diff --git a/src/conf/cpu_conf.c b/src/conf/cpu_conf.c
index 4434120557..1674cd6957 100644
--- a/src/conf/cpu_conf.c
+++ b/src/conf/cpu_conf.c
@@ -283,23 +283,19 @@ virCPUDefParseXMLString(const char *xml,
 {
     g_autoptr(xmlDoc) doc = NULL;
     g_autoptr(xmlXPathContext) ctxt = NULL;
-    int ret = -1;
 
     if (!xml) {
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_INVALID_ARG, "%s", _("missing CPU definition"));
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
     }
 
     if (!(doc = virXMLParseStringCtxt(xml, _("(CPU_definition)"), &ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
 
     if (virCPUDefParseXML(ctxt, NULL, type, cpu, validateXML) < 0)
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
 
-    ret = 0;
-
- cleanup:
-    return ret;
+    return 0;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/conf/virnetworkportdef.c b/src/conf/virnetworkportdef.c
index 5e916ab2b8..c1749eebe0 100644
--- a/src/conf/virnetworkportdef.c
+++ b/src/conf/virnetworkportdef.c
@@ -269,23 +269,19 @@ virNetworkPortDefParseNode(xmlDocPtr xml,
                            xmlNodePtr root)
 {
     g_autoptr(xmlXPathContext) ctxt = NULL;
-    virNetworkPortDef *def = NULL;
 
     if (STRNEQ((const char *)root->name, "networkport")) {
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_XML_ERROR,
                        "%s",
                        _("unknown root element for network port"));
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
     }
 
     if (!(ctxt = virXMLXPathContextNew(xml)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
     ctxt->node = root;
-    def = virNetworkPortDefParseXML(ctxt);
-
- cleanup:
-    return def;
+    return virNetworkPortDefParseXML(ctxt);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/conf/virnwfilterbindingdef.c b/src/conf/virnwfilterbindingdef.c
index 3428b05841..5f671030bb 100644
--- a/src/conf/virnwfilterbindingdef.c
+++ b/src/conf/virnwfilterbindingdef.c
@@ -160,23 +160,19 @@ virNWFilterBindingDefParseNode(xmlDocPtr xml,
                                xmlNodePtr root)
 {
     g_autoptr(xmlXPathContext) ctxt = NULL;
-    virNWFilterBindingDef *def = NULL;
 
     if (STRNEQ((const char *)root->name, "filterbinding")) {
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_XML_ERROR,
                        "%s",
                        _("unknown root element for nwfilter binding"));
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
     }
 
     if (!(ctxt = virXMLXPathContextNew(xml)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
     ctxt->node = root;
-    def = virNWFilterBindingDefParseXML(ctxt);
-
- cleanup:
-    return def;
+    return virNWFilterBindingDefParseXML(ctxt);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/conf/virnwfilterbindingobj.c b/src/conf/virnwfilterbindingobj.c
index 279e334d3f..29fbb63b5f 100644
--- a/src/conf/virnwfilterbindingobj.c
+++ b/src/conf/virnwfilterbindingobj.c
@@ -237,23 +237,19 @@ virNWFilterBindingObjParseNode(xmlDocPtr doc,
                                xmlNodePtr root)
 {
     g_autoptr(xmlXPathContext) ctxt = NULL;
-    virNWFilterBindingObj *obj = NULL;
 
     if (STRNEQ((const char *)root->name, "filterbindingstatus")) {
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_XML_ERROR,
                        _("unknown root element '%s' for filter binding"),
                        root->name);
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
     }
 
     if (!(ctxt = virXMLXPathContextNew(doc)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
     ctxt->node = root;
-    obj = virNWFilterBindingObjParseXML(doc, ctxt);
-
- cleanup:
-    return obj;
+    return virNWFilterBindingObjParseXML(doc, ctxt);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/conf/virsavecookie.c b/src/conf/virsavecookie.c
index 3bb97246af..6cb7fafb1f 100644
--- a/src/conf/virsavecookie.c
+++ b/src/conf/virsavecookie.c
@@ -81,22 +81,16 @@ virSaveCookieParseString(const char *xml,
 {
     g_autoptr(xmlDoc) doc = NULL;
     g_autoptr(xmlXPathContext) ctxt = NULL;
-    int ret = -1;
 
     *obj = NULL;
 
-    if (!xml) {
-        ret = 0;
-        goto cleanup;
-    }
+    if (!xml)
+        return 0;
 
     if (!(doc = virXMLParseStringCtxt(xml, _("(save cookie)"), &ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
 
-    ret = virSaveCookieParseNode(ctxt, obj, saveCookie);
-
- cleanup:
-    return ret;
+    return virSaveCookieParseNode(ctxt, obj, saveCookie);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/conf/virstorageobj.c b/src/conf/virstorageobj.c
index 1f6fedba13..f906c5b141 100644
--- a/src/conf/virstorageobj.c
+++ b/src/conf/virstorageobj.c
@@ -1652,30 +1652,30 @@ virStoragePoolObjLoadState(virStoragePoolObjList *pools,
         return NULL;
 
     if (!(xml = virXMLParseCtxt(stateFile, NULL, _("(pool state)"), &ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
     if (!(node = virXPathNode("//pool", ctxt))) {
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR, "%s",
                        _("Could not find any 'pool' element in state file"));
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
     }
 
     ctxt->node = node;
     if (!(def = virStoragePoolDefParseXML(ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
     if (STRNEQ(name, def->name)) {
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR,
                        _("Storage pool state file '%s' does not match "
                          "pool name '%s'"),
                        stateFile, def->name);
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
     }
 
     /* create the object */
     if (!(obj = virStoragePoolObjListAdd(pools, def,
                                          VIR_STORAGE_POOL_OBJ_LIST_ADD_CHECK_LIVE)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
     def = NULL;
 
     /* XXX: future handling of some additional useful status data,
@@ -1684,8 +1684,6 @@ virStoragePoolObjLoadState(virStoragePoolObjList *pools,
      */
 
     obj->active = true;
-
- cleanup:
     return obj;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/libxl/libxl_migration.c b/src/libxl/libxl_migration.c
index a2c2b6dbde..aa719a19d2 100644
--- a/src/libxl/libxl_migration.c
+++ b/src/libxl/libxl_migration.c
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@ libxlMigrationEatCookie(const char *cookiein,
     g_autoptr(xmlDoc) doc = NULL;
     g_autoptr(xmlXPathContext) ctxt = NULL;
     g_autofree char *uuidstr = NULL;
-    int ret = -1;
 
     /*
      * Assume a legacy (V1) migration stream if request came from a
@@ -209,14 +208,11 @@ libxlMigrationEatCookie(const char *cookiein,
     }
 
     *migout = mig;
-    ret = 0;
-    goto cleanup;
+    return 0;
 
  error:
     libxlMigrationCookieFree(mig);
-
- cleanup:
-    return ret;
+    return -1;
 }
 
 static void
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_migration_cookie.c b/src/qemu/qemu_migration_cookie.c
index 106897cacd..b67728f9c0 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_migration_cookie.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_migration_cookie.c
@@ -1433,18 +1433,13 @@ qemuMigrationCookieXMLParseStr(qemuMigrationCookie *mig,
 {
     g_autoptr(xmlDoc) doc = NULL;
     g_autoptr(xmlXPathContext) ctxt = NULL;
-    int ret = -1;
 
     VIR_DEBUG("xml=%s", NULLSTR(xml));
 
     if (!(doc = virXMLParseStringCtxt(xml, _("(qemu_migration_cookie)"), &ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
 
-    ret = qemuMigrationCookieXMLParse(mig, driver, qemuCaps, doc, ctxt, flags);
-
- cleanup:
-
-    return ret;
+    return qemuMigrationCookieXMLParse(mig, driver, qemuCaps, doc, ctxt, flags);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/security/virt-aa-helper.c b/src/security/virt-aa-helper.c
index c0bbd7414a..77b2307594 100644
--- a/src/security/virt-aa-helper.c
+++ b/src/security/virt-aa-helper.c
@@ -567,34 +567,33 @@ verify_xpath_context(xmlXPathContextPtr ctxt)
 static int
 caps_mockup(vahControl * ctl, const char *xmlStr)
 {
-    int rc = -1;
     g_autoptr(xmlDoc) xml = NULL;
     g_autoptr(xmlXPathContext) ctxt = NULL;
     char *arch;
 
     if (!(xml = virXMLParseStringCtxt(xmlStr, _("(domain_definition)"),
                                       &ctxt))) {
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
     }
 
     if (!virXMLNodeNameEqual(ctxt->node, "domain")) {
         vah_error(NULL, 0, _("unexpected root element, expecting <domain>"));
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
     }
 
     /* Quick sanity check for some required elements */
     if (verify_xpath_context(ctxt) != 0)
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
 
     ctl->virtType = virXPathString("string(./@type)", ctxt);
     if (!ctl->virtType) {
         vah_error(ctl, 0, _("domain type is not defined"));
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
     }
     ctl->os = virXPathString("string(./os/type[1])", ctxt);
     if (!ctl->os) {
         vah_error(ctl, 0, _("os.type is not defined"));
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
     }
     arch = virXPathString("string(./os/type[1]/@arch)", ctxt);
     if (!arch) {
@@ -604,11 +603,7 @@ caps_mockup(vahControl * ctl, const char *xmlStr)
         VIR_FREE(arch);
     }
 
-    rc = 0;
-
- cleanup:
-
-    return rc;
+    return 0;
 }
 
 virDomainDefParserConfig virAAHelperDomainDefParserConfig = {
diff --git a/src/storage/storage_util.c b/src/storage/storage_util.c
index 7ee736535c..53792765ff 100644
--- a/src/storage/storage_util.c
+++ b/src/storage/storage_util.c
@@ -2897,26 +2897,25 @@ virStorageUtilGlusterExtractPoolSources(const char *host,
     virStoragePoolSource *src = NULL;
     size_t i;
     int nnodes;
-    int ret = -1;
     g_autofree xmlNodePtr *nodes = NULL;
     g_autofree char *volname = NULL;
 
     if (!(doc = virXMLParseStringCtxt(xml, _("(gluster_cli_output)"), &ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
 
     if ((nnodes = virXPathNodeSet("//volumes/volume", ctxt, &nodes)) < 0)
-        goto cleanup;
+        return -1;
 
     for (i = 0; i < nnodes; i++) {
         ctxt->node = nodes[i];
 
         if (!(src = virStoragePoolSourceListNewSource(list)))
-            goto cleanup;
+            return -1;
 
         if (!(volname = virXPathString("string(./name)", ctxt))) {
             virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR, "%s",
                            _("failed to extract gluster volume name"));
-            goto cleanup;
+            return -1;
         }
 
         if (pooltype == VIR_STORAGE_POOL_NETFS) {
@@ -2928,7 +2927,7 @@ virStorageUtilGlusterExtractPoolSources(const char *host,
         } else {
             virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR, "%s",
                            _("unsupported gluster lookup"));
-            goto cleanup;
+            return -1;
         }
 
         src->hosts = g_new0(virStoragePoolSourceHost, 1);
@@ -2937,11 +2936,7 @@ virStorageUtilGlusterExtractPoolSources(const char *host,
         src->hosts[0].name = g_strdup(host);
     }
 
-    ret = nnodes;
-
- cleanup:
-
-    return ret;
+    return nnodes;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/vz/vz_driver.c b/src/vz/vz_driver.c
index 9eba9d47fb..a1d05f834b 100644
--- a/src/vz/vz_driver.c
+++ b/src/vz/vz_driver.c
@@ -2837,13 +2837,11 @@ vzEatCookie(const char *cookiein, int cookieinlen, unsigned int flags)
         goto error;
     }
 
- cleanup:
     return mig;
 
  error:
     vzMigrationCookieFree(mig);
-    mig = NULL;
-    goto cleanup;
+    return NULL;
 }
 
 #define VZ_MIGRATION_FLAGS         (VIR_MIGRATE_PAUSED | \
diff --git a/tests/cputest.c b/tests/cputest.c
index 14606f5864..7816de87f7 100644
--- a/tests/cputest.c
+++ b/tests/cputest.c
@@ -79,11 +79,10 @@ cpuTestLoadXML(virArch arch, const char *name)
                           virArchToString(arch), name);
 
     if (!(doc = virXMLParseFileCtxt(xml, &ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
     virCPUDefParseXML(ctxt, NULL, VIR_CPU_TYPE_AUTO, &cpu, false);
 
- cleanup:
     return cpu;
 }
 
@@ -105,12 +104,12 @@ cpuTestLoadMultiXML(virArch arch,
                           virArchToString(arch), name);
 
     if (!(doc = virXMLParseFileCtxt(xml, &ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
     n = virXPathNodeSet("/cpuTest/cpu", ctxt, &nodes);
     if (n <= 0) {
         fprintf(stderr, "\nNo /cpuTest/cpu elements found in %s\n", xml);
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
     }
 
     cpus = g_new0(virCPUDef *, n);
@@ -119,19 +118,18 @@ cpuTestLoadMultiXML(virArch arch,
         ctxt->node = nodes[i];
         if (virCPUDefParseXML(ctxt, NULL, VIR_CPU_TYPE_HOST, &cpus[i],
                               false) < 0)
-            goto cleanup_cpus;
+            goto error;
     }
 
     *count = n;
 
- cleanup:
     return cpus;
 
- cleanup_cpus:
+ error:
     for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
         virCPUDefFree(cpus[i]);
     VIR_FREE(cpus);
-    goto cleanup;
+    return NULL;
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/metadatatest.c b/tests/metadatatest.c
index 2c560c27c1..e565383ce2 100644
--- a/tests/metadatatest.c
+++ b/tests/metadatatest.c
@@ -61,22 +61,17 @@ getMetadataFromXML(virDomainPtr dom)
     xmlNodePtr node;
 
     g_autofree char *xml = NULL;
-    char *ret = NULL;
 
     if (!(xml = virDomainGetXMLDesc(dom, 0)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
     if (!(doc = virXMLParseStringCtxt(xml, "(domain_definition)", &ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
     if (!(node = virXPathNode("//metadata/*", ctxt)))
-        goto cleanup;
+        return NULL;
 
-    ret = virXMLNodeToString(node->doc, node);
-
- cleanup:
-
-    return ret;
+    return virXMLNodeToString(node->doc, node);
 }