diff --git a/tests/boot-order-test.c b/tests/boot-order-test.c
index 9096a4b5dfa2758770c817b2fc64e502910269a5..9d98c48a3d754ddf4e2e40a0a86fc8770381df6c 100644
--- a/tests/boot-order-test.c
+++ b/tests/boot-order-test.c
@@ -33,10 +33,10 @@ static void test_a_boot_order(const char *machine,
 {
     uint64_t actual;
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-nodefaults%s%s %s",
-                                machine ? " -M " : "",
-                                machine ?: "",
-                                test_args);
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-nodefaults%s%s %s",
+                               machine ? " -M " : "",
+                               machine ?: "",
+                               test_args);
     actual = read_boot_order();
     g_assert_cmphex(actual, ==, expected_boot);
     qmp_discard_response("{ 'execute': 'system_reset' }");
diff --git a/tests/boot-serial-test.c b/tests/boot-serial-test.c
index 952a2e7eadb34c741c1d78f91d9866ebdd584fc2..1355df924dd56dc64a621d70a1abdbf895548f7e 100644
--- a/tests/boot-serial-test.c
+++ b/tests/boot-serial-test.c
@@ -172,11 +172,11 @@ static void test_machine(const void *data)
      * Make sure that this test uses tcg if available: It is used as a
      * fast-enough smoketest for that.
      */
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("%s %s -M %s,accel=tcg:kvm "
-                                "-chardev file,id=serial0,path=%s "
-                                "-no-shutdown -serial chardev:serial0 %s",
-                                codeparam, code ? codetmp : "",
-                                test->machine, serialtmp, test->extra);
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("%s %s -M %s,accel=tcg:kvm "
+                               "-chardev file,id=serial0,path=%s "
+                               "-no-shutdown -serial chardev:serial0 %s",
+                               codeparam, code ? codetmp : "",
+                               test->machine, serialtmp, test->extra);
     if (code) {
         unlink(codetmp);
     }
diff --git a/tests/cdrom-test.c b/tests/cdrom-test.c
index 7a1fce5dfbaaac7193ab1c589d3c2cbfd1e21325..9b43dc9ab4b7f692efed955f390433cef17f4bcb 100644
--- a/tests/cdrom-test.c
+++ b/tests/cdrom-test.c
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ static void test_cdrom_param(gconstpointer data)
     QTestState *qts;
     char *resp;
 
-    qts = qtest_startf("-M %s -cdrom %s", (const char *)data, isoimage);
+    qts = qtest_initf("-M %s -cdrom %s", (const char *)data, isoimage);
     resp = qtest_hmp(qts, "info block");
     g_assert(strstr(resp, isoimage) != 0);
     g_free(resp);
@@ -120,8 +120,8 @@ static void test_cdboot(gconstpointer data)
 {
     QTestState *qts;
 
-    qts = qtest_startf("-accel kvm:tcg -no-shutdown %s%s", (const char *)data,
-                       isoimage);
+    qts = qtest_initf("-accel kvm:tcg -no-shutdown %s%s", (const char *)data,
+                      isoimage);
     boot_sector_test(qts);
     qtest_quit(qts);
 }
diff --git a/tests/endianness-test.c b/tests/endianness-test.c
index 546e0969e44826e118d41aa25979f4d163dfa880..48680cd1315f67574eafa790cf336c3d0734840d 100644
--- a/tests/endianness-test.c
+++ b/tests/endianness-test.c
@@ -115,10 +115,10 @@ static void test_endianness(gconstpointer data)
 {
     const TestCase *test = data;
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-M %s%s%s -device pc-testdev",
-                                test->machine,
-                                test->superio ? " -device " : "",
-                                test->superio ?: "");
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-M %s%s%s -device pc-testdev",
+                               test->machine,
+                               test->superio ? " -device " : "",
+                               test->superio ?: "");
     isa_outl(test, 0xe0, 0x87654321);
     g_assert_cmphex(isa_inl(test, 0xe0), ==, 0x87654321);
     g_assert_cmphex(isa_inw(test, 0xe2), ==, 0x8765);
@@ -187,10 +187,10 @@ static void test_endianness_split(gconstpointer data)
 {
     const TestCase *test = data;
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-M %s%s%s -device pc-testdev",
-                                test->machine,
-                                test->superio ? " -device " : "",
-                                test->superio ?: "");
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-M %s%s%s -device pc-testdev",
+                               test->machine,
+                               test->superio ? " -device " : "",
+                               test->superio ?: "");
     isa_outl(test, 0xe8, 0x87654321);
     g_assert_cmphex(isa_inl(test, 0xe0), ==, 0x87654321);
     g_assert_cmphex(isa_inw(test, 0xe2), ==, 0x8765);
@@ -231,10 +231,10 @@ static void test_endianness_combine(gconstpointer data)
 {
     const TestCase *test = data;
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-M %s%s%s -device pc-testdev",
-                                test->machine,
-                                test->superio ? " -device " : "",
-                                test->superio ?: "");
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-M %s%s%s -device pc-testdev",
+                               test->machine,
+                               test->superio ? " -device " : "",
+                               test->superio ?: "");
     isa_outl(test, 0xe0, 0x87654321);
     g_assert_cmphex(isa_inl(test, 0xe8), ==, 0x87654321);
     g_assert_cmphex(isa_inw(test, 0xea), ==, 0x8765);
diff --git a/tests/ipmi-bt-test.c b/tests/ipmi-bt-test.c
index 8be18e3f428f99e6a362c503e61d47c5a52fded0..f4a81b526505f688d0d68f6de96621ed2229f981 100644
--- a/tests/ipmi-bt-test.c
+++ b/tests/ipmi-bt-test.c
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     /* Run the tests */
     g_test_init(&argc, &argv, NULL);
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf(
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf(
         " -chardev socket,id=ipmi0,host=localhost,port=%d,reconnect=10"
         " -device ipmi-bmc-extern,chardev=ipmi0,id=bmc0"
         " -device isa-ipmi-bt,bmc=bmc0", emu_port);
diff --git a/tests/libqtest.c b/tests/libqtest.c
index 2f81bc63829ed2b16c9443e262195246e67cd919..a0d44793fa57670a7e2a70ecf5e651b2a2e97401 100644
--- a/tests/libqtest.c
+++ b/tests/libqtest.c
@@ -259,24 +259,23 @@ QTestState *qtest_init(const char *extra_args)
     return s;
 }
 
-QTestState *qtest_vstartf(const char *fmt, va_list ap)
+QTestState *qtest_vinitf(const char *fmt, va_list ap)
 {
     char *args = g_strdup_vprintf(fmt, ap);
     QTestState *s;
 
-    s = qtest_start(args);
+    s = qtest_init(args);
     g_free(args);
-    global_qtest = NULL;
     return s;
 }
 
-QTestState *qtest_startf(const char *fmt, ...)
+QTestState *qtest_initf(const char *fmt, ...)
 {
     va_list ap;
     QTestState *s;
 
     va_start(ap, fmt);
-    s = qtest_vstartf(fmt, ap);
+    s = qtest_vinitf(fmt, ap);
     va_end(ap);
     return s;
 }
diff --git a/tests/libqtest.h b/tests/libqtest.h
index 712ac023d61334ec1a07015d9045de26450d0e49..b92a8070a55f09c61e02ed6e4871da2d48c6fc06 100644
--- a/tests/libqtest.h
+++ b/tests/libqtest.h
@@ -22,33 +22,32 @@ typedef struct QTestState QTestState;
 extern QTestState *global_qtest;
 
 /**
- * qtest_startf:
+ * qtest_initf:
  * @fmt...: Format for creating other arguments to pass to QEMU, formatted
  * like sprintf().
  *
- * Start QEMU and return the resulting #QTestState (but unlike qtest_start(),
- * #global_qtest is left at NULL).
+ * Convenience wrapper around qtest_start().
  *
  * Returns: #QTestState instance.
  */
-QTestState *qtest_startf(const char *fmt, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
+QTestState *qtest_initf(const char *fmt, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
 
 /**
- * qtest_vstartf:
+ * qtest_vinitf:
  * @fmt: Format for creating other arguments to pass to QEMU, formatted
  * like vsprintf().
  * @ap: Format arguments.
  *
- * Start QEMU and return the resulting #QTestState (but unlike qtest_start(),
- * #global_qtest is left at NULL).
+ * Convenience wrapper around qtest_start().
  *
  * Returns: #QTestState instance.
  */
-QTestState *qtest_vstartf(const char *fmt, va_list ap) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 0);
+QTestState *qtest_vinitf(const char *fmt, va_list ap) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 0);
 
 /**
  * qtest_init:
- * @extra_args: other arguments to pass to QEMU.
+ * @extra_args: other arguments to pass to QEMU.  CAUTION: these
+ * arguments are subject to word splitting and shell evaluation.
  *
  * Returns: #QTestState instance.
  */
diff --git a/tests/m25p80-test.c b/tests/m25p80-test.c
index c276e738e965da3f41adafc92a8ac9f4ea4a0ab2..055f7246a88054b4a4ac283e4b52068360f2f829 100644
--- a/tests/m25p80-test.c
+++ b/tests/m25p80-test.c
@@ -363,9 +363,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     g_assert(ret == 0);
     close(fd);
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-m 256 -machine palmetto-bmc "
-                                "-drive file=%s,format=raw,if=mtd",
-                                tmp_path);
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-m 256 -machine palmetto-bmc "
+                               "-drive file=%s,format=raw,if=mtd",
+                               tmp_path);
 
     qtest_add_func("/m25p80/read_jedec", test_read_jedec);
     qtest_add_func("/m25p80/erase_sector", test_erase_sector);
diff --git a/tests/m48t59-test.c b/tests/m48t59-test.c
index 5b695971c7c83ec3a2e531916a4d013861130723..4abf9c605cf38aefc6187f80a0bf05db495ca31c 100644
--- a/tests/m48t59-test.c
+++ b/tests/m48t59-test.c
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ static void cmos_get_date_time(QTestState *s, struct tm *date)
 
 static QTestState *m48t59_qtest_start(void)
 {
-    return qtest_startf("-M %s -rtc clock=vm", base_machine);
+    return qtest_initf("-M %s -rtc clock=vm", base_machine);
 }
 
 static void bcd_check_time(void)
diff --git a/tests/machine-none-test.c b/tests/machine-none-test.c
index f286557b3e5f658659040948a11d58edc325a806..7e72466354a50a64347912981e528d2591927621 100644
--- a/tests/machine-none-test.c
+++ b/tests/machine-none-test.c
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ static void test_machine_cpu_cli(void)
         }
         return; /* TODO: die here to force all targets have a test */
     }
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-machine none -cpu '%s'", cpu_model);
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-machine none -cpu '%s'", cpu_model);
 
     response = qmp("{ 'execute': 'quit' }");
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(response, "return"));
diff --git a/tests/numa-test.c b/tests/numa-test.c
index 893f826acb1651901515a797630ca01de466645d..9824fdd5875ef66073ab1c1f3cf0d570507efa79 100644
--- a/tests/numa-test.c
+++ b/tests/numa-test.c
@@ -267,8 +267,8 @@ static void pc_dynamic_cpu_cfg(const void *data)
     QList *cpus;
     QTestState *qs;
 
-    qs = qtest_startf("%s %s", data ? (char *)data : "",
-                              "-nodefaults --preconfig -smp 2");
+    qs = qtest_initf("%s -nodefaults --preconfig -smp 2",
+                     data ? (char *)data : "");
 
     /* create 2 numa nodes */
     g_assert(!qmp_rsp_is_err(qtest_qmp(qs, "{ 'execute': 'set-numa-node',"
diff --git a/tests/pnv-xscom-test.c b/tests/pnv-xscom-test.c
index efb7c838b5c06ac4a28f9530e0c30872aa171f3b..70f4c84d1bd36c7716d696e7f4b8ccc26870705c 100644
--- a/tests/pnv-xscom-test.c
+++ b/tests/pnv-xscom-test.c
@@ -79,8 +79,8 @@ static void test_cfam_id(const void *data)
 {
     const PnvChip *chip = data;
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-M powernv,accel=tcg -cpu %s",
-                                chip->cpu_model);
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-M powernv,accel=tcg -cpu %s",
+                               chip->cpu_model);
     test_xscom_cfam_id(chip);
     qtest_quit(global_qtest);
 }
@@ -114,8 +114,8 @@ static void test_core(const void *data)
 {
     const PnvChip *chip = data;
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-M powernv,accel=tcg -cpu %s",
-                                chip->cpu_model);
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-M powernv,accel=tcg -cpu %s",
+                               chip->cpu_model);
     test_xscom_core(chip);
     qtest_quit(global_qtest);
 }
diff --git a/tests/prom-env-test.c b/tests/prom-env-test.c
index 8c867e631ab66967d7124d94f83fbdab4b9b73b1..198d007f1bfe9ef60dc138e03877e32104d3aa72 100644
--- a/tests/prom-env-test.c
+++ b/tests/prom-env-test.c
@@ -49,11 +49,11 @@ static void test_machine(const void *machine)
     /* The pseries firmware boots much faster without the default devices */
     extra_args = strcmp(machine, "pseries") == 0 ? "-nodefaults" : "";
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-M %s,accel=tcg %s "
-                                "-prom-env 'use-nvramrc?=true' "
-                                "-prom-env 'nvramrc=%x %x l!' ",
-                                (const char *)machine, extra_args,
-                                MAGIC, ADDRESS);
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-M %s,accel=tcg %s "
+                               "-prom-env 'use-nvramrc?=true' "
+                               "-prom-env 'nvramrc=%x %x l!' ",
+                               (const char *)machine, extra_args,
+                               MAGIC, ADDRESS);
     check_guest_memory();
     qtest_quit(global_qtest);
 }
diff --git a/tests/qmp-test.c b/tests/qmp-test.c
index 5eb15daebc24d1981ac8876da3582164d130ac7f..487ef946ed92fa93cf8a548e31dbee5eb1daa6ec 100644
--- a/tests/qmp-test.c
+++ b/tests/qmp-test.c
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ static void add_query_tests(QmpSchema *schema)
 static void test_qmp_preconfig(void)
 {
     QDict *rsp, *ret;
-    QTestState *qs = qtest_startf("%s --preconfig", common_args);
+    QTestState *qs = qtest_initf("%s --preconfig", common_args);
 
     /* preconfig state */
     /* enabled commands, no error expected  */
diff --git a/tests/sdhci-test.c b/tests/sdhci-test.c
index 1d825eb010f789301540ea194613b6ce5bd93cf9..982f5ebbb2acbbd43ef52f91b0466ccca2e2be39 100644
--- a/tests/sdhci-test.c
+++ b/tests/sdhci-test.c
@@ -184,8 +184,8 @@ static QSDHCI *machine_start(const struct sdhci_t *test)
         uint16_t vendor_id, device_id;
         uint64_t barsize;
 
-        global_qtest = qtest_startf("-machine %s -device sdhci-pci",
-                                    test->machine);
+        global_qtest = qtest_initf("-machine %s -device sdhci-pci",
+                                   test->machine);
 
         s->pci.bus = qpci_init_pc(global_qtest, NULL);
 
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ static QSDHCI *machine_start(const struct sdhci_t *test)
         qpci_device_enable(s->pci.dev);
     } else {
         /* SysBus */
-        global_qtest = qtest_startf("-machine %s", test->machine);
+        global_qtest = qtest_initf("-machine %s", test->machine);
         s->addr = test->sdhci.addr;
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/tco-test.c b/tests/tco-test.c
index 9945fb846926591f85e85e28ae4ef11a545e6cbc..6bee9a37d33990265f09b00668a484c6cd56118d 100644
--- a/tests/tco-test.c
+++ b/tests/tco-test.c
@@ -58,9 +58,9 @@ static void test_init(TestData *d)
 {
     QTestState *qs;
 
-    qs = qtest_startf("-machine q35 %s %s",
-                      d->noreboot ? "" : "-global ICH9-LPC.noreboot=false",
-                      !d->args ? "" : d->args);
+    qs = qtest_initf("-machine q35 %s %s",
+                     d->noreboot ? "" : "-global ICH9-LPC.noreboot=false",
+                     !d->args ? "" : d->args);
     global_qtest = qs;
     qtest_irq_intercept_in(qs, "ioapic");
 
diff --git a/tests/test-filter-mirror.c b/tests/test-filter-mirror.c
index de5ba155db3432055de37c8dd94a3269cec5f97a..d15917e2cf194e852efc9956fb20f136c1d8ee67 100644
--- a/tests/test-filter-mirror.c
+++ b/tests/test-filter-mirror.c
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ static void test_mirror(void)
     ret = mkstemp(sock_path);
     g_assert_cmpint(ret, !=, -1);
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf(
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf(
         "-netdev socket,id=qtest-bn0,fd=%d "
         "-device %s,netdev=qtest-bn0,id=qtest-e0 "
         "-chardev socket,id=mirror0,path=%s,server,nowait "
diff --git a/tests/test-filter-redirector.c b/tests/test-filter-redirector.c
index 896f900e9804bd877f6d0474147585739301e3c5..615ff5cb9fd612e91b2a3b1197dc638415d8286f 100644
--- a/tests/test-filter-redirector.c
+++ b/tests/test-filter-redirector.c
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ static void test_redirector_tx(void)
     ret = mkstemp(sock_path1);
     g_assert_cmpint(ret, !=, -1);
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf(
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf(
         "-netdev socket,id=qtest-bn0,fd=%d "
         "-device %s,netdev=qtest-bn0,id=qtest-e0 "
         "-chardev socket,id=redirector0,path=%s,server,nowait "
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ static void test_redirector_rx(void)
     ret = mkstemp(sock_path1);
     g_assert_cmpint(ret, !=, -1);
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf(
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf(
         "-netdev socket,id=qtest-bn0,fd=%d "
         "-device %s,netdev=qtest-bn0,id=qtest-e0 "
         "-chardev socket,id=redirector0,path=%s,server,nowait "
diff --git a/tests/virtio-balloon-test.c b/tests/virtio-balloon-test.c
index 0a07e036bb22dad77c7f31a1fe608b2569d42ece..5a1d0ccbb7044ed69479cf1a90ea473cb5533e91 100644
--- a/tests/virtio-balloon-test.c
+++ b/tests/virtio-balloon-test.c
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     g_test_init(&argc, &argv, NULL);
     qtest_add_func("/virtio/balloon/nop", balloon_nop);
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-device virtio-balloon-%s",
-                                qvirtio_get_dev_type());
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-device virtio-balloon-%s",
+                               qvirtio_get_dev_type());
     ret = g_test_run();
 
     qtest_end();
diff --git a/tests/virtio-blk-test.c b/tests/virtio-blk-test.c
index 571489d7635f4f7a781ddcdfb7bd3b6a85a9aefa..04c608764ba7a037d1666da5b46305a0af187441 100644
--- a/tests/virtio-blk-test.c
+++ b/tests/virtio-blk-test.c
@@ -93,10 +93,10 @@ static void arm_test_start(void)
 
     tmp_path = drive_create();
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-machine virt "
-                                "-drive if=none,id=drive0,file=%s,format=raw "
-                                "-device virtio-blk-device,drive=drive0",
-                                tmp_path);
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-machine virt "
+                               "-drive if=none,id=drive0,file=%s,format=raw "
+                               "-device virtio-blk-device,drive=drive0",
+                               tmp_path);
     unlink(tmp_path);
     g_free(tmp_path);
 }
diff --git a/tests/virtio-console-test.c b/tests/virtio-console-test.c
index 945bae5a15064e3ead87aa5cb81e6aae26a73863..a7c6f167c3bc461deb5e3e4fe03dea9a23572c62 100644
--- a/tests/virtio-console-test.c
+++ b/tests/virtio-console-test.c
@@ -14,17 +14,17 @@
 /* Tests only initialization so far. TODO: Replace with functional tests */
 static void console_nop(void)
 {
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-device virtio-serial-%s,id=vser0 "
-                                "-device virtconsole,bus=vser0.0",
-                                qvirtio_get_dev_type());
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-device virtio-serial-%s,id=vser0 "
+                               "-device virtconsole,bus=vser0.0",
+                               qvirtio_get_dev_type());
     qtest_end();
 }
 
 static void serialport_nop(void)
 {
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-device virtio-serial-%s,id=vser0 "
-                                "-device virtserialport,bus=vser0.0",
-                                qvirtio_get_dev_type());
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-device virtio-serial-%s,id=vser0 "
+                               "-device virtserialport,bus=vser0.0",
+                               qvirtio_get_dev_type());
     qtest_end();
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/virtio-serial-test.c b/tests/virtio-serial-test.c
index e4b18b1c8a9d24b4da9f69681426f67bfd0474f4..8da9980a24d9d5ba0c5665ff5be353feed699be7 100644
--- a/tests/virtio-serial-test.c
+++ b/tests/virtio-serial-test.c
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     qtest_add_func("/virtio/serial/nop", virtio_serial_nop);
     qtest_add_func("/virtio/serial/hotplug", hotplug);
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf("-device virtio-serial-%s",
-                                qvirtio_get_dev_type());
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf("-device virtio-serial-%s",
+                               qvirtio_get_dev_type());
     ret = g_test_run();
 
     qtest_end();
diff --git a/tests/vmgenid-test.c b/tests/vmgenid-test.c
index 8d915c610cbc9d41f49f7a7abcfa8d61fa0cd104..0a6fb55f2ebc8a48dd5c2b76321df9cc86b9a7e6 100644
--- a/tests/vmgenid-test.c
+++ b/tests/vmgenid-test.c
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ static void vmgenid_set_guid_test(void)
 
     g_assert(qemu_uuid_parse(VGID_GUID, &expected) == 0);
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf(GUID_CMD(VGID_GUID));
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf(GUID_CMD(VGID_GUID));
 
     /* Read the GUID from accessing guest memory */
     read_guid_from_memory(&measured);
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ static void vmgenid_set_guid_auto_test(void)
 {
     QemuUUID measured;
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf(GUID_CMD("auto"));
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf(GUID_CMD("auto"));
 
     read_guid_from_memory(&measured);
 
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ static void vmgenid_query_monitor_test(void)
 
     g_assert(qemu_uuid_parse(VGID_GUID, &expected) == 0);
 
-    global_qtest = qtest_startf(GUID_CMD(VGID_GUID));
+    global_qtest = qtest_initf(GUID_CMD(VGID_GUID));
 
     /* Read the GUID via the monitor */
     read_guid_from_monitor(&measured);