diff --git a/t/lib-patch-mode.sh b/t/lib-patch-mode.sh
--- a/t/lib-patch-mode.sh
+++ b/t/lib-patch-mode.sh
-. ./test-lib.sh
+: included from t2016 and others
-if ! test_have_prereq PERL; then
- say 'skipping --patch tests, perl not available'
- test_done
-fi
+. ./test-lib.sh
set_state () {
echo "$3" > "$1" &&