diff --git a/test/system/000-TEMPLATE b/test/system/000-TEMPLATE
index 8bbd89d7..8f717127 100644
--- a/test/system/000-TEMPLATE
+++ b/test/system/000-TEMPLATE
@@ -50,9 +50,6 @@ function teardown() {
 
 # FIXME: very basic one-pass example
 @test "ramalama FOO - description of test" {
-    # FIXME: please try to remove this line; that is, try to write tests
-    # that will pass as both root and rootless.
-
     # FIXME: template for run commands. Always use 'run_ramalama'!
     # FIXME: The '?' means 'ignore exit status'; use a number if you
     # FIXME:    expect a precise nonzero code, or omit for 0 (usual case).
diff --git a/test/system/015-help.bats b/test/system/015-help.bats
index 4b486b4c..3ad7ff86 100644
--- a/test/system/015-help.bats
+++ b/test/system/015-help.bats
@@ -65,9 +65,6 @@ function check_help() {
         # This should be disallowed with a clear message.
         if expr "$full_help" : ".*-l, --latest" >/dev/null; then
             local nope="exec list port ps top"   # these can't be tested
-            if is_rootless; then
-                nope="$nope mount restore"       # these don't work rootless
-            fi
             if ! grep -wq "$cmd" <<<$nope; then
                 run_ramalama 2 "$@" $cmd -l nonexistent-container
                 is "$output" "Error: .*--latest and \(containers\|pods\|arguments\) cannot be used together" \
@@ -83,18 +80,6 @@ function check_help() {
 
         # If usage has required arguments, try running without them.
         if expr "$usage" : '[A-Z]' >/dev/null; then
-            # Exceptions: these commands don't work rootless
-            if is_rootless; then
-                # "pause is not supported for rootless containers"
-                if [[ "$cmd" = "pause" ]] || [[ "$cmd" = "unpause" ]]; then
-                    continue
-                fi
-                # "network rm" too
-                if [ "$@" = "network" -a "$cmd" = "rm" ]; then
-                    continue
-                fi
-            fi
-
             # The </dev/null protects us from 'ramalama login' which will
             # try to read username/password from stdin.
             dprint "$command_string (without required args)"
diff --git a/test/system/helpers.bash b/test/system/helpers.bash
index a3c929cc..cb3d2c99 100644
--- a/test/system/helpers.bash
+++ b/test/system/helpers.bash
@@ -102,9 +102,7 @@ function _prefetch() {
 function skopeo() {
     local xdg=${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR}
     if [ -z "$xdg" ]; then
-        if is_rootless; then
-            xdg=/run/user/$(id -u)
-        fi
+        xdg=/run/user/$(id -u)
     fi
     XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=${xdg} command skopeo "$@"
 }
@@ -558,18 +556,10 @@ function wait_for_file_content() {
 # BEGIN miscellaneous tools
 
 # Shortcuts for common needs:
-function is_rootless() {
-    [ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ]
-}
-
 function is_aarch64() {
     [ "$(uname -m)" == "aarch64" ]
 }
 
-function selinux_enabled() {
-    /usr/sbin/selinuxenabled 2> /dev/null
-}
-
 # Returns the OCI runtime *basename* (typically llama.cpp or vllm). Much as we'd
 # love to cache this result, we probably shouldn't.
 function ramalama_runtime() {
@@ -605,57 +595,6 @@ function ramalama_isolation_opts() {
     done
 }
 
-# rhbz#1895105: rootless journald is unavailable except to users in
-# certain magic groups; which our testuser account does not belong to
-# (intentional: that is the RHEL default, so that's the setup we test).
-function journald_unavailable() {
-    if ! is_rootless; then
-        # root must always have access to journal
-        return 1
-    fi
-
-    run journalctl -n 1
-    if [[ $status -eq 0 ]]; then
-        return 1
-    fi
-
-    if [[ $output =~ permission ]]; then
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    # This should never happen; if it does, it's likely that a subsequent
-    # test will fail. This output may help track that down.
-    echo "WEIRD: 'journalctl -n 1' failed with a non-permission error:"
-    echo "$output"
-    return 1
-}
-
-# Wait for the pod (1st arg) to transition into the state (2nd arg)
-function _ensure_pod_state() {
-    for i in {0..5}; do
-        run_ramalama pod inspect $1 --format "{{.State}}"
-        if [[ $output == "$2" ]]; then
-            return
-        fi
-        sleep 0.5
-    done
-
-    die "Timed out waiting for pod $1 to enter state $2"
-}
-
-# Wait for the container's (1st arg) running state (2nd arg)
-function _ensure_container_running() {
-    for i in {0..20}; do
-        run_ramalama container inspect $1 --format "{{.State.Running}}"
-        if [[ $output == "$2" ]]; then
-            return
-        fi
-        sleep 0.5
-    done
-
-    die "Timed out waiting for container $1 to enter state running=$2"
-}
-
 #########
 #  die  #  Abort with helpful message
 #########