diff --git a/src/cmd/go/init_test.go b/src/cmd/go/init_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ed90a77841
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cmd/go/init_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+// Copyright 2018 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package main_test
+
+import (
+	"internal/testenv"
+	"os/exec"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// BenchmarkExecGoEnv measures how long it takes for 'go env GOARCH' to run.
+// Since 'go' is executed, remember to run 'go install cmd/go' before running
+// the benchmark if any changes were done.
+func BenchmarkExecGoEnv(b *testing.B) {
+	testenv.MustHaveExec(b)
+	b.StopTimer()
+	gotool, err := testenv.GoTool()
+	if err != nil {
+		b.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		cmd := exec.Command(gotool, "env", "GOARCH")
+
+		b.StartTimer()
+		err := cmd.Run()
+		b.StopTimer()
+
+		if err != nil {
+			b.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+}