diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 951efb4c9..4f7e668e7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 Makefile.config
+perl/Makefile.config
 
 # /
 /aclocal.m4
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d26cf8d99..40ac4e72d 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ makefiles = \
   src/nix-channel/local.mk \
   src/nix-build/local.mk \
   src/build-remote/local.mk \
-  perl/local.mk \
   scripts/local.mk \
   corepkgs/local.mk \
   misc/systemd/local.mk \
diff --git a/Makefile.config.in b/Makefile.config.in
index fccf63b36..53dca1fcf 100644
--- a/Makefile.config.in
+++ b/Makefile.config.in
@@ -24,9 +24,6 @@ libdir = @libdir@
 libexecdir = @libexecdir@
 localstatedir = @localstatedir@
 mandir = @mandir@
-perl = @perl@
-perlbindings = @perlbindings@
-perllibdir = @perllibdir@
 pkglibdir = $(libdir)/$(PACKAGE_NAME)
 prefix = @prefix@
 storedir = @storedir@
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index f18ba799e..3e6a894e3 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -120,7 +120,6 @@ AC_PATH_PROG(xmllint, xmllint, false)
 AC_PATH_PROG(xsltproc, xsltproc, false)
 AC_PATH_PROG(flex, flex, false)
 AC_PATH_PROG(bison, bison, false)
-NEED_PROG(perl, perl)
 NEED_PROG(sed, sed)
 NEED_PROG(tar, tar)
 NEED_PROG(bzip2, bzip2)
@@ -131,23 +130,6 @@ AC_PATH_PROG(pv, pv, pv)
 AC_PATH_PROG(bro, bro, bro)
 
 
-# Test that Perl has the open/fork feature (Perl 5.8.0 and beyond).
-AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether Perl is recent enough])
-if ! $perl -e 'open(FOO, "-|", "true"); while (<FOO>) { print; }; close FOO or die;'; then
-    AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
-    AC_MSG_ERROR([Your Perl version is too old.  Nix requires Perl 5.8.0 or newer.])
-fi
-AC_MSG_RESULT(yes)
-
-
-# Figure out where to install Perl modules.
-AC_MSG_CHECKING([for the Perl installation prefix])
-perlversion=$($perl -e 'use Config; print $Config{version};')
-perlarchname=$($perl -e 'use Config; print $Config{archname};')
-AC_SUBST(perllibdir, [${libdir}/perl5/site_perl/$perlversion/$perlarchname])
-AC_MSG_RESULT($perllibdir)
-
-
 NEED_PROG(cat, cat)
 NEED_PROG(tr, tr)
 AC_ARG_WITH(coreutils-bin, AC_HELP_STRING([--with-coreutils-bin=PATH],
@@ -213,40 +195,6 @@ if test "$gc" = yes; then
 fi
 
 
-# Check for the required Perl dependencies (DBI, DBD::SQLite).
-perlFlags="-I$perllibdir"
-
-AC_ARG_WITH(dbi, AC_HELP_STRING([--with-dbi=PATH],
-  [prefix of the Perl DBI library]),
-  perlFlags="$perlFlags -I$withval")
-
-AC_ARG_WITH(dbd-sqlite, AC_HELP_STRING([--with-dbd-sqlite=PATH],
-  [prefix of the Perl DBD::SQLite library]),
-  perlFlags="$perlFlags -I$withval")
-
-AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether DBD::SQLite works])
-if ! $perl $perlFlags -e 'use DBI; use DBD::SQLite;' 2>&5; then
-    AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
-    AC_MSG_FAILURE([The Perl modules DBI and/or DBD::SQLite are missing.])
-fi
-AC_MSG_RESULT(yes)
-
-AC_SUBST(perlFlags)
-
-
-# Whether to build the Perl bindings
-AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether to build the Perl bindings])
-AC_ARG_ENABLE(perl-bindings, AC_HELP_STRING([--enable-perl-bindings],
-  [whether to build the Perl bindings (recommended) [default=yes]]),
-  perlbindings=$enableval, perlbindings=yes)
-if test "$enable_shared" = no; then
-   # Perl bindings require shared libraries.
-   perlbindings=no
-fi
-AC_SUBST(perlbindings)
-AC_MSG_RESULT($perlbindings)
-
-
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(init-state, AC_HELP_STRING([--disable-init-state],
   [do not initialise DB etc. in `make install']),
   init_state=$enableval, init_state=yes)
diff --git a/corepkgs/config.nix.in b/corepkgs/config.nix.in
index f0f4890a3..32ce6b399 100644
--- a/corepkgs/config.nix.in
+++ b/corepkgs/config.nix.in
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ in rec {
   nixBinDir = fromEnv "NIX_BIN_DIR" "@bindir@";
   nixPrefix = "@prefix@";
   nixLibexecDir = fromEnv "NIX_LIBEXEC_DIR" "@libexecdir@";
+  nixLocalstateDir = "@localstatedir@";
+  nixSysconfDir = "@sysconfdir@";
+  nixStoreDir = fromEnv "NIX_STORE_DIR" "@storedir@";
 
   # If Nix is installed in the Nix store, then automatically add it as
   # a dependency to the core packages. This ensures that they work
diff --git a/doc/manual/advanced-topics/distributed-builds.xml b/doc/manual/advanced-topics/distributed-builds.xml
index f85837003..d5bc1c592 100644
--- a/doc/manual/advanced-topics/distributed-builds.xml
+++ b/doc/manual/advanced-topics/distributed-builds.xml
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ purposes.  It uses <command>ssh</command> and
 <command>nix-copy-closure</command> to copy the build inputs and
 outputs and perform the remote build.  To use it, you should set
 <envar>NIX_BUILD_HOOK</envar> to
-<filename><replaceable>prefix</replaceable>/libexec/nix/build-remote.pl</filename>.
+<filename><replaceable>prefix</replaceable>/libexec/nix/build-remote</filename>.
 You should also define a list of available build machines and point
 the environment variable <envar>NIX_REMOTE_SYSTEMS</envar> to
 it. <envar>NIX_REMOTE_SYSTEMS</envar> must be an absolute path. An
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ bits of information:
   should not have a passphrase!</para></listitem>
 
   <listitem><para>The maximum number of builds that
-  <filename>build-remote.pl</filename> will execute in parallel on the
+  <filename>build-remote</filename> will execute in parallel on the
   machine.  Typically this should be equal to the number of CPU cores.
   For instance, the machine <literal>itchy</literal> in the example
   will execute up to 8 builds in parallel.</para></listitem>
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ bits of information:
   <listitem><para>A comma-separated list of <emphasis>supported
   features</emphasis>.  If a derivation has the
   <varname>requiredSystemFeatures</varname> attribute, then
-  <filename>build-remote.pl</filename> will only perform the
+  <filename>build-remote</filename> will only perform the
   derivation on a machine that has the specified features.  For
   instance, the attribute
 
@@ -106,11 +106,11 @@ requiredSystemFeatures = [ "kvm" ];
 You should also set up the environment variable
 <envar>NIX_CURRENT_LOAD</envar> to point at a directory (e.g.,
 <filename>/var/run/nix/current-load</filename>) that
-<filename>build-remote.pl</filename> uses to remember how many builds
+<filename>build-remote</filename> uses to remember how many builds
 it is currently executing remotely.  It doesn't look at the actual
 load on the remote machine, so if you have multiple instances of Nix
 running, they should use the same <envar>NIX_CURRENT_LOAD</envar>
-file.  Maybe in the future <filename>build-remote.pl</filename> will
+file.  Maybe in the future <filename>build-remote</filename> will
 look at the actual remote load.</para>
 
 </chapter>
diff --git a/doc/manual/installation/prerequisites-source.xml b/doc/manual/installation/prerequisites-source.xml
index cd6d61356..7311e4885 100644
--- a/doc/manual/installation/prerequisites-source.xml
+++ b/doc/manual/installation/prerequisites-source.xml
@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@
 
   <listitem><para>A version of GCC or Clang that supports C++11.</para></listitem>
 
-  <listitem><para>Perl 5.8 or higher.</para></listitem>
-
   <listitem><para><command>pkg-config</command> to locate
   dependencies.  If your distribution does not provide it, you can get
   it from <link
@@ -34,11 +32,6 @@
   or higher.  If your distribution does not provide it, please install
   it from <link xlink:href="http://www.sqlite.org/" />.</para></listitem>
 
-  <listitem><para>The Perl DBI and DBD::SQLite libraries, which are
-  available from <link
-  xlink:href="http://search.cpan.org/">CPAN</link> if your
-  distribution does not provide them.</para></listitem>
-
   <listitem><para>The <link
   xlink:href="http://www.hboehm.info/gc/">Boehm
   garbage collector</link> to reduce the evaluator’s memory
diff --git a/local.mk b/local.mk
index eebd71961..dc10e6870 100644
--- a/local.mk
+++ b/local.mk
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ ifeq ($(MAKECMDGOALS), dist)
   dist-files += $(shell git --git-dir=.git ls-files || find * -type f)
 endif
 
-dist-files += configure config.h.in nix.spec
+dist-files += configure config.h.in nix.spec perl/configure
 
 clean-files += Makefile.config
 
diff --git a/perl/Makefile b/perl/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..41a32576e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/perl/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+makefiles = local.mk
+
+GLOBAL_CXXFLAGS += -std=c++11 -g -Wall
+
+-include Makefile.config
+
+OPTIMIZE = 1
+
+ifeq ($(OPTIMIZE), 1)
+  GLOBAL_CFLAGS += -O3
+  GLOBAL_CXXFLAGS += -O3
+endif
+
+include mk/lib.mk
diff --git a/perl/Makefile.config.in b/perl/Makefile.config.in
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..901d1283e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/perl/Makefile.config.in
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+CC = @CC@
+CFLAGS = @CFLAGS@
+CXX = @CXX@
+CXXFLAGS = @CXXFLAGS@
+HAVE_SODIUM = @HAVE_SODIUM@
+PACKAGE_NAME = @PACKAGE_NAME@
+PACKAGE_VERSION = @PACKAGE_VERSION@
+SODIUM_LIBS = @SODIUM_LIBS@
+NIX_CFLAGS = @NIX_CFLAGS@
+NIX_LIBS = @NIX_LIBS@
+nixbindir = @nixbindir@
+curl = @curl@
+nixlibexecdir = @nixlibexecdir@
+nixlocalstatedir = @nixlocalstatedir@
+perl = @perl@
+perllibdir = @perllibdir@
+nixstoredir = @nixstoredir@
+nixsysconfdir = @nixsysconfdir@
+perlbindings = @perlbindings@
diff --git a/perl/configure.ac b/perl/configure.ac
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dea2b6140
--- /dev/null
+++ b/perl/configure.ac
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+AC_INIT(nix-perl, m4_esyscmd([bash -c "echo -n $(cat ../version)$VERSION_SUFFIX"]))
+AC_CONFIG_SRCDIR(MANIFEST)
+AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR(../config)
+
+CFLAGS=
+CXXFLAGS=
+AC_PROG_CC
+AC_PROG_CXX
+AX_CXX_COMPILE_STDCXX_11
+
+# Use 64-bit file system calls so that we can support files > 2 GiB.
+AC_SYS_LARGEFILE
+
+AC_DEFUN([NEED_PROG],
+[
+AC_PATH_PROG($1, $2)
+if test -z "$$1"; then
+    AC_MSG_ERROR([$2 is required])
+fi
+])
+
+NEED_PROG(perl, perl)
+NEED_PROG(curl, curl)
+NEED_PROG(bzip2, bzip2)
+NEED_PROG(xz, xz)
+
+# Test that Perl has the open/fork feature (Perl 5.8.0 and beyond).
+AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether Perl is recent enough])
+if ! $perl -e 'open(FOO, "-|", "true"); while (<FOO>) { print; }; close FOO or die;'; then
+    AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
+    AC_MSG_ERROR([Your Perl version is too old.  Nix requires Perl 5.8.0 or newer.])
+fi
+AC_MSG_RESULT(yes)
+
+
+# Figure out where to install Perl modules.
+AC_MSG_CHECKING([for the Perl installation prefix])
+perlversion=$($perl -e 'use Config; print $Config{version};')
+perlarchname=$($perl -e 'use Config; print $Config{archname};')
+AC_SUBST(perllibdir, [${libdir}/perl5/site_perl/$perlversion/$perlarchname])
+AC_MSG_RESULT($perllibdir)
+
+AC_ARG_WITH(store-dir, AC_HELP_STRING([--with-store-dir=PATH],
+  [path of the Nix store (defaults to /nix/store)]),
+  storedir=$withval, storedir='/nix/store')
+AC_SUBST(storedir)
+
+# Look for libsodium, an optional dependency.
+PKG_CHECK_MODULES([SODIUM], [libsodium],
+  [AC_DEFINE([HAVE_SODIUM], [1], [Whether to use libsodium for cryptography.])
+   CXXFLAGS="$SODIUM_CFLAGS $CXXFLAGS"
+   have_sodium=1], [have_sodium=])
+AC_SUBST(HAVE_SODIUM, [$have_sodium])
+
+# Check for the required Perl dependencies (DBI, DBD::SQLite and WWW::Curl).
+perlFlags="-I$perllibdir"
+
+AC_ARG_WITH(dbi, AC_HELP_STRING([--with-dbi=PATH],
+  [prefix of the Perl DBI library]),
+  perlFlags="$perlFlags -I$withval")
+
+AC_ARG_WITH(dbd-sqlite, AC_HELP_STRING([--with-dbd-sqlite=PATH],
+  [prefix of the Perl DBD::SQLite library]),
+  perlFlags="$perlFlags -I$withval")
+
+AC_ARG_WITH(www-curl, AC_HELP_STRING([--with-www-curl=PATH],
+  [prefix of the Perl WWW::Curl library]),
+  perlFlags="$perlFlags -I$withval")
+
+AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether DBD::SQLite works])
+if ! $perl $perlFlags -e 'use DBI; use DBD::SQLite;' 2>&5; then
+    AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
+    AC_MSG_FAILURE([The Perl modules DBI and/or DBD::SQLite are missing.])
+fi
+AC_MSG_RESULT(yes)
+
+AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether WWW::Curl works])
+if ! $perl $perlFlags -e 'use WWW::Curl;' 2>&5; then
+    AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
+    AC_MSG_FAILURE([The Perl module WWW::Curl is missing.])
+fi
+AC_MSG_RESULT(yes)
+
+AC_SUBST(perlFlags)
+
+PKG_CHECK_MODULES([NIX], [nix-store])
+
+NEED_PROG([NIX_INSTANTIATE_PROGRAM], [nix-instantiate])
+
+# Get nix configure values
+nixbindir=$("$NIX_INSTANTIATE_PROGRAM" --eval '<nix/config.nix>' -A nixBinDir | tr -d \")
+nixlibexecdir=$("$NIX_INSTANTIATE_PROGRAM" --eval '<nix/config.nix>' -A nixLibexecDir | tr -d \")
+nixlocalstatedir=$("$NIX_INSTANTIATE_PROGRAM" --eval '<nix/config.nix>' -A nixLocalstateDir | tr -d \")
+nixsysconfdir=$("$NIX_INSTANTIATE_PROGRAM" --eval '<nix/config.nix>' -A nixSysconfDir | tr -d \")
+nixstoredir=$("$NIX_INSTANTIATE_PROGRAM" --eval '<nix/config.nix>' -A nixStoreDir | tr -d \")
+AC_SUBST(nixbindir)
+AC_SUBST(nixlibexecdir)
+AC_SUBST(nixlocalstatedir)
+AC_SUBST(nixsysconfdir)
+AC_SUBST(nixstoredir)
+
+AC_SUBST(perlbindings, "yes")
+
+# Expand all variables in config.status.
+test "$prefix" = NONE && prefix=$ac_default_prefix
+test "$exec_prefix" = NONE && exec_prefix='${prefix}'
+for name in $ac_subst_vars; do
+    declare $name="$(eval echo "${!name}")"
+    declare $name="$(eval echo "${!name}")"
+    declare $name="$(eval echo "${!name}")"
+done
+
+rm -f Makefile.config
+ln -s ../mk mk
+
+AC_CONFIG_FILES([])
+AC_OUTPUT
diff --git a/perl/lib/Nix/Config.pm.in b/perl/lib/Nix/Config.pm.in
index 3613926f5..f494e34a5 100644
--- a/perl/lib/Nix/Config.pm.in
+++ b/perl/lib/Nix/Config.pm.in
@@ -4,18 +4,18 @@ use MIME::Base64;
 
 $version = "@PACKAGE_VERSION@";
 
-$binDir = $ENV{"NIX_BIN_DIR"} || "@bindir@";
-$libexecDir = $ENV{"NIX_LIBEXEC_DIR"} || "@libexecdir@";
-$stateDir = $ENV{"NIX_STATE_DIR"} || "@localstatedir@/nix";
-$logDir = $ENV{"NIX_LOG_DIR"} || "@localstatedir@/log/nix";
-$confDir = $ENV{"NIX_CONF_DIR"} || "@sysconfdir@/nix";
-$storeDir = $ENV{"NIX_STORE_DIR"} || "@storedir@";
+$binDir = $ENV{"NIX_BIN_DIR"} || "@nixbindir@";
+$libexecDir = $ENV{"NIX_LIBEXEC_DIR"} || "@nixlibexecdir@";
+$stateDir = $ENV{"NIX_STATE_DIR"} || "@nixlocalstatedir@/nix";
+$logDir = $ENV{"NIX_LOG_DIR"} || "@nixlocalstatedir@/log/nix";
+$confDir = $ENV{"NIX_CONF_DIR"} || "@nixsysconfdir@/nix";
+$storeDir = $ENV{"NIX_STORE_DIR"} || "@nixstoredir@";
 
 $bzip2 = "@bzip2@";
 $xz = "@xz@";
 $curl = "@curl@";
 
-$useBindings = "@perlbindings@" eq "yes";
+$useBindings = 1;
 
 %config = ();
 
diff --git a/perl/local.mk b/perl/local.mk
index 5b43c4b71..1793ececf 100644
--- a/perl/local.mk
+++ b/perl/local.mk
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 nix_perl_sources := \
-  $(d)/lib/Nix/Store.pm \
-  $(d)/lib/Nix/Manifest.pm \
-  $(d)/lib/Nix/SSH.pm \
-  $(d)/lib/Nix/CopyClosure.pm \
-  $(d)/lib/Nix/Config.pm.in \
-  $(d)/lib/Nix/Utils.pm
+  lib/Nix/Store.pm \
+  lib/Nix/Manifest.pm \
+  lib/Nix/SSH.pm \
+  lib/Nix/CopyClosure.pm \
+  lib/Nix/Config.pm.in \
+  lib/Nix/Utils.pm
 
 nix_perl_modules := $(nix_perl_sources:.in=)
 
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@ $(foreach x, $(nix_perl_modules), $(eval $(call install-data-in, $(x), $(perllib
 
 ifeq ($(perlbindings), yes)
 
-  $(d)/lib/Nix/Store.cc: $(d)/lib/Nix/Store.xs
+  lib/Nix/Store.cc: lib/Nix/Store.xs
 	$(trace-gen) xsubpp $^ -output $@
 
   libraries += Store
 
-  Store_DIR := $(d)/lib/Nix
+  Store_DIR := lib/Nix
 
   Store_SOURCES := $(Store_DIR)/Store.cc
 
@@ -25,11 +25,10 @@ ifeq ($(perlbindings), yes)
     -I$(shell $(perl) -e 'use Config; print $$Config{archlibexp};')/CORE \
     -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 \
     -Wno-unknown-warning-option -Wno-unused-variable -Wno-literal-suffix \
-    -Wno-reserved-user-defined-literal -Wno-duplicate-decl-specifier -Wno-pointer-bool-conversion
+    -Wno-reserved-user-defined-literal -Wno-duplicate-decl-specifier -Wno-pointer-bool-conversion \
+    $(NIX_CFLAGS)
 
-  Store_LIBS = libstore libutil
-
-  Store_LDFLAGS := $(SODIUM_LIBS)
+  Store_LDFLAGS := $(SODIUM_LIBS) $(NIX_LIBS)
 
   ifeq (CYGWIN,$(findstring CYGWIN,$(OS)))
     archlib = $(shell perl -E 'use Config; print $$Config{archlib};')
@@ -45,4 +44,4 @@ ifeq ($(perlbindings), yes)
 
 endif
 
-clean-files += $(d)/lib/Nix/Config.pm $(d)/lib/Nix/Store.cc
+clean-files += lib/Nix/Config.pm lib/Nix/Store.cc Makefile.config
diff --git a/release.nix b/release.nix
index a266af7c2..1a8d0927c 100644
--- a/release.nix
+++ b/release.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ let
         inherit officialRelease;
 
         buildInputs =
-          [ curl bison flex perl libxml2 libxslt
+          [ curl bison flex libxml2 libxslt
             bzip2 xz brotli
             pkgconfig sqlite libsodium boehmgc
             docbook5 docbook5_xsl
@@ -32,11 +32,7 @@ let
             git
           ];
 
-        configureFlags = ''
-          --with-dbi=${perlPackages.DBI}/${perl.libPrefix}
-          --with-dbd-sqlite=${perlPackages.DBDSQLite}/${perl.libPrefix}
-          --enable-gc
-        '';
+        configureFlags = "--enable-gc";
 
         postUnpack = ''
           # Clean up when building from a working tree.
@@ -46,6 +42,7 @@ let
         '';
 
         preConfigure = ''
+          (cd perl ; autoreconf --install --force --verbose)
           # TeX needs a writable font cache.
           export VARTEXFONTS=$TMPDIR/texfonts
         '';
@@ -74,7 +71,7 @@ let
         src = tarball;
 
         buildInputs =
-          [ curl perl
+          [ curl
             bzip2 xz brotli
             openssl pkgconfig sqlite boehmgc
           ]
@@ -87,8 +84,6 @@ let
 
         configureFlags = ''
           --disable-init-state
-          --with-dbi=${perlPackages.DBI}/${perl.libPrefix}
-          --with-dbd-sqlite=${perlPackages.DBDSQLite}/${perl.libPrefix}
           --enable-gc
           --sysconfdir=/etc
         '';
@@ -106,6 +101,32 @@ let
       });
 
 
+    perl = pkgs.lib.genAttrs systems (system:
+
+      let pkgs = import <nixpkgs> { inherit system; }; in with pkgs;
+
+      releaseTools.nixBuild {
+        name = "nix-perl";
+        src = tarball;
+
+        buildInputs =
+          [ (builtins.getAttr system jobs.build) curl bzip2 xz pkgconfig pkgs.perl ]
+          ++ lib.optional stdenv.isLinux libsodium;
+
+        configureFlags = ''
+          --with-dbi=${perlPackages.DBI}/${pkgs.perl.libPrefix}
+          --with-dbd-sqlite=${perlPackages.DBDSQLite}/${pkgs.perl.libPrefix}
+          --with-www-curl=${perlPackages.WWWCurl}/${pkgs.perl.libPrefix}
+        '';
+
+        enableParallelBuilding = true;
+
+        postUnpack = "sourceRoot=$sourceRoot/perl";
+
+        preBuild = "unset NIX_INDENT_MAKE";
+      });
+
+
     binaryTarball = pkgs.lib.genAttrs systems (system:
 
       # FIXME: temporarily use a different branch for the Darwin build.
@@ -151,15 +172,13 @@ let
         src = tarball;
 
         buildInputs =
-          [ curl perl bzip2 openssl pkgconfig sqlite xz libsodium
+          [ curl bzip2 openssl pkgconfig sqlite xz libsodium
             # These are for "make check" only:
             graphviz libxml2 libxslt
           ];
 
         configureFlags = ''
           --disable-init-state
-          --with-dbi=${perlPackages.DBI}/${perl.libPrefix}
-          --with-dbd-sqlite=${perlPackages.DBDSQLite}/${perl.libPrefix}
         '';
 
         dontInstall = false;
@@ -280,7 +299,7 @@ let
       src = jobs.tarball;
       diskImage = (diskImageFun vmTools.diskImageFuns)
         { extraPackages =
-            [ "perl-DBD-SQLite" "perl-devel" "sqlite" "sqlite-devel" "bzip2-devel" "emacs" "libcurl-devel" "openssl-devel" "xz-devel" ]
+            [ "sqlite" "sqlite-devel" "bzip2-devel" "emacs" "libcurl-devel" "openssl-devel" "xz-devel" ]
             ++ extraPackages; };
       memSize = 1024;
       meta.schedulingPriority = 50;
@@ -302,14 +321,14 @@ let
       src = jobs.tarball;
       diskImage = (diskImageFun vmTools.diskImageFuns)
         { extraPackages =
-            [ "libdbd-sqlite3-perl" "libsqlite3-dev" "libbz2-dev" "libwww-curl-perl" "libcurl-dev" "libcurl3-nss" "libssl-dev" "liblzma-dev" ]
+            [ "libsqlite3-dev" "libbz2-dev" "libcurl-dev" "libcurl3-nss" "libssl-dev" "liblzma-dev" ]
             ++ extraPackages; };
       memSize = 1024;
       meta.schedulingPriority = 50;
       postInstall = "make installcheck";
       configureFlags = "--sysconfdir=/etc";
       debRequires =
-        [ "curl" "libdbd-sqlite3-perl" "libsqlite3-0" "libbz2-1.0" "bzip2" "xz-utils" "libwww-curl-perl" "libssl1.0.0" "liblzma5" ]
+        [ "curl" "libsqlite3-0" "libbz2-1.0" "bzip2" "xz-utils" "libssl1.0.0" "liblzma5" ]
         ++ extraDebPackages;
       debMaintainer = "Eelco Dolstra <eelco.dolstra@logicblox.com>";
       doInstallCheck = true;
diff --git a/src/nix-store/nix-store.cc b/src/nix-store/nix-store.cc
index 024fa4168..3dc167191 100644
--- a/src/nix-store/nix-store.cc
+++ b/src/nix-store/nix-store.cc
@@ -882,7 +882,7 @@ static void opServe(Strings opFlags, Strings opArgs)
                 break;
             }
 
-            case cmdBuildPaths: { /* Used by build-remote.pl. */
+            case cmdBuildPaths: {
 
                 if (!writeAllowed) throw Error("building paths is not allowed");
                 PathSet paths = readStorePaths<PathSet>(*store, in);
diff --git a/tests/optimise-store.sh b/tests/optimise-store.sh
index ea4478693..bd88662bc 100644
--- a/tests/optimise-store.sh
+++ b/tests/optimise-store.sh
@@ -5,14 +5,14 @@ clearStore
 outPath1=$(echo 'with import ./config.nix; mkDerivation { name = "foo1"; builder = builtins.toFile "builder" "mkdir $out; echo hello > $out/foo"; }' | nix-build - --no-out-link --option auto-optimise-store true)
 outPath2=$(echo 'with import ./config.nix; mkDerivation { name = "foo2"; builder = builtins.toFile "builder" "mkdir $out; echo hello > $out/foo"; }' | nix-build - --no-out-link --option auto-optimise-store true)
 
-inode1="$(perl -e "print ((lstat('$outPath1/foo'))[1])")"
-inode2="$(perl -e "print ((lstat('$outPath2/foo'))[1])")"
+inode1="$(stat --format=%i $outPath1/foo)"
+inode2="$(stat --format=%i $outPath2/foo)"
 if [ "$inode1" != "$inode2" ]; then
     echo "inodes do not match"
     exit 1
 fi
 
-nlink="$(perl -e "print ((lstat('$outPath1/foo'))[3])")"
+nlink="$(stat --format=%h $outPath1/foo)"
 if [ "$nlink" != 3 ]; then
     echo "link count incorrect"
     exit 1
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ fi
 
 outPath3=$(echo 'with import ./config.nix; mkDerivation { name = "foo3"; builder = builtins.toFile "builder" "mkdir $out; echo hello > $out/foo"; }' | nix-build - --no-out-link)
 
-inode3="$(perl -e "print ((lstat('$outPath3/foo'))[1])")"
+inode3="$(stat --format=%i $outPath3/foo)"
 if [ "$inode1" = "$inode3" ]; then
     echo "inodes match unexpectedly"
     exit 1
@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ fi
 
 nix-store --optimise
 
-inode1="$(perl -e "print ((lstat('$outPath1/foo'))[1])")"
-inode3="$(perl -e "print ((lstat('$outPath3/foo'))[1])")"
+inode1="$(stat --format=%i $outPath1/foo)"
+inode3="$(stat --format=%i $outPath3/foo)"
 if [ "$inode1" != "$inode3" ]; then
     echo "inodes do not match"
     exit 1