diff --git a/tools/perf/tests/Build b/tools/perf/tests/Build
index af2b37ef7c7020a939743b184fb5c6fae758be0d..2064a640facbee1d9b47e14837d62ff41182d994 100644
--- a/tools/perf/tests/Build
+++ b/tools/perf/tests/Build
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
 
 perf-y += builtin-test.o
+perf-y += builtin-test-list.o
 perf-y += parse-events.o
 perf-y += dso-data.o
 perf-y += attr.o
diff --git a/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test-list.c b/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test-list.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a65b9e547d82665384cc4b598caee0357474f7f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test-list.c
@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 */
+#include <dirent.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <linux/ctype.h>
+#include <linux/kernel.h>
+#include <linux/string.h>
+#include <linux/zalloc.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <subcmd/exec-cmd.h>
+#include <subcmd/parse-options.h>
+#include <sys/wait.h>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+#include "builtin.h"
+#include "builtin-test-list.h"
+#include "color.h"
+#include "debug.h"
+#include "hist.h"
+#include "intlist.h"
+#include "string2.h"
+#include "symbol.h"
+#include "tests.h"
+#include "util/rlimit.h"
+
+
+/*
+ * As this is a singleton built once for the run of the process, there is
+ * no value in trying to free it and just let it stay around until process
+ * exits when it's cleaned up.
+ */
+static size_t files_num = 0;
+static struct script_file *files = NULL;
+static int files_max_width = 0;
+
+static const char *shell_tests__dir(char *path, size_t size)
+{
+	const char *devel_dirs[] = { "./tools/perf/tests", "./tests", };
+	char *exec_path;
+	unsigned int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(devel_dirs); ++i) {
+		struct stat st;
+
+		if (!lstat(devel_dirs[i], &st)) {
+			scnprintf(path, size, "%s/shell", devel_dirs[i]);
+			if (!lstat(devel_dirs[i], &st))
+				return path;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/* Then installed path. */
+	exec_path = get_argv_exec_path();
+	scnprintf(path, size, "%s/tests/shell", exec_path);
+	free(exec_path);
+	return path;
+}
+
+static const char *shell_test__description(char *description, size_t size,
+                                           const char *path, const char *name)
+{
+	FILE *fp;
+	char filename[PATH_MAX];
+	int ch;
+
+	path__join(filename, sizeof(filename), path, name);
+	fp = fopen(filename, "r");
+	if (!fp)
+		return NULL;
+
+	/* Skip first line - should be #!/bin/sh Shebang */
+	do {
+		ch = fgetc(fp);
+	} while (ch != EOF && ch != '\n');
+
+	description = fgets(description, size, fp);
+	fclose(fp);
+
+	/* Assume first char on line is omment everything after that desc */
+	return description ? strim(description + 1) : NULL;
+}
+
+/* Is this full file path a shell script */
+static bool is_shell_script(const char *path)
+{
+	const char *ext;
+
+	ext = strrchr(path, '.');
+	if (!ext)
+		return false;
+	if (!strcmp(ext, ".sh")) { /* Has .sh extension */
+		if (access(path, R_OK | X_OK) == 0) /* Is executable */
+			return true;
+	}
+	return false;
+}
+
+/* Is this file in this dir a shell script (for test purposes) */
+static bool is_test_script(const char *path, const char *name)
+{
+	char filename[PATH_MAX];
+
+	path__join(filename, sizeof(filename), path, name);
+	if (!is_shell_script(filename)) return false;
+	return true;
+}
+
+/* Duplicate a string and fall over and die if we run out of memory */
+static char *strdup_check(const char *str)
+{
+	char *newstr;
+
+	newstr = strdup(str);
+	if (!newstr) {
+		pr_err("Out of memory while duplicating test script string\n");
+		abort();
+	}
+	return newstr;
+}
+
+static void append_script(const char *dir, const char *file, const char *desc)
+{
+	struct script_file *files_tmp;
+	size_t files_num_tmp;
+	int width;
+
+	files_num_tmp = files_num + 1;
+	if (files_num_tmp >= SIZE_MAX) {
+		pr_err("Too many script files\n");
+		abort();
+	}
+	/* Realloc is good enough, though we could realloc by chunks, not that
+	 * anyone will ever measure performance here */
+	files_tmp = realloc(files,
+			    (files_num_tmp + 1) * sizeof(struct script_file));
+	if (files_tmp == NULL) {
+		pr_err("Out of memory while building test list\n");
+		abort();
+	}
+	/* Add file to end and NULL terminate the struct array */
+	files = files_tmp;
+	files_num = files_num_tmp;
+	files[files_num - 1].dir = strdup_check(dir);
+	files[files_num - 1].file = strdup_check(file);
+	files[files_num - 1].desc = strdup_check(desc);
+	files[files_num].dir = NULL;
+	files[files_num].file = NULL;
+	files[files_num].desc = NULL;
+
+	width = strlen(desc); /* Track max width of desc */
+	if (width > files_max_width)
+		files_max_width = width;
+}
+
+static void append_scripts_in_dir(const char *path)
+{
+	struct dirent **entlist;
+	struct dirent *ent;
+	int n_dirs, i;
+	char filename[PATH_MAX];
+
+	/* List files, sorted by alpha */
+	n_dirs = scandir(path, &entlist, NULL, alphasort);
+	if (n_dirs == -1)
+		return;
+	for (i = 0; i < n_dirs && (ent = entlist[i]); i++) {
+		if (ent->d_name[0] == '.')
+			continue; /* Skip hidden files */
+		if (is_test_script(path, ent->d_name)) { /* It's a test */
+			char bf[256];
+			const char *desc = shell_test__description
+				(bf, sizeof(bf), path, ent->d_name);
+
+			if (desc) /* It has a desc line - valid script */
+				append_script(path, ent->d_name, desc);
+		} else if (is_directory(path, ent)) { /* Scan the subdir */
+			path__join(filename, sizeof(filename),
+				   path, ent->d_name);
+			append_scripts_in_dir(filename);
+		}
+	}
+	for (i = 0; i < n_dirs; i++) /* Clean up */
+		zfree(&entlist[i]);
+	free(entlist);
+}
+
+const struct script_file *list_script_files(void)
+{
+	char path_dir[PATH_MAX];
+	const char *path;
+
+	if (files)
+		return files; /* Singleton - we already know our list */
+
+	path = shell_tests__dir(path_dir, sizeof(path_dir)); /* Walk  dir */
+	append_scripts_in_dir(path);
+
+	return files;
+}
+
+int list_script_max_width(void)
+{
+	list_script_files(); /* Ensure we have scanned all scripts */
+	return files_max_width;
+}
diff --git a/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test-list.h b/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test-list.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..eb81f3aa6683d346a1094aeacc4c274d5e6c6570
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test-list.h
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 */
+
+struct script_file {
+	char *dir;
+	char *file;
+	char *desc;
+};
+
+/* List available script tests to run - singleton - never freed */
+const struct script_file *list_script_files(void);
+/* Get maximum width of description string */
+int list_script_max_width(void);
diff --git a/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test.c b/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test.c
index 81cf241cd109eebeb997e8cc4312e3f9b97c08cd..7122eae1d98d9f7646bd451db262e383bd808097 100644
--- a/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test.c
+++ b/tools/perf/tests/builtin-test.c
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@
 #include <subcmd/exec-cmd.h>
 #include <linux/zalloc.h>
 
+#include "builtin-test-list.h"
+
 static bool dont_fork;
 
 struct test_suite *__weak arch_tests[] = {
@@ -274,91 +276,6 @@ static int test_and_print(struct test_suite *t, int subtest)
 	return err;
 }
 
-static const char *shell_test__description(char *description, size_t size,
-					   const char *path, const char *name)
-{
-	FILE *fp;
-	char filename[PATH_MAX];
-	int ch;
-
-	path__join(filename, sizeof(filename), path, name);
-	fp = fopen(filename, "r");
-	if (!fp)
-		return NULL;
-
-	/* Skip shebang */
-	do {
-		ch = fgetc(fp);
-	} while (ch != EOF && ch != '\n');
-
-	description = fgets(description, size, fp);
-	fclose(fp);
-
-	return description ? strim(description + 1) : NULL;
-}
-
-#define for_each_shell_test(entlist, nr, base, ent)	                \
-	for (int __i = 0; __i < nr && (ent = entlist[__i]); __i++)	\
-		if (!is_directory(base, ent) && \
-			is_executable_file(base, ent) && \
-			ent->d_name[0] != '.')
-
-static const char *shell_tests__dir(char *path, size_t size)
-{
-	const char *devel_dirs[] = { "./tools/perf/tests", "./tests", };
-        char *exec_path;
-	unsigned int i;
-
-	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(devel_dirs); ++i) {
-		struct stat st;
-		if (!lstat(devel_dirs[i], &st)) {
-			scnprintf(path, size, "%s/shell", devel_dirs[i]);
-			if (!lstat(devel_dirs[i], &st))
-				return path;
-		}
-	}
-
-        /* Then installed path. */
-        exec_path = get_argv_exec_path();
-        scnprintf(path, size, "%s/tests/shell", exec_path);
-	free(exec_path);
-	return path;
-}
-
-static int shell_tests__max_desc_width(void)
-{
-	struct dirent **entlist;
-	struct dirent *ent;
-	int n_dirs, e;
-	char path_dir[PATH_MAX];
-	const char *path = shell_tests__dir(path_dir, sizeof(path_dir));
-	int width = 0;
-
-	if (path == NULL)
-		return -1;
-
-	n_dirs = scandir(path, &entlist, NULL, alphasort);
-	if (n_dirs == -1)
-		return -1;
-
-	for_each_shell_test(entlist, n_dirs, path, ent) {
-		char bf[256];
-		const char *desc = shell_test__description(bf, sizeof(bf), path, ent->d_name);
-
-		if (desc) {
-			int len = strlen(desc);
-
-			if (width < len)
-				width = len;
-		}
-	}
-
-	for (e = 0; e < n_dirs; e++)
-		zfree(&entlist[e]);
-	free(entlist);
-	return width;
-}
-
 struct shell_test {
 	const char *dir;
 	const char *file;
@@ -385,33 +302,17 @@ static int shell_test__run(struct test_suite *test, int subdir __maybe_unused)
 static int run_shell_tests(int argc, const char *argv[], int i, int width,
 				struct intlist *skiplist)
 {
-	struct dirent **entlist;
-	struct dirent *ent;
-	int n_dirs, e;
-	char path_dir[PATH_MAX];
-	struct shell_test st = {
-		.dir = shell_tests__dir(path_dir, sizeof(path_dir)),
-	};
-
-	if (st.dir == NULL)
-		return -1;
+	struct shell_test st;
+	const struct script_file *files, *file;
 
-	n_dirs = scandir(st.dir, &entlist, NULL, alphasort);
-	if (n_dirs == -1) {
-		pr_err("failed to open shell test directory: %s\n",
-			st.dir);
-		return -1;
-	}
-
-	for_each_shell_test(entlist, n_dirs, st.dir, ent) {
+	files = list_script_files();
+	if (!files)
+		return 0;
+	for (file = files; file->dir; file++) {
 		int curr = i++;
-		char desc[256];
 		struct test_case test_cases[] = {
 			{
-				.desc = shell_test__description(desc,
-								sizeof(desc),
-								st.dir,
-								ent->d_name),
+				.desc = file->desc,
 				.run_case = shell_test__run,
 			},
 			{ .name = NULL, }
@@ -421,12 +322,13 @@ static int run_shell_tests(int argc, const char *argv[], int i, int width,
 			.test_cases = test_cases,
 			.priv = &st,
 		};
+		st.dir = file->dir;
 
 		if (test_suite.desc == NULL ||
 		    !perf_test__matches(test_suite.desc, curr, argc, argv))
 			continue;
 
-		st.file = ent->d_name;
+		st.file = file->file;
 		pr_info("%3d: %-*s:", i, width, test_suite.desc);
 
 		if (intlist__find(skiplist, i)) {
@@ -436,10 +338,6 @@ static int run_shell_tests(int argc, const char *argv[], int i, int width,
 
 		test_and_print(&test_suite, 0);
 	}
-
-	for (e = 0; e < n_dirs; e++)
-		zfree(&entlist[e]);
-	free(entlist);
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -448,7 +346,7 @@ static int __cmd_test(int argc, const char *argv[], struct intlist *skiplist)
 	struct test_suite *t;
 	unsigned int j, k;
 	int i = 0;
-	int width = shell_tests__max_desc_width();
+	int width = list_script_max_width();
 
 	for_each_test(j, k, t) {
 		int len = strlen(test_description(t, -1));
@@ -529,36 +427,22 @@ static int __cmd_test(int argc, const char *argv[], struct intlist *skiplist)
 
 static int perf_test__list_shell(int argc, const char **argv, int i)
 {
-	struct dirent **entlist;
-	struct dirent *ent;
-	int n_dirs, e;
-	char path_dir[PATH_MAX];
-	const char *path = shell_tests__dir(path_dir, sizeof(path_dir));
-
-	if (path == NULL)
-		return -1;
+	const struct script_file *files, *file;
 
-	n_dirs = scandir(path, &entlist, NULL, alphasort);
-	if (n_dirs == -1)
-		return -1;
-
-	for_each_shell_test(entlist, n_dirs, path, ent) {
+	files = list_script_files();
+	if (!files)
+		return 0;
+	for (file = files; file->dir; file++) {
 		int curr = i++;
-		char bf[256];
 		struct test_suite t = {
-			.desc = shell_test__description(bf, sizeof(bf), path, ent->d_name),
+			.desc = file->desc
 		};
 
 		if (!perf_test__matches(t.desc, curr, argc, argv))
 			continue;
 
 		pr_info("%3d: %s\n", i, t.desc);
-
 	}
-
-	for (e = 0; e < n_dirs; e++)
-		zfree(&entlist[e]);
-	free(entlist);
 	return 0;
 }