diff --git a/tests/domaincapstest.c b/tests/domaincapstest.c
index 6ab14a0179..463ff83890 100644
--- a/tests/domaincapstest.c
+++ b/tests/domaincapstest.c
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ fillQemuCaps(virDomainCaps *domCaps,
              virQEMUDriverConfig *cfg)
 {
     int ret = -1;
-    char *path = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *path = NULL;
     g_autoptr(virQEMUCaps) qemuCaps = NULL;
     virDomainCapsLoader *loader = &domCaps->os.loader;
     virDomainVirtType virtType;
@@ -127,7 +127,6 @@ fillQemuCaps(virDomainCaps *domCaps,
 
     ret = 0;
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(path);
     return ret;
 }
 #endif /* WITH_QEMU */
@@ -167,7 +166,7 @@ fillXenCaps(virDomainCaps *domCaps)
 static int
 fillBhyveCaps(virDomainCaps *domCaps, unsigned int *bhyve_caps)
 {
-    virDomainCapsStringValues *firmwares = NULL;
+    g_autofree virDomainCapsStringValues *firmwares = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
     firmwares = g_new0(virDomainCapsStringValues, 1);
@@ -180,7 +179,6 @@ fillBhyveCaps(virDomainCaps *domCaps, unsigned int *bhyve_caps)
 
     ret = 0;
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(firmwares);
     return ret;
 }
 #endif /* WITH_BHYVE */
@@ -208,8 +206,8 @@ test_virDomainCapsFormat(const void *opaque)
 {
     const struct testData *data = opaque;
     g_autoptr(virDomainCaps) domCaps = NULL;
-    char *path = NULL;
-    char *domCapsXML = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *path = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *domCapsXML = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
     path = g_strdup_printf("%s/domaincapsdata/%s.xml", abs_srcdir, data->name);
@@ -253,8 +251,6 @@ test_virDomainCapsFormat(const void *opaque)
 
     ret = 0;
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(domCapsXML);
-    VIR_FREE(path);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -400,7 +396,7 @@ mymain(void)
 
 #define DO_TEST_BHYVE(Name, Emulator, BhyveCaps, Type) \
     do { \
-        char *name = NULL; \
+        g_autofree char *name = NULL; \
         name = g_strdup_printf("bhyve_%s.x86_64", Name); \
         struct testData data = { \
             .name = name, \
@@ -412,7 +408,6 @@ mymain(void)
         }; \
         if (virTestRun(name, test_virDomainCapsFormat, &data) < 0) \
             ret = -1; \
-        VIR_FREE(name); \
     } while (0)
 
     DO_TEST("empty", "/bin/emulatorbin", "my-machine-type",
diff --git a/tests/domainconftest.c b/tests/domainconftest.c
index 66a133c13e..8b77952860 100644
--- a/tests/domainconftest.c
+++ b/tests/domainconftest.c
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ static int testGetFilesystem(const void *opaque)
 {
     int ret = -1;
     virDomainDef *def = NULL;
-    char *filename = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *filename = NULL;
     const struct testGetFilesystemData *data = opaque;
     virDomainFSDef *fsdef;
 
@@ -72,7 +72,6 @@ static int testGetFilesystem(const void *opaque)
 
  cleanup:
     virDomainDefFree(def);
-    VIR_FREE(filename);
     return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/eventtest.c b/tests/eventtest.c
index 7a9c87b8cf..1e93c70e74 100644
--- a/tests/eventtest.c
+++ b/tests/eventtest.c
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ G_GNUC_PRINTF(3, 4)
 testEventReport(const char *name, bool failed, const char *msg, ...)
 {
     va_list vargs;
-    char *str = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *str = NULL;
     struct testEventResultData data;
 
     va_start(vargs, msg);
@@ -102,7 +102,6 @@ testEventReport(const char *name, bool failed, const char *msg, ...)
     ignore_value(virTestRun(name, testEventResultCallback, &data));
 
     va_end(vargs);
-    VIR_FREE(str);
 }
 
 static void
diff --git a/tests/fchosttest.c b/tests/fchosttest.c
index 53d02241ca..707dd7e410 100644
--- a/tests/fchosttest.c
+++ b/tests/fchosttest.c
@@ -118,11 +118,11 @@ test3(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
     const char *expect_fabric_wwn = "2001000dec9877c1";
     const char *expect_max_vports = "127";
     const char *expect_vports = "0";
-    char *wwnn = NULL;
-    char *wwpn = NULL;
-    char *fabric_wwn = NULL;
-    char *max_vports = NULL;
-    char *vports = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *wwnn = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *wwpn = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *fabric_wwn = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *max_vports = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *vports = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
     if (!(wwnn = virVHBAGetConfig(TEST_FC_HOST_PREFIX, TEST_FC_HOST_NUM,
@@ -155,11 +155,6 @@ test3(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 
     ret = 0;
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(wwnn);
-    VIR_FREE(wwpn);
-    VIR_FREE(fabric_wwn);
-    VIR_FREE(max_vports);
-    VIR_FREE(vports);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -168,7 +163,7 @@ static int
 test4(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 {
     const char *expect_hostname = "host5";
-    char *hostname = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *hostname = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
     if (!(hostname = virVHBAGetHostByWWN(TEST_FC_HOST_PREFIX,
@@ -181,7 +176,6 @@ test4(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 
     ret = 0;
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(hostname);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -193,7 +187,7 @@ static int
 test5(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 {
     const char *expect_hostname = "host5";
-    char *hostname = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *hostname = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
     if (!(hostname = virVHBAFindVportHost(TEST_FC_HOST_PREFIX)))
@@ -204,7 +198,6 @@ test5(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 
     ret = 0;
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(hostname);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -214,9 +207,9 @@ test6(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 {
     const char *expect_wwnn = "2002001b32a9da4e";
     const char *expect_wwpn = "2102001b32a9da4e";
-    char *wwnn = NULL;
-    char *wwpn = NULL;
-    char *fabric_wwn = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *wwnn = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *wwpn = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *fabric_wwn = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
     if (!(wwnn = virVHBAGetConfig(TEST_FC_HOST_PREFIX, TEST_FC_HOST_NUM_NO_FAB,
@@ -238,9 +231,6 @@ test6(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 
     ret = 0;
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(wwnn);
-    VIR_FREE(wwpn);
-    VIR_FREE(fabric_wwn);
     return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/fdstreamtest.c b/tests/fdstreamtest.c
index 7a2fe27477..182c853b33 100644
--- a/tests/fdstreamtest.c
+++ b/tests/fdstreamtest.c
@@ -39,10 +39,10 @@ VIR_LOG_INIT("tests.fdstreamtest");
 static int testFDStreamReadCommon(const char *scratchdir, bool blocking)
 {
     int fd = -1;
-    char *file = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *file = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
-    char *pattern = NULL;
-    char *buf = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *pattern = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *buf = NULL;
     virStreamPtr st = NULL;
     size_t i;
     virConnectPtr conn = NULL;
@@ -149,9 +149,6 @@ static int testFDStreamReadCommon(const char *scratchdir, bool blocking)
         unlink(file);
     if (conn)
         virConnectClose(conn);
-    VIR_FREE(file);
-    VIR_FREE(pattern);
-    VIR_FREE(buf);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -169,10 +166,10 @@ static int testFDStreamReadNonblock(const void *data)
 static int testFDStreamWriteCommon(const char *scratchdir, bool blocking)
 {
     int fd = -1;
-    char *file = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *file = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
-    char *pattern = NULL;
-    char *buf = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *pattern = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *buf = NULL;
     virStreamPtr st = NULL;
     size_t i;
     virConnectPtr conn = NULL;
@@ -292,9 +289,6 @@ static int testFDStreamWriteCommon(const char *scratchdir, bool blocking)
         unlink(file);
     if (conn)
         virConnectClose(conn);
-    VIR_FREE(file);
-    VIR_FREE(pattern);
-    VIR_FREE(buf);
     return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/genericxml2xmltest.c b/tests/genericxml2xmltest.c
index 39fd6d403a..a6f974e758 100644
--- a/tests/genericxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/genericxml2xmltest.c
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ static int
 testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
 {
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char *xml_in = NULL;
-    char *xml_out = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xml_in = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xml_out = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
     xml_in = g_strdup_printf("%s/genericxml2xmlindata/%s.xml",
@@ -39,8 +39,6 @@ testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
                                      info->different ? xml_out : xml_in,
                                      info->active_only, 0,
                                      info->expectResult);
-    VIR_FREE(xml_in);
-    VIR_FREE(xml_out);
     return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/interfacexml2xmltest.c b/tests/interfacexml2xmltest.c
index 3785467f84..8235e701a9 100644
--- a/tests/interfacexml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/interfacexml2xmltest.c
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@
 static int
 testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml)
 {
-    char *xmlData = NULL;
-    char *actual = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xmlData = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virInterfaceDef *dev = NULL;
 
@@ -38,8 +38,6 @@ testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml)
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
-    VIR_FREE(xmlData);
-    VIR_FREE(actual);
     virInterfaceDefFree(dev);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -48,14 +46,13 @@ static int
 testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
 {
     int result = -1;
-    char *xml = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xml = NULL;
 
     xml = g_strdup_printf("%s/interfaceschemadata/%s.xml", abs_srcdir,
                           (const char *)data);
 
     result = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(xml);
 
-    VIR_FREE(xml);
     return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/lxcconf2xmltest.c b/tests/lxcconf2xmltest.c
index df7756c931..99473a0b89 100644
--- a/tests/lxcconf2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/lxcconf2xmltest.c
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ testCompareXMLToConfigFiles(const char *xmlfile,
                             bool expectError)
 {
     int ret = -1;
-    char *config = NULL;
-    char *actualxml = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *config = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *actualxml = NULL;
     virDomainDef *vmdef = NULL;
 
     if (virTestLoadFile(configfile, &config) < 0)
@@ -51,8 +51,6 @@ testCompareXMLToConfigFiles(const char *xmlfile,
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
-    VIR_FREE(actualxml);
-    VIR_FREE(config);
     virDomainDefFree(vmdef);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -67,8 +65,8 @@ testCompareXMLToConfigHelperLegacy(const void *data)
 {
     int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char *xml = NULL;
-    char *config = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xml = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *config = NULL;
 
     xml = g_strdup_printf("%s/lxcconf2xmldata/lxcconf2xml-%s.xml",
                           abs_srcdir, info->name);
@@ -77,8 +75,6 @@ testCompareXMLToConfigHelperLegacy(const void *data)
 
     result = testCompareXMLToConfigFiles(xml, config, info->expectError);
 
-    VIR_FREE(xml);
-    VIR_FREE(config);
     return result;
 }
 
@@ -87,8 +83,8 @@ testCompareXMLToConfigHelperV3(const void *data)
 {
     int result = -1;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char *xml = NULL;
-    char *config = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xml = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *config = NULL;
 
     xml = g_strdup_printf("%s/lxcconf2xmldata/lxcconf2xml-%s.xml",
                           abs_srcdir, info->name);
@@ -97,8 +93,6 @@ testCompareXMLToConfigHelperV3(const void *data)
 
     result = testCompareXMLToConfigFiles(xml, config, info->expectError);
 
-    VIR_FREE(xml);
-    VIR_FREE(config);
     return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/lxcxml2xmltest.c b/tests/lxcxml2xmltest.c
index 69c333b9b5..8ab32acf42 100644
--- a/tests/lxcxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/lxcxml2xmltest.c
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ static int
 testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
 {
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
-    char *xml_in = NULL;
-    char *xml_out = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xml_in = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xml_out = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
     xml_in = g_strdup_printf("%s/lxcxml2xmldata/lxc-%s.xml",
@@ -43,8 +43,6 @@ testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
                                      info->active_only,
                                      info->parse_flags,
                                      TEST_COMPARE_DOM_XML2XML_RESULT_SUCCESS);
-    VIR_FREE(xml_in);
-    VIR_FREE(xml_out);
     return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/metadatatest.c b/tests/metadatatest.c
index e565383ce2..5112912161 100644
--- a/tests/metadatatest.c
+++ b/tests/metadatatest.c
@@ -92,8 +92,8 @@ verifyMetadata(virDomainPtr dom,
                const char *uri)
 {
     bool ret = false;
-    char *metadataXML = NULL;
-    char *metadataAPI = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *metadataXML = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *metadataAPI = NULL;
 
     if (!expectAPI) {
         if ((metadataAPI = virDomainGetMetadata(dom,
@@ -147,8 +147,6 @@ verifyMetadata(virDomainPtr dom,
     ret = true;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(metadataXML);
-    VIR_FREE(metadataAPI);
 
     return ret;
 }
@@ -214,7 +212,7 @@ static int
 testTextMetadata(const void *data)
 {
     const struct metadataTest *test = data;
-    char *actual = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
 
     if (virDomainSetMetadata(test->dom, test->type, test->data, NULL, NULL, 0) < 0) {
@@ -236,7 +234,6 @@ testTextMetadata(const void *data)
     ret = 0;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(actual);
 
     return ret;
 }
diff --git a/tests/nodedevxml2xmltest.c b/tests/nodedevxml2xmltest.c
index d8f81456ee..9e32e7d553 100644
--- a/tests/nodedevxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/nodedevxml2xmltest.c
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@
 static int
 testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml, const char *outfile)
 {
-    char *xmlData = NULL;
-    char *actual = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xmlData = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *actual = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virNodeDeviceDef *dev = NULL;
     virNodeDevCapsDef *caps;
@@ -59,8 +59,6 @@ testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(const char *xml, const char *outfile)
     ret = 0;
 
  fail:
-    VIR_FREE(xmlData);
-    VIR_FREE(actual);
     virNodeDeviceDefFree(dev);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -69,7 +67,7 @@ static int
 testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
 {
     int result = -1;
-    char *xml = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xml = NULL;
     g_autofree char *outfile = NULL;
 
     xml = g_strdup_printf("%s/nodedevschemadata/%s.xml", abs_srcdir,
@@ -80,7 +78,6 @@ testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
 
     result = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(xml, outfile);
 
-    VIR_FREE(xml);
     return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/nsstest.c b/tests/nsstest.c
index a4e8a4a37f..2c2e57769b 100644
--- a/tests/nsstest.c
+++ b/tests/nsstest.c
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ testGetHostByName(const void *opaque)
     i = 0;
     while (*addrList) {
         virSocketAddr sa;
-        char *ipAddr;
+        g_autofree char *ipAddr = NULL;
         void *address = *addrList;
 
         memset(&sa, 0, sizeof(sa));
@@ -138,10 +138,8 @@ testGetHostByName(const void *opaque)
             virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR,
                            "Unexpected address %s, expecting %s",
                            ipAddr, NULLSTR(data->ipAddr[i]));
-            VIR_FREE(ipAddr);
             return -1;
         }
-        VIR_FREE(ipAddr);
 
         addrList++;
         i++;
diff --git a/tests/openvzutilstest.c b/tests/openvzutilstest.c
index ddb2fcbe6c..10cf307d61 100644
--- a/tests/openvzutilstest.c
+++ b/tests/openvzutilstest.c
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ testReadConfigParam(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 {
     int result = -1;
     size_t i;
-    char *conf = NULL;
-    char *value = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *conf = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *value = NULL;
 
     conf = g_strdup_printf("%s/openvzutilstest.conf", abs_srcdir);
 
@@ -61,8 +61,6 @@ testReadConfigParam(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
     result = 0;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(conf);
-    VIR_FREE(value);
 
     return result;
 }
@@ -72,7 +70,7 @@ testReadNetworkConf(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 {
     int result = -1;
     virDomainDef *def = NULL;
-    char *actual = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *actual = NULL;
     const char *expected =
         "<domain type='openvz'>\n"
         "  <uuid>00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000</uuid>\n"
@@ -133,7 +131,6 @@ testReadNetworkConf(const void *data G_GNUC_UNUSED)
  cleanup:
     virObjectUnref(driver.xmlopt);
     virObjectUnref(driver.caps);
-    VIR_FREE(actual);
     virDomainDefFree(def);
 
     return result;
diff --git a/tests/scsihosttest.c b/tests/scsihosttest.c
index 7508ac37a3..336b3cc496 100644
--- a/tests/scsihosttest.c
+++ b/tests/scsihosttest.c
@@ -67,8 +67,8 @@ static int
 create_scsihost(const char *fakesysfsdir, const char *devicepath,
                 const char *unique_id, const char *hostname)
 {
-    char *unique_id_path = NULL;
-    char *link_path = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *unique_id_path = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *link_path = NULL;
     char *spot;
     int ret = -1;
     int fd = -1;
@@ -137,8 +137,6 @@ create_scsihost(const char *fakesysfsdir, const char *devicepath,
 
  cleanup:
     VIR_FORCE_CLOSE(fd);
-    VIR_FREE(unique_id_path);
-    VIR_FREE(link_path);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -242,8 +240,8 @@ static int
 mymain(void)
 {
     int ret = -1;
-    char *fakerootdir = NULL;
-    char *fakesysfsdir = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *fakerootdir = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *fakesysfsdir = NULL;
 
     fakerootdir = g_strdup(FAKEROOTDIRTEMPLATE);
 
@@ -279,8 +277,6 @@ mymain(void)
  cleanup:
     if (getenv("LIBVIRT_SKIP_CLEANUP") == NULL)
         virFileDeleteTree(fakerootdir);
-    VIR_FREE(fakerootdir);
-    VIR_FREE(fakesysfsdir);
     VIR_FREE(scsihost_class_path);
     return ret == 0 ? EXIT_SUCCESS : EXIT_FAILURE;
 }
diff --git a/tests/secretxml2xmltest.c b/tests/secretxml2xmltest.c
index 99aaa9db15..828e44a32b 100644
--- a/tests/secretxml2xmltest.c
+++ b/tests/secretxml2xmltest.c
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ static int
 testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
 {
     int result = -1;
-    char *inxml = NULL;
-    char *outxml = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *inxml = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *outxml = NULL;
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
 
     inxml = g_strdup_printf("%s/secretxml2xmlin/%s.xml", abs_srcdir, info->name);
@@ -46,9 +46,6 @@ testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
 
     result = testCompareXMLToXMLFiles(inxml, outxml);
 
-    VIR_FREE(inxml);
-    VIR_FREE(outxml);
-
     return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/securityselinuxlabeltest.c b/tests/securityselinuxlabeltest.c
index 3d886fd827..f5d7c782bd 100644
--- a/tests/securityselinuxlabeltest.c
+++ b/tests/securityselinuxlabeltest.c
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ testUserXattrEnabled(void)
     int ret = -1;
     ssize_t len;
     const char *con_value = "system_u:object_r:svirt_image_t:s0:c41,c264";
-    char *path = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *path = NULL;
     path = g_strdup_printf("%s/securityselinuxlabeldata/testxattr", abs_builddir);
 
     if (g_mkdir_with_parents(abs_builddir "/securityselinuxlabeldata", 0777) < 0 ||
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ testUserXattrEnabled(void)
  cleanup:
     unlink(path);
     rmdir(abs_builddir "/securityselinuxlabeldata");
-    VIR_FREE(path);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -101,9 +100,9 @@ testSELinuxLoadFileList(const char *testname,
                         size_t *nfiles)
 {
     int ret = -1;
-    char *path = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *path = NULL;
     FILE *fp = NULL;
-    char *line = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *line = NULL;
 
     *files = NULL;
     *nfiles = 0;
@@ -153,8 +152,6 @@ testSELinuxLoadFileList(const char *testname,
 
  cleanup:
     VIR_FORCE_FCLOSE(fp);
-    VIR_FREE(path);
-    VIR_FREE(line);
     return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/sockettest.c b/tests/sockettest.c
index e9654fcebb..332def2c93 100644
--- a/tests/sockettest.c
+++ b/tests/sockettest.c
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ static int testParse(virSocketAddr *addr, const char *addrstr, int family, bool
 
 static int testFormat(virSocketAddr *addr, const char *addrstr, bool pass)
 {
-    char *newaddrstr;
+    g_autofree char *newaddrstr = NULL;
 
     newaddrstr = virSocketAddrFormat(addr);
     if (!newaddrstr)
@@ -51,10 +51,8 @@ static int testFormat(virSocketAddr *addr, const char *addrstr, bool pass)
 
     if (STRNEQ(newaddrstr, addrstr)) {
         virTestDifference(stderr, addrstr, newaddrstr);
-        VIR_FREE(newaddrstr);
         return pass ? -1 : 0;
     } else {
-        VIR_FREE(newaddrstr);
         return pass ? 0 : -1;
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/testutilslxc.c b/tests/testutilslxc.c
index 9ab57f7ccb..0139de7437 100644
--- a/tests/testutilslxc.c
+++ b/tests/testutilslxc.c
@@ -39,15 +39,13 @@ testLXCCapsInit(void)
 
 
     if (virTestGetDebug()) {
-        char *caps_str;
+        g_autofree char *caps_str = NULL;
 
         caps_str = virCapabilitiesFormatXML(caps);
         if (!caps_str)
             goto error;
 
         VIR_TEST_DEBUG("LXC driver capabilities:\n%s", caps_str);
-
-        VIR_FREE(caps_str);
     }
 
     return caps;
diff --git a/tests/vboxsnapshotxmltest.c b/tests/vboxsnapshotxmltest.c
index f5f8fe36b9..da39561456 100644
--- a/tests/vboxsnapshotxmltest.c
+++ b/tests/vboxsnapshotxmltest.c
@@ -46,9 +46,9 @@ testFilterXML(char *xml)
 static int
 testCompareXMLtoXMLFiles(const char *xml)
 {
-    char *xmlData = NULL;
-    char *actual = NULL;
-    char *pathResult = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xmlData = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *actual = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *pathResult = NULL;
     int ret = -1;
     virVBoxSnapshotConfMachine *machine = NULL;
 
@@ -84,10 +84,7 @@ testCompareXMLtoXMLFiles(const char *xml)
  cleanup:
     unlink(pathResult);
     rmdir(abs_builddir "/vboxsnapshotxmldata");
-    VIR_FREE(xmlData);
-    VIR_FREE(actual);
     virVBoxSnapshotConfMachineFree(machine);
-    VIR_FREE(pathResult);
 
     return ret;
 }
@@ -96,14 +93,13 @@ static int
 testCompareXMLToXMLHelper(const void *data)
 {
     int result = -1;
-    char *xml = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *xml = NULL;
 
     xml = g_strdup_printf("%s/vboxsnapshotxmldata/%s.vbox", abs_srcdir,
                           (const char *)data);
 
     result = testCompareXMLtoXMLFiles(xml);
 
-    VIR_FREE(xml);
     return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/vmwarevertest.c b/tests/vmwarevertest.c
index fa909ad022..7cb358795f 100644
--- a/tests/vmwarevertest.c
+++ b/tests/vmwarevertest.c
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ testVerStrParse(const void *data)
 {
     const struct testInfo *info = data;
     int ret = -1;
-    char *path = NULL;
-    char *databuf = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *path = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *databuf = NULL;
     unsigned long version;
     int vmware_type;
 
@@ -63,8 +63,6 @@ testVerStrParse(const void *data)
     ret = 0;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(path);
-    VIR_FREE(databuf);
     return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/vshtabletest.c b/tests/vshtabletest.c
index 41c33b1701..804aaf4d9c 100644
--- a/tests/vshtabletest.c
+++ b/tests/vshtabletest.c
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ static int
 testUnicode(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 {
     int ret = 0;
-    char *act = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *act = NULL;
 
     const char *exp =
         " Id   名稱                  государство\n"
@@ -141,7 +141,6 @@ testUnicode(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         ret = -1;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(act);
     vshTableFree(table);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -151,7 +150,7 @@ static int
 testUnicodeArabic(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 {
     int ret = 0;
-    char *act = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *act = NULL;
 
     const char *exp =
         " ﻡﺍ ﻢﻣﺍ ﻕﺎﺌﻣﺓ   ﺓ ﺎﻠﺼﻋ                                                 ﺍﻸﺜﻧﺎﻧ\n"
@@ -184,7 +183,6 @@ testUnicodeArabic(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         ret = -1;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(act);
     vshTableFree(table);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -200,7 +198,7 @@ testUnicodeZeroWidthChar(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         "--------------------------\n"
         " 1\u200B    fedora28   run\u200Bning\n"
         " 2    rhel7.5    running\n";
-    char *act = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *act = NULL;
     wchar_t wc;
 
     /* If this char is not classed as printable, the actual
@@ -222,7 +220,6 @@ testUnicodeZeroWidthChar(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         ret = -1;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(act);
     vshTableFree(table);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -237,7 +234,7 @@ testUnicodeCombiningChar(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         "--------------------------\n"
         " 1    fědora28   running\n"
         " 2    rhel       running\n";
-    char *act = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *act = NULL;
 
     table = vshTableNew("Id", "Náme", "Ⓢtatus", NULL);
     if (!table)
@@ -250,7 +247,6 @@ testUnicodeCombiningChar(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         ret = -1;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(act);
     vshTableFree(table);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -266,7 +262,7 @@ testUnicodeNonPrintableChar(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         "----------------------------------\n"
         " 1        f\\x07edora28   running\n"
         " 2        rhel7.5        running\n";
-    char *act = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *act = NULL;
 
     table = vshTableNew("I\td", "Name", "Status", NULL);
     if (!table)
@@ -279,7 +275,6 @@ testUnicodeNonPrintableChar(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         ret = -1;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(act);
     vshTableFree(table);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -307,9 +302,9 @@ testNTables(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         " 2\n"
         " 3\n"
         " 4\n";
-    char *act1 = NULL;
-    char *act2 = NULL;
-    char *act3 = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *act1 = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *act2 = NULL;
+    g_autofree char *act3 = NULL;
 
     table1 = vshTableNew("Id", "Name", "Status", NULL);
     if (!table1)
@@ -341,9 +336,6 @@ testNTables(const void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
         ret = -1;
 
  cleanup:
-    VIR_FREE(act1);
-    VIR_FREE(act2);
-    VIR_FREE(act3);
     vshTableFree(table1);
     vshTableFree(table2);
     vshTableFree(table3);