diff --git a/command/apply_test.go b/command/apply_test.go
index 6eda227f0..19862257b 100644
--- a/command/apply_test.go
+++ b/command/apply_test.go
@@ -252,10 +252,7 @@ func TestApply_configInvalid(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestApply_defaultState(t *testing.T) {
-	td, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
+	td := testTempDir(t)
 	statePath := filepath.Join(td, DefaultStateFilename)
 
 	// Change to the temporary directory
@@ -735,10 +732,7 @@ func TestApply_planVars(t *testing.T) {
 // we should be able to apply a plan file with no other file dependencies
 func TestApply_planNoModuleFiles(t *testing.T) {
 	// temporary data directory which we can remove between commands
-	td, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
+	td := testTempDir(t)
 	defer os.RemoveAll(td)
 
 	defer testChdir(t, td)()
diff --git a/command/command_test.go b/command/command_test.go
index bf6fee7c2..12d48761b 100644
--- a/command/command_test.go
+++ b/command/command_test.go
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ import (
 // This is the directory where our test fixtures are.
 var fixtureDir = "./test-fixtures"
 
+// a top level temp directory which will be cleaned after all tests
+var testingDir string
+
 func init() {
 	test = true
 
@@ -37,9 +40,16 @@ func init() {
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
+
+	testingDir, err = ioutil.TempDir(testingDir, "tf")
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
+	defer os.RemoveAll(testingDir)
+
 	flag.Parse()
 	if testing.Verbose() {
 		// if we're verbose, use the logging requested by TF_LOG
@@ -55,7 +65,7 @@ func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
 func tempDir(t *testing.T) string {
 	t.Helper()
 
-	dir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
+	dir, err := ioutil.TempDir(testingDir, "tf")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -305,7 +315,7 @@ func testTempFile(t *testing.T) string {
 func testTempDir(t *testing.T) string {
 	t.Helper()
 
-	d, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
+	d, err := ioutil.TempDir(testingDir, "tf")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -358,7 +368,7 @@ func testChdir(t *testing.T, new string) func() {
 func testCwd(t *testing.T) (string, string) {
 	t.Helper()
 
-	tmp, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
+	tmp, err := ioutil.TempDir(testingDir, "tf")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -595,7 +605,7 @@ func testRemoteState(t *testing.T, s *terraform.State, c int) (*terraform.Remote
 // supplied to locate the statelocker.go source.
 func testLockState(sourceDir, path string) (func(), error) {
 	// build and run the binary ourselves so we can quickly terminate it for cleanup
-	buildDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "locker")
+	buildDir, err := ioutil.TempDir(testingDir, "locker")
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/command/debug_json2dot_test.go b/command/debug_json2dot_test.go
index 75c1a60bd..3e72048ae 100644
--- a/command/debug_json2dot_test.go
+++ b/command/debug_json2dot_test.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import (
 
 func TestDebugJSON2Dot(t *testing.T) {
 	// create the graph JSON output
-	logFile, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf")
+	logFile, err := ioutil.TempFile(testingDir, "tf")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/command/fmt_test.go b/command/fmt_test.go
index ffaaa7a99..454f1de70 100644
--- a/command/fmt_test.go
+++ b/command/fmt_test.go
@@ -13,11 +13,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestFmt_errorReporting(t *testing.T) {
-	tempDir, err := fmtFixtureWriteDir()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tempDir)
+	tempDir := fmtFixtureWriteDir(t)
 
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
 	c := &FmtCommand{
@@ -63,11 +59,7 @@ func TestFmt_tooManyArgs(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestFmt_workingDirectory(t *testing.T) {
-	tempDir, err := fmtFixtureWriteDir()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tempDir)
+	tempDir := fmtFixtureWriteDir(t)
 
 	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -99,11 +91,7 @@ func TestFmt_workingDirectory(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestFmt_directoryArg(t *testing.T) {
-	tempDir, err := fmtFixtureWriteDir()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tempDir)
+	tempDir := fmtFixtureWriteDir(t)
 
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
 	c := &FmtCommand{
@@ -149,11 +137,7 @@ func TestFmt_stdinArg(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestFmt_nonDefaultOptions(t *testing.T) {
-	tempDir, err := fmtFixtureWriteDir()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tempDir)
+	tempDir := fmtFixtureWriteDir(t)
 
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
 	c := &FmtCommand{
@@ -180,11 +164,7 @@ func TestFmt_nonDefaultOptions(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestFmt_check(t *testing.T) {
-	tempDir, err := fmtFixtureWriteDir()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tempDir)
+	tempDir := fmtFixtureWriteDir(t)
 
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
 	c := &FmtCommand{
@@ -244,17 +224,13 @@ var fmtFixture = struct {
 `),
 }
 
-func fmtFixtureWriteDir() (string, error) {
-	dir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
+func fmtFixtureWriteDir(t *testing.T) string {
+	dir := testTempDir(t)
+
+	err := ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, fmtFixture.filename), fmtFixture.input, 0644)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, fmtFixture.filename), fmtFixture.input, 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		os.RemoveAll(dir)
-		return "", err
-	}
-
-	return dir, nil
+	return dir
 }
diff --git a/command/init_test.go b/command/init_test.go
index 1e95e1241..32118b486 100644
--- a/command/init_test.go
+++ b/command/init_test.go
@@ -998,11 +998,7 @@ func TestInit_providerLockFile(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestInit_pluginDirReset(t *testing.T) {
-	td, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(td)
+	td := testTempDir(t)
 	defer testChdir(t, td)()
 
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
diff --git a/command/output_test.go b/command/output_test.go
index 298cd8444..e4b536448 100644
--- a/command/output_test.go
+++ b/command/output_test.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package command
 
 import (
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
@@ -451,10 +450,7 @@ func TestOutput_stateDefault(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Write the state file in a temporary directory with the
 	// default filename.
-	td, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
+	td := testTempDir(t)
 	statePath := filepath.Join(td, DefaultStateFilename)
 
 	f, err := os.Create(statePath)
diff --git a/command/plan_test.go b/command/plan_test.go
index b78de9b8e..2da48ae00 100644
--- a/command/plan_test.go
+++ b/command/plan_test.go
@@ -196,12 +196,8 @@ func TestPlan_outPath(t *testing.T) {
 	tmp, cwd := testCwd(t)
 	defer testFixCwd(t, tmp, cwd)
 
-	tf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	outPath := tf.Name()
-	os.Remove(tf.Name())
+	td := testTempDir(t)
+	outPath := filepath.Join(td, "test.plan")
 
 	p := testProvider()
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
@@ -253,12 +249,8 @@ func TestPlan_outPathNoChange(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	statePath := testStateFile(t, originalState)
 
-	tf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	outPath := tf.Name()
-	os.Remove(tf.Name())
+	td := testTempDir(t)
+	outPath := filepath.Join(td, "test.plan")
 
 	p := testProvider()
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
@@ -433,20 +425,8 @@ func TestPlan_refresh(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestPlan_state(t *testing.T) {
-	// Write out some prior state
-	tf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	statePath := tf.Name()
-	defer os.Remove(tf.Name())
-
 	originalState := testState()
-	err = terraform.WriteState(originalState, tf)
-	tf.Close()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
+	statePath := testStateFile(t, originalState)
 
 	p := testProvider()
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
@@ -475,24 +455,7 @@ func TestPlan_state(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestPlan_stateDefault(t *testing.T) {
 	originalState := testState()
-
-	// Write the state file in a temporary directory with the
-	// default filename.
-	td, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	statePath := filepath.Join(td, DefaultStateFilename)
-
-	f, err := os.Create(statePath)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	err = terraform.WriteState(originalState, f)
-	f.Close()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
+	statePath := testStateFile(t, originalState)
 
 	// Change to that directory
 	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
@@ -514,6 +477,7 @@ func TestPlan_stateDefault(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	args := []string{
+		"-state", statePath,
 		testFixturePath("plan"),
 	}
 	if code := c.Run(args); code != 0 {
diff --git a/command/plugins_lock_test.go b/command/plugins_lock_test.go
index b954c127b..946ccab02 100644
--- a/command/plugins_lock_test.go
+++ b/command/plugins_lock_test.go
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestPluginSHA256LockFile(t *testing.T) {
-	f, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf-pluginsha1lockfile-test-")
+	f, err := ioutil.TempFile(testingDir, "tf-pluginsha1lockfile-test-")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("failed to create temporary file: %s", err)
 	}
diff --git a/command/plugins_test.go b/command/plugins_test.go
index fb7ee16e0..086a30d9c 100644
--- a/command/plugins_test.go
+++ b/command/plugins_test.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package command
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"reflect"
@@ -95,11 +94,7 @@ func TestMultiVersionProviderResolver(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestPluginPath(t *testing.T) {
-	td, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(td)
+	td := testTempDir(t)
 	defer testChdir(t, td)()
 
 	pluginPath := []string{"a", "b", "c"}
diff --git a/command/refresh_test.go b/command/refresh_test.go
index bb04f39f5..a083849f3 100644
--- a/command/refresh_test.go
+++ b/command/refresh_test.go
@@ -189,17 +189,17 @@ func TestRefresh_defaultState(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Write the state file in a temporary directory with the
 	// default filename.
-	td, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	statePath := filepath.Join(td, DefaultStateFilename)
+	statePath := testStateFile(t, originalState)
 
 	localState := &state.LocalState{Path: statePath}
-	if err := localState.WriteState(originalState); err != nil {
+	if err := localState.RefreshState(); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	serial := localState.State().Serial
+	s := localState.State()
+	if s == nil {
+		t.Fatal("empty test state")
+	}
+	serial := s.Serial
 
 	// Change to that directory
 	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
@@ -224,6 +224,7 @@ func TestRefresh_defaultState(t *testing.T) {
 	p.RefreshReturn = newInstanceState("yes")
 
 	args := []string{
+		"-state", statePath,
 		testFixturePath("refresh"),
 	}
 	if code := c.Run(args); code != 0 {
@@ -364,7 +365,7 @@ func TestRefresh_outPath(t *testing.T) {
 	statePath := testStateFile(t, state)
 
 	// Output path
-	outf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf")
+	outf, err := ioutil.TempFile(testingDir, "tf")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -585,7 +586,7 @@ func TestRefresh_backup(t *testing.T) {
 	statePath := testStateFile(t, state)
 
 	// Output path
-	outf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf")
+	outf, err := ioutil.TempFile(testingDir, "tf")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -594,7 +595,7 @@ func TestRefresh_backup(t *testing.T) {
 	os.Remove(outPath)
 
 	// Backup path
-	backupf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf")
+	backupf, err := ioutil.TempFile(testingDir, "tf")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -679,7 +680,7 @@ func TestRefresh_disableBackup(t *testing.T) {
 	statePath := testStateFile(t, state)
 
 	// Output path
-	outf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf")
+	outf, err := ioutil.TempFile(testingDir, "tf")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
diff --git a/command/show_test.go b/command/show_test.go
index dfcb4ac7c..53c2cdcaa 100644
--- a/command/show_test.go
+++ b/command/show_test.go
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 package command
 
 import (
-	"io/ioutil"
-	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -32,31 +30,8 @@ func TestShow(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestShow_noArgs(t *testing.T) {
 	// Create the default state
-	td, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	statePath := filepath.Join(td, DefaultStateFilename)
-
-	f, err := os.Create(statePath)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	err = terraform.WriteState(testState(), f)
-	f.Close()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-
-	// Change to the temporary directory
-	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	if err := os.Chdir(filepath.Dir(statePath)); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	defer os.Chdir(cwd)
+	statePath := testStateFile(t, testState())
+	defer testChdir(t, filepath.Dir(statePath))()
 
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
 	c := &ShowCommand{
@@ -74,21 +49,8 @@ func TestShow_noArgs(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestShow_noArgsNoState(t *testing.T) {
 	// Create the default state
-	td, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "tf")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	statePath := filepath.Join(td, DefaultStateFilename)
-
-	// Change to the temporary directory
-	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	if err := os.Chdir(filepath.Dir(statePath)); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
-	}
-	defer os.Chdir(cwd)
+	statePath := testStateFile(t, testState())
+	defer testChdir(t, filepath.Dir(statePath))()
 
 	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
 	c := &ShowCommand{