diff --git a/buildutil/tap-test b/buildutil/tap-test
index 970b1c33..f94801ff 100755
--- a/buildutil/tap-test
+++ b/buildutil/tap-test
@@ -6,7 +6,13 @@ srcd=$(cd $(dirname $1) && pwd)
 bn=$(basename $1)
 tempdir=$(mktemp -d)
 function cleanup () {
-    rm "${tempdir}" -rf
+    if test -z "${TEST_SKIP_CLEANUP:-}"; then
+	      if test -f ${test_tmpdir}/.test; then
+            rm "${tempdir}" -rf
+        fi
+    else
+	      echo "Skipping cleanup of ${test_tmpdir}"
+    fi
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 cd ${tempdir}
diff --git a/tests/common/libtest.sh b/tests/common/libtest.sh
index 776fc400..92fb9c3c 100644
--- a/tests/common/libtest.sh
+++ b/tests/common/libtest.sh
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ if test -n "${UNINSTALLEDTESTS:-}"; then
 fi
 
 test_tmpdir=$(pwd)
+echo "Using tmpdir ${test_tmpdir}"
 
 export G_DEBUG=fatal-warnings