Merge remote-tracking branch 'remotes/armbru/tags/pull-tests-2018-08-16' into staging

Testing patches for 2018-08-16

# gpg: Signature made Thu 16 Aug 2018 09:34:43 BST
# gpg:                using RSA key 3870B400EB918653
# gpg: Good signature from "Markus Armbruster <armbru@redhat.com>"
# gpg:                 aka "Markus Armbruster <armbru@pond.sub.org>"
# Primary key fingerprint: 354B C8B3 D7EB 2A6B 6867  4E5F 3870 B400 EB91 8653

* remotes/armbru/tags/pull-tests-2018-08-16: (25 commits)
  libqtest: Improve error reporting for bad read from QEMU
  tests/libqtest: Improve kill_qemu()
  libqtest: Rename qtest_FOOv() to qtest_vFOO() for consistency
  libqtest: Replace qtest_startf() by qtest_initf()
  libqtest: Enable compile-time format string checking
  migration-test: Clean up string interpolation into QMP, part 3
  migration-test: Clean up string interpolation into QMP, part 2
  migration-test: Clean up string interpolation into QMP, part 1
  migration-test: Make wait_command() cope with '%'
  tests: New helper qtest_qmp_receive_success()
  migration-test: Make wait_command() return the "return" member
  tests: Clean up string interpolation around qtest_qmp_device_add()
  cpu-plug-test: Don't pass integers as strings to device_add
  tests: Clean up string interpolation into QMP input (simple cases)
  tests: Pass literal format strings directly to qmp_FOO()
  qobject: qobject_from_jsonv() is dangerous, hide it away
  test-qobject-input-visitor: Avoid format string ambiguity
  libqtest: Simplify qmp_fd_vsend() a bit
  qobject: New qobject_from_vjsonf_nofail(), qdict_from_vjsonf_nofail()
  qobject: Replace qobject_from_jsonf() by qobject_from_jsonf_nofail()
  ...

Signed-off-by: Peter Maydell <peter.maydell@linaro.org>

51 files changed, 575 insertions, 557 deletions

diff --git a/include/qapi/qmp/qjson.h b/include/qapi/qmp/qjson.h
index 43b2ce2f33..5ebbe5a118 100644
--- a/include/qapi/qmp/qjson.h
+++ b/include/qapi/qmp/qjson.h
@@ -15,11 +15,15 @@
 #define QJSON_H
 
 QObject *qobject_from_json(const char *string, Error **errp);
-QObject *qobject_from_jsonf(const char *string, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
-QObject *qobject_from_jsonv(const char *string, va_list *ap, Error **errp)
-    GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 0);
 
-QDict *qdict_from_jsonf_nofail(const char *string, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
+QObject *qobject_from_vjsonf_nofail(const char *string, va_list ap)
+    GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 0);
+QObject *qobject_from_jsonf_nofail(const char *string, ...)
+    GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
+QDict *qdict_from_vjsonf_nofail(const char *string, va_list ap)
+    GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 0);
+QDict *qdict_from_jsonf_nofail(const char *string, ...)
+    GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
 
 QString *qobject_to_json(const QObject *obj);
 QString *qobject_to_json_pretty(const QObject *obj);
diff --git a/qobject/qjson.c b/qobject/qjson.c
index 2f6a590e44..ab4040f235 100644
--- a/qobject/qjson.c
+++ b/qobject/qjson.c
@@ -39,7 +39,18 @@ static void parse_json(JSONMessageParser *parser, GQueue *tokens)
     s->result = json_parser_parse_err(tokens, s->ap, &s->err);
 }
 
-QObject *qobject_from_jsonv(const char *string, va_list *ap, Error **errp)
+/*
+ * Parse @string as JSON value.
+ * If @ap is non-null, interpolate %-escapes.
+ * Takes ownership of %p arguments.
+ * On success, return the JSON value.
+ * On failure, store an error through @errp and return NULL.
+ * Ownership of %p arguments becomes indeterminate then.  To avoid
+ * leaks, callers passing %p must terminate on error, e.g. by passing
+ * &error_abort.
+ */
+static QObject *qobject_from_jsonv(const char *string, va_list *ap,
+                                   Error **errp)
 {
     JSONParsingState state = {};
 
@@ -59,13 +70,37 @@ QObject *qobject_from_json(const char *string, Error **errp)
     return qobject_from_jsonv(string, NULL, errp);
 }
 
-QObject *qobject_from_jsonf(const char *string, ...)
+/*
+ * Parse @string as JSON value with %-escapes interpolated.
+ * Abort on error.  Do not use with untrusted @string.
+ * Return the resulting QObject.  It is never null.
+ */
+QObject *qobject_from_vjsonf_nofail(const char *string, va_list ap)
+{
+    va_list ap_copy;
+    QObject *obj;
+
+    /* va_copy() is needed when va_list is an array type */
+    va_copy(ap_copy, ap);
+    obj = qobject_from_jsonv(string, &ap_copy, &error_abort);
+    va_end(ap_copy);
+
+    assert(obj);
+    return obj;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Parse @string as JSON value with %-escapes interpolated.
+ * Abort on error.  Do not use with untrusted @string.
+ * Return the resulting QObject.  It is never null.
+ */
+QObject *qobject_from_jsonf_nofail(const char *string, ...)
 {
     QObject *obj;
     va_list ap;
 
     va_start(ap, string);
-    obj = qobject_from_jsonv(string, &ap, &error_abort);
+    obj = qobject_from_vjsonf_nofail(string, ap);
     va_end(ap);
 
     return obj;
@@ -76,17 +111,29 @@ QObject *qobject_from_jsonf(const char *string, ...)
  * Abort on error.  Do not use with untrusted @string.
  * Return the resulting QDict.  It is never null.
  */
+QDict *qdict_from_vjsonf_nofail(const char *string, va_list ap)
+{
+    QDict *qdict;
+
+    qdict = qobject_to(QDict, qobject_from_vjsonf_nofail(string, ap));
+    assert(qdict);
+    return qdict;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Parse @string as JSON object with %-escapes interpolated.
+ * Abort on error.  Do not use with untrusted @string.
+ * Return the resulting QDict.  It is never null.
+ */
 QDict *qdict_from_jsonf_nofail(const char *string, ...)
 {
-    QDict *obj;
+    QDict *qdict;
     va_list ap;
 
     va_start(ap, string);
-    obj = qobject_to(QDict, qobject_from_jsonv(string, &ap, &error_abort));
+    qdict = qdict_from_vjsonf_nofail(string, ap);
     va_end(ap);
-
-    assert(obj);
-    return obj;
+    return qdict;
 }
 
 typedef struct ToJsonIterState
diff --git a/tests/ahci-test.c b/tests/ahci-test.c
index 937ed2f910..5dd380e5ea 100644
--- a/tests/ahci-test.c
+++ b/tests/ahci-test.c
@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@
 #include "hw/pci/pci_ids.h"
 #include "hw/pci/pci_regs.h"
 
+/* TODO actually test the results and get rid of this */
+#define qmp_discard_response(...) qobject_unref(qmp(__VA_ARGS__))
+
 /* Test images sizes in MB */
 #define TEST_IMAGE_SIZE_MB_LARGE (200 * 1024)
 #define TEST_IMAGE_SIZE_MB_SMALL 64
@@ -1352,7 +1355,6 @@ static void test_flush_migrate(void)
     AHCIQState *src, *dst;
     AHCICommand *cmd;
     uint8_t px;
-    const char *s;
     char *uri = g_strdup_printf("unix:%s", mig_socket);
 
     prepare_blkdebug_script(debug_path, "flush_to_disk");
@@ -1388,8 +1390,7 @@ static void test_flush_migrate(void)
     ahci_migrate(src, dst, uri);
 
     /* Complete the command */
-    s = "{'execute':'cont' }";
-    qmp_async(s);
+    qmp_send("{'execute':'cont' }");
     qmp_eventwait("RESUME");
     ahci_command_wait(dst, cmd);
     ahci_command_verify(dst, cmd);
@@ -1592,8 +1593,8 @@ static void test_atapi_tray(void)
     atapi_wait_tray(false);
 
     /* Remove media */
-    qmp_async("{'execute': 'blockdev-open-tray', "
-               "'arguments': {'id': 'cd0'}}");
+    qmp_send("{'execute': 'blockdev-open-tray',"
+             " 'arguments': {'id': 'cd0'}}");
     atapi_wait_tray(true);
     rsp = qmp_receive();
     qobject_unref(rsp);
@@ -1619,8 +1620,8 @@ static void test_atapi_tray(void)
                                          "'node-name': 'node0' }}");
 
     /* Again, the event shows up first */
-    qmp_async("{'execute': 'blockdev-close-tray', "
-               "'arguments': {'id': 'cd0'}}");
+    qmp_send("{'execute': 'blockdev-close-tray',"
+             " 'arguments': {'id': 'cd0'}}");
     atapi_wait_tray(false);
     rsp = qmp_receive();
     qobject_unref(rsp);
diff --git a/tests/boot-order-test.c b/tests/boot-order-test.c
index e70f5dedba..9d98c48a3d 100644
--- a/tests/boot-order-test.c
+++ b/tests/boot-order-test.c
@@ -13,9 +13,12 @@
 #include "qemu/osdep.h"
 #include "libqos/fw_cfg.h"
 #include "libqtest.h"
-
+#include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
 #include "hw/nvram/fw_cfg_keys.h"
 
+/* TODO actually test the results and get rid of this */
+#define qmp_discard_response(...) qobject_unref(qmp(__VA_ARGS__))
+
 typedef struct {
     const char *args;
     uint64_t expected_boot;
@@ -30,10 +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 952a2e7ead..1355df924d 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 7a1fce5dfb..9b43dc9ab4 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/check-qjson.c b/tests/check-qjson.c
index da582df3e9..eaf5d20663 100644
--- a/tests/check-qjson.c
+++ b/tests/check-qjson.c
@@ -865,7 +865,8 @@ static void vararg_string(void)
         QString *str;
 
         str = qobject_to(QString,
-                         qobject_from_jsonf("%s", test_cases[i].decoded));
+                         qobject_from_jsonf_nofail("%s",
+                                                   test_cases[i].decoded));
         g_assert(str);
         g_assert(strcmp(qstring_get_str(str), test_cases[i].decoded) == 0);
 
@@ -998,17 +999,17 @@ static void vararg_number(void)
     double valuef = 2.323423423;
     int64_t val;
 
-    qnum = qobject_to(QNum, qobject_from_jsonf("%d", value));
+    qnum = qobject_to(QNum, qobject_from_jsonf_nofail("%d", value));
     g_assert(qnum_get_try_int(qnum, &val));
     g_assert_cmpint(val, ==, value);
     qobject_unref(qnum);
 
-    qnum = qobject_to(QNum, qobject_from_jsonf("%lld", value_ll));
+    qnum = qobject_to(QNum, qobject_from_jsonf_nofail("%lld", value_ll));
     g_assert(qnum_get_try_int(qnum, &val));
     g_assert_cmpint(val, ==, value_ll);
     qobject_unref(qnum);
 
-    qnum = qobject_to(QNum, qobject_from_jsonf("%f", valuef));
+    qnum = qobject_to(QNum, qobject_from_jsonf_nofail("%f", valuef));
     g_assert(qnum_get_double(qnum) == valuef);
     qobject_unref(qnum);
 }
@@ -1042,13 +1043,13 @@ static void keyword_literal(void)
 
     qobject_unref(qbool);
 
-    qbool = qobject_to(QBool, qobject_from_jsonf("%i", false));
+    qbool = qobject_to(QBool, qobject_from_jsonf_nofail("%i", false));
     g_assert(qbool);
     g_assert(qbool_get_bool(qbool) == false);
     qobject_unref(qbool);
 
     /* Test that non-zero values other than 1 get collapsed to true */
-    qbool = qobject_to(QBool, qobject_from_jsonf("%i", 2));
+    qbool = qobject_to(QBool, qobject_from_jsonf_nofail("%i", 2));
     g_assert(qbool);
     g_assert(qbool_get_bool(qbool) == true);
     qobject_unref(qbool);
@@ -1298,7 +1299,7 @@ static void simple_varargs(void)
     embedded_obj = qobject_from_json("[32, 42]", &error_abort);
     g_assert(embedded_obj != NULL);
 
-    obj = qobject_from_jsonf("[%d, 2, %p]", 1, embedded_obj);
+    obj = qobject_from_jsonf_nofail("[%d, 2, %p]", 1, embedded_obj);
     g_assert(qlit_equal_qobject(&decoded, obj));
 
     qobject_unref(obj);
diff --git a/tests/cpu-plug-test.c b/tests/cpu-plug-test.c
index 5f39ba0df3..f5d57da60e 100644
--- a/tests/cpu-plug-test.c
+++ b/tests/cpu-plug-test.c
@@ -88,8 +88,9 @@ static void test_plug_with_device_add_x86(gconstpointer data)
         for (c = 0; c < td->cores; c++) {
             for (t = 0; t < td->threads; t++) {
                 char *id = g_strdup_printf("id-%i-%i-%i", s, c, t);
-                qtest_qmp_device_add(td->device_model, id, "'socket-id':'%i', "
-                                     "'core-id':'%i', 'thread-id':'%i'",
+                qtest_qmp_device_add(td->device_model, id,
+                                     "{'socket-id':%u, 'core-id':%u,"
+                                     " 'thread-id':%u}",
                                      s, c, t);
                 g_free(id);
             }
@@ -114,7 +115,7 @@ static void test_plug_with_device_add_coreid(gconstpointer data)
 
     for (c = td->cores; c < td->maxcpus / td->sockets / td->threads; c++) {
         char *id = g_strdup_printf("id-%i", c);
-        qtest_qmp_device_add(td->device_model, id, "'core-id':'%i'", c);
+        qtest_qmp_device_add(td->device_model, id, "{'core-id':%u}", c);
         g_free(id);
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/drive_del-test.c b/tests/drive_del-test.c
index 852fefc8f3..2d0b176b36 100644
--- a/tests/drive_del-test.c
+++ b/tests/drive_del-test.c
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@
 #include "libqos/virtio.h"
 #include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
 
+/* TODO actually test the results and get rid of this */
+#define qmp_discard_response(...) qobject_unref(qmp(__VA_ARGS__))
+
 static void drive_add(void)
 {
     char *resp = hmp("drive_add 0 if=none,id=drive0");
diff --git a/tests/e1000e-test.c b/tests/e1000e-test.c
index 32aa738b72..c9408a5d1f 100644
--- a/tests/e1000e-test.c
+++ b/tests/e1000e-test.c
@@ -456,12 +456,10 @@ static void test_e1000e_multiple_transfers(gconstpointer data)
 
 static void test_e1000e_hotplug(gconstpointer data)
 {
-    static const uint8_t slot = 0x06;
-
     qtest_start("-device e1000e");
 
-    qpci_plug_device_test("e1000e", "e1000e_net", slot, NULL);
-    qpci_unplug_acpi_device_test("e1000e_net", slot);
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("e1000e", "e1000e_net", "{'addr': '0x06'}");
+    qpci_unplug_acpi_device_test("e1000e_net", 0x06);
 
     qtest_end();
 }
diff --git a/tests/endianness-test.c b/tests/endianness-test.c
index 546e0969e4..48680cd131 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/fdc-test.c b/tests/fdc-test.c
index 325712e0f2..88f1abfa10 100644
--- a/tests/fdc-test.c
+++ b/tests/fdc-test.c
@@ -26,8 +26,12 @@
 
 
 #include "libqtest.h"
+#include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
 #include "qemu-common.h"
 
+/* TODO actually test the results and get rid of this */
+#define qmp_discard_response(...) qobject_unref(qmp(__VA_ARGS__))
+
 #define TEST_IMAGE_SIZE 1440 * 1024
 
 #define FLOPPY_BASE 0x3f0
diff --git a/tests/ide-test.c b/tests/ide-test.c
index f39431b1a9..33cef61e1f 100644
--- a/tests/ide-test.c
+++ b/tests/ide-test.c
@@ -29,12 +29,15 @@
 #include "libqos/libqos.h"
 #include "libqos/pci-pc.h"
 #include "libqos/malloc-pc.h"
-
+#include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
 #include "qemu-common.h"
 #include "qemu/bswap.h"
 #include "hw/pci/pci_ids.h"
 #include "hw/pci/pci_regs.h"
 
+/* TODO actually test the results and get rid of this */
+#define qmp_discard_response(...) qobject_unref(qmp(__VA_ARGS__))
+
 #define TEST_IMAGE_SIZE 64 * 1024 * 1024
 
 #define IDE_PCI_DEV     1
@@ -694,7 +697,6 @@ static void test_retry_flush(const char *machine)
     QPCIDevice *dev;
     QPCIBar bmdma_bar, ide_bar;
     uint8_t data;
-    const char *s;
 
     prepare_blkdebug_script(debug_path, "flush_to_disk");
 
@@ -722,8 +724,7 @@ static void test_retry_flush(const char *machine)
     qmp_eventwait("STOP");
 
     /* Complete the command */
-    s = "{'execute':'cont' }";
-    qmp_discard_response(s);
+    qmp_discard_response("{'execute':'cont' }");
 
     /* Check registers */
     data = qpci_io_readb(dev, ide_bar, reg_device);
diff --git a/tests/ipmi-bt-test.c b/tests/ipmi-bt-test.c
index 8be18e3f42..f4a81b5265 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/ivshmem-test.c b/tests/ivshmem-test.c
index 9b407a3e42..c37b196b32 100644
--- a/tests/ivshmem-test.c
+++ b/tests/ivshmem-test.c
@@ -420,19 +420,17 @@ static void test_ivshmem_server_irq(void)
 static void test_ivshmem_hotplug(void)
 {
     const char *arch = qtest_get_arch();
-    gchar *opts;
 
     qtest_start("");
 
-    opts = g_strdup_printf("'shm': '%s', 'size': '1M'", tmpshm);
-
-    qpci_plug_device_test("ivshmem", "iv1", PCI_SLOT_HP, opts);
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("ivshmem",
+                         "iv1", "{'addr': %s, 'shm': %s, 'size': '1M'}",
+                         stringify(PCI_SLOT_HP), tmpshm);
     if (strcmp(arch, "ppc64") != 0) {
         qpci_unplug_acpi_device_test("iv1", PCI_SLOT_HP);
     }
 
     qtest_end();
-    g_free(opts);
 }
 
 static void test_ivshmem_memdev(void)
diff --git a/tests/libqos/ahci.c b/tests/libqos/ahci.c
index 42d3f76933..63fbc9e3c9 100644
--- a/tests/libqos/ahci.c
+++ b/tests/libqos/ahci.c
@@ -674,7 +674,7 @@ void ahci_exec(AHCIQState *ahci, uint8_t port,
         g_assert_cmpint(rc, ==, 0);
     }
     if (opts->error) {
-        qtest_async_qmp(ahci->parent->qts, "{'execute':'cont' }");
+        qtest_qmp_send(ahci->parent->qts, "{'execute':'cont' }");
         qtest_qmp_eventwait(ahci->parent->qts, "RESUME");
     }
 
@@ -712,7 +712,7 @@ AHCICommand *ahci_guest_io_halt(AHCIQState *ahci, uint8_t port,
 void ahci_guest_io_resume(AHCIQState *ahci, AHCICommand *cmd)
 {
     /* Complete the command */
-    qtest_async_qmp(ahci->parent->qts, "{'execute':'cont' }");
+    qtest_qmp_send(ahci->parent->qts, "{'execute':'cont' }");
     qtest_qmp_eventwait(ahci->parent->qts, "RESUME");
     ahci_command_wait(ahci, cmd);
     ahci_command_verify(ahci, cmd);
diff --git a/tests/libqos/pci-pc.c b/tests/libqos/pci-pc.c
index a7803308b7..585f5289ec 100644
--- a/tests/libqos/pci-pc.c
+++ b/tests/libqos/pci-pc.c
@@ -160,14 +160,9 @@ void qpci_free_pc(QPCIBus *bus)
 void qpci_unplug_acpi_device_test(const char *id, uint8_t slot)
 {
     QDict *response;
-    char *cmd;
-
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'device_del',"
-                          " 'arguments': {"
-                          "   'id': '%s'"
-                          "}}", id);
-    response = qmp(cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+
+    response = qmp("{'execute': 'device_del', 'arguments': {'id': %s}}",
+                   id);
     g_assert(response);
     g_assert(!qdict_haskey(response, "error"));
     qobject_unref(response);
diff --git a/tests/libqos/pci.c b/tests/libqos/pci.c
index 0b73cb23d0..e8c342c257 100644
--- a/tests/libqos/pci.c
+++ b/tests/libqos/pci.c
@@ -395,10 +395,3 @@ QPCIBar qpci_legacy_iomap(QPCIDevice *dev, uint16_t addr)
     QPCIBar bar = { .addr = addr };
     return bar;
 }
-
-void qpci_plug_device_test(const char *driver, const char *id,
-                           uint8_t slot, const char *opts)
-{
-    qtest_qmp_device_add(driver, id, "'addr': '%d'%s%s", slot,
-                         opts ? ", " : "", opts ? opts : "");
-}
diff --git a/tests/libqos/pci.h b/tests/libqos/pci.h
index 429c382282..0b7e936174 100644
--- a/tests/libqos/pci.h
+++ b/tests/libqos/pci.h
@@ -109,7 +109,5 @@ QPCIBar qpci_iomap(QPCIDevice *dev, int barno, uint64_t *sizeptr);
 void qpci_iounmap(QPCIDevice *dev, QPCIBar addr);
 QPCIBar qpci_legacy_iomap(QPCIDevice *dev, uint16_t addr);
 
-void qpci_plug_device_test(const char *driver, const char *id,
-                           uint8_t slot, const char *opts);
 void qpci_unplug_acpi_device_test(const char *id, uint8_t slot);
 #endif
diff --git a/tests/libqos/usb.c b/tests/libqos/usb.c
index 2a476049a8..49e2f4bc0a 100644
--- a/tests/libqos/usb.c
+++ b/tests/libqos/usb.c
@@ -37,13 +37,14 @@ void uhci_port_test(struct qhc *hc, int port, uint16_t expect)
     g_assert((value & mask) == (expect & mask));
 }
 
-void usb_test_hotplug(const char *hcd_id, const int port,
+void usb_test_hotplug(const char *hcd_id, const char *port,
                       void (*port_check)(void))
 {
-    char  *id = g_strdup_printf("usbdev%d", port);
+    char *id = g_strdup_printf("usbdev%s", port);
+    char *bus = g_strdup_printf("%s.0", hcd_id);
 
-    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-tablet", id, "'port': '%d', 'bus': '%s.0'",
-                         port, hcd_id);
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-tablet", id, "{'port': %s, 'bus': %s}",
+                         port, bus);
 
     if (port_check) {
         port_check();
@@ -51,5 +52,6 @@ void usb_test_hotplug(const char *hcd_id, const int port,
 
     qtest_qmp_device_del(id);
 
+    g_free(bus);
     g_free(id);
 }
diff --git a/tests/libqos/usb.h b/tests/libqos/usb.h
index 297cfc564d..c506418a13 100644
--- a/tests/libqos/usb.h
+++ b/tests/libqos/usb.h
@@ -13,6 +13,6 @@ void qusb_pci_init_one(QPCIBus *pcibus, struct qhc *hc,
 void uhci_port_test(struct qhc *hc, int port, uint16_t expect);
 void uhci_deinit(struct qhc *hc);
 
-void usb_test_hotplug(const char *bus_name, const int port,
+void usb_test_hotplug(const char *bus_name, const char *port,
                       void (*port_check)(void));
 #endif
diff --git a/tests/libqtest.c b/tests/libqtest.c
index 098af6aec4..852ccff1ce 100644
--- a/tests/libqtest.c
+++ b/tests/libqtest.c
@@ -107,10 +107,28 @@ static void kill_qemu(QTestState *s)
         pid_t pid;
 
         kill(s->qemu_pid, SIGTERM);
-        pid = waitpid(s->qemu_pid, &wstatus, 0);
+        TFR(pid = waitpid(s->qemu_pid, &wstatus, 0));
 
-        if (pid == s->qemu_pid && WIFSIGNALED(wstatus)) {
-            assert(!WCOREDUMP(wstatus));
+        assert(pid == s->qemu_pid);
+        /*
+         * We expect qemu to exit with status 0; anything else is
+         * fishy and should be logged with as much detail as possible.
+         */
+        if (wstatus) {
+            if (WIFEXITED(wstatus)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: kill_qemu() tried to terminate QEMU "
+                        "process but encountered exit status %d\n",
+                        __FILE__, __LINE__, WEXITSTATUS(wstatus));
+            } else if (WIFSIGNALED(wstatus)) {
+                int sig = WTERMSIG(wstatus);
+                const char *signame = strsignal(sig) ?: "unknown ???";
+                const char *dump = WCOREDUMP(wstatus) ? " (core dumped)" : "";
+
+                fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: kill_qemu() detected QEMU death "
+                        "from signal %d (%s)%s\n",
+                        __FILE__, __LINE__, sig, signame, dump);
+            }
+            abort();
         }
     }
 }
@@ -249,32 +267,33 @@ QTestState *qtest_init_without_qmp_handshake(bool use_oob,
 QTestState *qtest_init(const char *extra_args)
 {
     QTestState *s = qtest_init_without_qmp_handshake(false, extra_args);
+    QDict *greeting;
 
     /* Read the QMP greeting and then do the handshake */
-    qtest_qmp_discard_response(s, "");
-    qtest_qmp_discard_response(s, "{ 'execute': 'qmp_capabilities' }");
+    greeting = qtest_qmp_receive(s);
+    qobject_unref(greeting);
+    qobject_unref(qtest_qmp(s, "{ 'execute': 'qmp_capabilities' }"));
 
     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;
 }
@@ -348,7 +367,7 @@ static GString *qtest_recv_line(QTestState *s)
 
         if (len == -1 || len == 0) {
             fprintf(stderr, "Broken pipe\n");
-            exit(1);
+            abort();
         }
 
         g_string_append_len(s->rx, buffer, len);
@@ -435,7 +454,7 @@ static void qmp_response(JSONMessageParser *parser, GQueue *tokens)
     obj = json_parser_parse(tokens, NULL);
     if (!obj) {
         fprintf(stderr, "QMP JSON response parsing failed\n");
-        exit(1);
+        abort();
     }
 
     g_assert(!qmp->response);
@@ -461,7 +480,7 @@ QDict *qmp_fd_receive(int fd)
 
         if (len == -1 || len == 0) {
             fprintf(stderr, "Broken pipe\n");
-            exit(1);
+            abort();
         }
 
         if (log) {
@@ -484,26 +503,22 @@ QDict *qtest_qmp_receive(QTestState *s)
  * in the case that they choose to discard all replies up until
  * a particular EVENT is received.
  */
-void qmp_fd_sendv(int fd, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
+void qmp_fd_vsend(int fd, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
 {
-    va_list ap_copy;
     QObject *qobj;
 
-    /* qobject_from_jsonv() silently eats leading 0xff as invalid
-     * JSON, but we want to test sending them over the wire to force
-     * resyncs */
+    /*
+     * qobject_from_vjsonf_nofail() chokes on leading 0xff as invalid
+     * JSON, but tests/test-qga.c needs to send that to test QGA
+     * synchronization
+     */
     if (*fmt == '\377') {
         socket_send(fd, fmt, 1);
         fmt++;
     }
 
-    /* Going through qobject ensures we escape strings properly.
-     * This seemingly unnecessary copy is required in case va_list
-     * is an array type.
-     */
-    va_copy(ap_copy, ap);
-    qobj = qobject_from_jsonv(fmt, &ap_copy, &error_abort);
-    va_end(ap_copy);
+    /* Going through qobject ensures we escape strings properly */
+    qobj = qobject_from_vjsonf_nofail(fmt, ap);
 
     /* No need to send anything for an empty QObject.  */
     if (qobj) {
@@ -529,21 +544,21 @@ void qmp_fd_sendv(int fd, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
     }
 }
 
-void qtest_async_qmpv(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
+void qtest_qmp_vsend(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
 {
-    qmp_fd_sendv(s->qmp_fd, fmt, ap);
+    qmp_fd_vsend(s->qmp_fd, fmt, ap);
 }
 
 QDict *qmp_fdv(int fd, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
 {
-    qmp_fd_sendv(fd, fmt, ap);
+    qmp_fd_vsend(fd, fmt, ap);
 
     return qmp_fd_receive(fd);
 }
 
-QDict *qtest_qmpv(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
+QDict *qtest_vqmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
 {
-    qtest_async_qmpv(s, fmt, ap);
+    qtest_qmp_vsend(s, fmt, ap);
 
     /* Receive reply */
     return qtest_qmp_receive(s);
@@ -565,7 +580,7 @@ void qmp_fd_send(int fd, const char *fmt, ...)
     va_list ap;
 
     va_start(ap, fmt);
-    qmp_fd_sendv(fd, fmt, ap);
+    qmp_fd_vsend(fd, fmt, ap);
     va_end(ap);
 }
 
@@ -575,37 +590,20 @@ QDict *qtest_qmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...)
     QDict *response;
 
     va_start(ap, fmt);
-    response = qtest_qmpv(s, fmt, ap);
+    response = qtest_vqmp(s, fmt, ap);
     va_end(ap);
     return response;
 }
 
-void qtest_async_qmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...)
+void qtest_qmp_send(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
     va_list ap;
 
     va_start(ap, fmt);
-    qtest_async_qmpv(s, fmt, ap);
+    qtest_qmp_vsend(s, fmt, ap);
     va_end(ap);
 }
 
-void qtest_qmpv_discard_response(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
-{
-    QDict *response = qtest_qmpv(s, fmt, ap);
-    qobject_unref(response);
-}
-
-void qtest_qmp_discard_response(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...)
-{
-    va_list ap;
-    QDict *response;
-
-    va_start(ap, fmt);
-    response = qtest_qmpv(s, fmt, ap);
-    va_end(ap);
-    qobject_unref(response);
-}
-
 QDict *qtest_qmp_eventwait_ref(QTestState *s, const char *event)
 {
     QDict *response;
@@ -628,7 +626,7 @@ void qtest_qmp_eventwait(QTestState *s, const char *event)
     qobject_unref(response);
 }
 
-char *qtest_hmpv(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
+char *qtest_vhmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
 {
     char *cmd;
     QDict *resp;
@@ -657,7 +655,7 @@ char *qtest_hmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...)
     char *ret;
 
     va_start(ap, fmt);
-    ret = qtest_hmpv(s, fmt, ap);
+    ret = qtest_vhmp(s, fmt, ap);
     va_end(ap);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -963,35 +961,27 @@ QDict *qmp(const char *fmt, ...)
     QDict *response;
 
     va_start(ap, fmt);
-    response = qtest_qmpv(global_qtest, fmt, ap);
+    response = qtest_vqmp(global_qtest, fmt, ap);
     va_end(ap);
     return response;
 }
 
-void qmp_async(const char *fmt, ...)
+void qmp_send(const char *fmt, ...)
 {
     va_list ap;
 
     va_start(ap, fmt);
-    qtest_async_qmpv(global_qtest, fmt, ap);
+    qtest_qmp_vsend(global_qtest, fmt, ap);
     va_end(ap);
 }
 
-void qmp_discard_response(const char *fmt, ...)
-{
-    va_list ap;
-
-    va_start(ap, fmt);
-    qtest_qmpv_discard_response(global_qtest, fmt, ap);
-    va_end(ap);
-}
 char *hmp(const char *fmt, ...)
 {
     va_list ap;
     char *ret;
 
     va_start(ap, fmt);
-    ret = qtest_hmpv(global_qtest, fmt, ap);
+    ret = qtest_vhmp(global_qtest, fmt, ap);
     va_end(ap);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -1031,35 +1021,67 @@ void qtest_cb_for_every_machine(void (*cb)(const char *machine))
     qobject_unref(response);
 }
 
+QDict *qtest_qmp_receive_success(QTestState *s,
+                                 void (*event_cb)(void *opaque,
+                                                  const char *event,
+                                                  QDict *data),
+                                 void *opaque)
+{
+    QDict *response, *ret, *data;
+    const char *event;
+
+    for (;;) {
+        response = qtest_qmp_receive(s);
+        g_assert(!qdict_haskey(response, "error"));
+        ret = qdict_get_qdict(response, "return");
+        if (ret) {
+            break;
+        }
+        event = qdict_get_str(response, "event");
+        data = qdict_get_qdict(response, "data");
+        if (event_cb) {
+            event_cb(opaque, event, data);
+        }
+        qobject_unref(response);
+    }
+
+    qobject_ref(ret);
+    qobject_unref(response);
+    return ret;
+}
+
 /*
  * Generic hot-plugging test via the device_add QMP command.
  */
-void qtest_qmp_device_add(const char *driver, const char *id, const char *fmt,
-                          ...)
+void qtest_qmp_device_add(const char *driver, const char *id,
+                          const char *fmt, ...)
 {
-    QDict *response;
-    char *cmd, *opts = NULL;
-    va_list va;
+    QDict *args, *response;
+    va_list ap;
 
-    if (fmt) {
-        va_start(va, fmt);
-        opts = g_strdup_vprintf(fmt, va);
-        va_end(va);
-    }
+    va_start(ap, fmt);
+    args = qdict_from_vjsonf_nofail(fmt, ap);
+    va_end(ap);
 
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'device_add',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'driver': '%s', 'id': '%s'%s%s }}",
-                          driver, id, opts ? ", " : "", opts ? opts : "");
-    g_free(opts);
+    g_assert(!qdict_haskey(args, "driver") && !qdict_haskey(args, "id"));
+    qdict_put_str(args, "driver", driver);
+    qdict_put_str(args, "id", id);
 
-    response = qmp(cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+    response = qmp("{'execute': 'device_add', 'arguments': %p}", args);
     g_assert(response);
     g_assert(!qdict_haskey(response, "event")); /* We don't expect any events */
     g_assert(!qdict_haskey(response, "error"));
     qobject_unref(response);
 }
 
+static void device_deleted_cb(void *opaque, const char *name, QDict *data)
+{
+    bool *got_event = opaque;
+
+    g_assert_cmpstr(name, ==, "DEVICE_DELETED");
+    *got_event = true;
+}
+
 /*
  * Generic hot-unplugging test via the device_del QMP command.
  * Device deletion will get one response and one event. For example:
@@ -1080,30 +1102,21 @@ void qtest_qmp_device_add(const char *driver, const char *id, const char *fmt,
  */
 void qtest_qmp_device_del(const char *id)
 {
-    QDict *response1, *response2, *event = NULL;
-    char *cmd;
-
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'device_del',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'id': '%s' }}", id);
-    response1 = qmp(cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
-    g_assert(response1);
-    g_assert(!qdict_haskey(response1, "error"));
+    bool got_event = false;
+    QDict *rsp;
 
-    response2 = qmp("");
-    g_assert(response2);
-    g_assert(!qdict_haskey(response2, "error"));
-
-    if (qdict_haskey(response1, "event")) {
-        event = response1;
-    } else if (qdict_haskey(response2, "event")) {
-        event = response2;
+    qtest_qmp_send(global_qtest,
+                   "{'execute': 'device_del', 'arguments': {'id': %s}}",
+                   id);
+    rsp = qtest_qmp_receive_success(global_qtest, device_deleted_cb,
+                                    &got_event);
+    qobject_unref(rsp);
+    if (!got_event) {
+        rsp = qmp_receive();
+        g_assert_cmpstr(qdict_get_try_str(rsp, "event"),
+                        ==, "DEVICE_DELETED");
+        qobject_unref(rsp);
     }
-    g_assert(event);
-    g_assert_cmpstr(qdict_get_str(event, "event"), ==, "DEVICE_DELETED");
-
-    qobject_unref(response1);
-    qobject_unref(response2);
 }
 
 bool qmp_rsp_is_err(QDict *rsp)
diff --git a/tests/libqtest.h b/tests/libqtest.h
index ac52872cbe..def1edaafa 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.
  */
@@ -74,61 +73,54 @@ QTestState *qtest_init_without_qmp_handshake(bool use_oob,
 void qtest_quit(QTestState *s);
 
 /**
- * qtest_qmp_discard_response:
- * @s: #QTestState instance to operate on.
- * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu
- *
- * Sends a QMP message to QEMU and consumes the response.
- */
-void qtest_qmp_discard_response(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...);
-
-/**
  * qtest_qmp:
  * @s: #QTestState instance to operate on.
- * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu
+ * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu, formatted like
+ * qobject_from_jsonf_nofail().  See parse_escape() for what's
+ * supported after '%'.
  *
  * Sends a QMP message to QEMU and returns the response.
  */
-QDict *qtest_qmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...);
+QDict *qtest_qmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...)
+    GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 3);
 
 /**
- * qtest_async_qmp:
+ * qtest_qmp_send:
  * @s: #QTestState instance to operate on.
- * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu
+ * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu, formatted like
+ * qobject_from_jsonf_nofail().  See parse_escape() for what's
+ * supported after '%'.
  *
  * Sends a QMP message to QEMU and leaves the response in the stream.
  */
-void qtest_async_qmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...);
-
-/**
- * qtest_qmpv_discard_response:
- * @s: #QTestState instance to operate on.
- * @fmt: QMP message to send to QEMU
- * @ap: QMP message arguments
- *
- * Sends a QMP message to QEMU and consumes the response.
- */
-void qtest_qmpv_discard_response(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap);
+void qtest_qmp_send(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...)
+    GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 3);
 
 /**
  * qtest_qmpv:
  * @s: #QTestState instance to operate on.
- * @fmt: QMP message to send to QEMU
+ * @fmt: QMP message to send to QEMU, formatted like
+ * qobject_from_jsonf_nofail().  See parse_escape() for what's
+ * supported after '%'.
  * @ap: QMP message arguments
  *
  * Sends a QMP message to QEMU and returns the response.
  */
-QDict *qtest_qmpv(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap);
+QDict *qtest_vqmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
+    GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 0);
 
 /**
- * qtest_async_qmpv:
+ * qtest_qmp_vsend:
  * @s: #QTestState instance to operate on.
- * @fmt: QMP message to send to QEMU
+ * @fmt: QMP message to send to QEMU, formatted like
+ * qobject_from_jsonf_nofail().  See parse_escape() for what's
+ * supported after '%'.
  * @ap: QMP message arguments
  *
  * Sends a QMP message to QEMU and leaves the response in the stream.
  */
-void qtest_async_qmpv(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap);
+void qtest_qmp_vsend(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
+    GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 0);
 
 /**
  * qtest_receive:
@@ -158,6 +150,23 @@ void qtest_qmp_eventwait(QTestState *s, const char *event);
 QDict *qtest_qmp_eventwait_ref(QTestState *s, const char *event);
 
 /**
+ * qtest_qmp_receive_success:
+ * @s: #QTestState instance to operate on
+ * @event_cb: Event callback
+ * @opaque: Argument for @event_cb
+ *
+ * Poll QMP messages until a command success response is received.
+ * If @event_cb, call it for each event received, passing @opaque,
+ * the event's name and data.
+ * Return the success response's "return" member.
+ */
+QDict *qtest_qmp_receive_success(QTestState *s,
+                                 void (*event_cb)(void *opaque,
+                                                  const char *name,
+                                                  QDict *data),
+                                 void *opaque);
+
+/**
  * qtest_hmp:
  * @s: #QTestState instance to operate on.
  * @fmt...: HMP command to send to QEMU, formats arguments like sprintf().
@@ -172,7 +181,7 @@ char *qtest_hmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 3);
 /**
  * qtest_hmpv:
  * @s: #QTestState instance to operate on.
- * @fmt: HMP command to send to QEMU
+ * @fmt: HMP command to send to QEMU, formats arguments like vsprintf().
  * @ap: HMP command arguments
  *
  * Send HMP command to QEMU via QMP's human-monitor-command.
@@ -180,7 +189,8 @@ char *qtest_hmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 3);
  *
  * Returns: the command's output.  The caller should g_free() it.
  */
-char *qtest_hmpv(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap);
+char *qtest_vhmp(QTestState *s, const char *fmt, va_list ap)
+    GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 0);
 
 /**
  * qtest_get_irq:
@@ -561,27 +571,23 @@ static inline void qtest_end(void)
 
 /**
  * qmp:
- * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu
+ * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu, formatted like
+ * qobject_from_jsonf_nofail().  See parse_escape() for what's
+ * supported after '%'.
  *
  * Sends a QMP message to QEMU and returns the response.
  */
-QDict *qmp(const char *fmt, ...);
+QDict *qmp(const char *fmt, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
 
 /**
- * qmp_async:
- * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu
+ * qmp_send:
+ * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu, formatted like
+ * qobject_from_jsonf_nofail().  See parse_escape() for what's
+ * supported after '%'.
  *
  * Sends a QMP message to QEMU and leaves the response in the stream.
  */
-void qmp_async(const char *fmt, ...);
-
-/**
- * qmp_discard_response:
- * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu
- *
- * Sends a QMP message to QEMU and consumes the response.
- */
-void qmp_discard_response(const char *fmt, ...);
+void qmp_send(const char *fmt, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
 
 /**
  * qmp_receive:
@@ -940,10 +946,10 @@ static inline int64_t clock_set(int64_t val)
 }
 
 QDict *qmp_fd_receive(int fd);
-void qmp_fd_sendv(int fd, const char *fmt, va_list ap);
-void qmp_fd_send(int fd, const char *fmt, ...);
-QDict *qmp_fdv(int fd, const char *fmt, va_list ap);
-QDict *qmp_fd(int fd, const char *fmt, ...);
+void qmp_fd_vsend(int fd, const char *fmt, va_list ap) GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 0);
+void qmp_fd_send(int fd, const char *fmt, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 3);
+QDict *qmp_fdv(int fd, const char *fmt, va_list ap) GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 0);
+QDict *qmp_fd(int fd, const char *fmt, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 3);
 
 /**
  * qtest_cb_for_every_machine:
@@ -957,7 +963,9 @@ void qtest_cb_for_every_machine(void (*cb)(const char *machine));
  * qtest_qmp_device_add:
  * @driver: Name of the device that should be added
  * @id: Identification string
- * @fmt: printf-like format string for further options to device_add
+ * @fmt...: QMP message to send to qemu, formatted like
+ * qobject_from_jsonf_nofail().  See parse_escape() for what's
+ * supported after '%'.
  *
  * Generic hot-plugging test via the device_add QMP command.
  */
diff --git a/tests/m25p80-test.c b/tests/m25p80-test.c
index c276e738e9..055f7246a8 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 5b695971c7..4abf9c605c 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 f286557b3e..7e72466354 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/migration-test.c b/tests/migration-test.c
index e079e0bdb6..eb58d0a48e 100644
--- a/tests/migration-test.c
+++ b/tests/migration-test.c
@@ -14,12 +14,16 @@
 
 #include "libqtest.h"
 #include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
+#include "qapi/qmp/qjson.h"
 #include "qemu/option.h"
 #include "qemu/range.h"
 #include "qemu/sockets.h"
 #include "chardev/char.h"
 #include "sysemu/sysemu.h"
 
+/* TODO actually test the results and get rid of this */
+#define qtest_qmp_discard_response(...) qobject_unref(qtest_qmp(__VA_ARGS__))
+
 const unsigned start_address = 1024 * 1024;
 const unsigned end_address = 100 * 1024 * 1024;
 bool got_stop;
@@ -146,26 +150,26 @@ static void wait_for_serial(const char *side)
     } while (true);
 }
 
+static void stop_cb(void *opaque, const char *name, QDict *data)
+{
+    if (!strcmp(name, "STOP")) {
+        got_stop = true;
+    }
+}
+
 /*
  * Events can get in the way of responses we are actually waiting for.
  */
-static QDict *wait_command(QTestState *who, const char *command)
+GCC_FMT_ATTR(2, 3)
+static QDict *wait_command(QTestState *who, const char *command, ...)
 {
-    const char *event_string;
-    QDict *response;
+    va_list ap;
 
-    response = qtest_qmp(who, command);
+    va_start(ap, command);
+    qtest_qmp_vsend(who, command, ap);
+    va_end(ap);
 
-    while (qdict_haskey(response, "event")) {
-        /* OK, it was an event */
-        event_string = qdict_get_str(response, "event");
-        if (!strcmp(event_string, "STOP")) {
-            got_stop = true;
-        }
-        qobject_unref(response);
-        response = qtest_qmp_receive(who);
-    }
-    return response;
+    return qtest_qmp_receive_success(who, stop_cb, NULL);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -174,15 +178,7 @@ static QDict *wait_command(QTestState *who, const char *command)
  */
 static QDict *migrate_query(QTestState *who)
 {
-    QDict *rsp, *rsp_return;
-
-    rsp = wait_command(who, "{ 'execute': 'query-migrate' }");
-    rsp_return = qdict_get_qdict(rsp, "return");
-    g_assert(rsp_return);
-    qobject_ref(rsp_return);
-    qobject_unref(rsp);
-
-    return rsp_return;
+    return wait_command(who, "{ 'execute': 'query-migrate' }");
 }
 
 /*
@@ -322,31 +318,25 @@ static void cleanup(const char *filename)
 }
 
 static void migrate_check_parameter(QTestState *who, const char *parameter,
-                                    const char *value)
+                                    long long value)
 {
-    QDict *rsp, *rsp_return;
-    char *result;
+    QDict *rsp_return;
 
-    rsp = wait_command(who, "{ 'execute': 'query-migrate-parameters' }");
-    rsp_return = qdict_get_qdict(rsp, "return");
-    result = g_strdup_printf("%" PRId64,
-                             qdict_get_try_int(rsp_return,  parameter, -1));
-    g_assert_cmpstr(result, ==, value);
-    g_free(result);
-    qobject_unref(rsp);
+    rsp_return = wait_command(who,
+                              "{ 'execute': 'query-migrate-parameters' }");
+    g_assert_cmpint(qdict_get_int(rsp_return, parameter), ==, value);
+    qobject_unref(rsp_return);
 }
 
 static void migrate_set_parameter(QTestState *who, const char *parameter,
-                                  const char *value)
+                                  long long value)
 {
     QDict *rsp;
-    gchar *cmd;
 
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{ 'execute': 'migrate-set-parameters',"
-                          "'arguments': { '%s': %s } }",
-                          parameter, value);
-    rsp = qtest_qmp(who, cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+    rsp = qtest_qmp(who,
+                    "{ 'execute': 'migrate-set-parameters',"
+                    "'arguments': { %s: %lld } }",
+                    parameter, value);
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
     migrate_check_parameter(who, parameter, value);
@@ -357,51 +347,55 @@ static void migrate_pause(QTestState *who)
     QDict *rsp;
 
     rsp = wait_command(who, "{ 'execute': 'migrate-pause' }");
-    g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
 }
 
 static void migrate_recover(QTestState *who, const char *uri)
 {
     QDict *rsp;
-    gchar *cmd = g_strdup_printf(
-        "{ 'execute': 'migrate-recover', "
-        "  'id': 'recover-cmd', "
-        "  'arguments': { 'uri': '%s' } }", uri);
 
-    rsp = wait_command(who, cmd);
-    g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
-    g_free(cmd);
+    rsp = wait_command(who,
+                       "{ 'execute': 'migrate-recover', "
+                       "  'id': 'recover-cmd', "
+                       "  'arguments': { 'uri': %s } }",
+                       uri);
     qobject_unref(rsp);
 }
 
 static void migrate_set_capability(QTestState *who, const char *capability,
-                                   const char *value)
+                                   bool value)
 {
     QDict *rsp;
-    gchar *cmd;
-
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{ 'execute': 'migrate-set-capabilities',"
-                          "'arguments': { "
-                          "'capabilities': [ { "
-                          "'capability': '%s', 'state': %s } ] } }",
-                          capability, value);
-    rsp = qtest_qmp(who, cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+
+    rsp = qtest_qmp(who,
+                    "{ 'execute': 'migrate-set-capabilities',"
+                    "'arguments': { "
+                    "'capabilities': [ { "
+                    "'capability': %s, 'state': %i } ] } }",
+                    capability, value);
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
 }
 
-static void migrate(QTestState *who, const char *uri, const char *extra)
+/*
+ * Send QMP command "migrate".
+ * Arguments are built from @fmt... (formatted like
+ * qobject_from_jsonf_nofail()) with "uri": @uri spliced in.
+ */
+GCC_FMT_ATTR(3, 4)
+static void migrate(QTestState *who, const char *uri, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
-    QDict *rsp;
-    gchar *cmd;
+    va_list ap;
+    QDict *args, *rsp;
+
+    va_start(ap, fmt);
+    args = qdict_from_vjsonf_nofail(fmt, ap);
+    va_end(ap);
+
+    g_assert(!qdict_haskey(args, "uri"));
+    qdict_put_str(args, "uri", uri);
 
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{ 'execute': 'migrate',"
-                          "  'arguments': { 'uri': '%s' %s } }",
-                          uri, extra ? extra : "");
-    rsp = qtest_qmp(who, cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+    rsp = qmp("{ 'execute': 'migrate', 'arguments': %p}", args);
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
 }
@@ -411,7 +405,6 @@ static void migrate_postcopy_start(QTestState *from, QTestState *to)
     QDict *rsp;
 
     rsp = wait_command(from, "{ 'execute': 'migrate-start-postcopy' }");
-    g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
 
     if (!got_stop) {
@@ -529,31 +522,21 @@ static void test_migrate_end(QTestState *from, QTestState *to, bool test_dest)
 static void deprecated_set_downtime(QTestState *who, const double value)
 {
     QDict *rsp;
-    gchar *cmd;
-    char *expected;
-    int64_t result_int;
-
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{ 'execute': 'migrate_set_downtime',"
-                          "'arguments': { 'value': %g } }", value);
-    rsp = qtest_qmp(who, cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+
+    rsp = qtest_qmp(who,
+                    "{ 'execute': 'migrate_set_downtime',"
+                    " 'arguments': { 'value': %f } }", value);
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
-    result_int = value * 1000L;
-    expected = g_strdup_printf("%" PRId64, result_int);
-    migrate_check_parameter(who, "downtime-limit", expected);
-    g_free(expected);
+    migrate_check_parameter(who, "downtime-limit", value * 1000);
 }
 
-static void deprecated_set_speed(QTestState *who, const char *value)
+static void deprecated_set_speed(QTestState *who, long long value)
 {
     QDict *rsp;
-    gchar *cmd;
 
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{ 'execute': 'migrate_set_speed',"
-                          "'arguments': { 'value': %s } }", value);
-    rsp = qtest_qmp(who, cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+    rsp = qtest_qmp(who, "{ 'execute': 'migrate_set_speed',"
+                          "'arguments': { 'value': %lld } }", value);
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
     migrate_check_parameter(who, "max-bandwidth", value);
@@ -566,7 +549,7 @@ static void test_deprecated(void)
     from = qtest_start("");
 
     deprecated_set_downtime(from, 0.12345);
-    deprecated_set_speed(from, "12345");
+    deprecated_set_speed(from, 12345);
 
     qtest_quit(from);
 }
@@ -582,21 +565,21 @@ static int migrate_postcopy_prepare(QTestState **from_ptr,
         return -1;
     }
 
-    migrate_set_capability(from, "postcopy-ram", "true");
-    migrate_set_capability(to, "postcopy-ram", "true");
-    migrate_set_capability(to, "postcopy-blocktime", "true");
+    migrate_set_capability(from, "postcopy-ram", true);
+    migrate_set_capability(to, "postcopy-ram", true);
+    migrate_set_capability(to, "postcopy-blocktime", true);
 
     /* We want to pick a speed slow enough that the test completes
      * quickly, but that it doesn't complete precopy even on a slow
      * machine, so also set the downtime.
      */
-    migrate_set_parameter(from, "max-bandwidth", "100000000");
-    migrate_set_parameter(from, "downtime-limit", "1");
+    migrate_set_parameter(from, "max-bandwidth", 100000000);
+    migrate_set_parameter(from, "downtime-limit", 1);
 
     /* Wait for the first serial output from the source */
     wait_for_serial("src_serial");
 
-    migrate(from, uri, NULL);
+    migrate(from, uri, "{}");
     g_free(uri);
 
     wait_for_migration_pass(from);
@@ -642,7 +625,7 @@ static void test_postcopy_recovery(void)
     }
 
     /* Turn postcopy speed down, 4K/s is slow enough on any machines */
-    migrate_set_parameter(from, "max-postcopy-bandwidth", "4096");
+    migrate_set_parameter(from, "max-postcopy-bandwidth", 4096);
 
     /* Now we start the postcopy */
     migrate_postcopy_start(from, to);
@@ -679,11 +662,11 @@ static void test_postcopy_recovery(void)
      * the newly created channel
      */
     wait_for_migration_status(from, "postcopy-paused");
-    migrate(from, uri, ", 'resume': true");
+    migrate(from, uri, "{'resume': true}");
     g_free(uri);
 
     /* Restore the postcopy bandwidth to unlimited */
-    migrate_set_parameter(from, "max-postcopy-bandwidth", "0");
+    migrate_set_parameter(from, "max-postcopy-bandwidth", 0);
 
     migrate_postcopy_complete(from, to);
 }
@@ -691,14 +674,14 @@ static void test_postcopy_recovery(void)
 static void test_baddest(void)
 {
     QTestState *from, *to;
-    QDict *rsp, *rsp_return;
+    QDict *rsp_return;
     char *status;
     bool failed;
 
     if (test_migrate_start(&from, &to, "tcp:0:0", true)) {
         return;
     }
-    migrate(from, "tcp:0:0", NULL);
+    migrate(from, "tcp:0:0", "{}");
     do {
         status = migrate_query_status(from);
         g_assert(!strcmp(status, "setup") || !(strcmp(status, "failed")));
@@ -707,12 +690,10 @@ static void test_baddest(void)
     } while (!failed);
 
     /* Is the machine currently running? */
-    rsp = wait_command(from, "{ 'execute': 'query-status' }");
-    g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
-    rsp_return = qdict_get_qdict(rsp, "return");
+    rsp_return = wait_command(from, "{ 'execute': 'query-status' }");
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp_return, "running"));
     g_assert(qdict_get_bool(rsp_return, "running"));
-    qobject_unref(rsp);
+    qobject_unref(rsp_return);
 
     test_migrate_end(from, to, false);
 }
@@ -731,19 +712,19 @@ static void test_precopy_unix(void)
      * machine, so also set the downtime.
      */
     /* 1 ms should make it not converge*/
-    migrate_set_parameter(from, "downtime-limit", "1");
+    migrate_set_parameter(from, "downtime-limit", 1);
     /* 1GB/s */
-    migrate_set_parameter(from, "max-bandwidth", "1000000000");
+    migrate_set_parameter(from, "max-bandwidth", 1000000000);
 
     /* Wait for the first serial output from the source */
     wait_for_serial("src_serial");
 
-    migrate(from, uri, NULL);
+    migrate(from, uri, "{}");
 
     wait_for_migration_pass(from);
 
     /* 300 ms should converge */
-    migrate_set_parameter(from, "downtime-limit", "300");
+    migrate_set_parameter(from, "downtime-limit", 300);
 
     if (!got_stop) {
         qtest_qmp_eventwait(from, "STOP");
diff --git a/tests/numa-test.c b/tests/numa-test.c
index 893f826acb..9824fdd587 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 efb7c838b5..70f4c84d1b 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 8c867e631a..198d007f1b 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 b9774084f8..487ef946ed 100644
--- a/tests/qmp-test.c
+++ b/tests/qmp-test.c
@@ -159,12 +159,12 @@ static void cleanup_blocking_cmd(void)
 
 static void send_cmd_that_blocks(QTestState *s, const char *id)
 {
-    qtest_async_qmp(s, "{ 'execute': 'blockdev-add',  'id': %s,"
-                    " 'arguments': {"
-                    " 'driver': 'blkdebug', 'node-name': %s,"
-                    " 'config': %s,"
-                    " 'image': { 'driver': 'null-co' } } }",
-                    id, id, fifo_name);
+    qtest_qmp_send(s, "{ 'execute': 'blockdev-add',  'id': %s,"
+                   " 'arguments': {"
+                   " 'driver': 'blkdebug', 'node-name': %s,"
+                   " 'config': %s,"
+                   " 'image': { 'driver': 'null-co' } } }",
+                   id, id, fifo_name);
 }
 
 static void unblock_blocked_cmd(void)
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ static void unblock_blocked_cmd(void)
 
 static void send_oob_cmd_that_fails(QTestState *s, const char *id)
 {
-    qtest_async_qmp(s, "{ 'exec-oob': 'migrate-pause', 'id': %s }", id);
+    qtest_qmp_send(s, "{ 'exec-oob': 'migrate-pause', 'id': %s }", id);
 }
 
 static void recv_cmd_id(QTestState *s, const char *id)
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ static void test_qmp_oob(void)
     /* OOB command overtakes slow in-band command */
     setup_blocking_cmd();
     send_cmd_that_blocks(qts, "ib-blocks-1");
-    qtest_async_qmp(qts, "{ 'execute': 'query-name', 'id': 'ib-quick-1' }");
+    qtest_qmp_send(qts, "{ 'execute': 'query-name', 'id': 'ib-quick-1' }");
     send_oob_cmd_that_fails(qts, "oob-1");
     recv_cmd_id(qts, "oob-1");
     unblock_blocked_cmd();
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ static void test_qmp_oob(void)
 
     /* Even malformed in-band command fails in-band */
     send_cmd_that_blocks(qts, "blocks-2");
-    qtest_async_qmp(qts, "{ 'id': 'err-2' }");
+    qtest_qmp_send(qts, "{ 'id': 'err-2' }");
     unblock_blocked_cmd();
     recv_cmd_id(qts, "blocks-2");
     recv_cmd_id(qts, "err-2");
@@ -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 1d825eb010..982f5ebbb2 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 9945fb8469..6bee9a37d3 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 6c6f710dc6..d15917e2cf 100644
--- a/tests/test-filter-mirror.c
+++ b/tests/test-filter-mirror.c
@@ -10,11 +10,15 @@
 
 #include "qemu/osdep.h"
 #include "libqtest.h"
+#include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
 #include "qemu/iov.h"
 #include "qemu/sockets.h"
 #include "qemu/error-report.h"
 #include "qemu/main-loop.h"
 
+/* TODO actually test the results and get rid of this */
+#define qmp_discard_response(...) qobject_unref(qmp(__VA_ARGS__))
+
 static void test_mirror(void)
 {
     int send_sock[2], recv_sock;
@@ -36,7 +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 fbaf19bbd8..615ff5cb9f 100644
--- a/tests/test-filter-redirector.c
+++ b/tests/test-filter-redirector.c
@@ -52,11 +52,15 @@
 
 #include "qemu/osdep.h"
 #include "libqtest.h"
+#include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
 #include "qemu/iov.h"
 #include "qemu/sockets.h"
 #include "qemu/error-report.h"
 #include "qemu/main-loop.h"
 
+/* TODO actually test the results and get rid of this */
+#define qmp_discard_response(...) qobject_unref(qmp(__VA_ARGS__))
+
 static const char *get_devstr(void)
 {
     if (g_str_equal(qtest_get_arch(), "s390x")) {
@@ -86,7 +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 "
@@ -155,7 +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/test-qga.c b/tests/test-qga.c
index d638b1571a..c552cc0125 100644
--- a/tests/test-qga.c
+++ b/tests/test-qga.c
@@ -146,12 +146,11 @@ static void test_qga_sync_delimited(gconstpointer fix)
     guint32 v, r = g_random_int();
     unsigned char c;
     QDict *ret;
-    gchar *cmd;
 
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("\xff{'execute': 'guest-sync-delimited',"
-                          " 'arguments': {'id': %u } }", r);
-    qmp_fd_send(fixture->fd, cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+    qmp_fd_send(fixture->fd,
+                "\xff{'execute': 'guest-sync-delimited',"
+                " 'arguments': {'id': %u } }",
+                r);
 
     /*
      * Read and ignore garbage until resynchronized.
@@ -188,7 +187,6 @@ static void test_qga_sync(gconstpointer fix)
     const TestFixture *fixture = fix;
     guint32 v, r = g_random_int();
     QDict *ret;
-    gchar *cmd;
 
     /*
      * TODO guest-sync is inherently limited: we cannot distinguish
@@ -201,10 +199,9 @@ static void test_qga_sync(gconstpointer fix)
      * invalid JSON. Testing of '\xff' handling is done in
      * guest-sync-delimited instead.
      */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-sync',"
-                          " 'arguments': {'id': %u } }", r);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-sync', 'arguments': {'id': %u } }",
+                 r);
 
     g_assert_nonnull(ret);
     qmp_assert_no_error(ret);
@@ -428,7 +425,7 @@ static void test_qga_file_ops(gconstpointer fix)
     const TestFixture *fixture = fix;
     const unsigned char helloworld[] = "Hello World!\n";
     const char *b64;
-    gchar *cmd, *path, *enc;
+    gchar *path, *enc;
     unsigned char *dec;
     QDict *ret, *val;
     int64_t id, eof;
@@ -446,10 +443,10 @@ static void test_qga_file_ops(gconstpointer fix)
 
     enc = g_base64_encode(helloworld, sizeof(helloworld));
     /* write */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-write',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 ","
-                          " 'buf-b64': '%s' } }", id, enc);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-write',"
+                 " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 ", 'buf-b64': %s } }",
+                 id, enc);
     g_assert_nonnull(ret);
     qmp_assert_no_error(ret);
 
@@ -459,23 +456,20 @@ static void test_qga_file_ops(gconstpointer fix)
     g_assert_cmpint(count, ==, sizeof(helloworld));
     g_assert_cmpint(eof, ==, 0);
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* flush */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-flush',"
-                          " 'arguments': {'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
-                          id);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-flush',"
+                 " 'arguments': {'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
+                 id);
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* close */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-close',"
-                          " 'arguments': {'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
-                          id);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-close',"
+                 " 'arguments': {'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
+                 id);
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* check content */
     path = g_build_filename(fixture->test_dir, "foo", NULL);
@@ -497,10 +491,10 @@ static void test_qga_file_ops(gconstpointer fix)
     qobject_unref(ret);
 
     /* read */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
-                          id);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
+                 " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
+                 id);
     val = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "return");
     count = qdict_get_int(val, "count");
     eof = qdict_get_bool(val, "eof");
@@ -510,14 +504,13 @@ static void test_qga_file_ops(gconstpointer fix)
     g_assert_cmpstr(b64, ==, enc);
 
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
     g_free(enc);
 
     /* read eof */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
-                          id);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
+                 " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
+                 id);
     val = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "return");
     count = qdict_get_int(val, "count");
     eof = qdict_get_bool(val, "eof");
@@ -526,14 +519,13 @@ static void test_qga_file_ops(gconstpointer fix)
     g_assert(eof);
     g_assert_cmpstr(b64, ==, "");
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* seek */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-seek',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 ", "
-                          " 'offset': %d, 'whence': '%s' } }",
-                          id, 6, "set");
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-seek',"
+                 " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 ", "
+                 " 'offset': %d, 'whence': %s } }",
+                 id, 6, "set");
     qmp_assert_no_error(ret);
     val = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "return");
     count = qdict_get_int(val, "position");
@@ -541,13 +533,12 @@ static void test_qga_file_ops(gconstpointer fix)
     g_assert_cmpint(count, ==, 6);
     g_assert(!eof);
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* partial read */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
-                          id);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
+                 " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
+                 id);
     val = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "return");
     count = qdict_get_int(val, "count");
     eof = qdict_get_bool(val, "eof");
@@ -560,15 +551,13 @@ static void test_qga_file_ops(gconstpointer fix)
     g_free(dec);
 
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* close */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-close',"
-                          " 'arguments': {'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
-                          id);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-close',"
+                 " 'arguments': {'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
+                 id);
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 }
 
 static void test_qga_file_write_read(gconstpointer fix)
@@ -576,7 +565,7 @@ static void test_qga_file_write_read(gconstpointer fix)
     const TestFixture *fixture = fix;
     const unsigned char helloworld[] = "Hello World!\n";
     const char *b64;
-    gchar *cmd, *enc;
+    gchar *enc;
     QDict *ret, *val;
     int64_t id, eof;
     gsize count;
@@ -591,10 +580,10 @@ static void test_qga_file_write_read(gconstpointer fix)
 
     enc = g_base64_encode(helloworld, sizeof(helloworld));
     /* write */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-write',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 ","
-                          " 'buf-b64': '%s' } }", id, enc);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-write',"
+                 " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 ","
+                 " 'buf-b64': %s } }", id, enc);
     g_assert_nonnull(ret);
     qmp_assert_no_error(ret);
 
@@ -604,13 +593,12 @@ static void test_qga_file_write_read(gconstpointer fix)
     g_assert_cmpint(count, ==, sizeof(helloworld));
     g_assert_cmpint(eof, ==, 0);
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* read (check implicit flush) */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
-                          id);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
+                 " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
+                 id);
     val = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "return");
     count = qdict_get_int(val, "count");
     eof = qdict_get_bool(val, "eof");
@@ -619,14 +607,13 @@ static void test_qga_file_write_read(gconstpointer fix)
     g_assert(eof);
     g_assert_cmpstr(b64, ==, "");
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* seek to 0 */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-seek',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 ", "
-                          " 'offset': %d, 'whence': '%s' } }",
-                          id, 0, "set");
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-seek',"
+                 " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 ", "
+                 " 'offset': %d, 'whence': %s } }",
+                 id, 0, "set");
     qmp_assert_no_error(ret);
     val = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "return");
     count = qdict_get_int(val, "position");
@@ -634,13 +621,12 @@ static void test_qga_file_write_read(gconstpointer fix)
     g_assert_cmpint(count, ==, 0);
     g_assert(!eof);
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* read */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
-                          id);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-read',"
+                 " 'arguments': { 'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
+                 id);
     val = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "return");
     count = qdict_get_int(val, "count");
     eof = qdict_get_bool(val, "eof");
@@ -649,16 +635,14 @@ static void test_qga_file_write_read(gconstpointer fix)
     g_assert(eof);
     g_assert_cmpstr(b64, ==, enc);
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
     g_free(enc);
 
     /* close */
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-file-close',"
-                          " 'arguments': {'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
-                          id);
-    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                 "{'execute': 'guest-file-close',"
+                 " 'arguments': {'handle': %" PRId64 "} }",
+                 id);
     qobject_unref(ret);
-    g_free(cmd);
 }
 
 static void test_qga_get_time(gconstpointer fix)
@@ -814,7 +798,6 @@ static void test_qga_guest_exec(gconstpointer fix)
     int64_t pid, now, exitcode;
     gsize len;
     bool exited;
-    char *cmd;
 
     /* exec 'echo foo bar' */
     ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, "{'execute': 'guest-exec', 'arguments': {"
@@ -829,10 +812,10 @@ static void test_qga_guest_exec(gconstpointer fix)
 
     /* wait for completion */
     now = g_get_monotonic_time();
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{'execute': 'guest-exec-status',"
-                          " 'arguments': { 'pid': %" PRId64 " } }", pid);
     do {
-        ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, cmd);
+        ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd,
+                     "{'execute': 'guest-exec-status',"
+                     " 'arguments': { 'pid': %" PRId64 " } }", pid);
         g_assert_nonnull(ret);
         val = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "return");
         exited = qdict_get_bool(val, "exited");
@@ -842,7 +825,6 @@ static void test_qga_guest_exec(gconstpointer fix)
     } while (!exited &&
              g_get_monotonic_time() < now + 5 * G_TIME_SPAN_SECOND);
     g_assert(exited);
-    g_free(cmd);
 
     /* check stdout */
     exitcode = qdict_get_int(val, "exitcode");
diff --git a/tests/test-qobject-input-visitor.c b/tests/test-qobject-input-visitor.c
index 0f4d234c3f..caa90b3d7e 100644
--- a/tests/test-qobject-input-visitor.c
+++ b/tests/test-qobject-input-visitor.c
@@ -47,15 +47,13 @@ static void visitor_input_teardown(TestInputVisitorData *data,
 /* The various test_init functions are provided instead of a test setup
    function so that the JSON string used by the tests are kept in the test
    functions (and not in main()). */
-static Visitor *visitor_input_test_init_internal(TestInputVisitorData *data,
-                                                 bool keyval,
-                                                 const char *json_string,
-                                                 va_list *ap)
+
+static Visitor *test_init_internal(TestInputVisitorData *data, bool keyval,
+                                   QObject *obj)
 {
     visitor_input_teardown(data, NULL);
 
-    data->obj = qobject_from_jsonv(json_string, ap, &error_abort);
-    g_assert(data->obj);
+    data->obj = obj;
 
     if (keyval) {
         data->qiv = qobject_input_visitor_new_keyval(data->obj);
@@ -75,7 +73,8 @@ Visitor *visitor_input_test_init_full(TestInputVisitorData *data,
     va_list ap;
 
     va_start(ap, json_string);
-    v = visitor_input_test_init_internal(data, keyval, json_string, &ap);
+    v = test_init_internal(data, keyval,
+                           qobject_from_vjsonf_nofail(json_string, ap));
     va_end(ap);
     return v;
 }
@@ -88,7 +87,8 @@ Visitor *visitor_input_test_init(TestInputVisitorData *data,
     va_list ap;
 
     va_start(ap, json_string);
-    v = visitor_input_test_init_internal(data, false, json_string, &ap);
+    v = test_init_internal(data, false,
+                           qobject_from_vjsonf_nofail(json_string, ap));
     va_end(ap);
     return v;
 }
@@ -103,7 +103,8 @@ Visitor *visitor_input_test_init(TestInputVisitorData *data,
 static Visitor *visitor_input_test_init_raw(TestInputVisitorData *data,
                                             const char *json_string)
 {
-    return visitor_input_test_init_internal(data, false, json_string, NULL);
+    return test_init_internal(data, false,
+                              qobject_from_json(json_string, &error_abort));
 }
 
 static void test_visitor_in_int(TestInputVisitorData *data,
diff --git a/tests/tpm-util.c b/tests/tpm-util.c
index 672cedf905..9f3f156e42 100644
--- a/tests/tpm-util.c
+++ b/tests/tpm-util.c
@@ -22,8 +22,6 @@
 #define TIS_REG(LOCTY, REG) \
     (TPM_TIS_ADDR_BASE + ((LOCTY) << 12) + REG)
 
-static bool got_stop;
-
 void tpm_util_crb_transfer(QTestState *s,
                            const unsigned char *req, size_t req_size,
                            unsigned char *rsp, size_t rsp_size)
@@ -239,52 +237,27 @@ void tpm_util_swtpm_kill(GPid pid)
 void tpm_util_migrate(QTestState *who, const char *uri)
 {
     QDict *rsp;
-    gchar *cmd;
 
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{ 'execute': 'migrate',"
-                          "'arguments': { 'uri': '%s' } }",
-                          uri);
-    rsp = qtest_qmp(who, cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+    rsp = qtest_qmp(who,
+                    "{ 'execute': 'migrate', 'arguments': { 'uri': %s } }",
+                    uri);
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
 }
 
-/*
- * Events can get in the way of responses we are actually waiting for.
- */
-static QDict *tpm_util_wait_command(QTestState *who, const char *command)
-{
-    const char *event_string;
-    QDict *response;
-
-    response = qtest_qmp(who, command);
-
-    while (qdict_haskey(response, "event")) {
-        /* OK, it was an event */
-        event_string = qdict_get_str(response, "event");
-        if (!strcmp(event_string, "STOP")) {
-            got_stop = true;
-        }
-        qobject_unref(response);
-        response = qtest_qmp_receive(who);
-    }
-    return response;
-}
-
 void tpm_util_wait_for_migration_complete(QTestState *who)
 {
     while (true) {
-        QDict *rsp, *rsp_return;
+        QDict *rsp_return;
         bool completed;
         const char *status;
 
-        rsp = tpm_util_wait_command(who, "{ 'execute': 'query-migrate' }");
-        rsp_return = qdict_get_qdict(rsp, "return");
+        qtest_qmp_send(who, "{ 'execute': 'query-migrate' }");
+        rsp_return = qtest_qmp_receive_success(who, NULL, NULL);
         status = qdict_get_str(rsp_return, "status");
         completed = strcmp(status, "completed") == 0;
         g_assert_cmpstr(status, !=,  "failed");
-        qobject_unref(rsp);
+        qobject_unref(rsp_return);
         if (completed) {
             return;
         }
diff --git a/tests/usb-hcd-ehci-test.c b/tests/usb-hcd-ehci-test.c
index 55d4743a2a..f28ea27f37 100644
--- a/tests/usb-hcd-ehci-test.c
+++ b/tests/usb-hcd-ehci-test.c
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ static void pci_ehci_port_3_hotplug(void)
 
 static void pci_ehci_port_hotplug(void)
 {
-    usb_test_hotplug("ich9-ehci-1", 3, pci_ehci_port_3_hotplug);
+    usb_test_hotplug("ich9-ehci-1", "3", pci_ehci_port_3_hotplug);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/tests/usb-hcd-ohci-test.c b/tests/usb-hcd-ohci-test.c
index 4758813d78..48ddbfd26d 100644
--- a/tests/usb-hcd-ohci-test.c
+++ b/tests/usb-hcd-ohci-test.c
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ static void test_ohci_init(void)
 
 static void test_ohci_hotplug(void)
 {
-    usb_test_hotplug("ohci", 1, NULL);
+    usb_test_hotplug("ohci", "1", NULL);
 }
 
 int main(int argc, char **argv)
diff --git a/tests/usb-hcd-uhci-test.c b/tests/usb-hcd-uhci-test.c
index 6a7e5a2fed..a119d6d5c8 100644
--- a/tests/usb-hcd-uhci-test.c
+++ b/tests/usb-hcd-uhci-test.c
@@ -43,12 +43,12 @@ static void test_port_2(void)
 
 static void test_uhci_hotplug(void)
 {
-    usb_test_hotplug("uhci", 2, test_port_2);
+    usb_test_hotplug("uhci", "2", test_port_2);
 }
 
 static void test_usb_storage_hotplug(void)
 {
-    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-storage", "usbdev0", "'drive': 'drive0'");
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-storage", "usbdev0", "{'drive': 'drive0'}");
 
     qtest_qmp_device_del("usbdev0");
 }
diff --git a/tests/usb-hcd-xhci-test.c b/tests/usb-hcd-xhci-test.c
index 5b1b681bf2..9eb24b00e4 100644
--- a/tests/usb-hcd-xhci-test.c
+++ b/tests/usb-hcd-xhci-test.c
@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@ static void test_xhci_init(void)
 
 static void test_xhci_hotplug(void)
 {
-    usb_test_hotplug("xhci", 1, NULL);
+    usb_test_hotplug("xhci", "1", NULL);
 }
 
 static void test_usb_uas_hotplug(void)
 {
-    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-uas", "uas", NULL);
-    qtest_qmp_device_add("scsi-hd", "scsihd", "'drive': 'drive0'");
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-uas", "uas", "{}");
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("scsi-hd", "scsihd", "{'drive': 'drive0'}");
 
     /* TODO:
         UAS HBA driver in libqos, to check that
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@ static void test_usb_uas_hotplug(void)
 
 static void test_usb_ccid_hotplug(void)
 {
-    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-ccid", "ccid", NULL);
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-ccid", "ccid", "{}");
     qtest_qmp_device_del("ccid");
     /* check the device can be added again */
-    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-ccid", "ccid", NULL);
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("usb-ccid", "ccid", "{}");
     qtest_qmp_device_del("ccid");
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/vhost-user-test.c b/tests/vhost-user-test.c
index fecc832d99..ca6251f5f8 100644
--- a/tests/vhost-user-test.c
+++ b/tests/vhost-user-test.c
@@ -709,11 +709,7 @@ static void test_migrate(void)
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
 
-    cmd = g_strdup_printf("{ 'execute': 'migrate',"
-                          "'arguments': { 'uri': '%s' } }",
-                          uri);
-    rsp = qmp(cmd);
-    g_free(cmd);
+    rsp = qmp("{ 'execute': 'migrate', 'arguments': { 'uri': %s } }", uri);
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(rsp, "return"));
     qobject_unref(rsp);
 
diff --git a/tests/virtio-balloon-test.c b/tests/virtio-balloon-test.c
index 0a07e036bb..5a1d0ccbb7 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 9be9ffb378..04c608764b 100644
--- a/tests/virtio-blk-test.c
+++ b/tests/virtio-blk-test.c
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 #include "libqos/virtio-pci.h"
 #include "libqos/virtio-mmio.h"
 #include "libqos/malloc-generic.h"
+#include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
 #include "qemu/bswap.h"
 #include "standard-headers/linux/virtio_ids.h"
 #include "standard-headers/linux/virtio_config.h"
@@ -23,6 +24,9 @@
 #include "standard-headers/linux/virtio_blk.h"
 #include "standard-headers/linux/virtio_pci.h"
 
+/* TODO actually test the results and get rid of this */
+#define qmp_discard_response(...) qobject_unref(qmp(__VA_ARGS__))
+
 #define TEST_IMAGE_SIZE         (64 * 1024 * 1024)
 #define QVIRTIO_BLK_TIMEOUT_US  (30 * 1000 * 1000)
 #define PCI_SLOT_HP             0x06
@@ -89,10 +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);
 }
@@ -662,8 +666,9 @@ static void pci_hotplug(void)
     qs = pci_test_start();
 
     /* plug secondary disk */
-    qpci_plug_device_test("virtio-blk-pci", "drv1", PCI_SLOT_HP,
-                          "'drive': 'drive1'");
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("virtio-blk-pci", "drv1",
+                         "{'addr': %s, 'drive': 'drive1'}",
+                         stringify(PCI_SLOT_HP));
 
     dev = virtio_blk_pci_init(qs->pcibus, PCI_SLOT_HP);
     g_assert(dev);
diff --git a/tests/virtio-console-test.c b/tests/virtio-console-test.c
index 945bae5a15..a7c6f167c3 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-net-test.c b/tests/virtio-net-test.c
index b285a262e9..dcb87a8b6e 100644
--- a/tests/virtio-net-test.c
+++ b/tests/virtio-net-test.c
@@ -249,7 +249,8 @@ static void hotplug(void)
 
     qtest_start("-device virtio-net-pci");
 
-    qpci_plug_device_test("virtio-net-pci", "net1", PCI_SLOT_HP, NULL);
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("virtio-net-pci", "net1",
+                         "{'addr': %s}", stringify(PCI_SLOT_HP));
 
     if (strcmp(arch, "i386") == 0 || strcmp(arch, "x86_64") == 0) {
         qpci_unplug_acpi_device_test("net1", PCI_SLOT_HP);
diff --git a/tests/virtio-rng-test.c b/tests/virtio-rng-test.c
index dcecf77463..657d9a4105 100644
--- a/tests/virtio-rng-test.c
+++ b/tests/virtio-rng-test.c
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@ static void hotplug(void)
 {
     const char *arch = qtest_get_arch();
 
-    qpci_plug_device_test("virtio-rng-pci", "rng1", PCI_SLOT_HP, NULL);
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("virtio-rng-pci", "rng1",
+                         "{'addr': %s}", stringify(PCI_SLOT_HP));
 
     if (strcmp(arch, "i386") == 0 || strcmp(arch, "x86_64") == 0) {
         qpci_unplug_acpi_device_test("rng1", PCI_SLOT_HP);
diff --git a/tests/virtio-scsi-test.c b/tests/virtio-scsi-test.c
index 037872bb98..0d4f25d369 100644
--- a/tests/virtio-scsi-test.c
+++ b/tests/virtio-scsi-test.c
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ static void hotplug(void)
 
     qs = qvirtio_scsi_start(
             "-drive id=drv1,if=none,file=null-co://,format=raw");
-    qtest_qmp_device_add("scsi-hd", "scsihd", "'drive': 'drv1'");
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("scsi-hd", "scsihd", "{'drive': 'drv1'}");
     qtest_qmp_device_del("scsihd");
     qvirtio_scsi_stop(qs);
 }
diff --git a/tests/virtio-serial-test.c b/tests/virtio-serial-test.c
index 7cc7060264..8da9980a24 100644
--- a/tests/virtio-serial-test.c
+++ b/tests/virtio-serial-test.c
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ static void virtio_serial_nop(void)
 
 static void hotplug(void)
 {
-    qtest_qmp_device_add("virtserialport", "hp-port", NULL);
+    qtest_qmp_device_add("virtserialport", "hp-port", "{}");
 
     qtest_qmp_device_del("hp-port");
 }
@@ -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 8d915c610c..0a6fb55f2e 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);