diff --git a/t/perf/repos/inflate-repo.sh b/t/perf/repos/inflate-repo.sh
index fcfc992b5b..412e4b450b 100755
--- a/t/perf/repos/inflate-repo.sh
+++ b/t/perf/repos/inflate-repo.sh
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ do
 done
 
 git ls-tree -r HEAD >GEN_src_list
-nr_src_files=$(cat GEN_src_list | wc -l)
+nr_src_files=$(wc -l <GEN_src_list)
 
 src_branch=$(git symbolic-ref --short HEAD)