diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/directive-list.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directive-list.rs
index 2ecb4fc865213..adf2a7bffeff9 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/directive-list.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directive-list.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /// This was originally generated by collecting directives from ui tests and then extracting their
 /// directive names. This is **not** an exhaustive list of all possible directives. Instead, this is
-/// a best-effort approximation for diagnostics. Add new headers to this list when needed.
+/// a best-effort approximation for diagnostics. Add new directives to this list when needed.
 const KNOWN_DIRECTIVE_NAMES: &[&str] = &[
     // tidy-alphabetical-start
     "add-core-stubs",
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives.rs
similarity index 98%
rename from src/tools/compiletest/src/header.rs
rename to src/tools/compiletest/src/directives.rs
index 5636a146b0f4d..a6242cf0c225a 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives.rs
@@ -11,10 +11,10 @@ use tracing::*;
 
 use crate::common::{Config, Debugger, FailMode, Mode, PassMode};
 use crate::debuggers::{extract_cdb_version, extract_gdb_version};
+use crate::directives::auxiliary::{AuxProps, parse_and_update_aux};
+use crate::directives::needs::CachedNeedsConditions;
 use crate::errors::ErrorKind;
 use crate::executor::{CollectedTestDesc, ShouldPanic};
-use crate::header::auxiliary::{AuxProps, parse_and_update_aux};
-use crate::header::needs::CachedNeedsConditions;
 use crate::help;
 use crate::util::static_regex;
 
@@ -24,11 +24,11 @@ mod needs;
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests;
 
-pub struct HeadersCache {
+pub struct DirectivesCache {
     needs: CachedNeedsConditions,
 }
 
-impl HeadersCache {
+impl DirectivesCache {
     pub fn load(config: &Config) -> Self {
         Self { needs: CachedNeedsConditions::load(config) }
     }
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ impl EarlyProps {
     pub fn from_reader<R: Read>(config: &Config, testfile: &Utf8Path, rdr: R) -> Self {
         let mut props = EarlyProps::default();
         let mut poisoned = false;
-        iter_header(
+        iter_directives(
             config.mode,
             &config.suite,
             &mut poisoned,
@@ -138,12 +138,12 @@ pub struct TestProps {
     pub incremental_dir: Option<Utf8PathBuf>,
     // If `true`, this test will use incremental compilation.
     //
-    // This can be set manually with the `incremental` header, or implicitly
+    // This can be set manually with the `incremental` directive, or implicitly
     // by being a part of an incremental mode test. Using the `incremental`
-    // header should be avoided if possible; using an incremental mode test is
+    // directive should be avoided if possible; using an incremental mode test is
     // preferred. Incremental mode tests support multiple passes, which can
     // verify that the incremental cache can be loaded properly after being
-    // created. Just setting the header will only verify the behavior with
+    // created. Just setting the directive will only verify the behavior with
     // creating an incremental cache, but doesn't check that it is created
     // correctly.
     //
@@ -347,7 +347,7 @@ impl TestProps {
 
             let mut poisoned = false;
 
-            iter_header(
+            iter_directives(
                 config.mode,
                 &config.suite,
                 &mut poisoned,
@@ -642,11 +642,11 @@ impl TestProps {
         let check_ui = |mode: &str| {
             // Mode::Crashes may need build-fail in order to trigger llvm errors or stack overflows
             if config.mode != Mode::Ui && config.mode != Mode::Crashes {
-                panic!("`{}-fail` header is only supported in UI tests", mode);
+                panic!("`{}-fail` directive is only supported in UI tests", mode);
             }
         };
         if config.mode == Mode::Ui && config.parse_name_directive(ln, "compile-fail") {
-            panic!("`compile-fail` header is useless in UI tests");
+            panic!("`compile-fail` directive is useless in UI tests");
         }
         let fail_mode = if config.parse_name_directive(ln, "check-fail") {
             check_ui("check");
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@ impl TestProps {
         };
         match (self.fail_mode, fail_mode) {
             (None, Some(_)) => self.fail_mode = fail_mode,
-            (Some(_), Some(_)) => panic!("multiple `*-fail` headers in a single test"),
+            (Some(_), Some(_)) => panic!("multiple `*-fail` directives in a single test"),
             (_, None) => {}
         }
     }
@@ -674,10 +674,10 @@ impl TestProps {
             (Mode::Codegen, "build-pass") => (),
             (Mode::Incremental, _) => {
                 if revision.is_some() && !self.revisions.iter().all(|r| r.starts_with("cfail")) {
-                    panic!("`{s}` header is only supported in `cfail` incremental tests")
+                    panic!("`{s}` directive is only supported in `cfail` incremental tests")
                 }
             }
-            (mode, _) => panic!("`{s}` header is not supported in `{mode}` tests"),
+            (mode, _) => panic!("`{s}` directive is not supported in `{mode}` tests"),
         };
         let pass_mode = if config.parse_name_directive(ln, "check-pass") {
             check_no_run("check-pass");
@@ -693,7 +693,7 @@ impl TestProps {
         };
         match (self.pass_mode, pass_mode) {
             (None, Some(_)) => self.pass_mode = pass_mode,
-            (Some(_), Some(_)) => panic!("multiple `*-pass` headers in a single test"),
+            (Some(_), Some(_)) => panic!("multiple `*-pass` directives in a single test"),
             (_, None) => {}
         }
     }
@@ -794,7 +794,7 @@ const KNOWN_JSONDOCCK_DIRECTIVE_NAMES: &[&str] =
     &["count", "!count", "has", "!has", "is", "!is", "ismany", "!ismany", "set", "!set"];
 
 /// The (partly) broken-down contents of a line containing a test directive,
-/// which [`iter_header`] passes to its callback function.
+/// which [`iter_directives`] passes to its callback function.
 ///
 /// For example:
 ///
@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ pub(crate) fn check_directive<'a>(
 
 const COMPILETEST_DIRECTIVE_PREFIX: &str = "//@";
 
-fn iter_header(
+fn iter_directives(
     mode: Mode,
     _suite: &str,
     poisoned: &mut bool,
@@ -1163,8 +1163,7 @@ enum NormalizeKind {
     Stderr64bit,
 }
 
-/// Parses the regex and replacement values of a `//@ normalize-*` header,
-/// in the format:
+/// Parses the regex and replacement values of a `//@ normalize-*` directive, in the format:
 /// ```text
 /// "REGEX" -> "REPLACEMENT"
 /// ```
@@ -1373,7 +1372,7 @@ where
 
 pub(crate) fn make_test_description<R: Read>(
     config: &Config,
-    cache: &HeadersCache,
+    cache: &DirectivesCache,
     name: String,
     path: &Utf8Path,
     src: R,
@@ -1387,7 +1386,7 @@ pub(crate) fn make_test_description<R: Read>(
     let mut local_poisoned = false;
 
     // Scan through the test file to handle `ignore-*`, `only-*`, and `needs-*` directives.
-    iter_header(
+    iter_directives(
         config.mode,
         &config.suite,
         &mut local_poisoned,
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/auxiliary.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/auxiliary.rs
similarity index 96%
rename from src/tools/compiletest/src/header/auxiliary.rs
rename to src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/auxiliary.rs
index 0e1f3a785f87f..cdb75f6ffa907 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/auxiliary.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/auxiliary.rs
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
 
 use std::iter;
 
+use super::directives::{AUX_BIN, AUX_BUILD, AUX_CODEGEN_BACKEND, AUX_CRATE, PROC_MACRO};
 use crate::common::Config;
-use crate::header::directives::{AUX_BIN, AUX_BUILD, AUX_CODEGEN_BACKEND, AUX_CRATE, PROC_MACRO};
 
 /// Properties parsed from `aux-*` test directives.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Default)]
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/cfg.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/cfg.rs
similarity index 99%
rename from src/tools/compiletest/src/header/cfg.rs
rename to src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/cfg.rs
index f1f1384afb971..35f6a9e164486 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/cfg.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/cfg.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 use std::collections::HashSet;
 
 use crate::common::{CompareMode, Config, Debugger};
-use crate::header::IgnoreDecision;
+use crate::directives::IgnoreDecision;
 
 const EXTRA_ARCHS: &[&str] = &["spirv"];
 
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/needs.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/needs.rs
similarity index 99%
rename from src/tools/compiletest/src/header/needs.rs
rename to src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/needs.rs
index b1165f4bb184f..ee46f4c70cb8c 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/needs.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/needs.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 use crate::common::{Config, KNOWN_CRATE_TYPES, KNOWN_TARGET_HAS_ATOMIC_WIDTHS, Sanitizer};
-use crate::header::{IgnoreDecision, llvm_has_libzstd};
+use crate::directives::{IgnoreDecision, llvm_has_libzstd};
 
 pub(super) fn handle_needs(
     cache: &CachedNeedsConditions,
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/test-auxillary/error_annotation.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/test-auxillary/error_annotation.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/tools/compiletest/src/header/test-auxillary/error_annotation.rs
rename to src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/test-auxillary/error_annotation.rs
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/test-auxillary/known_directive.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/test-auxillary/known_directive.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/tools/compiletest/src/header/test-auxillary/known_directive.rs
rename to src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/test-auxillary/known_directive.rs
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/test-auxillary/not_rs.Makefile b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/test-auxillary/not_rs.Makefile
similarity index 100%
rename from src/tools/compiletest/src/header/test-auxillary/not_rs.Makefile
rename to src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/test-auxillary/not_rs.Makefile
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/test-auxillary/unknown_directive.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/test-auxillary/unknown_directive.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from src/tools/compiletest/src/header/test-auxillary/unknown_directive.rs
rename to src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/test-auxillary/unknown_directive.rs
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/tests.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/tests.rs
similarity index 99%
rename from src/tools/compiletest/src/header/tests.rs
rename to src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/tests.rs
index 31b49b09bcdc2..d4570f8267781 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/header/tests.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/directives/tests.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ use camino::Utf8Path;
 use semver::Version;
 
 use super::{
-    EarlyProps, HeadersCache, extract_llvm_version, extract_version_range, iter_header,
+    DirectivesCache, EarlyProps, extract_llvm_version, extract_version_range, iter_directives,
     parse_normalize_rule,
 };
 use crate::common::{Config, Debugger, Mode};
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ fn make_test_description<R: Read>(
     src: R,
     revision: Option<&str>,
 ) -> CollectedTestDesc {
-    let cache = HeadersCache::load(config);
+    let cache = DirectivesCache::load(config);
     let mut poisoned = false;
-    let test = crate::header::make_test_description(
+    let test = crate::directives::make_test_description(
         config,
         &cache,
         name,
@@ -785,7 +785,7 @@ fn threads_support() {
 
 fn run_path(poisoned: &mut bool, path: &Utf8Path, buf: &[u8]) {
     let rdr = std::io::Cursor::new(&buf);
-    iter_header(Mode::Ui, "ui", poisoned, path, rdr, &mut |_| {});
+    iter_directives(Mode::Ui, "ui", poisoned, path, rdr, &mut |_| {});
 }
 
 #[test]
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/lib.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/lib.rs
index 09de3eb4c7025..dfce4b8b408be 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/lib.rs
@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@ pub mod common;
 pub mod compute_diff;
 mod debuggers;
 pub mod diagnostics;
+pub mod directives;
 pub mod errors;
 mod executor;
-pub mod header;
 mod json;
 mod raise_fd_limit;
 mod read2;
@@ -37,13 +37,13 @@ use rayon::iter::{ParallelBridge, ParallelIterator};
 use tracing::debug;
 use walkdir::WalkDir;
 
-use self::header::{EarlyProps, make_test_description};
+use self::directives::{EarlyProps, make_test_description};
 use crate::common::{
     CompareMode, Config, Debugger, Mode, PassMode, TestPaths, UI_EXTENSIONS, expected_output_path,
     output_base_dir, output_relative_path,
 };
+use crate::directives::DirectivesCache;
 use crate::executor::{CollectedTest, ColorConfig, OutputFormat};
-use crate::header::HeadersCache;
 use crate::util::logv;
 
 /// Creates the `Config` instance for this invocation of compiletest.
@@ -254,8 +254,8 @@ pub fn parse_config(args: Vec<String>) -> Config {
         Some(x) => panic!("argument for --color must be auto, always, or never, but found `{}`", x),
     };
     let llvm_version =
-        matches.opt_str("llvm-version").as_deref().map(header::extract_llvm_version).or_else(
-            || header::extract_llvm_version_from_binary(&matches.opt_str("llvm-filecheck")?),
+        matches.opt_str("llvm-version").as_deref().map(directives::extract_llvm_version).or_else(
+            || directives::extract_llvm_version_from_binary(&matches.opt_str("llvm-filecheck")?),
         );
 
     let run_ignored = matches.opt_present("ignored");
@@ -618,7 +618,7 @@ pub fn run_tests(config: Arc<Config>) {
 /// Read-only context data used during test collection.
 struct TestCollectorCx {
     config: Arc<Config>,
-    cache: HeadersCache,
+    cache: DirectivesCache,
     common_inputs_stamp: Stamp,
     modified_tests: Vec<Utf8PathBuf>,
 }
@@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ pub(crate) fn collect_and_make_tests(config: Arc<Config>) -> Vec<CollectedTest>
         modified_tests(&config, &config.src_test_suite_root).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
             fatal!("modified_tests: {}: {err}", config.src_test_suite_root);
         });
-    let cache = HeadersCache::load(&config);
+    let cache = DirectivesCache::load(&config);
 
     let cx = TestCollectorCx { config, cache, common_inputs_stamp, modified_tests };
     let collector = collect_tests_from_dir(&cx, &cx.config.src_test_suite_root, Utf8Path::new(""))
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest.rs
index 53b5990d3cde1..f8bf4ee3022e1 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest.rs
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ use crate::common::{
     output_base_dir, output_base_name, output_testname_unique,
 };
 use crate::compute_diff::{DiffLine, make_diff, write_diff, write_filtered_diff};
+use crate::directives::TestProps;
 use crate::errors::{Error, ErrorKind, load_errors};
-use crate::header::TestProps;
 use crate::read2::{Truncated, read2_abbreviated};
 use crate::util::{Utf8PathBufExt, add_dylib_path, logv, static_regex};
 use crate::{ColorConfig, help, json, stamp_file_path, warning};
@@ -2039,7 +2039,7 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
         // Provide more context on failures.
         filecheck.args(&["--dump-input-context", "100"]);
 
-        // Add custom flags supplied by the `filecheck-flags:` test header.
+        // Add custom flags supplied by the `filecheck-flags:` test directive.
         filecheck.args(&self.props.filecheck_flags);
 
         // FIXME(jieyouxu): don't pass an empty Path
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest/debuginfo.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest/debuginfo.rs
index 31240dff9a196..d9e1e4dfc8ddf 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest/debuginfo.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest/debuginfo.rs
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ impl TestCx<'_> {
             std::fs::remove_file(pdb_file).unwrap();
         }
 
-        // compile test file (it should have 'compile-flags:-g' in the header)
+        // compile test file (it should have 'compile-flags:-g' in the directive)
         let should_run = self.run_if_enabled();
         let compile_result = self.compile_test(should_run, Emit::None);
         if !compile_result.status.success() {
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ impl TestCx<'_> {
             .unwrap_or_else(|e| self.fatal(&e));
         let mut cmds = dbg_cmds.commands.join("\n");
 
-        // compile test file (it should have 'compile-flags:-g' in the header)
+        // compile test file (it should have 'compile-flags:-g' in the directive)
         let should_run = self.run_if_enabled();
         let compiler_run_result = self.compile_test(should_run, Emit::None);
         if !compiler_run_result.status.success() {
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ impl TestCx<'_> {
     }
 
     fn run_debuginfo_lldb_test_no_opt(&self) {
-        // compile test file (it should have 'compile-flags:-g' in the header)
+        // compile test file (it should have 'compile-flags:-g' in the directive)
         let should_run = self.run_if_enabled();
         let compile_result = self.compile_test(should_run, Emit::None);
         if !compile_result.status.success() {
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest/ui.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest/ui.rs
index cc50a918f757a..f6bc85cd051ad 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest/ui.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest/ui.rs
@@ -52,10 +52,10 @@ impl TestCx<'_> {
             // don't test rustfix with nll right now
         } else if self.config.rustfix_coverage {
             // Find out which tests have `MachineApplicable` suggestions but are missing
-            // `run-rustfix` or `run-rustfix-only-machine-applicable` headers.
+            // `run-rustfix` or `run-rustfix-only-machine-applicable` directives.
             //
             // This will return an empty `Vec` in case the executed test file has a
-            // `compile-flags: --error-format=xxxx` header with a value other than `json`.
+            // `compile-flags: --error-format=xxxx` directive with a value other than `json`.
             let suggestions = get_suggestions_from_json(
                 &rustfix_input,
                 &HashSet::new(),
diff --git a/src/tools/rustdoc-gui-test/src/main.rs b/src/tools/rustdoc-gui-test/src/main.rs
index addb0af4a541c..6461f38f527b4 100644
--- a/src/tools/rustdoc-gui-test/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/tools/rustdoc-gui-test/src/main.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::{env, fs};
 
 use build_helper::util::try_run;
-use compiletest::header::TestProps;
+use compiletest::directives::TestProps;
 use config::Config;
 
 mod config;