diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 12e68350ed..55b42c4311 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@ remoteintegration: varlink_generate test-binaries ginkgo-remote
 localsystem:
 	# Wipe existing config, database, and cache: start with clean slate.
 	$(RM) -rf ${HOME}/.local/share/containers ${HOME}/.config/containers
-	if timeout -v 1 true; then PODMAN=./bin/podman bats test/system/; else echo "Skipping $@: 'timeout -v' unavailable'"; fi
+	if timeout -v 1 true; then PODMAN=$(shell pwd)/bin/podman bats test/system/; else echo "Skipping $@: 'timeout -v' unavailable'"; fi
 
 .PHONY: remotesystem
 remotesystem:
@@ -378,7 +378,7 @@ remotesystem:
 			echo "Error: ./bin/podman system service did not come up on $$SOCK_FILE" >&2;\
 			exit 1;\
 		fi;\
-		env PODMAN="./bin/podman-remote --url $$PODMAN_SOCKET" bats test/system/ ;\
+		env PODMAN="$(shell pwd)/bin/podman-remote --url $$PODMAN_SOCKET" bats test/system/ ;\
 		rc=$$?;\
 		kill %1;\
 		rm -f $$SOCK_FILE;\
diff --git a/contrib/cirrus/logformatter b/contrib/cirrus/logformatter
index 4bfe7b97f3..60c1e5985f 100755
--- a/contrib/cirrus/logformatter
+++ b/contrib/cirrus/logformatter
@@ -231,6 +231,10 @@ END_HTML
         if ($looks_like_bats) {
             my $css;
 
+            # Readability: /long/path/to/podman -> podman (hover for full path)
+            $line =~ s{^(#\s+(#|\$)\s+)(\S+/)(podman\S*)\s}
+                      {$1<span title="$3$4">$4</span> };
+
             if    ($line =~ /^ok\s.*\s# skip/) { $css = 'skipped' }
             elsif ($line =~ /^ok\s/)           { $css = 'passed'  }
             elsif ($line =~ /^not\s+ok\s/)     { $css = 'failed'  }
diff --git a/contrib/cirrus/logformatter.t b/contrib/cirrus/logformatter.t
index 79c4563c2e..d2193cc6ca 100755
--- a/contrib/cirrus/logformatter.t
+++ b/contrib/cirrus/logformatter.t
@@ -88,12 +88,16 @@ __END__
 ok 1 hi
 ok 2 bye # skip no reason
 not ok 3 fail
+# $ /path/to/podman foo -bar
+# #| FAIL: exit code is 123; expected 321
 ok 4 blah
 >>>
 1..4
 <span class='bats-passed'><a name='t--00001'>ok 1 hi</a></span>
 <span class='bats-skipped'><a name='t--00002'>ok 2 bye # skip no reason</a></span>
 <span class='bats-failed'><a name='t--00003'>not ok 3 fail</a></span>
+<span class='bats-log'># $ <span title="/path/to/podman">podman</span> foo -bar</span>
+<span class='bats-log-esm'># #| FAIL: exit code is 123; expected 321</span>
 <span class='bats-passed'><a name='t--00004'>ok 4 blah</a></span>
 <hr/><span class='bats-summary'>Summary: <span class='bats-passed'>2 Passed</span>, <span class='bats-failed'>1 Failed</span>, <span class='bats-skipped'>1 Skipped</span>. Total tests: 4</span>
 
diff --git a/test/system/helpers.bash b/test/system/helpers.bash
index 7e6f1c1ca7..5301644d65 100644
--- a/test/system/helpers.bash
+++ b/test/system/helpers.bash
@@ -2,12 +2,6 @@
 
 # Podman command to run; may be podman-remote
 PODMAN=${PODMAN:-podman}
-# If it's a relative path, convert to absolute; otherwise tests can't cd out
-if [[ "$PODMAN" =~ / ]]; then
-    if [[ ! "$PODMAN" =~ ^/ ]]; then
-        PODMAN=$(realpath $PODMAN)
-    fi
-fi
 
 # Standard image to use for most tests
 PODMAN_TEST_IMAGE_REGISTRY=${PODMAN_TEST_IMAGE_REGISTRY:-"quay.io"}
@@ -22,6 +16,12 @@ IMAGE=$PODMAN_TEST_IMAGE_FQN
 # Default timeout for a podman command.
 PODMAN_TIMEOUT=${PODMAN_TIMEOUT:-60}
 
+# Prompt to display when logging podman commands; distinguish root/rootless
+_LOG_PROMPT='$'
+if [ $(id -u) -eq 0 ]; then
+    _LOG_PROMPT='#'
+fi
+
 ###############################################################################
 # BEGIN setup/teardown tools
 
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ function run_podman() {
     esac
 
     # stdout is only emitted upon error; this echo is to help a debugger
-    echo "\$ $PODMAN $*"
+    echo "$_LOG_PROMPT $PODMAN $*"
     # BATS hangs if a subprocess remains and keeps FD 3 open; this happens
     # if podman crashes unexpectedly without cleaning up subprocesses.
     run timeout --foreground -v --kill=10 $PODMAN_TIMEOUT $PODMAN "$@" 3>/dev/null