diff --git a/testsuite/longdir_test.py b/testsuite/longdir_test.py
index ead1fa4d1..4676c3f1a 100644
--- a/testsuite/longdir_test.py
+++ b/testsuite/longdir_test.py
@@ -6,10 +6,8 @@
 # 175-char directory names, drop a couple of files in the leaf, and
 # verify that --delete -avH still produces an identical destination.
 
-import os
-import subprocess
-
-from rsyncfns import FROMDIR, TODIR, checkit, hands_setup, test_skipped
+from rsyncfns import (FROMDIR, TODIR, checkit, hands_setup, make_text_file,
+                      test_skipped)
 
 
 hands_setup()
@@ -29,13 +27,8 @@
 except OSError:
     test_skipped("unable to create files in long directory")
 
-# Drop some recognisably-varied content into the two leaf files.
-(longdir / '1').write_text(subprocess.check_output(['date'], text=True))
-
-listdir = '/etc' if os.access('/etc', os.R_OK) else '/'
-out = subprocess.run(['ls', '-la', listdir], capture_output=True, text=True)
-# ls exits 1 if it can't stat some entries (e.g. permission-denied files in
-# /etc); the shell test silently accepts that. We do the same.
-(longdir / '2').write_text(out.stdout)
+# Drop predictable, self-contained content into the two leaf files.
+make_text_file(longdir / '1', 50)
+make_text_file(longdir / '2', 100)
 
 checkit(['--delete', '-avH', f'{FROMDIR}/', str(TODIR)], FROMDIR, TODIR)
diff --git a/testsuite/rsyncfns.py b/testsuite/rsyncfns.py
index 5b42654e5..f151fd5e1 100644
--- a/testsuite/rsyncfns.py
+++ b/testsuite/rsyncfns.py
@@ -410,6 +410,26 @@ def make_data_file(path, size: int) -> 'None':
         f.write(bytes(out))
 
 
+def make_text_file(path, lines: int = 100) -> 'None':
+    """Write a predictable, self-contained text file of `lines` lines.
+
+    This replaces the old habit of capturing `ls -l /etc` / `ls -l /bin`
+    (falling back to `ls /`) into the test tree. Those tied the fixtures
+    to the host filesystem layout: the directories are absent or
+    unreadable on Android/Termux and other minimal environments, where
+    `ls /` fails outright, and the captured content was never
+    reproducible. The output here is deterministic and depends on nothing
+    outside the suite, so every platform builds the identical fixture.
+    """
+    content = ''.join(
+        "line %06d  the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog  %d %d\n"
+        % (i, (i * 31) % 97, (i * 131) % 89)
+        for i in range(1, lines + 1)
+    )
+    with open(str(path), 'w') as f:
+        f.write(content)
+
+
 def get_testuid() -> int:
     return os.getuid()
 
@@ -600,7 +620,29 @@ def xattr_dump(*paths) -> str:
     for comparing a source tree against its rsync'd copy. The format only
     needs to be self-consistent on a given OS (we never compare across OSes),
     mirroring the per-OS xls() in the old xattrs.test."""
-    if _SYSTEM == 'Linux' or _CYGWIN:
+    if _SYSTEM == 'Linux':
+        # Read xattrs natively (symmetric with the os.setxattr used in
+        # xattr_set) so the suite needs no external getfattr. The attr
+        # package's CLI tools are frequently absent -- on Android/Termux
+        # and minimal CI images -- even when the filesystem itself supports
+        # user xattrs, in which case shelling out to getfattr would crash
+        # the test instead of exercising it. The output mimics "getfattr
+        # -d": a "# file:" header then sorted name="value" lines, files
+        # with no user xattrs omitted.
+        out = []
+        for p in paths:
+            sp = str(p)
+            names = sorted(n for n in os.listxattr(sp) if n.startswith('user.'))
+            if not names:
+                continue
+            out.append(f'# file: {sp}\n')
+            for n in names:
+                v = os.getxattr(sp, n).decode('utf-8', 'surrogateescape')
+                out.append(f'{n}="{v}"\n')
+            out.append('\n')
+        return ''.join(out)
+    if _CYGWIN:
+        # Python on Cygwin lacks os.*xattr, so use the CLI there.
         return subprocess.check_output(
             ['getfattr', '-d', *(str(p) for p in paths)], text=True)
     if _SYSTEM == 'Darwin':
@@ -677,11 +719,12 @@ def build_symlinks() -> 'None':
 
 
 def hands_setup() -> 'None':
-    """Equivalent of rsync.fns hands_setup: populate FROMDIR with a varied
-    tree of files and directories for the canonical 'hands' transfer test.
+    """Populate FROMDIR with a varied tree of files and directories for the
+    canonical 'hands' transfer test.
 
-    Recreates the shell behavior bit-for-bit so the tls listings match
-    across the shell and Python halves of the suite during the transition.
+    All content is generated from within the suite (srcdir contents plus
+    make_text_file output) so the fixture is self-contained and
+    reproducible on every platform.
     """
     rmtree(FROMDIR)
     rmtree(TODIR)
@@ -717,15 +760,12 @@ def hands_setup() -> 'None':
     (FROMDIR / 'dir' / 'subdir').mkdir(exist_ok=True)
     (FROMDIR / 'dir' / 'subdir' / 'foobar.baz').write_text("some data\n")
     (FROMDIR / 'dir' / 'subdir' / 'subsubdir').mkdir(exist_ok=True)
-
-    src_listdir = '/etc' if os.access('/etc', os.R_OK) else '/'
-    out = subprocess.run(['ls', '-ltr', src_listdir], capture_output=True, text=True)
-    (FROMDIR / 'dir' / 'subdir' / 'subsubdir' / 'etc-ltr-list').write_text(out.stdout)
+    # Predictable, self-contained fixture files (the names etc-ltr-list /
+    # bin-lt-list are kept because other tests reference them by name).
+    make_text_file(FROMDIR / 'dir' / 'subdir' / 'subsubdir' / 'etc-ltr-list', 120)
 
     (FROMDIR / 'dir' / 'subdir' / 'subsubdir2').mkdir(exist_ok=True)
-    src_listdir = '/bin' if os.access('/bin', os.R_OK) else '/'
-    out = subprocess.run(['ls', '-lt', src_listdir], capture_output=True, text=True)
-    (FROMDIR / 'dir' / 'subdir' / 'subsubdir2' / 'bin-lt-list').write_text(out.stdout)
+    make_text_file(FROMDIR / 'dir' / 'subdir' / 'subsubdir2' / 'bin-lt-list', 200)
 
 
 # --- listing / verification ------------------------------------------------