diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/include/libtest.shlib b/tests/zfs-tests/include/libtest.shlib
index d4dae8e593..b01d8bc82f 100644
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/include/libtest.shlib
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/include/libtest.shlib
@@ -2158,8 +2158,7 @@ function check_pool_status # pool token keyword <verbose>
 	typeset keyword=$3
 	typeset verbose=${4:-false}
 
-	scan=$(zpool status -v "$pool" 2>/dev/null | awk -v token="$token:" '
-		($1==token) {print $0}')
+	scan=$(zpool status -v "$pool" 2>/dev/null | awk -v token="$token:" '$1==token')
 	if [[ $verbose == true ]]; then
 		log_note $scan
 	fi
@@ -3075,7 +3074,7 @@ function vdevs_in_pool
 	typeset tmpfile=$(mktemp)
 	zpool status -v "$pool" | grep -A 1000 "config:" >$tmpfile
 	for vdev in "$@"; do
-		grep -wq ${vdev##*/} $tmpfile || && return 1
+		grep -wq ${vdev##*/} $tmpfile || return 1
 	done
 
 	rm -f $tmpfile
@@ -3959,10 +3958,10 @@ function directory_diff # dir_a dir_b
 	# We check ctimes even with zil_replay=1 because the ZIL does store
 	# creation times and we should make sure they match (if the creation times
 	# do not match there is a "c" entry in one of the columns).
-	if ( rsync --version | grep -q "[, ] crtimes" >/dev/null ); then
+	if rsync --version | grep -q "[, ] crtimes"; then
 		args+=("--crtimes")
 	else
-		echo "NOTE: This rsync package does not support --crtimes (-N)."
+		log_note "This rsync package does not support --crtimes (-N)."
 	fi
 
 	# If we are testing a ZIL replay, we need to ignore timestamp changes.
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/channel_program/synctask_core/tst.terminate_by_signal.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/channel_program/synctask_core/tst.terminate_by_signal.ksh
index 2c9014a084..53d5b819da 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/channel_program/synctask_core/tst.terminate_by_signal.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/channel_program/synctask_core/tst.terminate_by_signal.ksh
@@ -86,13 +86,10 @@ log_pos kill $CHILD
 # Make sure the channel program did not fully complete by enforcing
 # that not all of the snapshots were created.
 #
-snap_count=$(zfs list -t snapshot | grep $TESTPOOL | wc -l)
+snap_count=$(zfs list -t snapshot | grep -c $TESTPOOL)
 log_note "$snap_count snapshots created by ZCP"
 
-if [ "$snap_count" -eq 0 ]; then
-	log_fail "Channel program failed to run."
-elif [ "$snap_count" -gt 90 ]; then
-	log_fail "Too many snapshots after a cancel ($snap_count)."
-else
-	log_pass "Canceling a long-running channel program works."
-fi
+log_mustnot [ "$snap_count" -eq 0 ]
+log_mustnot [ "$snap_count" -gt 90 ]
+
+log_pass "Cancelling a long-running channel program works."
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zdb/zdb_display_block.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zdb/zdb_display_block.ksh
index ef7eb8fff1..bab0dea296 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zdb/zdb_display_block.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zdb/zdb_display_block.ksh
@@ -69,16 +69,16 @@ obj=${array[0]}
 log_note "file $init_data has object number $obj"
 
 output=$(zdb -ddddddbbbbbb $TESTPOOL/$TESTFS $obj 2> /dev/null \
-    |grep -m 1 "L1  DVA" |head -n1)
+    |grep -m 1 "L1  DVA" )
 dva=$(sed -Ene 's/^.+DVA\[0\]=<([^>]+)>.*/\1/p' <<< "$output")
 log_note "first L1 block $init_data has a DVA of $dva"
 output=$(zdb -ddddddbbbbbb $TESTPOOL/$TESTFS $obj 2> /dev/null \
-    |grep -m 1 "L0 DVA" |head -n1)
+    |grep -m 1 "L0 DVA" )
 blk_out0=${output##*>}
 blk_out0=${blk_out0##+([[:space:]])}
 
 output=$(zdb -ddddddbbbbbb $TESTPOOL/$TESTFS $obj 2> /dev/null \
-    |grep -m 1 "1000  L0 DVA" |head -n1)
+    |grep -m 1 "1000  L0 DVA" )
 blk_out1=${output##*>}
 blk_out1=${blk_out1##+([[:space:]])}
 
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ vdev=$(echo "$dva" | cut -d: -f1)
 offset=$(echo "$dva" | cut -d: -f2)
 output=$(export ZDB_NO_ZLE=\"true\";\
     zdb -R $TESTPOOL $vdev:$offset:$l1_read_size:id 2> /dev/null)
-block_cnt=$(echo "$output" | grep 'L0' | wc -l)
+block_cnt=$(echo "$output" | grep -c 'L0')
 if [ $block_cnt -ne $write_count ]; then
 	log_fail "zdb -R :id (indirect block display) failed"
 fi
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ vdev="$vdev.0"
 log_note "Reading from DVA $vdev:$offset:$l1_read_size"
 output=$(export ZDB_NO_ZLE=\"true\";\
     zdb -R $TESTPOOL $vdev:$offset:$l1_read_size:id 2> /dev/null)
-block_cnt=$(echo "$output" | grep 'L0' | wc -l)
+block_cnt=$(echo "$output" | grep -c 'L0')
 if [ $block_cnt -ne $write_count ]; then
         log_fail "zdb -R 0.0:offset:length:id (indirect block display) failed"
 fi
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zfs_get/zfs_get_004_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zfs_get/zfs_get_004_pos.ksh
index de52c586f3..20597c9a5f 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zfs_get/zfs_get_004_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zfs_get/zfs_get_004_pos.ksh
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ while (( i < ${#opts[*]} )); do
 			log_fail "There is no property for" \
 				"dataset $ds in 'get all' output."
 
-		propnum=$(awk -v ds="${ds}$" '$1 ~ ds {print $1}' $propfile | wc -l)
+		propnum=$(awk -v ds="${ds}$" '$1 ~ ds {++cnt}  END {print cnt}' $propfile)
 		case $(zfs get -H -o value type $ds) in
 			filesystem )
 				(( propnum < fspropnum )) && \
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zfs_snapshot/zfs_snapshot_009_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zfs_snapshot/zfs_snapshot_009_pos.ksh
index 407c8f2911..a81e82ddf5 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zfs_snapshot/zfs_snapshot_009_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zfs_snapshot/zfs_snapshot_009_pos.ksh
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ for x in {1..$ITERATIONS}; do
 	for y in {1..$NUM_SNAPS}; do
 		log_must zfs snapshot $TESTPOOL/$MYTEST@$y
 	done;
-	n=$(ls -1 /$TESTPOOL/$MYTEST/.zfs/snapshot | wc -l)
+	n=$(ls /$TESTPOOL/$MYTEST/.zfs/snapshot | wc -l)
 	verify_eq $n $NUM_SNAPS "count"
 	zfs destroy -r $TESTPOOL/$MYTEST;
 done;
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zpool_events/zpool_events_errors.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zpool_events/zpool_events_errors.ksh
index f26c65f9db..b774374163 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zpool_events/zpool_events_errors.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zpool_events/zpool_events_errors.ksh
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ function do_test
 	out="$(zpool status -p | grep $VDEV1)"
 
 	if [ "$ERR" == "corrupt" ] ; then
-		events=$(zpool events | grep checksum | wc -l)
+		events=$(zpool events | grep -c checksum)
 		val=$(echo "$out" | awk '{print $5}')
 		str="checksum"
 	elif [ "$ERR" == "io" ] ; then
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zpool_events/zpool_events_follow.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zpool_events/zpool_events_follow.ksh
index 258de033b8..3311eb5466 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zpool_events/zpool_events_follow.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_root/zpool_events/zpool_events_follow.ksh
@@ -49,14 +49,14 @@ log_must eval "zpool events -H -f > $EVENTS_FILE &"
 pid=$!
 
 # 3. Generate some ZFS events
-for i in `seq 1 $EVENTS_NUM`; do
+for i in {1..$EVENTS_NUM}; do
 	log_must zpool clear $TESTPOOL
 done
 # wait a bit to allow the kernel module to process new events
 zpool_events_settle
 
 # 4. Verify 'zpool events -f' successfully recorded these new events
-EVENTS_LOG=$(cat $EVENTS_FILE | wc -l)
+EVENTS_LOG=$(wc -l < $EVENTS_FILE)
 if [[ $EVENTS_LOG -ne $EVENTS_NUM ]]; then
 	log_fail "Unexpected number of events: $EVENTS_LOG != $EVENTS_NUM"
 fi
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_user/zpool_iostat/zpool_iostat_002_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_user/zpool_iostat/zpool_iostat_002_pos.ksh
index 49be7d0701..333177accb 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_user/zpool_iostat/zpool_iostat_002_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/cli_user/zpool_iostat/zpool_iostat_002_pos.ksh
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ fi
 
 zpool iostat $TESTPOOL 1 4 > $tmpfile 2>&1 &
 sleep 4
-stat_count=$(grep $TESTPOOL $tmpfile | wc -l)
+stat_count=$(grep -c $TESTPOOL $tmpfile)
 
 if [[ $stat_count -ne 4 ]]; then
 	log_fail "zpool iostat [pool_name] [interval] [count] failed"
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/fault/zpool_status_-s.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/fault/zpool_status_-s.ksh
index 5eb4b25c38..4fe00e2c71 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/fault/zpool_status_-s.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/fault/zpool_status_-s.ksh
@@ -68,10 +68,9 @@ sync_pool $TESTPOOL
 
 log_must zinject -c all
 SLOW_IOS=$(zpool status -sp | awk -v d="$DISK" '$0 ~ d {print $6}')
-DELAY_EVENTS=$(zpool events | grep delay | wc -l)
+DELAY_EVENTS=$(zpool events | grep -c delay)
 
-if [ $SLOW_IOS -gt 0 ] && [ $DELAY_EVENTS -gt 0 ] ; then
-	log_pass "Correctly saw $SLOW_IOS slow IOs and $DELAY_EVENTS delay events"
-else
-	log_fail "Only saw $SLOW_IOS slow IOs and $DELAY_EVENTS delay events"
-fi
+log_must [ $SLOW_IOS -gt 0 ]
+log_must [ $DELAY_EVENTS -gt 0 ]
+
+log_pass "Correctly saw $SLOW_IOS slow IOs and $DELAY_EVENTS delay events"
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/log_spacemap/log_spacemap_import_logs.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/log_spacemap/log_spacemap_import_logs.ksh
index d1d283376b..d16574d3a8 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/log_spacemap/log_spacemap_import_logs.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/log_spacemap/log_spacemap_import_logs.ksh
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ function cleanup
 log_onexit cleanup
 
 LOGSM_POOL="logsm_import"
-TESTDISK="$(echo $DISKS | cut -d' ' -f1)"
+read -r TESTDISK _ <<<"$DISKS"
 
 log_must zpool create -o cachefile=none -f $LOGSM_POOL $TESTDISK
 log_must zfs create $LOGSM_POOL/fs
@@ -70,10 +70,7 @@ sync_all_pools
 log_must set_tunable64 KEEP_LOG_SPACEMAPS_AT_EXPORT 1
 log_must zpool export $LOGSM_POOL
 
-LOGSM_COUNT=$(zdb -m -e $LOGSM_POOL | grep "Log Spacemap object" | wc -l)
-if (( LOGSM_COUNT == 0 )); then
-	log_fail "Pool does not have any log spacemaps after being exported"
-fi
+log_must eval "zdb -m -e $LOGSM_POOL | grep -q \"Log Spacemap object\""
 
 log_must set_tunable64 METASLAB_DEBUG_LOAD 1
 log_must zpool import $LOGSM_POOL
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/mv_files/mv_files_common.kshlib b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/mv_files/mv_files_common.kshlib
index 3ddd8f113a..26c2e84ce4 100644
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/mv_files/mv_files_common.kshlib
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/mv_files/mv_files_common.kshlib
@@ -114,9 +114,7 @@ function mv_files
 #
 function count_files
 {
-        typeset -i file_num
-        file_num=$(find $1 -type f -print | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
-        (( file_num != $2 )) && \
+        (( $(find $1 -type f -print | wc -l) != $2 )) && \
                 log_fail "The file number of target directory"\
                         "$2 is not equal to that of the source "\
                         "directory $1"
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/procfs/procfs_list_basic.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/procfs/procfs_list_basic.ksh
index 9104e4ba2a..5f6727ea44 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/procfs/procfs_list_basic.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/procfs/procfs_list_basic.ksh
@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@ function cleanup
 function count_snap_cmds
 {
 	typeset expected_count=$1
-	count=$(grep -E "command: (lt-)?zfs snapshot $FS@testsnapshot" | wc -l)
-	log_must eval "[[ $count -eq $expected_count ]]"
+	count=$(grep -cE "command: (lt-)?zfs snapshot $FS@testsnapshot")
+	log_must [ "$count" -eq "$expected_count" ]
 }
 
 typeset -r ZFS_DBGMSG=/proc/spl/kstat/zfs/dbgmsg
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/replacement/resilver_restart_002.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/replacement/resilver_restart_002.ksh
index b5b0ace599..bc5bc01776 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/replacement/resilver_restart_002.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/replacement/resilver_restart_002.ksh
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ objset=$(zdb -d $TESTPOOL1/ | sed -ne 's/.*ID \([0-9]*\).*/\1/p')
 object=$(ls -i /$TESTPOOL1/file | awk '{print $1}')
 
 # inject event to cause error during resilver
-log_must zinject -b `printf "%x:%x:0:3fff" $objset $object` $TESTPOOL1
+log_must zinject -b $(printf "%x:%x:0:3fff" $objset $object) $TESTPOOL1
 
 # clear events and start resilver
 log_must zpool events -c
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ done
 log_note "waiting for resilver to finish"
 for iter in {0..59}
 do
-	finish=$(zpool events | grep "sysevent.fs.zfs.resilver_finish" | wc -l)
+	finish=$(zpool events | grep -cF "sysevent.fs.zfs.resilver_finish")
 	(( $finish > 0 )) && break
 	sleep 1
 done
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ sync_pool $TESTPOOL1
 sync_pool $TESTPOOL1
 
 # check if resilver was restarted
-start=$(zpool events | grep "sysevent.fs.zfs.resilver_start" | wc -l)
+start=$(zpool events | grep -cF "sysevent.fs.zfs.resilver_start")
 (( $start != 1 )) && log_fail "resilver restarted unnecessarily"
 
 log_pass "Resilver did not restart unnecessarily from scan errors"
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/clone_001_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/clone_001_pos.ksh
index 9a63bf2348..819e263b1c 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/clone_001_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/clone_001_pos.ksh
@@ -142,8 +142,7 @@ while (( i < ${#args[*]} )); do
 	if [[ -n ${args[i+3]} ]] ; then
 		log_must zfs set mountpoint=${args[i+3]} ${args[i+2]}
 
-		FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al ${args[i+3]} | grep -v "total" \
-		    | grep -v "\.zfs" | wc -l`
+		FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A ${args[i+3]} | grep -cvF ".zfs")
 		if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne $COUNT ]]; then
 			ls -Al ${args[i+3]}
 			log_fail "AFTER: ${args[i+3]} contains $FILE_COUNT files(s)."
@@ -157,7 +156,7 @@ while (( i < ${#args[*]} )); do
 			(( j = j + 1 ))
 		done
 
-		FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al ${args[i+3]}/after* | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+		FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A ${args[i+3]}/after* | wc -l)
 		if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne $COUNT ]]; then
 			ls -Al ${args[i+3]}
 			log_fail "${args[i+3]} contains $FILE_COUNT after* files(s)."
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/rollback_001_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/rollback_001_pos.ksh
index b64c026eeb..38db22fdfe 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/rollback_001_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/rollback_001_pos.ksh
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ done
 
 log_must zfs snapshot $SNAPFS
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $SNAPDIR | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $SNAPDIR | wc -l)
 if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne $COUNT ]]; then
         ls -Al $SNAPDIR
         log_fail "AFTER: $SNAPFS contains $FILE_COUNT files(s)."
@@ -97,14 +97,13 @@ sync_pool $TESTPOOL
 #
 log_must zfs rollback $SNAPFS
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $TESTDIR/after* 2> /dev/null | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $TESTDIR/after* 2> /dev/null | wc -l)
 if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne 0 ]]; then
         ls -Al $TESTDIR
         log_fail "$TESTDIR contains $FILE_COUNT after* files(s)."
 fi
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $TESTDIR/before* 2> /dev/null \
-    | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $TESTDIR/before* 2> /dev/null | wc -l)
 if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne $COUNT ]]; then
 	ls -Al $TESTDIR
 	log_fail "$TESTDIR contains $FILE_COUNT before* files(s)."
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/rollback_002_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/rollback_002_pos.ksh
index 6e562e6c90..571065fdd6 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/rollback_002_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/rollback_002_pos.ksh
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ done
 
 log_must zfs snapshot $SNAPFS
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $SNAPDIR | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $SNAPDIR | wc -l)
 if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne $COUNT ]]; then
         ls -Al $SNAPDIR
         log_fail "AFTER: $SNAPFS contains $FILE_COUNT files(s)."
@@ -112,14 +112,13 @@ done
 #
 log_must zfs rollback $SNAPFS.1
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $TESTDIR/aftersecond* 2> /dev/null \
-    | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $TESTDIR/aftersecond* 2> /dev/null | wc -l)
 if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne 0 ]]; then
         ls -Al $TESTDIR
         log_fail "$TESTDIR contains $FILE_COUNT aftersecond* files(s)."
 fi
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $TESTDIR/original* $TESTDIR/afterfirst*| grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $TESTDIR/original* $TESTDIR/afterfirst* | wc -l)
 if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne 20 ]]; then
         ls -Al $TESTDIR
         log_fail "$TESTDIR contains $FILE_COUNT original* files(s)."
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_003_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_003_pos.ksh
index 8cb7298a48..a1357b1551 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_003_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_003_pos.ksh
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ log_note "Remove all of the original files"
 
 i=1
 while [[ $i -lt $COUNT ]]; do
-	FILECOUNT=`ls $SNAPDIR.$i/file* | wc -l`
+	FILECOUNT=$(ls $SNAPDIR.$i/file* | wc -l)
 	typeset j=1
 	while [ $j -lt $FILECOUNT ]; do
 		log_must file_check $SNAPDIR.$i/file$j $j
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_004_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_004_pos.ksh
index 44fc6ec9e9..683afb5e1a 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_004_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_004_pos.ksh
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ log_onexit cleanup
 [ -n $TESTDIR ] && log_must rm -rf $TESTDIR/*
 
 log_must zfs snapshot $SNAPFS
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $SNAPDIR | grep -v "total 0" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $SNAPDIR | wc -l)
 if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne 0 ]]; then
 	ls $SNAPDIR
 	log_fail "BEFORE: $SNAPDIR contains $FILE_COUNT files(s)."
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ while [[ $i -lt $COUNT ]]; do
 	(( i = i + 1 ))
 done
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $SNAPDIR | grep -v "total 0" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $SNAPDIR | wc -l)
 if [[ $FILE_COUNT -ne 0 ]]; then
         ls $SNAPDIR
         log_fail "AFTER: $SNAPDIR contains $FILE_COUNT files(s)."
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_007_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_007_pos.ksh
index 41d4b46826..bcca2a04a7 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_007_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_007_pos.ksh
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ log_note "Remove all of the original files"
 
 i=1
 while [[ $i -lt $COUNT ]]; do
-	FILECOUNT=`echo $SNAPDIR1.$i/file* | wc -w`
+	FILECOUNT=$(ls $SNAPDIR1.$i/file* 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
 	typeset j=1
 	while [ $j -lt $FILECOUNT ]; do
 		log_must file_check $SNAPDIR1.$i/file$j $j
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_011_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_011_pos.ksh
index fcf57f65f6..7fa7aec22d 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_011_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_011_pos.ksh
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ done
 
 log_must zfs snapshot -r $SNAPPOOL
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $SNAPDIR | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $SNAPDIR | wc -l)
 if (( FILE_COUNT != COUNT )); then
         ls -Al $SNAPDIR
         log_fail "AFTER: $SNAPFS contains $FILE_COUNT files(s)."
@@ -94,14 +94,13 @@ done
 #
 log_must zfs rollback $SNAPFS
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $TESTDIR/after* 2> /dev/null | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $TESTDIR/after* 2> /dev/null | wc -l)
 if (( FILE_COUNT != 0 )); then
         ls -Al $TESTDIR
         log_fail "$TESTDIR contains $FILE_COUNT after* files(s)."
 fi
 
-FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $TESTDIR/before* 2> /dev/null \
-    | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $TESTDIR/before* 2> /dev/null | wc -l)
 if (( FILE_COUNT != $COUNT )); then
 	ls -Al $TESTDIR
 	log_fail "$TESTDIR contains $FILE_COUNT before* files(s)."
diff --git a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_013_pos.ksh b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_013_pos.ksh
index aee6bb6ceb..27408222c8 100755
--- a/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_013_pos.ksh
+++ b/tests/zfs-tests/tests/functional/snapshot/snapshot_013_pos.ksh
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ if ! datasetexists $ctrfs || ! snapexists $snapctrfs; then
 fi
 
 for dir in $fsdir $snapdir; do
-	FILE_COUNT=`ls -Al $dir | grep -v "total" | wc -l`
+	FILE_COUNT=$(ls -A $dir | wc -l)
 	(( FILE_COUNT != COUNT )) && log_fail "Got $FILE_COUNT expected $COUNT"
 done