diff --git a/src/Makefile.global.in b/src/Makefile.global.in
index aec6187af6d..d321dc74506 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.global.in
+++ b/src/Makefile.global.in
@@ -322,9 +322,8 @@ cd $(srcdir) && TESTDIR='$(CURDIR)' PATH="$(bindir):$$PATH" PGPORT='6$(DEF_PGPOR
 endef
 
 define prove_check
-$(MKDIR_P) tmp_check/log
-$(MAKE) -C $(top_builddir) DESTDIR='$(CURDIR)'/tmp_check/install install >'$(CURDIR)'/tmp_check/log/install.log 2>&1
-cd $(srcdir) && TESTDIR='$(CURDIR)' PATH="$(CURDIR)/tmp_check/install$(bindir):$$PATH" $(call add_to_path,$(ld_library_path_var),$(CURDIR)/tmp_check/install$(libdir)) top_builddir='$(CURDIR)/$(top_builddir)' PGPORT='6$(DEF_PGPORT)' $(PROVE) $(PG_PROVE_FLAGS) $(PROVE_FLAGS) t/*.pl
+rm -rf $(srcdir)/tmp_check/log
+cd $(srcdir) && TESTDIR='$(CURDIR)' $(with_temp_install) PGPORT='6$(DEF_PGPORT)' top_builddir='$(CURDIR)/$(top_builddir)' $(PROVE) $(PG_PROVE_FLAGS) $(PROVE_FLAGS) t/*.pl
 endef
 
 else
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/t/010_pg_basebackup.pl b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/t/010_pg_basebackup.pl
index 24a828bb0a3..538ca0aba2c 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/t/010_pg_basebackup.pl
+++ b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/t/010_pg_basebackup.pl
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ print HBA "local replication all trust\n";
 print HBA "host replication all 127.0.0.1/32 trust\n";
 print HBA "host replication all ::1/128 trust\n";
 close HBA;
-system_or_bail 'pg_ctl', '-s', '-D', "$tempdir/pgdata", 'reload';
+system_or_bail 'pg_ctl', '-D', "$tempdir/pgdata", 'reload';
 
 command_fails(
 	[ 'pg_basebackup', '-D', "$tempdir/backup" ],
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_controldata/t/001_pg_controldata.pl b/src/bin/pg_controldata/t/001_pg_controldata.pl
index a4180e7ed18..e36fa2d45d9 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_controldata/t/001_pg_controldata.pl
+++ b/src/bin/pg_controldata/t/001_pg_controldata.pl
@@ -11,6 +11,6 @@ program_options_handling_ok('pg_controldata');
 command_fails(['pg_controldata'], 'pg_controldata without arguments fails');
 command_fails([ 'pg_controldata', 'nonexistent' ],
 	'pg_controldata with nonexistent directory fails');
-system_or_bail "initdb -D '$tempdir'/data -A trust >/dev/null";
+system_or_bail 'initdb', '-D', "$tempdir/data", '-A', 'trust';
 command_like([ 'pg_controldata', "$tempdir/data" ],
 	qr/checkpoint/, 'pg_controldata produces output');
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_ctl/t/001_start_stop.pl b/src/bin/pg_ctl/t/001_start_stop.pl
index 0f62c1439a7..dacdd3e6b38 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_ctl/t/001_start_stop.pl
+++ b/src/bin/pg_ctl/t/001_start_stop.pl
@@ -33,4 +33,4 @@ command_ok([ 'pg_ctl', 'restart', '-D', "$tempdir/data", '-w', '-m', 'fast' ],
 command_ok([ 'pg_ctl', 'restart', '-D', "$tempdir/data", '-w', '-m', 'fast' ],
 	'pg_ctl restart with server running');
 
-system_or_bail 'pg_ctl', '-s', 'stop', '-D', "$tempdir/data", '-m', 'fast';
+system_or_bail 'pg_ctl', 'stop', '-D', "$tempdir/data", '-m', 'fast';
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_ctl/t/002_status.pl b/src/bin/pg_ctl/t/002_status.pl
index 9f84f3849c0..86e810176b6 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_ctl/t/002_status.pl
+++ b/src/bin/pg_ctl/t/002_status.pl
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ close CONF;
 command_exit_is([ 'pg_ctl', 'status', '-D', "$tempdir/data" ],
 	3, 'pg_ctl status with server not running');
 
-system_or_bail 'pg_ctl', '-s', '-l', "$tempdir/logfile", '-D',
+system_or_bail 'pg_ctl', '-l', "$tempdir/logfile", '-D',
   "$tempdir/data", '-w', 'start';
 command_exit_is([ 'pg_ctl', 'status', '-D', "$tempdir/data" ],
 	0, 'pg_ctl status with server running');
 
-system_or_bail 'pg_ctl', '-s', 'stop', '-D', "$tempdir/data", '-m', 'fast';
+system_or_bail 'pg_ctl', 'stop', '-D', "$tempdir/data", '-m', 'fast';
diff --git a/src/test/perl/SimpleTee.pm b/src/test/perl/SimpleTee.pm
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8d31a4013c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/perl/SimpleTee.pm
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# A simple 'tee' implementation, using perl tie.
+#
+# Whenever you print to the handle, it gets forwarded to a list of
+# handles. The list of output filehandles is passed to the constructor.
+#
+# This is similar to IO::Tee, but only used for output. Only the PRINT
+# method is currently implemented; that's all we need. We don't want to
+# depend on IO::Tee just for this.
+
+package SimpleTee;
+use strict;
+
+sub TIEHANDLE {
+	my $self = shift;
+	bless \@_, $self;
+}
+
+sub PRINT {
+	my $self = shift;
+	my $ok = 1;
+	for my $fh (@$self) {
+		print $fh @_ or $ok = 0;
+	}
+	return $ok;
+}
+
+1;
diff --git a/src/test/perl/TestLib.pm b/src/test/perl/TestLib.pm
index 003cd9a2cca..37a1bc16208 100644
--- a/src/test/perl/TestLib.pm
+++ b/src/test/perl/TestLib.pm
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ our @EXPORT = qw(
   restart_test_server
   psql
   system_or_bail
+  system_log
+  run_log
 
   command_ok
   command_fails
@@ -24,11 +26,47 @@ our @EXPORT = qw(
 );
 
 use Cwd;
+use File::Basename;
 use File::Spec;
 use File::Temp ();
 use IPC::Run qw(run start);
+
+use SimpleTee;
+
 use Test::More;
 
+# Open log file. For each test, the log file name uses the name of the
+# file launching this module, without the .pl suffix.
+my $log_path = 'tmp_check/log';
+mkdir 'tmp_check';
+mkdir $log_path;
+my $test_logfile = basename($0);
+$test_logfile =~ s/\.[^.]+$//;
+$test_logfile = "$log_path/regress_log_$test_logfile";
+open TESTLOG, '>', $test_logfile or die "Cannot open STDOUT to logfile: $!";
+
+# Hijack STDOUT and STDERR to the log file
+open(ORIG_STDOUT, ">&STDOUT");
+open(ORIG_STDERR, ">&STDERR");
+open(STDOUT, ">&TESTLOG");
+open(STDERR, ">&TESTLOG");
+
+# The test output (ok ...) needs to be printed to the original STDOUT so
+# that the 'prove' program can parse it, and display it to the user in
+# real time. But also copy it to the log file, to provide more context
+# in the log.
+my $builder = Test::More->builder;
+my $fh = $builder->output;
+tie *$fh, "SimpleTee", *ORIG_STDOUT, *TESTLOG;
+$fh = $builder->failure_output;
+tie *$fh, "SimpleTee", *ORIG_STDERR, *TESTLOG;
+
+# Enable auto-flushing for all the file handles. Stderr and stdout are
+# redirected to the same file, and buffering causes the lines to appear
+# in the log in confusing order.
+autoflush STDOUT 1;
+autoflush STDERR 1;
+autoflush TESTLOG 1;
 
 # Set to untranslated messages, to be able to compare program output
 # with expected strings.
@@ -73,7 +111,7 @@ sub tempdir_short
 sub standard_initdb
 {
 	my $pgdata = shift;
-	system_or_bail("initdb -D '$pgdata' -A trust -N >/dev/null");
+	system_or_bail('initdb', '-D', "$pgdata", '-A' , 'trust', '-N');
 	system_or_bail("$ENV{top_builddir}/src/test/regress/pg_regress",
 				   '--config-auth', $pgdata);
 }
@@ -87,14 +125,15 @@ sub start_test_server
 
 	my $tempdir_short = tempdir_short;
 
+	print("### Starting test server in $tempdir\n");
 	standard_initdb "$tempdir/pgdata";
-	$ret = system 'pg_ctl', '-D', "$tempdir/pgdata", '-s', '-w', '-l',
+	$ret = system_log('pg_ctl', '-D', "$tempdir/pgdata", '-w', '-l',
 	  "$tempdir/logfile", '-o',
-	  "--fsync=off -k $tempdir_short --listen-addresses='' --log-statement=all",
-	  'start';
-
+"--fsync=off -k \"$tempdir_short\" --listen-addresses='' --log-statement=all",
+					'start');
 	if ($ret != 0)
 	{
+		print "# pg_ctl failed; logfile:\n";
 		system('cat', "$tempdir/logfile");
 		BAIL_OUT("pg_ctl failed");
 	}
@@ -106,28 +145,45 @@ sub start_test_server
 
 sub restart_test_server
 {
-	system 'pg_ctl', '-s', '-D', $test_server_datadir, '-w', '-l',
-	  $test_server_logfile, 'restart';
+	print("### Restarting test server\n");
+	system_log('pg_ctl', '-D', $test_server_datadir, '-w', '-l',
+	  $test_server_logfile, 'restart');
 }
 
 END
 {
 	if ($test_server_datadir)
 	{
-		system 'pg_ctl', '-D', $test_server_datadir, '-s', '-w', '-m',
-		  'immediate', 'stop';
+		system_log('pg_ctl', '-D', $test_server_datadir, '-m',
+		  'immediate', 'stop');
 	}
 }
 
 sub psql
 {
 	my ($dbname, $sql) = @_;
+	print("# Running SQL command: $sql\n");
 	run [ 'psql', '-X', '-q', '-d', $dbname, '-f', '-' ], '<', \$sql or die;
 }
 
 sub system_or_bail
 {
-	system(@_) == 0 or BAIL_OUT("system @_ failed: $?");
+	if (system_log(@_) != 0)
+	{
+		BAIL_OUT("system $_[0] failed: $?");
+	}
+}
+
+sub system_log
+{
+	print("# Running: " . join(" ", @_) ."\n");
+	return system(@_);
+}
+
+sub run_log
+{
+	print("# Running: " . join(" ", @{$_[0]}) ."\n");
+	return run (@_);
 }
 
 
@@ -139,24 +195,22 @@ sub system_or_bail
 sub command_ok
 {
 	my ($cmd, $test_name) = @_;
-	my $result = run $cmd, '>', File::Spec->devnull(), '2>',
-	  File::Spec->devnull();
+	my $result = run_log($cmd);
 	ok($result, $test_name);
 }
 
 sub command_fails
 {
 	my ($cmd, $test_name) = @_;
-	my $result = run $cmd, '>', File::Spec->devnull(), '2>',
-	  File::Spec->devnull();
+	my $result = run_log($cmd);
 	ok(!$result, $test_name);
 }
 
 sub command_exit_is
 {
 	my ($cmd, $expected, $test_name) = @_;
-	my $h = start $cmd, '>', File::Spec->devnull(), '2>',
-	  File::Spec->devnull();
+	print("# Running: " . join(" ", @{$cmd}) ."\n");
+	my $h = start $cmd;
 	$h->finish();
 	is($h->result(0), $expected, $test_name);
 }
@@ -165,6 +219,7 @@ sub program_help_ok
 {
 	my ($cmd) = @_;
 	my ($stdout, $stderr);
+	print("# Running: $cmd --help\n");
 	my $result = run [ $cmd, '--help' ], '>', \$stdout, '2>', \$stderr;
 	ok($result, "$cmd --help exit code 0");
 	isnt($stdout, '', "$cmd --help goes to stdout");
@@ -175,6 +230,7 @@ sub program_version_ok
 {
 	my ($cmd) = @_;
 	my ($stdout, $stderr);
+	print("# Running: $cmd --version\n");
 	my $result = run [ $cmd, '--version' ], '>', \$stdout, '2>', \$stderr;
 	ok($result, "$cmd --version exit code 0");
 	isnt($stdout, '', "$cmd --version goes to stdout");
@@ -185,7 +241,9 @@ sub program_options_handling_ok
 {
 	my ($cmd) = @_;
 	my ($stdout, $stderr);
-	my $result = run [ $cmd, '--not-a-valid-option' ], '>', \$stdout, '2>', \$stderr;
+	print("# Running: $cmd --not-a-valid-option\n");
+	my $result = run [ $cmd, '--not-a-valid-option' ], '>', \$stdout, '2>',
+	  \$stderr;
 	ok(!$result, "$cmd with invalid option nonzero exit code");
 	isnt($stderr, '', "$cmd with invalid option prints error message");
 }
@@ -194,6 +252,7 @@ sub command_like
 {
 	my ($cmd, $expected_stdout, $test_name) = @_;
 	my ($stdout, $stderr);
+	print("# Running: " . join(" ", @{$cmd}) . "\n");
 	my $result = run $cmd, '>', \$stdout, '2>', \$stderr;
 	ok($result, "@$cmd exit code 0");
 	is($stderr, '', "@$cmd no stderr");
@@ -203,9 +262,8 @@ sub command_like
 sub issues_sql_like
 {
 	my ($cmd, $expected_sql, $test_name) = @_;
-	my ($stdout, $stderr);
 	truncate $test_server_logfile, 0;
-	my $result = run $cmd, '>', \$stdout, '2>', \$stderr;
+	my $result = run_log($cmd);
 	ok($result, "@$cmd exit code 0");
 	my $log = `cat '$test_server_logfile'`;
 	like($log, $expected_sql, "$test_name: SQL found in server log");