diff --git a/Makefile.config.in b/Makefile.config.in
index c8c4446b4..3505f337e 100644
--- a/Makefile.config.in
+++ b/Makefile.config.in
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ LDFLAGS = @LDFLAGS@
 LIBARCHIVE_LIBS = @LIBARCHIVE_LIBS@
 LIBBROTLI_LIBS = @LIBBROTLI_LIBS@
 LIBCURL_LIBS = @LIBCURL_LIBS@
+LOWDOWN_LIBS = @LOWDOWN_LIBS@
 OPENSSL_LIBS = @OPENSSL_LIBS@
 LIBSECCOMP_LIBS = @LIBSECCOMP_LIBS@
 PACKAGE_NAME = @PACKAGE_NAME@
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 01d674879..8a01c33ec 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ AC_ARG_ENABLE(doc-gen, AS_HELP_STRING([--disable-doc-gen],[disable documentation
 AC_SUBST(doc_generate)
 
 # Look for lowdown library.
-PKG_CHECK_MODULES([LOWDOWN], [lowdown >= 0.8.0], [CXXFLAGS="$LOWDOWN_CFLAGS $CXXFLAGS"])
+PKG_CHECK_MODULES([LOWDOWN], [lowdown >= 0.9.0], [CXXFLAGS="$LOWDOWN_CFLAGS $CXXFLAGS"])
 
 # Setuid installations.
 AC_CHECK_FUNCS([setresuid setreuid lchown])
diff --git a/src/libcmd/local.mk b/src/libcmd/local.mk
index 8b0662753..7a2f83cc7 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/local.mk
+++ b/src/libcmd/local.mk
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ libcmd_SOURCES := $(wildcard $(d)/*.cc)
 
 libcmd_CXXFLAGS += -I src/libutil -I src/libstore -I src/libexpr -I src/libmain -I src/libfetchers
 
-libcmd_LDFLAGS += -llowdown -pthread
+libcmd_LDFLAGS += $(LOWDOWN_LIBS) -pthread
 
 libcmd_LIBS = libstore libutil libexpr libmain libfetchers
 
diff --git a/src/libexpr/attr-path.cc b/src/libexpr/attr-path.cc
index c50c6d92b..edef4d9f8 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/attr-path.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/attr-path.cc
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ Pos findPackageFilename(EvalState & state, Value & v, std::string what)
     std::string filename(pos, 0, colon);
     unsigned int lineno;
     try {
-        lineno = std::stoi(std::string(pos, colon + 1));
+        lineno = std::stoi(std::string(pos, colon + 1, string::npos));
     } catch (std::invalid_argument & e) {
         throw ParseError("cannot parse line number '%s'", pos);
     }
diff --git a/src/libexpr/eval.cc b/src/libexpr/eval.cc
index b884b4001..3ebbdca63 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/eval.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/eval.cc
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #include "eval.hh"
 #include "hash.hh"
+#include "types.hh"
 #include "util.hh"
 #include "store-api.hh"
 #include "derivations.hh"
@@ -1373,7 +1374,7 @@ void EvalState::callFunction(Value & fun, size_t nrArgs, Value * * args, Value &
                     /* Nope, so show the first unexpected argument to the
                        user. */
                     for (auto & i : *args[0]->attrs)
-                        if (!lambda.formals->argNames.count(i.name))
+                        if (!lambda.formals->has(i.name))
                             throwTypeError(pos, "%1% called with unexpected argument '%2%'", lambda, i.name);
                     abort(); // can't happen
                 }
@@ -1694,7 +1695,7 @@ void EvalState::concatLists(Value & v, size_t nrLists, Value * * lists, const Po
 void ExprConcatStrings::eval(EvalState & state, Env & env, Value & v)
 {
     PathSet context;
-    std::vector<std::string> s;
+    std::vector<BackedStringView> s;
     size_t sSize = 0;
     NixInt n = 0;
     NixFloat nf = 0;
@@ -1705,7 +1706,7 @@ void ExprConcatStrings::eval(EvalState & state, Env & env, Value & v)
     const auto str = [&] {
         std::string result;
         result.reserve(sSize);
-        for (const auto & part : s) result += part;
+        for (const auto & part : s) result += *part;
         return result;
     };
     /* c_str() is not str().c_str() because we want to create a string
@@ -1715,15 +1716,18 @@ void ExprConcatStrings::eval(EvalState & state, Env & env, Value & v)
         char * result = allocString(sSize + 1);
         char * tmp = result;
         for (const auto & part : s) {
-            memcpy(tmp, part.c_str(), part.size());
-            tmp += part.size();
+            memcpy(tmp, part->data(), part->size());
+            tmp += part->size();
         }
         *tmp = 0;
         return result;
     };
 
+    Value values[es->size()];
+    Value * vTmpP = values;
+
     for (auto & [i_pos, i] : *es) {
-        Value vTmp;
+        Value & vTmp = *vTmpP++;
         i->eval(state, env, vTmp);
 
         /* If the first element is a path, then the result will also
@@ -1756,9 +1760,9 @@ void ExprConcatStrings::eval(EvalState & state, Env & env, Value & v)
             /* skip canonization of first path, which would only be not
             canonized in the first place if it's coming from a ./${foo} type
             path */
-            s.emplace_back(
-                state.coerceToString(i_pos, vTmp, context, false, firstType == nString, !first));
-            sSize += s.back().size();
+            auto part = state.coerceToString(i_pos, vTmp, context, false, firstType == nString, !first);
+            sSize += part->size();
+            s.emplace_back(std::move(part));
         }
 
         first = false;
@@ -1857,7 +1861,7 @@ void EvalState::forceFunction(Value & v, const Pos & pos)
 }
 
 
-string EvalState::forceString(Value & v, const Pos & pos)
+std::string_view EvalState::forceString(Value & v, const Pos & pos)
 {
     forceValue(v, pos);
     if (v.type() != nString) {
@@ -1866,7 +1870,7 @@ string EvalState::forceString(Value & v, const Pos & pos)
         else
             throwTypeError("value is %1% while a string was expected", v);
     }
-    return string(v.string.s);
+    return v.string.s;
 }
 
 
@@ -1901,17 +1905,17 @@ std::vector<std::pair<Path, std::string>> Value::getContext()
 }
 
 
-string EvalState::forceString(Value & v, PathSet & context, const Pos & pos)
+std::string_view EvalState::forceString(Value & v, PathSet & context, const Pos & pos)
 {
-    string s = forceString(v, pos);
+    auto s = forceString(v, pos);
     copyContext(v, context);
     return s;
 }
 
 
-string EvalState::forceStringNoCtx(Value & v, const Pos & pos)
+std::string_view EvalState::forceStringNoCtx(Value & v, const Pos & pos)
 {
-    string s = forceString(v, pos);
+    auto s = forceString(v, pos);
     if (v.string.context) {
         if (pos)
             throwEvalError(pos, "the string '%1%' is not allowed to refer to a store path (such as '%2%')",
@@ -1942,34 +1946,35 @@ std::optional<string> EvalState::tryAttrsToString(const Pos & pos, Value & v,
     if (i != v.attrs->end()) {
         Value v1;
         callFunction(*i->value, v, v1, pos);
-        return coerceToString(pos, v1, context, coerceMore, copyToStore);
+        return coerceToString(pos, v1, context, coerceMore, copyToStore).toOwned();
     }
 
     return {};
 }
 
-string EvalState::coerceToString(const Pos & pos, Value & v, PathSet & context,
+BackedStringView EvalState::coerceToString(const Pos & pos, Value & v, PathSet & context,
     bool coerceMore, bool copyToStore, bool canonicalizePath)
 {
     forceValue(v, pos);
 
-    string s;
-
     if (v.type() == nString) {
         copyContext(v, context);
-        return v.string.s;
+        return std::string_view(v.string.s);
     }
 
     if (v.type() == nPath) {
-        Path path(canonicalizePath ? canonPath(v.path) : v.path);
-        return copyToStore ? copyPathToStore(context, path) : path;
+        BackedStringView path(PathView(v.path));
+        if (canonicalizePath)
+            path = canonPath(*path);
+        if (copyToStore)
+            path = copyPathToStore(context, std::move(path).toOwned());
+        return path;
     }
 
     if (v.type() == nAttrs) {
         auto maybeString = tryAttrsToString(pos, v, context, coerceMore, copyToStore);
-        if (maybeString) {
-            return *maybeString;
-        }
+        if (maybeString)
+            return std::move(*maybeString);
         auto i = v.attrs->find(sOutPath);
         if (i == v.attrs->end()) throwTypeError(pos, "cannot coerce a set to a string");
         return coerceToString(pos, *i->value, context, coerceMore, copyToStore);
@@ -1991,14 +1996,13 @@ string EvalState::coerceToString(const Pos & pos, Value & v, PathSet & context,
         if (v.isList()) {
             string result;
             for (auto [n, v2] : enumerate(v.listItems())) {
-                result += coerceToString(pos, *v2,
-                    context, coerceMore, copyToStore);
+                result += *coerceToString(pos, *v2, context, coerceMore, copyToStore);
                 if (n < v.listSize() - 1
                     /* !!! not quite correct */
                     && (!v2->isList() || v2->listSize() != 0))
                     result += " ";
             }
-            return result;
+            return std::move(result);
         }
     }
 
@@ -2032,7 +2036,7 @@ string EvalState::copyPathToStore(PathSet & context, const Path & path)
 
 Path EvalState::coerceToPath(const Pos & pos, Value & v, PathSet & context)
 {
-    string path = coerceToString(pos, v, context, false, false);
+    string path = coerceToString(pos, v, context, false, false).toOwned();
     if (path == "" || path[0] != '/')
         throwEvalError(pos, "string '%1%' doesn't represent an absolute path", path);
     return path;
diff --git a/src/libexpr/eval.hh b/src/libexpr/eval.hh
index c59203aa5..04acc5728 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/eval.hh
+++ b/src/libexpr/eval.hh
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include "attr-set.hh"
+#include "types.hh"
 #include "value.hh"
 #include "nixexpr.hh"
 #include "symbol-table.hh"
@@ -201,8 +202,8 @@ public:
     void resetFileCache();
 
     /* Look up a file in the search path. */
-    Path findFile(const string & path);
-    Path findFile(SearchPath & searchPath, const string & path, const Pos & pos = noPos);
+    Path findFile(const std::string_view path);
+    Path findFile(SearchPath & searchPath, const std::string_view path, const Pos & pos = noPos);
 
     /* If the specified search path element is a URI, download it. */
     std::pair<bool, std::string> resolveSearchPathElem(const SearchPathElem & elem);
@@ -236,9 +237,9 @@ public:
     inline void forceList(Value & v);
     inline void forceList(Value & v, const Pos & pos);
     void forceFunction(Value & v, const Pos & pos); // either lambda or primop
-    string forceString(Value & v, const Pos & pos = noPos);
-    string forceString(Value & v, PathSet & context, const Pos & pos = noPos);
-    string forceStringNoCtx(Value & v, const Pos & pos = noPos);
+    std::string_view forceString(Value & v, const Pos & pos = noPos);
+    std::string_view forceString(Value & v, PathSet & context, const Pos & pos = noPos);
+    std::string_view forceStringNoCtx(Value & v, const Pos & pos = noPos);
 
     /* Return true iff the value `v' denotes a derivation (i.e. a
        set with attribute `type = "derivation"'). */
@@ -251,7 +252,7 @@ public:
        string.  If `coerceMore' is set, also converts nulls, integers,
        booleans and lists to a string.  If `copyToStore' is set,
        referenced paths are copied to the Nix store as a side effect. */
-    string coerceToString(const Pos & pos, Value & v, PathSet & context,
+    BackedStringView coerceToString(const Pos & pos, Value & v, PathSet & context,
         bool coerceMore = false, bool copyToStore = true,
         bool canonicalizePath = true);
 
@@ -309,8 +310,8 @@ private:
     friend struct ExprAttrs;
     friend struct ExprLet;
 
-    Expr * parse(char * text, size_t length, FileOrigin origin, const Path & path,
-        const Path & basePath, StaticEnv & staticEnv);
+    Expr * parse(char * text, size_t length, FileOrigin origin, const PathView path,
+        const PathView basePath, StaticEnv & staticEnv);
 
 public:
 
diff --git a/src/libexpr/flake/flake.cc b/src/libexpr/flake/flake.cc
index 0fbe9b960..9f3b58909 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/flake/flake.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/flake/flake.cc
@@ -89,11 +89,11 @@ static void expectType(EvalState & state, ValueType type,
 
 static std::map<FlakeId, FlakeInput> parseFlakeInputs(
     EvalState & state, Value * value, const Pos & pos,
-    const std::optional<Path> & baseDir);
+    const std::optional<Path> & baseDir, InputPath lockRootPath);
 
 static FlakeInput parseFlakeInput(EvalState & state,
     const std::string & inputName, Value * value, const Pos & pos,
-    const std::optional<Path> & baseDir)
+    const std::optional<Path> & baseDir, InputPath lockRootPath)
 {
     expectType(state, nAttrs, *value, pos);
 
@@ -117,10 +117,12 @@ static FlakeInput parseFlakeInput(EvalState & state,
                 expectType(state, nBool, *attr.value, *attr.pos);
                 input.isFlake = attr.value->boolean;
             } else if (attr.name == sInputs) {
-                input.overrides = parseFlakeInputs(state, attr.value, *attr.pos, baseDir);
+                input.overrides = parseFlakeInputs(state, attr.value, *attr.pos, baseDir, lockRootPath);
             } else if (attr.name == sFollows) {
                 expectType(state, nString, *attr.value, *attr.pos);
-                input.follows = parseInputPath(attr.value->string.s);
+                auto follows(parseInputPath(attr.value->string.s));
+                follows.insert(follows.begin(), lockRootPath.begin(), lockRootPath.end());
+                input.follows = follows;
             } else {
                 switch (attr.value->type()) {
                     case nString:
@@ -166,7 +168,7 @@ static FlakeInput parseFlakeInput(EvalState & state,
 
 static std::map<FlakeId, FlakeInput> parseFlakeInputs(
     EvalState & state, Value * value, const Pos & pos,
-    const std::optional<Path> & baseDir)
+    const std::optional<Path> & baseDir, InputPath lockRootPath)
 {
     std::map<FlakeId, FlakeInput> inputs;
 
@@ -178,7 +180,8 @@ static std::map<FlakeId, FlakeInput> parseFlakeInputs(
                 inputAttr.name,
                 inputAttr.value,
                 *inputAttr.pos,
-                baseDir));
+                baseDir,
+                lockRootPath));
     }
 
     return inputs;
@@ -188,7 +191,8 @@ static Flake getFlake(
     EvalState & state,
     const FlakeRef & originalRef,
     bool allowLookup,
-    FlakeCache & flakeCache)
+    FlakeCache & flakeCache,
+    InputPath lockRootPath)
 {
     auto [sourceInfo, resolvedRef, lockedRef] = fetchOrSubstituteTree(
         state, originalRef, allowLookup, flakeCache);
@@ -223,7 +227,7 @@ static Flake getFlake(
     auto sInputs = state.symbols.create("inputs");
 
     if (auto inputs = vInfo.attrs->get(sInputs))
-        flake.inputs = parseFlakeInputs(state, inputs->value, *inputs->pos, flakeDir);
+        flake.inputs = parseFlakeInputs(state, inputs->value, *inputs->pos, flakeDir, lockRootPath);
 
     auto sOutputs = state.symbols.create("outputs");
 
@@ -250,10 +254,12 @@ static Flake getFlake(
         for (auto & setting : *nixConfig->value->attrs) {
             forceTrivialValue(state, *setting.value, *setting.pos);
             if (setting.value->type() == nString)
-                flake.config.settings.insert({setting.name, state.forceStringNoCtx(*setting.value, *setting.pos)});
+                flake.config.settings.insert({setting.name, string(state.forceStringNoCtx(*setting.value, *setting.pos))});
             else if (setting.value->type() == nPath) {
                 PathSet emptyContext = {};
-                flake.config.settings.insert({setting.name, state.coerceToString(*setting.pos, *setting.value, emptyContext, false, true, true)});
+                flake.config.settings.emplace(
+                    setting.name,
+                    state.coerceToString(*setting.pos, *setting.value, emptyContext, false, true, true) .toOwned());
             }
             else if (setting.value->type() == nInt)
                 flake.config.settings.insert({setting.name, state.forceInt(*setting.value, *setting.pos)});
@@ -265,7 +271,7 @@ static Flake getFlake(
                     if (elem->type() != nString)
                         throw TypeError("list element in flake configuration setting '%s' is %s while a string is expected",
                             setting.name, showType(*setting.value));
-                    ss.push_back(state.forceStringNoCtx(*elem, *setting.pos));
+                    ss.emplace_back(state.forceStringNoCtx(*elem, *setting.pos));
                 }
                 flake.config.settings.insert({setting.name, ss});
             }
@@ -287,6 +293,11 @@ static Flake getFlake(
     return flake;
 }
 
+Flake getFlake(EvalState & state, const FlakeRef & originalRef, bool allowLookup, FlakeCache & flakeCache)
+{
+    return getFlake(state, originalRef, allowLookup, flakeCache, {});
+}
+
 Flake getFlake(EvalState & state, const FlakeRef & originalRef, bool allowLookup)
 {
     FlakeCache flakeCache;
@@ -332,22 +343,12 @@ LockedFlake lockFlake(
 
         std::vector<FlakeRef> parents;
 
-        struct LockParent {
-            /* The path to this parent. */
-            InputPath path;
-
-            /* Whether we are currently inside a top-level lockfile
-               (inputs absolute) or subordinate lockfile (inputs
-               relative). */
-            bool absolute;
-        };
-
         std::function<void(
             const FlakeInputs & flakeInputs,
             std::shared_ptr<Node> node,
             const InputPath & inputPathPrefix,
             std::shared_ptr<const Node> oldNode,
-            const LockParent & parent,
+            const InputPath & lockRootPath,
             const Path & parentPath,
             bool trustLock)>
             computeLocks;
@@ -357,7 +358,7 @@ LockedFlake lockFlake(
             std::shared_ptr<Node> node,
             const InputPath & inputPathPrefix,
             std::shared_ptr<const Node> oldNode,
-            const LockParent & parent,
+            const InputPath & lockRootPath,
             const Path & parentPath,
             bool trustLock)
         {
@@ -402,17 +403,7 @@ LockedFlake lockFlake(
                     if (input.follows) {
                         InputPath target;
 
-                        if (parent.absolute && !hasOverride) {
-                            target = *input.follows;
-                        } else {
-                            if (hasOverride) {
-                                target = inputPathPrefix;
-                                target.pop_back();
-                            } else
-                                target = parent.path;
-
-                            for (auto & i : *input.follows) target.push_back(i);
-                        }
+                        target.insert(target.end(), input.follows->begin(), input.follows->end());
 
                         debug("input '%s' follows '%s'", inputPathS, printInputPath(target));
                         node->inputs.insert_or_assign(id, target);
@@ -485,23 +476,25 @@ LockedFlake lockFlake(
                                             break;
                                         }
                                     }
+                                    auto absoluteFollows(lockRootPath);
+                                    absoluteFollows.insert(absoluteFollows.end(), follows->begin(), follows->end());
                                     fakeInputs.emplace(i.first, FlakeInput {
-                                        .follows = *follows,
+                                        .follows = absoluteFollows,
                                     });
                                 }
                             }
                         }
 
-                        LockParent newParent {
-                            .path = inputPath,
-                            .absolute = true
-                        };
-
+                        auto localPath(parentPath);
+                        // If this input is a path, recurse it down.
+                        // This allows us to resolve path inputs relative to the current flake.
+                        if ((*input.ref).input.getType() == "path")
+                            localPath = absPath(*input.ref->input.getSourcePath(), parentPath);
                         computeLocks(
                             mustRefetch
-                            ? getFlake(state, oldLock->lockedRef, false, flakeCache).inputs
+                            ? getFlake(state, oldLock->lockedRef, false, flakeCache, inputPath).inputs
                             : fakeInputs,
-                            childNode, inputPath, oldLock, newParent, parentPath, !mustRefetch);
+                            childNode, inputPath, oldLock, lockRootPath, parentPath, !mustRefetch);
 
                     } else {
                         /* We need to create a new lock file entry. So fetch
@@ -520,7 +513,7 @@ LockedFlake lockFlake(
                             if (localRef.input.getType() == "path")
                                 localPath = absPath(*input.ref->input.getSourcePath(), parentPath);
 
-                            auto inputFlake = getFlake(state, localRef, useRegistries, flakeCache);
+                            auto inputFlake = getFlake(state, localRef, useRegistries, flakeCache, inputPath);
 
                             /* Note: in case of an --override-input, we use
                                the *original* ref (input2.ref) for the
@@ -541,13 +534,6 @@ LockedFlake lockFlake(
                             parents.push_back(*input.ref);
                             Finally cleanup([&]() { parents.pop_back(); });
 
-                            // Follows paths from existing inputs in the top-level lockfile are absolute,
-                            // whereas paths in subordinate lockfiles are relative to those lockfiles.
-                            LockParent newParent {
-                                .path = inputPath,
-                                .absolute = oldLock ? true : false
-                            };
-
                             /* Recursively process the inputs of this
                                flake. Also, unless we already have this flake
                                in the top-level lock file, use this flake's
@@ -558,7 +544,7 @@ LockedFlake lockFlake(
                                 ? std::dynamic_pointer_cast<const Node>(oldLock)
                                 : LockFile::read(
                                     inputFlake.sourceInfo->actualPath + "/" + inputFlake.lockedRef.subdir + "/flake.lock").root,
-                                newParent, localPath, false);
+                                oldLock ? lockRootPath : inputPath, localPath, false);
                         }
 
                         else {
@@ -576,17 +562,12 @@ LockedFlake lockFlake(
             }
         };
 
-        LockParent parent {
-            .path = {},
-            .absolute = true
-        };
-
         // Bring in the current ref for relative path resolution if we have it
         auto parentPath = canonPath(flake.sourceInfo->actualPath + "/" + flake.lockedRef.subdir, true);
 
         computeLocks(
             flake.inputs, newLockFile.root, {},
-            lockFlags.recreateLockFile ? nullptr : oldLockFile.root, parent, parentPath, false);
+            lockFlags.recreateLockFile ? nullptr : oldLockFile.root, {}, parentPath, false);
 
         for (auto & i : lockFlags.inputOverrides)
             if (!overridesUsed.count(i.first))
@@ -726,7 +707,7 @@ static void prim_getFlake(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Va
 {
     state.requireExperimentalFeatureOnEvaluation(Xp::Flakes, "builtins.getFlake", pos);
 
-    auto flakeRefS = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    string flakeRefS(state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos));
     auto flakeRef = parseFlakeRef(flakeRefS, {}, true);
     if (evalSettings.pureEval && !flakeRef.input.isImmutable())
         throw Error("cannot call 'getFlake' on mutable flake reference '%s', at %s (use --impure to override)", flakeRefS, pos);
diff --git a/src/libexpr/get-drvs.cc b/src/libexpr/get-drvs.cc
index 25fd9b949..2651266b2 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/get-drvs.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/get-drvs.cc
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ DrvInfo::Outputs DrvInfo::queryOutputs(bool onlyOutputsToInstall)
             /* For each output... */
             for (auto elem : i->value->listItems()) {
                 /* Evaluate the corresponding set. */
-                string name = state->forceStringNoCtx(*elem, *i->pos);
+                string name(state->forceStringNoCtx(*elem, *i->pos));
                 Bindings::iterator out = attrs->find(state->symbols.create(name));
                 if (out == attrs->end()) continue; // FIXME: throw error?
                 state->forceAttrs(*out->value);
diff --git a/src/libexpr/json-to-value.cc b/src/libexpr/json-to-value.cc
index 88716250c..99a475ff9 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/json-to-value.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/json-to-value.cc
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ public:
     }
 };
 
-void parseJSON(EvalState & state, const string & s_, Value & v)
+void parseJSON(EvalState & state, const std::string_view & s_, Value & v)
 {
     JSONSax parser(state, v);
     bool res = json::sax_parse(s_, &parser);
diff --git a/src/libexpr/json-to-value.hh b/src/libexpr/json-to-value.hh
index 3b0fdae11..84bec4eba 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/json-to-value.hh
+++ b/src/libexpr/json-to-value.hh
@@ -8,6 +8,6 @@ namespace nix {
 
 MakeError(JSONParseError, EvalError);
 
-void parseJSON(EvalState & state, const string & s, Value & v);
+void parseJSON(EvalState & state, const std::string_view & s, Value & v);
 
 }
diff --git a/src/libexpr/lexer.l b/src/libexpr/lexer.l
index a0e7a1877..e276b0467 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/lexer.l
+++ b/src/libexpr/lexer.l
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ static void adjustLoc(YYLTYPE * loc, const char * s, size_t len)
 
 // we make use of the fact that the parser receives a private copy of the input
 // string and can munge around in it.
-static Expr * unescapeStr(SymbolTable & symbols, char * s, size_t length)
+static StringToken unescapeStr(SymbolTable & symbols, char * s, size_t length)
 {
     char * result = s;
     char * t = s;
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ static Expr * unescapeStr(SymbolTable & symbols, char * s, size_t length)
         else *t = c;
         t++;
     }
-    return new ExprString(symbols.create({result, size_t(t - result)}));
+    return {result, size_t(t - result)};
 }
 
 
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ or          { return OR_KW; }
                 /* It is impossible to match strings ending with '$' with one
                    regex because trailing contexts are only valid at the end
                    of a rule. (A sane but undocumented limitation.) */
-                yylval->e = unescapeStr(data->symbols, yytext, yyleng);
+                yylval->str = unescapeStr(data->symbols, yytext, yyleng);
                 return STR;
               }
 <STRING>\$\{  { PUSH_STATE(DEFAULT); return DOLLAR_CURLY; }
@@ -191,26 +191,26 @@ or          { return OR_KW; }
 
 \'\'(\ *\n)?     { PUSH_STATE(IND_STRING); return IND_STRING_OPEN; }
 <IND_STRING>([^\$\']|\$[^\{\']|\'[^\'\$])+ {
-                   yylval->e = new ExprIndStr(yytext);
+                   yylval->str = {yytext, (size_t) yyleng, true};
                    return IND_STR;
                  }
 <IND_STRING>\'\'\$ |
 <IND_STRING>\$   {
-                   yylval->e = new ExprIndStr("$");
+                   yylval->str = {"$", 1};
                    return IND_STR;
                  }
 <IND_STRING>\'\'\' {
-                   yylval->e = new ExprIndStr("''");
+                   yylval->str = {"''", 2};
                    return IND_STR;
                  }
 <IND_STRING>\'\'\\{ANY} {
-                   yylval->e = unescapeStr(data->symbols, yytext + 2, yyleng - 2);
+                   yylval->str = unescapeStr(data->symbols, yytext + 2, yyleng - 2);
                    return IND_STR;
                  }
 <IND_STRING>\$\{ { PUSH_STATE(DEFAULT); return DOLLAR_CURLY; }
 <IND_STRING>\'\' { POP_STATE(); return IND_STRING_CLOSE; }
 <IND_STRING>\'   {
-                   yylval->e = new ExprIndStr("'");
+                   yylval->str = {"'", 1};
                    return IND_STR;
                  }
 
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ or          { return OR_KW; }
       PUSH_STATE(INPATH_SLASH);
   else
       PUSH_STATE(INPATH);
-  yylval->e = new ExprString(data->symbols.create(string(yytext)));
+  yylval->str = {yytext, (size_t) yyleng};
   return STR;
 }
 <INPATH>{ANY} |
diff --git a/src/libexpr/nixexpr.hh b/src/libexpr/nixexpr.hh
index 0a60057e5..4e923ac89 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/nixexpr.hh
+++ b/src/libexpr/nixexpr.hh
@@ -110,20 +110,13 @@ struct ExprFloat : Expr
 
 struct ExprString : Expr
 {
-    Symbol s;
+    string s;
     Value v;
-    ExprString(const Symbol & s) : s(s) { v.mkString(s); };
+    ExprString(std::string s) : s(std::move(s)) { v.mkString(this->s.data()); };
     COMMON_METHODS
     Value * maybeThunk(EvalState & state, Env & env);
 };
 
-/* Temporary class used during parsing of indented strings. */
-struct ExprIndStr : Expr
-{
-    string s;
-    ExprIndStr(const string & s) : s(s) { };
-};
-
 struct ExprPath : Expr
 {
     string s;
@@ -223,10 +216,25 @@ struct Formal
 
 struct Formals
 {
-    typedef std::list<Formal> Formals_;
+    typedef std::vector<Formal> Formals_;
     Formals_ formals;
-    std::set<Symbol> argNames; // used during parsing
     bool ellipsis;
+
+    bool has(Symbol arg) const {
+        auto it = std::lower_bound(formals.begin(), formals.end(), arg,
+            [] (const Formal & f, const Symbol & sym) { return f.name < sym; });
+        return it != formals.end() && it->name == arg;
+    }
+
+    std::vector<Formal> lexicographicOrder() const
+    {
+        std::vector<Formal> result(formals.begin(), formals.end());
+        std::sort(result.begin(), result.end(),
+            [] (const Formal & a, const Formal & b) {
+                return std::string_view(a.name) < std::string_view(b.name);
+            });
+        return result;
+    }
 };
 
 struct ExprLambda : Expr
@@ -239,11 +247,6 @@ struct ExprLambda : Expr
     ExprLambda(const Pos & pos, const Symbol & arg, Formals * formals, Expr * body)
         : pos(pos), arg(arg), formals(formals), body(body)
     {
-        if (!arg.empty() && formals && formals->argNames.find(arg) != formals->argNames.end())
-            throw ParseError({
-                .msg = hintfmt("duplicate formal function argument '%1%'", arg),
-                .errPos = pos
-            });
     };
     void setName(Symbol & name);
     string showNamePos() const;
diff --git a/src/libexpr/parser.y b/src/libexpr/parser.y
index 7a8e93c12..f0c80ebd5 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/parser.y
+++ b/src/libexpr/parser.y
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 #ifndef BISON_HEADER
 #define BISON_HEADER
 
+#include <variant>
+
 #include "util.hh"
 
 #include "nixexpr.hh"
@@ -39,8 +41,22 @@ namespace nix {
             { };
     };
 
+    struct ParserFormals {
+        std::vector<Formal> formals;
+        bool ellipsis = false;
+    };
+
 }
 
+// using C a struct allows us to avoid having to define the special
+// members that using string_view here would implicitly delete.
+struct StringToken {
+  const char * p;
+  size_t l;
+  bool hasIndentation;
+  operator std::string_view() const { return {p, l}; }
+};
+
 #define YY_DECL int yylex \
     (YYSTYPE * yylval_param, YYLTYPE * yylloc_param, yyscan_t yyscanner, nix::ParseData * data)
 
@@ -140,21 +156,46 @@ static void addAttr(ExprAttrs * attrs, AttrPath & attrPath,
 }
 
 
-static void addFormal(const Pos & pos, Formals * formals, const Formal & formal)
+static Formals * toFormals(ParseData & data, ParserFormals * formals,
+    Pos pos = noPos, Symbol arg = {})
 {
-    if (!formals->argNames.insert(formal.name).second)
+    std::sort(formals->formals.begin(), formals->formals.end(),
+        [] (const auto & a, const auto & b) {
+            return std::tie(a.name, a.pos) < std::tie(b.name, b.pos);
+        });
+
+    std::optional<std::pair<Symbol, Pos>> duplicate;
+    for (size_t i = 0; i + 1 < formals->formals.size(); i++) {
+        if (formals->formals[i].name != formals->formals[i + 1].name)
+            continue;
+        std::pair thisDup{formals->formals[i].name, formals->formals[i + 1].pos};
+        duplicate = std::min(thisDup, duplicate.value_or(thisDup));
+    }
+    if (duplicate)
         throw ParseError({
-            .msg = hintfmt("duplicate formal function argument '%1%'",
-                formal.name),
+            .msg = hintfmt("duplicate formal function argument '%1%'", duplicate->first),
+            .errPos = duplicate->second
+        });
+
+    Formals result;
+    result.ellipsis = formals->ellipsis;
+    result.formals = std::move(formals->formals);
+
+    if (arg.set() && result.has(arg))
+        throw ParseError({
+            .msg = hintfmt("duplicate formal function argument '%1%'", arg),
             .errPos = pos
         });
-    formals->formals.push_front(formal);
+
+    delete formals;
+    return new Formals(std::move(result));
 }
 
 
-static Expr * stripIndentation(const Pos & pos, SymbolTable & symbols, vector<std::pair<Pos, Expr *> > & es)
+static Expr * stripIndentation(const Pos & pos, SymbolTable & symbols,
+    vector<std::pair<Pos, std::variant<Expr *, StringToken> > > & es)
 {
-    if (es.empty()) return new ExprString(symbols.create(""));
+    if (es.empty()) return new ExprString("");
 
     /* Figure out the minimum indentation.  Note that by design
        whitespace-only final lines are not taken into account.  (So
@@ -163,20 +204,20 @@ static Expr * stripIndentation(const Pos & pos, SymbolTable & symbols, vector<st
     size_t minIndent = 1000000;
     size_t curIndent = 0;
     for (auto & [i_pos, i] : es) {
-        ExprIndStr * e = dynamic_cast<ExprIndStr *>(i);
-        if (!e) {
-            /* Anti-quotations end the current start-of-line whitespace. */
+        auto * str = std::get_if<StringToken>(&i);
+        if (!str || !str->hasIndentation) {
+            /* Anti-quotations and escaped characters end the current start-of-line whitespace. */
             if (atStartOfLine) {
                 atStartOfLine = false;
                 if (curIndent < minIndent) minIndent = curIndent;
             }
             continue;
         }
-        for (size_t j = 0; j < e->s.size(); ++j) {
+        for (size_t j = 0; j < str->l; ++j) {
             if (atStartOfLine) {
-                if (e->s[j] == ' ')
+                if (str->p[j] == ' ')
                     curIndent++;
-                else if (e->s[j] == '\n') {
+                else if (str->p[j] == '\n') {
                     /* Empty line, doesn't influence minimum
                        indentation. */
                     curIndent = 0;
@@ -184,7 +225,7 @@ static Expr * stripIndentation(const Pos & pos, SymbolTable & symbols, vector<st
                     atStartOfLine = false;
                     if (curIndent < minIndent) minIndent = curIndent;
                 }
-            } else if (e->s[j] == '\n') {
+            } else if (str->p[j] == '\n') {
                 atStartOfLine = true;
                 curIndent = 0;
             }
@@ -196,33 +237,31 @@ static Expr * stripIndentation(const Pos & pos, SymbolTable & symbols, vector<st
     atStartOfLine = true;
     size_t curDropped = 0;
     size_t n = es.size();
-    for (vector<std::pair<Pos, Expr *> >::iterator i = es.begin(); i != es.end(); ++i, --n) {
-        ExprIndStr * e = dynamic_cast<ExprIndStr *>(i->second);
-        if (!e) {
-            atStartOfLine = false;
-            curDropped = 0;
-            es2->push_back(*i);
-            continue;
-        }
-
+    auto i = es.begin();
+    const auto trimExpr = [&] (Expr * e) {
+        atStartOfLine = false;
+        curDropped = 0;
+        es2->emplace_back(i->first, e);
+    };
+    const auto trimString = [&] (const StringToken & t) {
         string s2;
-        for (size_t j = 0; j < e->s.size(); ++j) {
+        for (size_t j = 0; j < t.l; ++j) {
             if (atStartOfLine) {
-                if (e->s[j] == ' ') {
+                if (t.p[j] == ' ') {
                     if (curDropped++ >= minIndent)
-                        s2 += e->s[j];
+                        s2 += t.p[j];
                 }
-                else if (e->s[j] == '\n') {
+                else if (t.p[j] == '\n') {
                     curDropped = 0;
-                    s2 += e->s[j];
+                    s2 += t.p[j];
                 } else {
                     atStartOfLine = false;
                     curDropped = 0;
-                    s2 += e->s[j];
+                    s2 += t.p[j];
                 }
             } else {
-                s2 += e->s[j];
-                if (e->s[j] == '\n') atStartOfLine = true;
+                s2 += t.p[j];
+                if (t.p[j] == '\n') atStartOfLine = true;
             }
         }
 
@@ -234,7 +273,10 @@ static Expr * stripIndentation(const Pos & pos, SymbolTable & symbols, vector<st
                 s2 = string(s2, 0, p + 1);
         }
 
-        es2->emplace_back(i->first, new ExprString(symbols.create(s2)));
+        es2->emplace_back(i->first, new ExprString(s2));
+    };
+    for (; i != es.end(); ++i, --n) {
+        std::visit(overloaded { trimExpr, trimString }, i->second);
     }
 
     /* If this is a single string, then don't do a concatenation. */
@@ -269,22 +311,17 @@ void yyerror(YYLTYPE * loc, yyscan_t scanner, ParseData * data, const char * err
   nix::Expr * e;
   nix::ExprList * list;
   nix::ExprAttrs * attrs;
-  nix::Formals * formals;
+  nix::ParserFormals * formals;
   nix::Formal * formal;
   nix::NixInt n;
   nix::NixFloat nf;
-  // using C a struct allows us to avoid having to define the special
-  // members that using string_view here would implicitly delete.
-  struct StringToken {
-    const char * p;
-    size_t l;
-    operator std::string_view() const { return {p, l}; }
-  };
   StringToken id; // !!! -> Symbol
   StringToken path;
   StringToken uri;
+  StringToken str;
   std::vector<nix::AttrName> * attrNames;
   std::vector<std::pair<nix::Pos, nix::Expr *> > * string_parts;
+  std::vector<std::pair<nix::Pos, std::variant<nix::Expr *, StringToken> > > * ind_string_parts;
 }
 
 %type <e> start expr expr_function expr_if expr_op
@@ -294,11 +331,12 @@ void yyerror(YYLTYPE * loc, yyscan_t scanner, ParseData * data, const char * err
 %type <formals> formals
 %type <formal> formal
 %type <attrNames> attrs attrpath
-%type <string_parts> string_parts_interpolated ind_string_parts
+%type <string_parts> string_parts_interpolated
+%type <ind_string_parts> ind_string_parts
 %type <e> path_start string_parts string_attr
 %type <id> attr
 %token <id> ID ATTRPATH
-%token <e> STR IND_STR
+%token <str> STR IND_STR
 %token <n> INT
 %token <nf> FLOAT
 %token <path> PATH HPATH SPATH PATH_END
@@ -331,11 +369,17 @@ expr_function
   : ID ':' expr_function
     { $$ = new ExprLambda(CUR_POS, data->symbols.create($1), 0, $3); }
   | '{' formals '}' ':' expr_function
-    { $$ = new ExprLambda(CUR_POS, data->symbols.create(""), $2, $5); }
+    { $$ = new ExprLambda(CUR_POS, data->symbols.create(""), toFormals(*data, $2), $5); }
   | '{' formals '}' '@' ID ':' expr_function
-    { $$ = new ExprLambda(CUR_POS, data->symbols.create($5), $2, $7); }
+    {
+      Symbol arg = data->symbols.create($5);
+      $$ = new ExprLambda(CUR_POS, arg, toFormals(*data, $2, CUR_POS, arg), $7);
+    }
   | ID '@' '{' formals '}' ':' expr_function
-    { $$ = new ExprLambda(CUR_POS, data->symbols.create($1), $4, $7); }
+    {
+      Symbol arg = data->symbols.create($1);
+      $$ = new ExprLambda(CUR_POS, arg, toFormals(*data, $4, CUR_POS, arg), $7);
+    }
   | ASSERT expr ';' expr_function
     { $$ = new ExprAssert(CUR_POS, $2, $4); }
   | WITH expr ';' expr_function
@@ -426,7 +470,7 @@ expr_simple
       $$ = new ExprCall(CUR_POS,
           new ExprVar(data->symbols.create("__findFile")),
           {new ExprVar(data->symbols.create("__nixPath")),
-           new ExprString(data->symbols.create(path))});
+           new ExprString(path)});
   }
   | URI {
       static bool noURLLiterals = settings.isExperimentalFeatureEnabled(Xp::NoUrlLiterals);
@@ -435,7 +479,7 @@ expr_simple
               .msg = hintfmt("URL literals are disabled"),
               .errPos = CUR_POS
           });
-      $$ = new ExprString(data->symbols.create($1));
+      $$ = new ExprString(string($1));
   }
   | '(' expr ')' { $$ = $2; }
   /* Let expressions `let {..., body = ...}' are just desugared
@@ -450,18 +494,19 @@ expr_simple
   ;
 
 string_parts
-  : STR
+  : STR { $$ = new ExprString(string($1)); }
   | string_parts_interpolated { $$ = new ExprConcatStrings(CUR_POS, true, $1); }
-  | { $$ = new ExprString(data->symbols.create("")); }
+  | { $$ = new ExprString(""); }
   ;
 
 string_parts_interpolated
-  : string_parts_interpolated STR { $$ = $1; $1->emplace_back(makeCurPos(@2, data), $2); }
+  : string_parts_interpolated STR
+  { $$ = $1; $1->emplace_back(makeCurPos(@2, data), new ExprString(string($2))); }
   | string_parts_interpolated DOLLAR_CURLY expr '}' { $$ = $1; $1->emplace_back(makeCurPos(@2, data), $3); }
   | DOLLAR_CURLY expr '}' { $$ = new vector<std::pair<Pos, Expr *> >; $$->emplace_back(makeCurPos(@1, data), $2); }
   | STR DOLLAR_CURLY expr '}' {
       $$ = new vector<std::pair<Pos, Expr *> >;
-      $$->emplace_back(makeCurPos(@1, data), $1);
+      $$->emplace_back(makeCurPos(@1, data), new ExprString(string($1)));
       $$->emplace_back(makeCurPos(@2, data), $3);
     }
   ;
@@ -483,7 +528,7 @@ path_start
 ind_string_parts
   : ind_string_parts IND_STR { $$ = $1; $1->emplace_back(makeCurPos(@2, data), $2); }
   | ind_string_parts DOLLAR_CURLY expr '}' { $$ = $1; $1->emplace_back(makeCurPos(@2, data), $3); }
-  | { $$ = new vector<std::pair<Pos, Expr *> >; }
+  | { $$ = new vector<std::pair<Pos, std::variant<Expr *, StringToken> > >; }
   ;
 
 binds
@@ -515,7 +560,7 @@ attrs
     { $$ = $1;
       ExprString * str = dynamic_cast<ExprString *>($2);
       if (str) {
-          $$->push_back(AttrName(str->s));
+          $$->push_back(AttrName(data->symbols.create(str->s)));
           delete str;
       } else
           throw ParseError({
@@ -532,7 +577,7 @@ attrpath
     { $$ = $1;
       ExprString * str = dynamic_cast<ExprString *>($3);
       if (str) {
-          $$->push_back(AttrName(str->s));
+          $$->push_back(AttrName(data->symbols.create(str->s)));
           delete str;
       } else
           $$->push_back(AttrName($3));
@@ -542,7 +587,7 @@ attrpath
     { $$ = new vector<AttrName>;
       ExprString *str = dynamic_cast<ExprString *>($1);
       if (str) {
-          $$->push_back(AttrName(str->s));
+          $$->push_back(AttrName(data->symbols.create(str->s)));
           delete str;
       } else
           $$->push_back(AttrName($1));
@@ -566,13 +611,13 @@ expr_list
 
 formals
   : formal ',' formals
-    { $$ = $3; addFormal(CUR_POS, $$, *$1); }
+    { $$ = $3; $$->formals.push_back(*$1); }
   | formal
-    { $$ = new Formals; addFormal(CUR_POS, $$, *$1); $$->ellipsis = false; }
+    { $$ = new ParserFormals; $$->formals.push_back(*$1); $$->ellipsis = false; }
   |
-    { $$ = new Formals; $$->ellipsis = false; }
+    { $$ = new ParserFormals; $$->ellipsis = false; }
   | ELLIPSIS
-    { $$ = new Formals; $$->ellipsis = true; }
+    { $$ = new ParserFormals; $$->ellipsis = true; }
   ;
 
 formal
@@ -598,7 +643,7 @@ namespace nix {
 
 
 Expr * EvalState::parse(char * text, size_t length, FileOrigin origin,
-    const Path & path, const Path & basePath, StaticEnv & staticEnv)
+    const PathView path, const PathView basePath, StaticEnv & staticEnv)
 {
     yyscan_t scanner;
     ParseData data(*this);
@@ -709,24 +754,24 @@ void EvalState::addToSearchPath(const string & s)
 }
 
 
-Path EvalState::findFile(const string & path)
+Path EvalState::findFile(const std::string_view path)
 {
     return findFile(searchPath, path);
 }
 
 
-Path EvalState::findFile(SearchPath & searchPath, const string & path, const Pos & pos)
+Path EvalState::findFile(SearchPath & searchPath, const std::string_view path, const Pos & pos)
 {
     for (auto & i : searchPath) {
         std::string suffix;
         if (i.first.empty())
-            suffix = "/" + path;
+            suffix = concatStrings("/", path);
         else {
             auto s = i.first.size();
             if (path.compare(0, s, i.first) != 0 ||
                 (path.size() > s && path[s] != '/'))
                 continue;
-            suffix = path.size() == s ? "" : "/" + string(path, s);
+            suffix = path.size() == s ? "" : concatStrings("/", path.substr(s));
         }
         auto r = resolveSearchPathElem(i);
         if (!r.first) continue;
@@ -735,7 +780,7 @@ Path EvalState::findFile(SearchPath & searchPath, const string & path, const Pos
     }
 
     if (hasPrefix(path, "nix/"))
-        return corepkgsPrefix + path.substr(4);
+        return concatStrings(corepkgsPrefix, path.substr(4));
 
     throw ThrownError({
         .msg = hintfmt(evalSettings.pureEval
diff --git a/src/libexpr/primops.cc b/src/libexpr/primops.cc
index b53425510..10d162cbb 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/primops.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/primops.cc
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ void prim_importNative(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value
 {
     auto path = realisePath(state, pos, *args[0]);
 
-    string sym = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[1], pos);
+    string sym(state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[1], pos));
 
     void *handle = dlopen(path.c_str(), RTLD_LAZY | RTLD_LOCAL);
     if (!handle)
@@ -350,10 +350,11 @@ void prim_exec(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
         });
     }
     PathSet context;
-    auto program = state.coerceToString(pos, *elems[0], context, false, false);
+    auto program = state.coerceToString(pos, *elems[0], context, false, false).toOwned();
     Strings commandArgs;
-    for (unsigned int i = 1; i < args[0]->listSize(); ++i)
-        commandArgs.emplace_back(state.coerceToString(pos, *elems[i], context, false, false));
+    for (unsigned int i = 1; i < args[0]->listSize(); ++i) {
+        commandArgs.push_back(state.coerceToString(pos, *elems[i], context, false, false).toOwned());
+    }
     try {
         auto _ = state.realiseContext(context); // FIXME: Handle CA derivations
     } catch (InvalidPathError & e) {
@@ -706,7 +707,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_abort({
     .fun = [](EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
     {
         PathSet context;
-        string s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context);
+        string s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context).toOwned();
         throw Abort("evaluation aborted with the following error message: '%1%'", s);
     }
 });
@@ -724,7 +725,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_throw({
     .fun = [](EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
     {
       PathSet context;
-      string s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context);
+      string s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context).toOwned();
       throw ThrownError(s);
     }
 });
@@ -736,7 +737,7 @@ static void prim_addErrorContext(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * a
         v = *args[1];
     } catch (Error & e) {
         PathSet context;
-        e.addTrace(std::nullopt, state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context));
+        e.addTrace(std::nullopt, state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context).toOwned());
         throw;
     }
 }
@@ -825,7 +826,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_tryEval({
 /* Return an environment variable.  Use with care. */
 static void prim_getEnv(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string name = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    string name(state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos));
     v.mkString(evalSettings.restrictEval || evalSettings.pureEval ? "" : getEnv(name).value_or(""));
 }
 
@@ -975,7 +976,7 @@ static void prim_derivationStrict(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * *
         const string & key = i->name;
         vomit("processing attribute '%1%'", key);
 
-        auto handleHashMode = [&](const std::string & s) {
+        auto handleHashMode = [&](const std::string_view s) {
             if (s == "recursive") ingestionMethod = FileIngestionMethod::Recursive;
             else if (s == "flat") ingestionMethod = FileIngestionMethod::Flat;
             else
@@ -1030,7 +1031,7 @@ static void prim_derivationStrict(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * *
             else if (i->name == state.sArgs) {
                 state.forceList(*i->value, pos);
                 for (auto elem : i->value->listItems()) {
-                    string s = state.coerceToString(posDrvName, *elem, context, true);
+                    string s = state.coerceToString(posDrvName, *elem, context, true).toOwned();
                     drv.args.push_back(s);
                 }
             }
@@ -1066,7 +1067,7 @@ static void prim_derivationStrict(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * *
                     }
 
                 } else {
-                    auto s = state.coerceToString(*i->pos, *i->value, context, true);
+                    auto s = state.coerceToString(*i->pos, *i->value, context, true).toOwned();
                     drv.env.emplace(key, s);
                     if (i->name == state.sBuilder) drv.builder = std::move(s);
                     else if (i->name == state.sSystem) drv.platform = std::move(s);
@@ -1269,7 +1270,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_derivationStrict(RegisterPrimOp::Info {
    substituted by the corresponding output path at build time. For
    example, 'placeholder "out"' returns the string
    /1rz4g4znpzjwh1xymhjpm42vipw92pr73vdgl6xs1hycac8kf2n9. At build
-   time, any occurence of this string in an derivation attribute will
+   time, any occurrence of this string in an derivation attribute will
    be replaced with the concrete path in the Nix store of the output
    ‘out’. */
 static void prim_placeholder(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
@@ -1399,7 +1400,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_pathExists({
 static void prim_baseNameOf(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
     PathSet context;
-    v.mkString(baseNameOf(state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, false, false)), context);
+    v.mkString(baseNameOf(*state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, false, false)), context);
 }
 
 static RegisterPrimOp primop_baseNameOf({
@@ -1419,7 +1420,8 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_baseNameOf({
 static void prim_dirOf(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
     PathSet context;
-    Path dir = dirOf(state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, false, false));
+    auto path = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, false, false);
+    auto dir = dirOf(*path);
     if (args[0]->type() == nPath) v.mkPath(dir); else v.mkString(dir, context);
 }
 
@@ -1486,7 +1488,7 @@ static void prim_findFile(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Va
         );
 
         PathSet context;
-        string path = state.coerceToString(pos, *i->value, context, false, false);
+        string path = state.coerceToString(pos, *i->value, context, false, false).toOwned();
 
         try {
             auto rewrites = state.realiseContext(context);
@@ -1502,7 +1504,7 @@ static void prim_findFile(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Va
         searchPath.emplace_back(prefix, path);
     }
 
-    string path = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[1], pos);
+    auto path = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[1], pos);
 
     v.mkPath(state.checkSourcePath(state.findFile(searchPath, path, pos)));
 }
@@ -1516,7 +1518,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_findFile(RegisterPrimOp::Info {
 /* Return the cryptographic hash of a file in base-16. */
 static void prim_hashFile(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string type = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    auto type = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
     std::optional<HashType> ht = parseHashType(type);
     if (!ht)
         throw Error({
@@ -1723,7 +1725,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_toJSON({
 /* Parse a JSON string to a value. */
 static void prim_fromJSON(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string s = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    auto s = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
     try {
         parseJSON(state, s, v);
     } catch (JSONParseError &e) {
@@ -1752,8 +1754,8 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_fromJSON({
 static void prim_toFile(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
     PathSet context;
-    string name = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
-    string contents = state.forceString(*args[1], context, pos);
+    string name(state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos));
+    string contents(state.forceString(*args[1], context, pos));
 
     StorePathSet refs;
 
@@ -2153,7 +2155,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_attrValues({
 /* Dynamic version of the `.' operator. */
 void prim_getAttr(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string attr = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    auto attr = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
     state.forceAttrs(*args[1], pos);
     Bindings::iterator i = getAttr(
         state,
@@ -2183,7 +2185,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_getAttr({
 /* Return position information of the specified attribute. */
 static void prim_unsafeGetAttrPos(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string attr = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    auto attr = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
     state.forceAttrs(*args[1], pos);
     Bindings::iterator i = args[1]->attrs->find(state.symbols.create(attr));
     if (i == args[1]->attrs->end())
@@ -2201,7 +2203,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_unsafeGetAttrPos(RegisterPrimOp::Info {
 /* Dynamic version of the `?' operator. */
 static void prim_hasAttr(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string attr = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    auto attr = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
     state.forceAttrs(*args[1], pos);
     v.mkBool(args[1]->attrs->find(state.symbols.create(attr)) != args[1]->attrs->end());
 }
@@ -2279,7 +2281,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_removeAttrs({
 /* Builds a set from a list specifying (name, value) pairs.  To be
    precise, a list [{name = "name1"; value = value1;} ... {name =
    "nameN"; value = valueN;}] is transformed to {name1 = value1;
-   ... nameN = valueN;}.  In case of duplicate occurences of the same
+   ... nameN = valueN;}.  In case of duplicate occurrences of the same
    name, the first takes precedence. */
 static void prim_listToAttrs(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
@@ -2300,7 +2302,7 @@ static void prim_listToAttrs(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args,
             pos
         );
 
-        string name = state.forceStringNoCtx(*j->value, *j->pos);
+        auto name = state.forceStringNoCtx(*j->value, *j->pos);
 
         Symbol sym = state.symbols.create(name);
         if (seen.insert(sym).second) {
@@ -3032,7 +3034,7 @@ static void prim_groupBy(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Val
     for (auto vElem : args[1]->listItems()) {
         Value res;
         state.callFunction(*args[0], *vElem, res, pos);
-        string name = state.forceStringNoCtx(res, pos);
+        auto name = state.forceStringNoCtx(res, pos);
         Symbol sym = state.symbols.create(name);
         auto vector = attrs.try_emplace(sym, ValueVector()).first;
         vector->second.push_back(vElem);
@@ -3288,8 +3290,8 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_lessThan({
 static void prim_toString(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
     PathSet context;
-    string s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, true, false);
-    v.mkString(s, context);
+    auto s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, true, false);
+    v.mkString(*s, context);
 }
 
 static RegisterPrimOp primop_toString({
@@ -3325,7 +3327,7 @@ static void prim_substring(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, V
     int start = state.forceInt(*args[0], pos);
     int len = state.forceInt(*args[1], pos);
     PathSet context;
-    string s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[2], context);
+    auto s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[2], context);
 
     if (start < 0)
         throw EvalError({
@@ -3333,7 +3335,7 @@ static void prim_substring(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, V
             .errPos = pos
         });
 
-    v.mkString((unsigned int) start >= s.size() ? "" : string(s, start, len), context);
+    v.mkString((unsigned int) start >= s->size() ? "" : s->substr(start, len), context);
 }
 
 static RegisterPrimOp primop_substring({
@@ -3359,8 +3361,8 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_substring({
 static void prim_stringLength(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
     PathSet context;
-    string s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context);
-    v.mkInt(s.size());
+    auto s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context);
+    v.mkInt(s->size());
 }
 
 static RegisterPrimOp primop_stringLength({
@@ -3376,7 +3378,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_stringLength({
 /* Return the cryptographic hash of a string in base-16. */
 static void prim_hashString(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string type = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    auto type = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
     std::optional<HashType> ht = parseHashType(type);
     if (!ht)
         throw Error({
@@ -3385,7 +3387,7 @@ static void prim_hashString(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args,
         });
 
     PathSet context; // discarded
-    string s = state.forceString(*args[1], context, pos);
+    auto s = state.forceString(*args[1], context, pos);
 
     v.mkString(hashString(*ht, s).to_string(Base16, false));
 }
@@ -3403,7 +3405,18 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_hashString({
 
 struct RegexCache
 {
-    std::unordered_map<std::string, std::regex> cache;
+    // TODO use C++20 transparent comparison when available
+    std::unordered_map<std::string_view, std::regex> cache;
+    std::list<std::string> keys;
+
+    std::regex get(std::string_view re)
+    {
+        auto it = cache.find(re);
+        if (it != cache.end())
+            return it->second;
+        keys.emplace_back(re);
+        return cache.emplace(keys.back(), std::regex(keys.back(), std::regex::extended)).first->second;
+    }
 };
 
 std::shared_ptr<RegexCache> makeRegexCache()
@@ -3417,15 +3430,13 @@ void prim_match(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 
     try {
 
-        auto regex = state.regexCache->cache.find(re);
-        if (regex == state.regexCache->cache.end())
-            regex = state.regexCache->cache.emplace(re, std::regex(re, std::regex::extended)).first;
+        auto regex = state.regexCache->get(re);
 
         PathSet context;
-        const std::string str = state.forceString(*args[1], context, pos);
+        const auto str = state.forceString(*args[1], context, pos);
 
-        std::smatch match;
-        if (!std::regex_match(str, match, regex->second)) {
+        std::cmatch match;
+        if (!std::regex_match(str.begin(), str.end(), match, regex)) {
             v.mkNull();
             return;
         }
@@ -3500,15 +3511,13 @@ void prim_split(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 
     try {
 
-        auto regex = state.regexCache->cache.find(re);
-        if (regex == state.regexCache->cache.end())
-            regex = state.regexCache->cache.emplace(re, std::regex(re, std::regex::extended)).first;
+        auto regex = state.regexCache->get(re);
 
         PathSet context;
-        const std::string str = state.forceString(*args[1], context, pos);
+        const auto str = state.forceString(*args[1], context, pos);
 
-        auto begin = std::sregex_iterator(str.begin(), str.end(), regex->second);
-        auto end = std::sregex_iterator();
+        auto begin = std::cregex_iterator(str.begin(), str.end(), regex);
+        auto end = std::cregex_iterator();
 
         // Any matches results are surrounded by non-matching results.
         const size_t len = std::distance(begin, end);
@@ -3520,9 +3529,9 @@ void prim_split(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
             return;
         }
 
-        for (std::sregex_iterator i = begin; i != end; ++i) {
+        for (auto i = begin; i != end; ++i) {
             assert(idx <= 2 * len + 1 - 3);
-            std::smatch match = *i;
+            auto match = *i;
 
             // Add a string for non-matched characters.
             (v.listElems()[idx++] = state.allocValue())->mkString(match.prefix().str());
@@ -3613,7 +3622,7 @@ static void prim_concatStringsSep(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * *
 
     for (auto elem : args[1]->listItems()) {
         if (first) first = false; else res += sep;
-        res += state.coerceToString(pos, *elem, context);
+        res += *state.coerceToString(pos, *elem, context);
     }
 
     v.mkString(res, context);
@@ -3643,14 +3652,14 @@ static void prim_replaceStrings(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * ar
     vector<string> from;
     from.reserve(args[0]->listSize());
     for (auto elem : args[0]->listItems())
-        from.push_back(state.forceString(*elem, pos));
+        from.emplace_back(state.forceString(*elem, pos));
 
     vector<std::pair<string, PathSet>> to;
     to.reserve(args[1]->listSize());
     for (auto elem : args[1]->listItems()) {
         PathSet ctx;
         auto s = state.forceString(*elem, ctx, pos);
-        to.push_back(std::make_pair(std::move(s), std::move(ctx)));
+        to.emplace_back(s, std::move(ctx));
     }
 
     PathSet context;
@@ -3712,7 +3721,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_replaceStrings({
 
 static void prim_parseDrvName(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string name = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    auto name = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
     DrvName parsed(name);
     auto attrs = state.buildBindings(2);
     attrs.alloc(state.sName).mkString(parsed.name);
@@ -3736,8 +3745,8 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_parseDrvName({
 
 static void prim_compareVersions(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string version1 = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
-    string version2 = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[1], pos);
+    auto version1 = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    auto version2 = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[1], pos);
     v.mkInt(compareVersions(version1, version2));
 }
 
@@ -3756,14 +3765,14 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_compareVersions({
 
 static void prim_splitVersion(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
-    string version = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
+    auto version = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
     auto iter = version.cbegin();
     Strings components;
     while (iter != version.cend()) {
         auto component = nextComponent(iter, version.cend());
         if (component.empty())
             break;
-        components.emplace_back(std::move(component));
+        components.emplace_back(component);
     }
     state.mkList(v, components.size());
     for (const auto & [n, component] : enumerate(components))
diff --git a/src/libexpr/primops/context.cc b/src/libexpr/primops/context.cc
index a239c06da..654251c23 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/primops/context.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/primops/context.cc
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ namespace nix {
 static void prim_unsafeDiscardStringContext(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
     PathSet context;
-    v.mkString(state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context));
+    auto s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context);
+    v.mkString(*s);
 }
 
 static RegisterPrimOp primop_unsafeDiscardStringContext("__unsafeDiscardStringContext", 1, prim_unsafeDiscardStringContext);
@@ -32,13 +33,13 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_hasContext("__hasContext", 1, prim_hasContext);
 static void prim_unsafeDiscardOutputDependency(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
     PathSet context;
-    string s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context);
+    auto s = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context);
 
     PathSet context2;
     for (auto & p : context)
         context2.insert(p.at(0) == '=' ? string(p, 1) : p);
 
-    v.mkString(s, context2);
+    v.mkString(*s, context2);
 }
 
 static RegisterPrimOp primop_unsafeDiscardOutputDependency("__unsafeDiscardOutputDependency", 1, prim_unsafeDiscardOutputDependency);
@@ -180,7 +181,7 @@ static void prim_appendContext(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * arg
             }
             for (auto elem : iter->value->listItems()) {
                 auto name = state.forceStringNoCtx(*elem, *iter->pos);
-                context.insert("!" + name + "!" + string(i.name));
+                context.insert(concatStrings("!", name, "!", i.name));
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/libexpr/primops/fetchMercurial.cc b/src/libexpr/primops/fetchMercurial.cc
index 42214c207..c4e1a7bf0 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/primops/fetchMercurial.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/primops/fetchMercurial.cc
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ static void prim_fetchMercurial(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * ar
     std::string url;
     std::optional<Hash> rev;
     std::optional<std::string> ref;
-    std::string name = "source";
+    std::string_view name = "source";
     PathSet context;
 
     state.forceValue(*args[0], pos);
@@ -22,14 +22,14 @@ static void prim_fetchMercurial(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * ar
         state.forceAttrs(*args[0], pos);
 
         for (auto & attr : *args[0]->attrs) {
-            string n(attr.name);
+            std::string_view n(attr.name);
             if (n == "url")
-                url = state.coerceToString(*attr.pos, *attr.value, context, false, false);
+                url = state.coerceToString(*attr.pos, *attr.value, context, false, false).toOwned();
             else if (n == "rev") {
                 // Ugly: unlike fetchGit, here the "rev" attribute can
                 // be both a revision or a branch/tag name.
                 auto value = state.forceStringNoCtx(*attr.value, *attr.pos);
-                if (std::regex_match(value, revRegex))
+                if (std::regex_match(value.begin(), value.end(), revRegex))
                     rev = Hash::parseAny(value, htSHA1);
                 else
                     ref = value;
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ static void prim_fetchMercurial(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * ar
             });
 
     } else
-        url = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, false, false);
+        url = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, false, false).toOwned();
 
     // FIXME: git externals probably can be used to bypass the URI
     // whitelist. Ah well.
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ static void prim_fetchMercurial(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * ar
     fetchers::Attrs attrs;
     attrs.insert_or_assign("type", "hg");
     attrs.insert_or_assign("url", url.find("://") != std::string::npos ? url : "file://" + url);
-    attrs.insert_or_assign("name", name);
+    attrs.insert_or_assign("name", string(name));
     if (ref) attrs.insert_or_assign("ref", *ref);
     if (rev) attrs.insert_or_assign("rev", rev->gitRev());
     auto input = fetchers::Input::fromAttrs(std::move(attrs));
diff --git a/src/libexpr/primops/fetchTree.cc b/src/libexpr/primops/fetchTree.cc
index 6647bd35c..d09e2d9e1 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/primops/fetchTree.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/primops/fetchTree.cc
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ static void fetchTree(
             if (attr.name == state.sType) continue;
             state.forceValue(*attr.value, *attr.pos);
             if (attr.value->type() == nPath || attr.value->type() == nString) {
-                auto s = state.coerceToString(*attr.pos, *attr.value, context, false, false);
+                auto s = state.coerceToString(*attr.pos, *attr.value, context, false, false).toOwned();
                 attrs.emplace(attr.name,
                     attr.name == "url"
                     ? type == "git"
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ static void fetchTree(
 
         input = fetchers::Input::fromAttrs(std::move(attrs));
     } else {
-        auto url = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, false, false);
+        auto url = state.coerceToString(pos, *args[0], context, false, false).toOwned();
 
         if (type == "git") {
             fetchers::Attrs attrs;
diff --git a/src/libexpr/primops/fromTOML.cc b/src/libexpr/primops/fromTOML.cc
index 80c7e0b82..c0e858b61 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/primops/fromTOML.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/primops/fromTOML.cc
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ static void prim_fromTOML(EvalState & state, const Pos & pos, Value * * args, Va
 {
     auto toml = state.forceStringNoCtx(*args[0], pos);
 
-    std::istringstream tomlStream(toml);
+    std::istringstream tomlStream(string{toml});
 
     std::function<void(Value &, toml::value)> visit;
 
diff --git a/src/libexpr/value-to-xml.cc b/src/libexpr/value-to-xml.cc
index a875f82d7..a9fb60b0e 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/value-to-xml.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/value-to-xml.cc
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ static void printValueAsXML(EvalState & state, bool strict, bool location,
                 if (!v.lambda.fun->arg.empty()) attrs["name"] = v.lambda.fun->arg;
                 if (v.lambda.fun->formals->ellipsis) attrs["ellipsis"] = "1";
                 XMLOpenElement _(doc, "attrspat", attrs);
-                for (auto & i : v.lambda.fun->formals->formals)
+                for (auto & i : v.lambda.fun->formals->lexicographicOrder())
                     doc.writeEmptyElement("attr", singletonAttrs("name", i.name));
             } else
                 doc.writeEmptyElement("varpat", singletonAttrs("name", v.lambda.fun->arg));
diff --git a/src/libstore/derivations.cc b/src/libstore/derivations.cc
index 3e3d50144..40af6a775 100644
--- a/src/libstore/derivations.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/derivations.cc
@@ -699,10 +699,10 @@ void writeDerivation(Sink & out, const Store & store, const BasicDerivation & dr
 }
 
 
-std::string hashPlaceholder(const std::string & outputName)
+std::string hashPlaceholder(const std::string_view outputName)
 {
     // FIXME: memoize?
-    return "/" + hashString(htSHA256, "nix-output:" + outputName).to_string(Base32, false);
+    return "/" + hashString(htSHA256, concatStrings("nix-output:", outputName)).to_string(Base32, false);
 }
 
 std::string downstreamPlaceholder(const Store & store, const StorePath & drvPath, std::string_view outputName)
diff --git a/src/libstore/derivations.hh b/src/libstore/derivations.hh
index b1cb68194..a644cec60 100644
--- a/src/libstore/derivations.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/derivations.hh
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ void writeDerivation(Sink & out, const Store & store, const BasicDerivation & dr
    It is used as a placeholder to allow derivations to refer to their
    own outputs without needing to use the hash of a derivation in
    itself, making the hash near-impossible to calculate. */
-std::string hashPlaceholder(const std::string & outputName);
+std::string hashPlaceholder(const std::string_view outputName);
 
 /* This creates an opaque and almost certainly unique string
    deterministically from a derivation path and output name.
diff --git a/src/libstore/globals.hh b/src/libstore/globals.hh
index f65893b10..893c95bd6 100644
--- a/src/libstore/globals.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/globals.hh
@@ -970,7 +970,7 @@ public:
     Setting<std::string> commitLockFileSummary{
         this, "", "commit-lockfile-summary",
         R"(
-          The commit summary to use when commiting changed flake lock files. If
+          The commit summary to use when committing changed flake lock files. If
           empty, the summary is generated based on the action performed.
         )"};
 };
diff --git a/src/libstore/names.cc b/src/libstore/names.cc
index 54c95055d..277aabf0f 100644
--- a/src/libstore/names.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/names.cc
@@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ bool DrvName::matches(const DrvName & n)
 }
 
 
-string nextComponent(string::const_iterator & p,
-    const string::const_iterator end)
+std::string_view nextComponent(std::string_view::const_iterator & p,
+    const std::string_view::const_iterator end)
 {
     /* Skip any dots and dashes (component separators). */
     while (p != end && (*p == '.' || *p == '-')) ++p;
@@ -67,18 +67,18 @@ string nextComponent(string::const_iterator & p,
     /* If the first character is a digit, consume the longest sequence
        of digits.  Otherwise, consume the longest sequence of
        non-digit, non-separator characters. */
-    string s;
+    auto s = p;
     if (isdigit(*p))
-        while (p != end && isdigit(*p)) s += *p++;
+        while (p != end && isdigit(*p)) p++;
     else
         while (p != end && (!isdigit(*p) && *p != '.' && *p != '-'))
-            s += *p++;
+            p++;
 
-    return s;
+    return {s, size_t(p - s)};
 }
 
 
-static bool componentsLT(const string & c1, const string & c2)
+static bool componentsLT(const std::string_view c1, const std::string_view c2)
 {
     auto n1 = string2Int<int>(c1);
     auto n2 = string2Int<int>(c2);
@@ -94,14 +94,14 @@ static bool componentsLT(const string & c1, const string & c2)
 }
 
 
-int compareVersions(const string & v1, const string & v2)
+int compareVersions(const std::string_view v1, const std::string_view v2)
 {
-    string::const_iterator p1 = v1.begin();
-    string::const_iterator p2 = v2.begin();
+    auto p1 = v1.begin();
+    auto p2 = v2.begin();
 
     while (p1 != v1.end() || p2 != v2.end()) {
-        string c1 = nextComponent(p1, v1.end());
-        string c2 = nextComponent(p2, v2.end());
+        auto c1 = nextComponent(p1, v1.end());
+        auto c2 = nextComponent(p2, v2.end());
         if (componentsLT(c1, c2)) return -1;
         else if (componentsLT(c2, c1)) return 1;
     }
diff --git a/src/libstore/names.hh b/src/libstore/names.hh
index 3f861bc44..6f01fe2a1 100644
--- a/src/libstore/names.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/names.hh
@@ -27,9 +27,9 @@ private:
 
 typedef list<DrvName> DrvNames;
 
-string nextComponent(string::const_iterator & p,
-    const string::const_iterator end);
-int compareVersions(const string & v1, const string & v2);
+std::string_view nextComponent(std::string_view::const_iterator & p,
+    const std::string_view::const_iterator end);
+int compareVersions(const std::string_view v1, const std::string_view v2);
 DrvNames drvNamesFromArgs(const Strings & opArgs);
 
 }
diff --git a/src/libstore/optimise-store.cc b/src/libstore/optimise-store.cc
index 1833c954e..13cb142f8 100644
--- a/src/libstore/optimise-store.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/optimise-store.cc
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ static void makeWritable(const Path & path)
 struct MakeReadOnly
 {
     Path path;
-    MakeReadOnly(const Path & path) : path(path) { }
+    MakeReadOnly(const PathView path) : path(path) { }
     ~MakeReadOnly()
     {
         try {
@@ -205,12 +205,13 @@ void LocalStore::optimisePath_(Activity * act, OptimiseStats & stats,
     /* Make the containing directory writable, but only if it's not
        the store itself (we don't want or need to mess with its
        permissions). */
-    bool mustToggle = dirOf(path) != realStoreDir.get();
-    if (mustToggle) makeWritable(dirOf(path));
+    const Path dirOfPath(dirOf(path));
+    bool mustToggle = dirOfPath != realStoreDir.get();
+    if (mustToggle) makeWritable(dirOfPath);
 
     /* When we're done, make the directory read-only again and reset
        its timestamp back to 0. */
-    MakeReadOnly makeReadOnly(mustToggle ? dirOf(path) : "");
+    MakeReadOnly makeReadOnly(mustToggle ? dirOfPath : "");
 
     Path tempLink = (format("%1%/.tmp-link-%2%-%3%")
         % realStoreDir % getpid() % random()).str();
diff --git a/src/libstore/parsed-derivations.cc b/src/libstore/parsed-derivations.cc
index caddba9b1..8c65053e4 100644
--- a/src/libstore/parsed-derivations.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/parsed-derivations.cc
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ std::string writeStructuredAttrsShell(const nlohmann::json & json)
 
     auto handleSimpleType = [](const nlohmann::json & value) -> std::optional<std::string> {
         if (value.is_string())
-            return shellEscape(value);
+            return shellEscape(value.get<std::string_view>());
 
         if (value.is_number()) {
             auto f = value.get<float>();
diff --git a/src/libutil/hash.cc b/src/libutil/hash.cc
index 4df8b4ecb..6ed00d43c 100644
--- a/src/libutil/hash.cc
+++ b/src/libutil/hash.cc
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ Hash::Hash(std::string_view rest, HashType type, bool isSRI)
         throw BadHash("hash '%s' has wrong length for hash type '%s'", rest, printHashType(this->type));
 }
 
-Hash newHashAllowEmpty(std::string hashStr, std::optional<HashType> ht)
+Hash newHashAllowEmpty(std::string_view hashStr, std::optional<HashType> ht)
 {
     if (hashStr.empty()) {
         if (!ht)
diff --git a/src/libutil/hash.hh b/src/libutil/hash.hh
index 1b626dd85..dff46542f 100644
--- a/src/libutil/hash.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/hash.hh
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ public:
 };
 
 /* Helper that defaults empty hashes to the 0 hash. */
-Hash newHashAllowEmpty(std::string hashStr, std::optional<HashType> ht);
+Hash newHashAllowEmpty(std::string_view hashStr, std::optional<HashType> ht);
 
 /* Print a hash in base-16 if it's MD5, or base-32 otherwise. */
 string printHash16or32(const Hash & hash);
diff --git a/src/libutil/types.hh b/src/libutil/types.hh
index 8f72c926f..e3aca20c9 100644
--- a/src/libutil/types.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/types.hh
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <set>
 #include <string>
 #include <map>
+#include <variant>
 #include <vector>
 
 namespace nix {
@@ -47,4 +48,63 @@ struct Explicit {
     }
 };
 
+
+/* This wants to be a little bit like rust's Cow type.
+   Some parts of the evaluator benefit greatly from being able to reuse
+   existing allocations for strings, but have to be able to also use
+   newly allocated storage for values.
+
+   We do not define implicit conversions, even with ref qualifiers,
+   since those can easily become ambiguous to the reader and can degrade
+   into copying behaviour we want to avoid. */
+class BackedStringView {
+private:
+    std::variant<std::string, std::string_view> data;
+
+    /* Needed to introduce a temporary since operator-> must return
+       a pointer. Without this we'd need to store the view object
+       even when we already own a string. */
+    class Ptr {
+    private:
+        std::string_view view;
+    public:
+        Ptr(std::string_view view): view(view) {}
+        const std::string_view * operator->() const { return &view; }
+    };
+
+public:
+    BackedStringView(std::string && s): data(std::move(s)) {}
+    BackedStringView(std::string_view sv): data(sv) {}
+    template<size_t N>
+    BackedStringView(const char (& lit)[N]): data(std::string_view(lit)) {}
+
+    BackedStringView(const BackedStringView &) = delete;
+    BackedStringView & operator=(const BackedStringView &) = delete;
+
+    /* We only want move operations defined since the sole purpose of
+       this type is to avoid copies. */
+    BackedStringView(BackedStringView && other) = default;
+    BackedStringView & operator=(BackedStringView && other) = default;
+
+    bool isOwned() const
+    {
+        return std::holds_alternative<std::string>(data);
+    }
+
+    std::string toOwned() &&
+    {
+        return isOwned()
+            ? std::move(std::get<std::string>(data))
+            : std::string(std::get<std::string_view>(data));
+    }
+
+    std::string_view operator*() const
+    {
+        return isOwned()
+            ? std::get<std::string>(data)
+            : std::get<std::string_view>(data);
+    }
+    Ptr operator->() const { return Ptr(**this); }
+};
+
 }
diff --git a/src/libutil/util.cc b/src/libutil/util.cc
index 1f1f2c861..cd359cfee 100644
--- a/src/libutil/util.cc
+++ b/src/libutil/util.cc
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ void replaceEnv(std::map<std::string, std::string> newEnv)
 }
 
 
-Path absPath(Path path, std::optional<Path> dir, bool resolveSymlinks)
+Path absPath(Path path, std::optional<PathView> dir, bool resolveSymlinks)
 {
     if (path[0] != '/') {
         if (!dir) {
@@ -95,12 +95,12 @@ Path absPath(Path path, std::optional<Path> dir, bool resolveSymlinks)
             if (!getcwd(buf, sizeof(buf)))
 #endif
                 throw SysError("cannot get cwd");
-            dir = buf;
+            path = concatStrings(buf, "/", path);
 #ifdef __GNU__
             free(buf);
 #endif
-        }
-        path = *dir + "/" + path;
+        } else
+            path = concatStrings(*dir, "/", path);
     }
     return canonPath(path, resolveSymlinks);
 }
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ Path canonPath(PathView path, bool resolveSymlinks)
                 path = {};
             } else {
                 s += path.substr(0, slash);
-                path = path.substr(slash + 1);
+                path = path.substr(slash);
             }
 
             /* If s points to a symlink, resolve it and continue from there */
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ Path canonPath(PathView path, bool resolveSymlinks)
 }
 
 
-Path dirOf(const Path & path)
+Path dirOf(const PathView path)
 {
     Path::size_type pos = path.rfind('/');
     if (pos == string::npos)
@@ -1344,9 +1344,11 @@ std::string toLower(const std::string & s)
 }
 
 
-std::string shellEscape(const std::string & s)
+std::string shellEscape(const std::string_view s)
 {
-    std::string r = "'";
+    std::string r;
+    r.reserve(s.size() + 2);
+    r += "'";
     for (auto & i : s)
         if (i == '\'') r += "'\\''"; else r += i;
     r += '\'';
@@ -1751,7 +1753,7 @@ void bind(int fd, const std::string & path)
 
     if (path.size() + 1 >= sizeof(addr.sun_path)) {
         Pid pid = startProcess([&]() {
-            auto dir = dirOf(path);
+            Path dir = dirOf(path);
             if (chdir(dir.c_str()) == -1)
                 throw SysError("chdir to '%s' failed", dir);
             std::string base(baseNameOf(path));
@@ -1780,7 +1782,7 @@ void connect(int fd, const std::string & path)
 
     if (path.size() + 1 >= sizeof(addr.sun_path)) {
         Pid pid = startProcess([&]() {
-            auto dir = dirOf(path);
+            Path dir = dirOf(path);
             if (chdir(dir.c_str()) == -1)
                 throw SysError("chdir to '%s' failed", dir);
             std::string base(baseNameOf(path));
diff --git a/src/libutil/util.hh b/src/libutil/util.hh
index 369c44f78..579a42785 100644
--- a/src/libutil/util.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/util.hh
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ void clearEnv();
    specified directory, or the current directory otherwise.  The path
    is also canonicalised. */
 Path absPath(Path path,
-    std::optional<Path> dir = {},
+    std::optional<PathView> dir = {},
     bool resolveSymlinks = false);
 
 /* Canonicalise a path by removing all `.' or `..' components and
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ Path canonPath(PathView path, bool resolveSymlinks = false);
    everything before the final `/'.  If the path is the root or an
    immediate child thereof (e.g., `/foo'), this means `/'
    is returned.*/
-Path dirOf(const Path & path);
+Path dirOf(const PathView path);
 
 /* Return the base name of the given canonical path, i.e., everything
    following the final `/' (trailing slashes are removed). */
@@ -148,6 +148,9 @@ Path getDataDir();
 /* Create a directory and all its parents, if necessary.  Returns the
    list of created directories, in order of creation. */
 Paths createDirs(const Path & path);
+inline Paths createDirs(PathView path) {
+    return createDirs(Path(path));
+}
 
 /* Create a symlink. */
 void createSymlink(const Path & target, const Path & link,
@@ -187,6 +190,7 @@ public:
     void cancel();
     void reset(const Path & p, bool recursive = true);
     operator Path() const { return path; }
+    operator PathView() const { return path; }
 };
 
 
@@ -491,7 +495,7 @@ std::string toLower(const std::string & s);
 
 
 /* Escape a string as a shell word. */
-std::string shellEscape(const std::string & s);
+std::string shellEscape(const std::string_view s);
 
 
 /* Exception handling in destructors: print an error message, then
diff --git a/src/nix/develop.cc b/src/nix/develop.cc
index a8ca1cac2..42e13436a 100644
--- a/src/nix/develop.cc
+++ b/src/nix/develop.cc
@@ -472,9 +472,11 @@ struct CmdDevelop : Common, MixEnvironment
         else {
             script = "[ -n \"$PS1\" ] && [ -e ~/.bashrc ] && source ~/.bashrc;\n" + script;
             if (developSettings.bashPrompt != "")
-                script += fmt("[ -n \"$PS1\" ] && PS1=%s;\n", shellEscape(developSettings.bashPrompt));
+                script += fmt("[ -n \"$PS1\" ] && PS1=%s;\n",
+                    shellEscape(developSettings.bashPrompt.get()));
             if (developSettings.bashPromptSuffix != "")
-                script += fmt("[ -n \"$PS1\" ] && PS1+=%s;\n", shellEscape(developSettings.bashPromptSuffix));
+                script += fmt("[ -n \"$PS1\" ] && PS1+=%s;\n",
+                    shellEscape(developSettings.bashPromptSuffix.get()));
         }
 
         writeFull(rcFileFd.get(), script);
diff --git a/src/nix/develop.md b/src/nix/develop.md
index 1f214966a..3e7e339d5 100644
--- a/src/nix/develop.md
+++ b/src/nix/develop.md
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ R""(
   # nix develop /tmp/my-build-env
   ```
 
-* Replace all occurences of the store path corresponding to
+* Replace all occurrences of the store path corresponding to
   `glibc.dev` with a writable directory:
 
   ```console
diff --git a/src/nix/eval.cc b/src/nix/eval.cc
index c7517cf79..c0435461f 100644
--- a/src/nix/eval.cc
+++ b/src/nix/eval.cc
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ struct CmdEval : MixJSON, InstallableCommand
 
         else if (raw) {
             stopProgressBar();
-            std::cout << state->coerceToString(noPos, *v, context);
+            std::cout << *state->coerceToString(noPos, *v, context);
         }
 
         else if (json) {
diff --git a/src/nix/flake.md b/src/nix/flake.md
index a8436bcaa..accddd436 100644
--- a/src/nix/flake.md
+++ b/src/nix/flake.md
@@ -292,6 +292,12 @@ The following attributes are supported in `flake.nix`:
   value (e.g. `packages.x86_64-linux` must be an attribute set of
   derivations built for the `x86_64-linux` platform).
 
+* `nixConfig`: a set of `nix.conf` options to be set when evaluating any
+  part of a flake. In the interests of security, only a small set of
+  whitelisted options (currently `bash-prompt`, `bash-prompt-suffix`,
+  and `flake-registry`) are allowed to be set without confirmation so long as
+  `accept-flake-config` is not set in the global configuration.
+
 ## Flake inputs
 
 The attribute `inputs` specifies the dependencies of a flake, as an
diff --git a/src/nix/nix.md b/src/nix/nix.md
index 2f54c5e2c..1dc59362d 100644
--- a/src/nix/nix.md
+++ b/src/nix/nix.md
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ the Nix store. Here are the recognised types of installables:
     
     Note that the search will only include files indexed by git. In particular, files
     which are matched by `.gitignore` or have never been `git add`-ed will not be
-    available in the flake. If this is undesireable, specify `path:<directory>` explicitly;
+    available in the flake. If this is undesirable, specify `path:<directory>` explicitly;
     
     For example, if `/foo/bar` is a git repository with the following structure:
     ```
diff --git a/src/nix/prefetch.cc b/src/nix/prefetch.cc
index 768d37595..669be0709 100644
--- a/src/nix/prefetch.cc
+++ b/src/nix/prefetch.cc
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ string resolveMirrorUrl(EvalState & state, string url)
     if (mirrorList->value->listSize() < 1)
         throw Error("mirror URL '%s' did not expand to anything", url);
 
-    auto mirror = state.forceString(*mirrorList->value->listElems()[0]);
+    string mirror(state.forceString(*mirrorList->value->listElems()[0]));
     return mirror + (hasSuffix(mirror, "/") ? "" : "/") + string(s, p + 1);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/nix/realisation/info.md b/src/nix/realisation/info.md
index 852240f44..8aa986516 100644
--- a/src/nix/realisation/info.md
+++ b/src/nix/realisation/info.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 R"MdBoundary(
 # Description
 
-Display some informations about the given realisation
+Display some information about the given realisation
 
 # Examples
 
diff --git a/src/nix/repl.cc b/src/nix/repl.cc
index be9f96836..2d983e98e 100644
--- a/src/nix/repl.cc
+++ b/src/nix/repl.cc
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ bool NixRepl::processLine(string line)
         if (v.type() == nPath || v.type() == nString) {
             PathSet context;
             auto filename = state->coerceToString(noPos, v, context);
-            pos.file = state->symbols.create(filename);
+            pos.file = state->symbols.create(*filename);
         } else if (v.isLambda()) {
             pos = v.lambda.fun->pos;
         } else {
diff --git a/src/resolve-system-dependencies/resolve-system-dependencies.cc b/src/resolve-system-dependencies/resolve-system-dependencies.cc
index 27cf53a45..98c969437 100644
--- a/src/resolve-system-dependencies/resolve-system-dependencies.cc
+++ b/src/resolve-system-dependencies/resolve-system-dependencies.cc
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ Path resolveSymlink(const Path & path)
     auto target = readLink(path);
     return hasPrefix(target, "/")
         ? target
-        : dirOf(path) + "/" + target;
+        : concatStrings(dirOf(path), "/", target);
 }
 
 std::set<string> resolveTree(const Path & path, PathSet & deps)
diff --git a/tests/check.nix b/tests/check.nix
index ec455ae2d..ed91ff845 100644
--- a/tests/check.nix
+++ b/tests/check.nix
@@ -50,6 +50,6 @@ with import ./config.nix;
 
   fetchurl = import <nix/fetchurl.nix> {
     url = "file://" + toString ./lang/eval-okay-xml.exp.xml;
-    sha256 = "0kg4sla7ihm8ijr8cb3117fhl99zrc2bwy1jrngsfmkh8bav4m0v";
+    sha256 = "sha256-behBlX+DQK/Pjvkuc8Tx68Jwi4E5v86wDq+ZLaHyhQE=";
   };
 }
diff --git a/tests/flakes.sh b/tests/flakes.sh
index 20e6d09c1..db178967f 100644
--- a/tests/flakes.sh
+++ b/tests/flakes.sh
@@ -730,6 +730,7 @@ cat > $flakeFollowsB/flake.nix <<EOF
     description = "Flake B";
     inputs = {
         foobar.url = "path:$flakeFollowsA/flakeE";
+        goodoo.follows = "C/goodoo";
         C = {
             url = "path:./flakeC";
             inputs.foobar.follows = "foobar";
@@ -744,6 +745,7 @@ cat > $flakeFollowsC/flake.nix <<EOF
     description = "Flake C";
     inputs = {
         foobar.url = "path:$flakeFollowsA/flakeE";
+        goodoo.follows = "foobar";
     };
     outputs = { ... }: {};
 }
@@ -759,7 +761,7 @@ EOF
 
 cat > $flakeFollowsE/flake.nix <<EOF
 {
-    description = "Flake D";
+    description = "Flake E";
     inputs = {};
     outputs = { ... }: {};
 }
@@ -768,6 +770,8 @@ EOF
 git -C $flakeFollowsA add flake.nix flakeB/flake.nix \
   flakeB/flakeC/flake.nix flakeD/flake.nix flakeE/flake.nix
 
+nix flake metadata $flakeFollowsA
+
 nix flake update $flakeFollowsA
 
 oldLock="$(cat "$flakeFollowsA/flake.lock")"
diff --git a/tests/lang/eval-okay-xml.exp.xml b/tests/lang/eval-okay-xml.exp.xml
index 92b75e0b8..20099326c 100644
--- a/tests/lang/eval-okay-xml.exp.xml
+++ b/tests/lang/eval-okay-xml.exp.xml
@@ -31,9 +31,9 @@
     <attr name="f">
       <function>
         <attrspat>
-          <attr name="z" />
           <attr name="x" />
           <attr name="y" />
+          <attr name="z" />
         </attrspat>
       </function>
     </attr>