diff --git a/src/compiler/glsl/ast_function.cpp b/src/compiler/glsl/ast_function.cpp
index 0ed47660e22..4fd9b879555 100644
--- a/src/compiler/glsl/ast_function.cpp
+++ b/src/compiler/glsl/ast_function.cpp
@@ -664,7 +664,6 @@ match_function_by_name(const char *name,
    }
 
    /* Local shader has no exact candidates; check the built-ins. */
-   _mesa_glsl_initialize_builtin_functions();
    sig = _mesa_glsl_find_builtin_function(state, name, actual_parameters);
 
    /* if _mesa_glsl_find_builtin_function failed, fall back to the result
diff --git a/src/compiler/glsl/ast_to_hir.cpp b/src/compiler/glsl/ast_to_hir.cpp
index 61351341703..37afb8bd0b0 100644
--- a/src/compiler/glsl/ast_to_hir.cpp
+++ b/src/compiler/glsl/ast_to_hir.cpp
@@ -6043,7 +6043,6 @@ ast_function::hir(exec_list *instructions,
     */
    if (state->es_shader) {
       /* Local shader has no exact candidates; check the built-ins. */
-      _mesa_glsl_initialize_builtin_functions();
       if (state->language_version >= 300 &&
           _mesa_glsl_has_builtin_function(state, name)) {
          YYLTYPE loc = this->get_location();
diff --git a/src/compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.cpp b/src/compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.cpp
index 95d45033a01..eef5737128d 100644
--- a/src/compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.cpp
+++ b/src/compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.cpp
@@ -1254,6 +1254,8 @@ builtin_builder::initialize()
    if (mem_ctx != NULL)
       return;
 
+   glsl_type_singleton_init_or_ref();
+
    mem_ctx = ralloc_context(NULL);
    create_shader();
    create_intrinsics();
@@ -1268,6 +1270,8 @@ builtin_builder::release()
 
    ralloc_free(shader);
    shader = NULL;
+
+   glsl_type_singleton_decref();
 }
 
 void
@@ -7277,24 +7281,28 @@ builtin_builder::_vote(const char *intrinsic_name,
 /* The singleton instance of builtin_builder. */
 static builtin_builder builtins;
 static mtx_t builtins_lock = _MTX_INITIALIZER_NP;
+static uint32_t builtin_users = 0;
 
 /**
  * External API (exposing the built-in module to the rest of the compiler):
  *  @{
  */
-void
-_mesa_glsl_initialize_builtin_functions()
+extern "C" void
+_mesa_glsl_builtin_functions_init_or_ref()
 {
    mtx_lock(&builtins_lock);
-   builtins.initialize();
+   if (builtin_users++ == 0)
+      builtins.initialize();
    mtx_unlock(&builtins_lock);
 }
 
-void
-_mesa_glsl_release_builtin_functions()
+extern "C" void
+_mesa_glsl_builtin_functions_decref()
 {
    mtx_lock(&builtins_lock);
-   builtins.release();
+   assert(builtin_users != 0);
+   if (--builtin_users == 0)
+      builtins.release();
    mtx_unlock(&builtins_lock);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.h b/src/compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.h
index 50f4f3b1494..ff3d4e9f436 100644
--- a/src/compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.h
+++ b/src/compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.h
@@ -26,8 +26,19 @@
 
 struct gl_shader;
 
-extern void
-_mesa_glsl_initialize_builtin_functions();
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+void
+_mesa_glsl_builtin_functions_init_or_ref();
+
+void
+_mesa_glsl_builtin_functions_decref(void);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+
+} /* extern "C" */
 
 extern ir_function_signature *
 _mesa_glsl_find_builtin_function(_mesa_glsl_parse_state *state,
@@ -43,9 +54,6 @@ _mesa_glsl_get_builtin_function_shader(void);
 extern ir_function_signature *
 _mesa_get_main_function_signature(glsl_symbol_table *symbols);
 
-extern void
-_mesa_glsl_release_builtin_functions(void);
-
 namespace generate_ir {
 
 ir_function_signature *
@@ -71,4 +79,6 @@ udivmod64(void *mem_ctx, builtin_available_predicate avail);
 
 }
 
+#endif /* __cplusplus */
+
 #endif /* BULITIN_FUNCTIONS_H */
diff --git a/src/compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.cpp b/src/compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.cpp
index e4a7e3dbf70..3ee1af57d50 100644
--- a/src/compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.cpp
+++ b/src/compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.cpp
@@ -2326,49 +2326,3 @@ do_common_optimization(exec_list *ir, bool linked,
 
    return progress;
 }
-
-extern "C" {
-
-/**
- * To be called at GL context ctor.
- */
-void
-_mesa_init_shader_compiler_types(void)
-{
-   glsl_type_singleton_init_or_ref();
-}
-
-/**
- * To be called at GL context dtor.
- */
-void
-_mesa_destroy_shader_compiler_types(void)
-{
-   glsl_type_singleton_decref();
-}
-
-/**
- * To be called at GL teardown time, this frees compiler datastructures.
- *
- * After calling this, any previously compiled shaders and shader
- * programs would be invalid.  So this should happen at approximately
- * program exit.
- */
-void
-_mesa_destroy_shader_compiler(void)
-{
-   _mesa_destroy_shader_compiler_caches();
-}
-
-/**
- * Releases compiler caches to trade off performance for memory.
- *
- * Intended to be used with glReleaseShaderCompiler().
- */
-void
-_mesa_destroy_shader_compiler_caches(void)
-{
-   _mesa_glsl_release_builtin_functions();
-}
-
-}
diff --git a/src/compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.h b/src/compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.h
index 5aaf0bc252b..62f4e1fc848 100644
--- a/src/compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.h
+++ b/src/compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.h
@@ -1024,11 +1024,6 @@ extern int glcpp_preprocess(void *ctx, const char **shader, char **info_log,
                             struct _mesa_glsl_parse_state *state,
                             struct gl_context *gl_ctx);
 
-extern void _mesa_init_shader_compiler_types(void);
-extern void _mesa_destroy_shader_compiler_types(void);
-extern void _mesa_destroy_shader_compiler(void);
-extern void _mesa_destroy_shader_compiler_caches(void);
-
 extern void
 _mesa_glsl_copy_symbols_from_table(struct exec_list *shader_ir,
                                    struct glsl_symbol_table *src,
diff --git a/src/compiler/glsl/standalone.cpp b/src/compiler/glsl/standalone.cpp
index b32fb626ef6..46733d490ec 100644
--- a/src/compiler/glsl/standalone.cpp
+++ b/src/compiler/glsl/standalone.cpp
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ static void
 initialize_context(struct gl_context *ctx, gl_api api)
 {
    initialize_context_to_defaults(ctx, api);
-   glsl_type_singleton_init_or_ref();
+   _mesa_glsl_builtin_functions_init_or_ref();
 
    /* The standalone compiler needs to claim support for almost
     * everything in order to compile the built-in functions.
@@ -620,6 +620,5 @@ standalone_compiler_cleanup(struct gl_shader_program *whole_program)
    delete whole_program->FragDataIndexBindings;
 
    ralloc_free(whole_program);
-   glsl_type_singleton_decref();
-   _mesa_glsl_release_builtin_functions();
+   _mesa_glsl_builtin_functions_decref();
 }
diff --git a/src/mesa/main/context.c b/src/mesa/main/context.c
index 6e11f88cf1b..0128fe12d86 100644
--- a/src/mesa/main/context.c
+++ b/src/mesa/main/context.c
@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@
 #endif
 
 #include "compiler/glsl_types.h"
+#include "compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.h"
 #include "compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.h"
 #include <stdbool.h>
 
@@ -360,7 +361,7 @@ mtx_t OneTimeLock = _MTX_INITIALIZER_NP;
 static void
 one_time_fini(void)
 {
-   _mesa_destroy_shader_compiler();
+   glsl_type_singleton_decref();
    _mesa_locale_fini();
 }
 
@@ -408,6 +409,11 @@ one_time_init( struct gl_context *ctx )
          _mesa_debug(ctx, "Mesa " PACKAGE_VERSION " DEBUG build" MESA_GIT_SHA1 "\n");
       }
 #endif
+
+      /* Take a glsl type reference for the duration of libGL's life to avoid
+       * unecessary creation/destruction of glsl types.
+       */
+      glsl_type_singleton_init_or_ref();
    }
 
    /* per-API one-time init */
@@ -1205,8 +1211,6 @@ _mesa_initialize_context(struct gl_context *ctx,
    /* misc one-time initializations */
    one_time_init(ctx);
 
-   _mesa_init_shader_compiler_types();
-
    /* Plug in driver functions and context pointer here.
     * This is important because when we call alloc_shared_state() below
     * we'll call ctx->Driver.NewTextureObject() to create the default
@@ -1394,9 +1398,6 @@ _mesa_free_context_data(struct gl_context *ctx, bool destroy_compiler_types)
 
    free(ctx->VersionString);
 
-   if (destroy_compiler_types)
-      _mesa_destroy_shader_compiler_types();
-
    ralloc_free(ctx->SoftFP64);
 
    /* unbind the context if it's currently bound */
@@ -1404,6 +1405,12 @@ _mesa_free_context_data(struct gl_context *ctx, bool destroy_compiler_types)
       _mesa_make_current(NULL, NULL, NULL);
    }
 
+   /* Do this after unbinding context to ensure any thread is finished. */
+   if (ctx->shader_builtin_ref) {
+      _mesa_glsl_builtin_functions_decref();
+      ctx->shader_builtin_ref = false;
+   }
+
    free(ctx->Const.SpirVExtensions);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/mesa/main/mtypes.h b/src/mesa/main/mtypes.h
index 569e793ca27..b38d0a29009 100644
--- a/src/mesa/main/mtypes.h
+++ b/src/mesa/main/mtypes.h
@@ -5174,6 +5174,8 @@ struct gl_context
    struct hash_table_u64 *ResidentTextureHandles;
    struct hash_table_u64 *ResidentImageHandles;
    /*@}*/
+
+   bool shader_builtin_ref;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/mesa/main/shaderapi.c b/src/mesa/main/shaderapi.c
index 5a0a6127512..0a9700a6761 100644
--- a/src/mesa/main/shaderapi.c
+++ b/src/mesa/main/shaderapi.c
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
 #include "main/state.h"
 #include "main/transformfeedback.h"
 #include "main/uniforms.h"
+#include "compiler/glsl/builtin_functions.h"
 #include "compiler/glsl/glsl_parser_extras.h"
 #include "compiler/glsl/ir.h"
 #include "compiler/glsl/ir_uniform.h"
@@ -1155,6 +1156,14 @@ set_shader_source(struct gl_shader *sh, const GLchar *source)
 #endif
 }
 
+static void
+ensure_builtin_types(struct gl_context *ctx)
+{
+   if (!ctx->shader_builtin_ref) {
+      _mesa_glsl_builtin_functions_init_or_ref();
+      ctx->shader_builtin_ref = true;
+   }
+}
 
 /**
  * Compile a shader.
@@ -1189,6 +1198,8 @@ _mesa_compile_shader(struct gl_context *ctx, struct gl_shader *sh)
          _mesa_log("%s\n", sh->Source);
       }
 
+      ensure_builtin_types(ctx);
+
       /* this call will set the shader->CompileStatus field to indicate if
        * compilation was successful.
        */
@@ -1266,6 +1277,8 @@ link_program(struct gl_context *ctx, struct gl_shader_program *shProg,
          }
    }
 
+   ensure_builtin_types(ctx);
+
    FLUSH_VERTICES(ctx, 0);
    _mesa_glsl_link_shader(ctx, shProg);
 
@@ -2245,7 +2258,12 @@ _mesa_GetShaderPrecisionFormat(GLenum shadertype, GLenum precisiontype,
 void GLAPIENTRY
 _mesa_ReleaseShaderCompiler(void)
 {
-   _mesa_destroy_shader_compiler_caches();
+   GET_CURRENT_CONTEXT(ctx);
+
+   if (ctx->shader_builtin_ref) {
+      _mesa_glsl_builtin_functions_decref();
+      ctx->shader_builtin_ref = false;
+   }
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/mesa/state_tracker/st_context.c b/src/mesa/state_tracker/st_context.c
index eeceaf9ddd4..17436526c7b 100644
--- a/src/mesa/state_tracker/st_context.c
+++ b/src/mesa/state_tracker/st_context.c
@@ -1036,11 +1036,6 @@ st_destroy_context(struct st_context *st)
    st_destroy_context_priv(st, true);
    st = NULL;
 
-   /* This must be called after st_destroy_context_priv() to avoid a race
-    * condition between any shader compiler threads and context destruction.
-    */
-   _mesa_destroy_shader_compiler_types();
-
    free(ctx);
 
    if (save_ctx == ctx) {