diff --git a/core/cli/test.el b/core/cli/test.el
index 9572a9d88..8696dc1e4 100644
--- a/core/cli/test.el
+++ b/core/cli/test.el
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
       (setq targets
             (cons doom-core-dir
                   (cl-remove-if-not
-                   (lambda (path) (file-in-directory-p path doom-emacs-dir))
+                   (doom-rpartial #'file-in-directory-p doom-emacs-dir)
                    ;; Omit `doom-private-dir', which is always first
                    (let (doom-modules)
                      (load (expand-file-name "test/init" doom-core-dir) nil t)
diff --git a/core/test/test-core-lib.el b/core/test/test-core-lib.el
index 82eaa0fc1..9007465f7 100644
--- a/core/test/test-core-lib.el
+++ b/core/test/test-core-lib.el
@@ -234,11 +234,13 @@
     (it "loads a file relative to the current directory"
       (load! "path")
       (expect 'load :to-have-been-called)
-      (expect 'load :to-have-been-called-with (expand-file-name "path" (eval-when-compile (dir!))) nil t))
+      (expect 'load :to-have-been-called-with
+              (expand-file-name "path" (eval-when-compile (dir!))) nil 'nomessage))
 
     (it "loads a file relative to a specified directory"
       (load! "path" doom-etc-dir)
-      (expect 'load :to-have-been-called-with (expand-file-name "path" doom-etc-dir) nil t)))
+      (expect 'load :to-have-been-called-with
+              (expand-file-name "path" doom-etc-dir) nil 'nomessage)))
 
   (describe "quiet!"
     (it "suppresses output from message"
diff --git a/core/test/test-core.el b/core/test/test-core.el
index 22892b4fd..00a45acb4 100644
--- a/core/test/test-core.el
+++ b/core/test/test-core.el
@@ -48,21 +48,13 @@
           (spy-on 'doom-load-autoloads-file)
           (spy-on 'warn :and-return-value t))
 
-        (it "loads autoloads file"
-          (let ((doom-interactive-mode t))
-            (ignore-errors (doom-initialize)))
+        (it "loads autoloads files"
+          (ignore-errors (doom-initialize))
           (expect 'doom-load-autoloads-file
                   :to-have-been-called-with doom-autoload-file)
           (expect 'doom-load-autoloads-file
                   :to-have-been-called-with doom-package-autoload-file))
 
-        (it "does not load package autoloads file if noninteractive"
-          (doom-initialize)
-          (expect 'doom-load-autoloads-file
-                  :to-have-been-called-with doom-autoload-file)
-          (expect 'doom-load-autoloads-file
-                  :not :to-have-been-called-with doom-package-autoload-file))
-
         (it "throws doom-autoload-error in interactive session where autoload files don't exist"
           (let ((doom-interactive-mode t)
                 (doom-autoload-file "doesnotexist")
@@ -81,20 +73,39 @@
         (expect 'require :to-have-been-called-with 'core-editor))))
 
   (describe "doom-load-autoloads-file"
+    :var (doom-autoload-file doom-alt-autoload-file result)
     (before-each
-      (spy-on 'load :and-return-value t))
+      (setq doom-autoload-file (make-temp-file "doom-autoload" nil ".el"))
+      (with-temp-file doom-autoload-file
+        (insert "(eval-when-compile (defvar x 1))")
+        (insert "(defvar x 2)"))
+      (byte-compile-file doom-autoload-file))
+    (after-each
+      (delete-file doom-autoload-file)
+      (delete-file (byte-compile-dest-file doom-autoload-file)))
 
-    (it "loads the autoloads file"
+    (it "loads the byte-compiled autoloads file if available"
       (doom-load-autoloads-file doom-autoload-file)
-      (expect 'load :to-have-been-called-with (file-name-sans-extension doom-autoload-file)
-              'noerror 'nomessage)))
+      (expect (caar load-history) :to-equal
+              (byte-compile-dest-file doom-autoload-file))
+
+      (delete-file (byte-compile-dest-file doom-autoload-file))
+      (doom-load-autoloads-file doom-autoload-file)
+      (expect (caar load-history) :to-equal doom-autoload-file))
+
+    (it "returns non-nil if successful"
+      (expect (doom-load-autoloads-file doom-autoload-file)))
+
+    (it "returns nil on failure or error, non-fatally"
+      (expect (doom-load-autoloads-file "/does/not/exist") :to-be nil)))
 
   (describe "doom-load-envvars-file"
-    :var (envvarfile process-environment)
+    :var (doom-env-file process-environment)
     (before-each
-      (setq process-environment (copy-sequence process-environment))
+      (setq process-environment nil
+            doom-env-file (make-temp-file "doom-env"))
       (with-temp-file doom-env-file
-        (insert "\n\n\nA=1\nB=2\nC=3\n")))
+        (insert "A=1\nB=2\nC=3\n")))
     (after-each
       (delete-file doom-env-file))
 
@@ -106,12 +117,14 @@
       (expect (doom-load-envvars-file "/tmp/envvardoesnotexist" 'noerror)
               :not :to-throw))
 
-    (it "loads a well-formed envvar file"
-      (expect (getenv "A") :not :to-be-truthy)
+    (it "returns the new value for `process-environment'"
       (expect (doom-load-envvars-file doom-env-file)
-              :to-equal '(("A" . "1") ("B" . "2") ("C" . "3")))
-      (expect (getenv "A") :to-equal "1"))
+              :to-equal '("A=1" "B=2" "C=3")))
 
-    (it "fails on an invalid envvar file"
-      (with-temp-file doom-env-file (insert "A=1\nB=2\nC=3\n"))
-      (expect (doom-load-envvars-file doom-env-file) :to-throw))))
+    (it "alters environment variables"
+      (dolist (key '("A" "B" "C"))
+        (expect (getenv key) :not :to-be-truthy))
+      (expect (doom-load-envvars-file doom-env-file))
+      (expect (getenv "A") :to-equal "1")
+      (expect (getenv "B") :to-equal "2")
+      (expect (getenv "C") :to-equal "3"))))