {
 	test_expect_success 'setup ssh wrapper' '
-		cp "$GIT_BUILD_DIR/test-fake-ssh$X" \
+		cp "$GIT_BUILD_DIR/t/helper/test-fake-ssh$X" \
 			"$TRASH_DIRECTORY/ssh-wrapper$X" &&
 		GIT_SSH="$TRASH_DIRECTORY/ssh-wrapper$X" &&
 		export GIT_SSH &&
diff --git a/t/test-lib.sh b/t/test-lib.sh
index 0b47eb6bb2..cd0ecd444d 100644
--- a/t/test-lib.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib.sh
@@ -854,10 +854,10 @@ test -d "$GIT_BUILD_DIR"/templates/blt || {
 	error "You haven't built things yet, have you?"
 }
 
-if ! test -x "$GIT_BUILD_DIR"/test-chmtime
+if ! test -x "$GIT_BUILD_DIR"/t/helper/test-chmtime
 then
 	echo >&2 'You need to build test-chmtime:'
-	echo >&2 'Run "make test-chmtime" in the source (toplevel) directory'
+	echo >&2 'Run "make t/helper/test-chmtime" in the source (toplevel) directory'
 	exit 1
 fi