diff --git a/Annex/Content.hs b/Annex/Content.hs
index 74dd17886e..7c57cf5040 100644
--- a/Annex/Content.hs
+++ b/Annex/Content.hs
@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ import Annex.Concurrent
 import Types.WorkerPool
 import qualified Utility.RawFilePath as R
 
+import qualified System.FilePath.ByteString as P
+
 {- Checks if a given key's content is currently present. -}
 inAnnex :: Key -> Annex Bool
 inAnnex key = inAnnexCheck key $ liftIO . R.doesPathExist
@@ -742,7 +744,7 @@ listKeys keyloc = do
 		if depth < 2
 			then do
 				contents' <- filterM (present s) contents
-				let keys = mapMaybe (fileKey . takeFileName) contents'
+				let keys = mapMaybe (fileKey . P.takeFileName . toRawFilePath) contents'
 				continue keys []
 			else do
 				let deeper = walk s (depth - 1)
@@ -816,7 +818,7 @@ dirKeys dirspec = do
 			contents <- liftIO $ getDirectoryContents dir
 			files <- liftIO $ filterM doesFileExist $
 				map (dir </>) contents
-			return $ mapMaybe (fileKey . takeFileName) files
+			return $ mapMaybe (fileKey . P.takeFileName . toRawFilePath) files
 		, return []
 		)
 
@@ -835,7 +837,8 @@ staleKeysPrune dirspec nottransferred = do
 
 	dir <- fromRepo dirspec
 	forM_ dups $ \k ->
-		pruneTmpWorkDirBefore (dir </> keyFile k) (liftIO . removeFile)
+		pruneTmpWorkDirBefore (dir </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile k))
+			(liftIO . removeFile)
 
 	if nottransferred
 		then do
diff --git a/Annex/Content/LowLevel.hs b/Annex/Content/LowLevel.hs
index 546e647def..39e187de76 100644
--- a/Annex/Content/LowLevel.hs
+++ b/Annex/Content/LowLevel.hs
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ checkDiskSpace' need destdir key alreadythere samefilesystem = ifM (Annex.getSta
 			_ -> return True
 	)
   where
-	dir = maybe (fromRepo gitAnnexDir) return destdir
+	dir = maybe (fromRawFilePath <$> fromRepo gitAnnexDir) return destdir
 
 needMoreDiskSpace :: Integer -> String
 needMoreDiskSpace n = "not enough free space, need " ++ 
diff --git a/Annex/Link.hs b/Annex/Link.hs
index ede132a5b9..faed59f192 100644
--- a/Annex/Link.hs
+++ b/Annex/Link.hs
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ parseLinkTargetOrPointerLazy b =
 {- Parses a symlink target to a Key. -}
 parseLinkTarget :: S.ByteString -> Maybe Key
 parseLinkTarget l
-	| isLinkToAnnex l = fileKey' $ snd $ S8.breakEnd pathsep l
+	| isLinkToAnnex l = fileKey $ snd $ S8.breakEnd pathsep l
 	| otherwise = Nothing
   where
 	pathsep '/' = True
@@ -263,9 +263,9 @@ parseLinkTarget l
 	pathsep _ = False
 
 formatPointer :: Key -> S.ByteString
-formatPointer k = prefix <> keyFile' k <> nl
+formatPointer k = prefix <> keyFile k <> nl
   where
-	prefix = toInternalGitPath $ toRawFilePath (pathSeparator:objectDir)
+	prefix = toInternalGitPath $ P.pathSeparator `S.cons` objectDir'
 	nl = S8.singleton '\n'
 
 {- Maximum size of a file that could be a pointer to a key.
diff --git a/Annex/Locations.hs b/Annex/Locations.hs
index 42ac78a240..2aa7605310 100644
--- a/Annex/Locations.hs
+++ b/Annex/Locations.hs
@@ -9,9 +9,7 @@
 
 module Annex.Locations (
 	keyFile,
-	keyFile',
 	fileKey,
-	fileKey',
 	keyPaths,
 	keyPath,
 	annexDir,
@@ -126,19 +124,16 @@ import qualified Utility.RawFilePath as R
 
 {- The directory git annex uses for local state, relative to the .git
  - directory -}
-annexDir :: FilePath
-annexDir = addTrailingPathSeparator "annex"
-
-annexDir' :: RawFilePath
-annexDir' = P.addTrailingPathSeparator "annex"
+annexDir :: RawFilePath
+annexDir = P.addTrailingPathSeparator "annex"
 
 {- The directory git annex uses for locally available object content,
  - relative to the .git directory -}
 objectDir :: FilePath
-objectDir = addTrailingPathSeparator $ annexDir </> "objects"
+objectDir = fromRawFilePath objectDir'
 
 objectDir' :: RawFilePath
-objectDir' = P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ annexDir' P.</> "objects"
+objectDir' = P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ annexDir P.</> "objects"
 
 {- Annexed file's possible locations relative to the .git directory.
  - There are two different possibilities, using different hashes.
@@ -262,46 +257,51 @@ gitAnnexInodeCache key r config = do
 	return $ fromRawFilePath loc ++ ".cache"
 
 gitAnnexInodeSentinal :: Git.Repo -> RawFilePath
-gitAnnexInodeSentinal r = gitAnnexDir' r P.</> "sentinal"
+gitAnnexInodeSentinal r = gitAnnexDir r P.</> "sentinal"
 
 gitAnnexInodeSentinalCache :: Git.Repo -> RawFilePath
 gitAnnexInodeSentinalCache r = gitAnnexInodeSentinal r <> ".cache"
 
 {- The annex directory of a repository. -}
-gitAnnexDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ fromRawFilePath (Git.localGitDir r) </> annexDir
-
-gitAnnexDir' :: Git.Repo -> RawFilePath
-gitAnnexDir' r = P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ Git.localGitDir r P.</> annexDir'
+gitAnnexDir :: Git.Repo -> RawFilePath
+gitAnnexDir r = P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ Git.localGitDir r P.</> annexDir
 
 {- The part of the annex directory where file contents are stored. -}
 gitAnnexObjectDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexObjectDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ fromRawFilePath (Git.localGitDir r) </> objectDir
+gitAnnexObjectDir r = fromRawFilePath $ 
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ Git.localGitDir r P.</> objectDir'
 
 {- .git/annex/tmp/ is used for temp files for key's contents -}
 gitAnnexTmpObjectDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexTmpObjectDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "tmp"
+gitAnnexTmpObjectDir = fromRawFilePath . gitAnnexTmpObjectDir'
+
+gitAnnexTmpObjectDir' :: Git.Repo -> RawFilePath
+gitAnnexTmpObjectDir' r = P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "tmp"
 
 {- .git/annex/othertmp/ is used for other temp files -}
 gitAnnexTmpOtherDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexTmpOtherDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "othertmp"
+gitAnnexTmpOtherDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "othertmp"
 
 {- Lock file for gitAnnexTmpOtherDir. -}
 gitAnnexTmpOtherLock :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexTmpOtherLock r = gitAnnexDir r </> "othertmp.lck"
+gitAnnexTmpOtherLock r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "othertmp.lck"
 
 {- .git/annex/misctmp/ was used by old versions of git-annex and is still
  - used during initialization -}
 gitAnnexTmpOtherDirOld :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexTmpOtherDirOld r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "misctmp"
+gitAnnexTmpOtherDirOld r = fromRawFilePath $ 
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "misctmp"
 
 {- .git/annex/watchtmp/ is used by the watcher and assistant -}
 gitAnnexTmpWatcherDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexTmpWatcherDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "watchtmp"
+gitAnnexTmpWatcherDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "watchtmp"
 
 {- The temp file to use for a given key's content. -}
 gitAnnexTmpObjectLocation :: Key -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexTmpObjectLocation key r = gitAnnexTmpObjectDir r </> keyFile key
+gitAnnexTmpObjectLocation key r = fromRawFilePath $
+	gitAnnexTmpObjectDir' r P.</> keyFile key
 
 {- Given a temp file such as gitAnnexTmpObjectLocation, makes a name for a
  - subdirectory in the same location, that can be used as a work area
@@ -318,19 +318,21 @@ gitAnnexTmpWorkDir p =
 
 {- .git/annex/bad/ is used for bad files found during fsck -}
 gitAnnexBadDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexBadDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "bad"
+gitAnnexBadDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "bad"
 
 {- The bad file to use for a given key. -}
 gitAnnexBadLocation :: Key -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexBadLocation key r = gitAnnexBadDir r </> keyFile key
+gitAnnexBadLocation key r = gitAnnexBadDir r </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile key)
 
 {- .git/annex/foounused is used to number possibly unused keys -}
 gitAnnexUnusedLog :: FilePath -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexUnusedLog prefix r = gitAnnexDir r </> (prefix ++ "unused")
+gitAnnexUnusedLog prefix r =
+	fromRawFilePath (gitAnnexDir r) </> (prefix ++ "unused")
 
 {- .git/annex/keysdb/ contains a database of information about keys. -}
 gitAnnexKeysDb :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexKeysDb r = gitAnnexDir r </> "keysdb"
+gitAnnexKeysDb r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "keysdb"
 
 {- Lock file for the keys database. -}
 gitAnnexKeysDbLock :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
@@ -344,7 +346,8 @@ gitAnnexKeysDbIndexCache r = gitAnnexKeysDb r ++ ".cache"
 {- .git/annex/fsck/uuid/ is used to store information about incremental
  - fscks. -}
 gitAnnexFsckDir :: UUID -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexFsckDir u r = gitAnnexDir r </> "fsck" </> fromUUID u
+gitAnnexFsckDir u r = fromRawFilePath $
+	gitAnnexDir r P.</> "fsck" P.</> fromUUID u
 
 {- used to store information about incremental fscks. -}
 gitAnnexFsckState :: UUID -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
@@ -364,20 +367,21 @@ gitAnnexFsckDbLock u r = gitAnnexFsckDir u r </> "fsck.lck"
 
 {- .git/annex/fsckresults/uuid is used to store results of git fscks -}
 gitAnnexFsckResultsLog :: UUID -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexFsckResultsLog u r = gitAnnexDir r </> "fsckresults" </> fromUUID u
+gitAnnexFsckResultsLog u r = fromRawFilePath $ 
+	gitAnnexDir r P.</> "fsckresults" P.</> fromUUID u
 
 {- .git/annex/smudge.log is used to log smudges worktree files that need to
  - be updated. -}
 gitAnnexSmudgeLog :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexSmudgeLog r = gitAnnexDir r </> "smudge.log"
+gitAnnexSmudgeLog r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "smudge.log"
 
 gitAnnexSmudgeLock :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexSmudgeLock r = gitAnnexDir r </> "smudge.lck"
+gitAnnexSmudgeLock r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "smudge.lck"
 
 {- .git/annex/export/ is used to store information about
  - exports to special remotes. -}
 gitAnnexExportDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexExportDir r = gitAnnexDir r </> "export"
+gitAnnexExportDir r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "export"
 
 {- Directory containing database used to record export info. -}
 gitAnnexExportDbDir :: UUID -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
@@ -394,7 +398,8 @@ gitAnnexExportUpdateLock u r = gitAnnexExportDbDir u r ++ ".upl"
 {- Log file used to keep track of files that were in the tree exported to a
  - remote, but were excluded by its preferred content settings. -}
 gitAnnexExportExcludeLog :: UUID -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexExportExcludeLog u r = gitAnnexDir r </> "export.ex" </> fromUUID u
+gitAnnexExportExcludeLog u r = fromRawFilePath $
+	gitAnnexDir r P.</> "export.ex" P.</> fromUUID u
 
 {- Directory containing database used to record remote content ids.
  -
@@ -402,7 +407,7 @@ gitAnnexExportExcludeLog u r = gitAnnexDir r </> "export.ex" </> fromUUID u
  - need to be rebuilt with a new name.)
  -}
 gitAnnexContentIdentifierDbDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexContentIdentifierDbDir r = gitAnnexDir r </> "cidsdb"
+gitAnnexContentIdentifierDbDir r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "cidsdb"
 
 {- Lock file for writing to the content id database. -}
 gitAnnexContentIdentifierLock :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
@@ -411,128 +416,137 @@ gitAnnexContentIdentifierLock r = gitAnnexContentIdentifierDbDir r ++ ".lck"
 {- .git/annex/schedulestate is used to store information about when
  - scheduled jobs were last run. -}
 gitAnnexScheduleState :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexScheduleState r = gitAnnexDir r </> "schedulestate"
+gitAnnexScheduleState r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "schedulestate"
 
 {- .git/annex/creds/ is used to store credentials to access some special
  - remotes. -}
 gitAnnexCredsDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexCredsDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "creds"
+gitAnnexCredsDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "creds"
 
 {- .git/annex/certificate.pem and .git/annex/key.pem are used by the webapp
  - when HTTPS is enabled -}
 gitAnnexWebCertificate :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexWebCertificate r = gitAnnexDir r </> "certificate.pem"
+gitAnnexWebCertificate r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "certificate.pem"
 gitAnnexWebPrivKey :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexWebPrivKey r = gitAnnexDir r </> "privkey.pem"
+gitAnnexWebPrivKey r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "privkey.pem"
 
 {- .git/annex/feeds/ is used to record per-key (url) state by importfeeds -}
 gitAnnexFeedStateDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexFeedStateDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "feedstate"
+gitAnnexFeedStateDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "feedstate"
 
 gitAnnexFeedState :: Key -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexFeedState k r = gitAnnexFeedStateDir r </> keyFile k
+gitAnnexFeedState k r = gitAnnexFeedStateDir r </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile k)
 
 {- .git/annex/merge/ is used as a empty work tree for direct mode merges and
  - merges in adjusted branches. -}
 gitAnnexMergeDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexMergeDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "merge"
+gitAnnexMergeDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "merge"
 
 {- .git/annex/transfer/ is used to record keys currently
  - being transferred, and other transfer bookkeeping info. -}
 gitAnnexTransferDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexTransferDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "transfer"
+gitAnnexTransferDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "transfer"
 
 {- .git/annex/journal/ is used to journal changes made to the git-annex
  - branch -}
 gitAnnexJournalDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexJournalDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "journal"
+gitAnnexJournalDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "journal"
 
 gitAnnexJournalDir' :: Git.Repo -> RawFilePath
-gitAnnexJournalDir' r = P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir' r P.</> "journal"
+gitAnnexJournalDir' r = P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "journal"
 
 {- Lock file for the journal. -}
 gitAnnexJournalLock :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexJournalLock r = gitAnnexDir r </> "journal.lck"
+gitAnnexJournalLock r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "journal.lck"
 
 {- Lock file for flushing a git queue that writes to the git index or
  - other git state that should only have one writer at a time. -}
 gitAnnexGitQueueLock :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexGitQueueLock r = gitAnnexDir r </> "gitqueue.lck"
+gitAnnexGitQueueLock r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "gitqueue.lck"
 
 {- Lock file for the pre-commit hook. -}
 gitAnnexPreCommitLock :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexPreCommitLock r = gitAnnexDir r </> "precommit.lck"
+gitAnnexPreCommitLock r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "precommit.lck"
 
 {- Lock file for direct mode merge. -}
 gitAnnexMergeLock :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexMergeLock r = gitAnnexDir r </> "merge.lck"
+gitAnnexMergeLock r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "merge.lck"
 
 {- .git/annex/index is used to stage changes to the git-annex branch -}
 gitAnnexIndex :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexIndex r = gitAnnexDir r </> "index"
+gitAnnexIndex r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "index"
 
 {- Holds the ref of the git-annex branch that the index was last updated to.
  -
  - The .lck in the name is a historical accident; this is not used as a
  - lock. -}
 gitAnnexIndexStatus :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexIndexStatus r = gitAnnexDir r </> "index.lck"
+gitAnnexIndexStatus r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "index.lck"
 
 {- The index file used to generate a filtered branch view._-}
 gitAnnexViewIndex :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexViewIndex r = gitAnnexDir r </> "viewindex"
+gitAnnexViewIndex r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "viewindex"
 
 {- File containing a log of recently accessed views. -}
 gitAnnexViewLog :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexViewLog r = gitAnnexDir r </> "viewlog"
+gitAnnexViewLog r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "viewlog"
 
 {- List of refs that have already been merged into the git-annex branch. -}
 gitAnnexMergedRefs :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexMergedRefs r = gitAnnexDir r </> "mergedrefs"
+gitAnnexMergedRefs r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "mergedrefs"
 
 {- List of refs that should not be merged into the git-annex branch. -}
 gitAnnexIgnoredRefs :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexIgnoredRefs r = gitAnnexDir r </> "ignoredrefs"
+gitAnnexIgnoredRefs r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "ignoredrefs"
 
 {- Pid file for daemon mode. -}
 gitAnnexPidFile :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexPidFile r = gitAnnexDir r </> "daemon.pid"
+gitAnnexPidFile r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "daemon.pid"
 
 {- Pid lock file for pidlock mode -}
 gitAnnexPidLockFile :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexPidLockFile r = gitAnnexDir r </> "pidlock"
+gitAnnexPidLockFile r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "pidlock"
 
 {- Status file for daemon mode. -}
 gitAnnexDaemonStatusFile :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexDaemonStatusFile r = gitAnnexDir r </> "daemon.status"
+gitAnnexDaemonStatusFile r = fromRawFilePath $
+	gitAnnexDir r P.</> "daemon.status"
 
 {- Log file for daemon mode. -}
 gitAnnexLogFile :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexLogFile r = gitAnnexDir r </> "daemon.log"
+gitAnnexLogFile r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "daemon.log"
 
 {- Log file for fuzz test. -}
 gitAnnexFuzzTestLogFile :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexFuzzTestLogFile r = gitAnnexDir r </> "fuzztest.log"
+gitAnnexFuzzTestLogFile r = fromRawFilePath $
+	gitAnnexDir r P.</> "fuzztest.log"
 
 {- Html shim file used to launch the webapp. -}
 gitAnnexHtmlShim :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexHtmlShim r = gitAnnexDir r </> "webapp.html"
+gitAnnexHtmlShim r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "webapp.html"
 
 {- File containing the url to the webapp. -}
 gitAnnexUrlFile :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexUrlFile r = gitAnnexDir r </> "url"
+gitAnnexUrlFile r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "url"
 
 {- Temporary file used to edit configuriation from the git-annex branch. -}
 gitAnnexTmpCfgFile :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexTmpCfgFile r = gitAnnexDir r </> "config.tmp"
+gitAnnexTmpCfgFile r = fromRawFilePath $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "config.tmp"
 
 {- .git/annex/ssh/ is used for ssh connection caching -}
 gitAnnexSshDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexSshDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "ssh"
+gitAnnexSshDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "ssh"
 
 {- .git/annex/remotes/ is used for remote-specific state. -}
 gitAnnexRemotesDir :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexRemotesDir r = addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r </> "remotes"
+gitAnnexRemotesDir r = fromRawFilePath $
+	P.addTrailingPathSeparator $ gitAnnexDir r P.</> "remotes"
 
 {- This is the base directory name used by the assistant when making
  - repositories, by default. -}
@@ -589,11 +603,8 @@ reSanitizeKeyName = preSanitizeKeyName' True
  - Changing what this function escapes and how is not a good idea, as it
  - can cause existing objects to get lost.
  -}
-keyFile :: Key -> FilePath
-keyFile = fromRawFilePath . keyFile'
-
-keyFile' :: Key -> RawFilePath
-keyFile' k = 
+keyFile :: Key -> RawFilePath
+keyFile k = 
 	let b = serializeKey' k
 	in if S8.any (`elem` ['&', '%', ':', '/']) b
 		then S8.concatMap esc b
@@ -608,11 +619,8 @@ keyFile' k =
 
 {- Reverses keyFile, converting a filename fragment (ie, the basename of
  - the symlink target) into a key. -}
-fileKey :: FilePath -> Maybe Key
-fileKey = fileKey' . toRawFilePath
-
-fileKey' :: RawFilePath -> Maybe Key
-fileKey' = deserializeKey' . S8.intercalate "/" . map go . S8.split '%'
+fileKey :: RawFilePath -> Maybe Key
+fileKey = deserializeKey' . S8.intercalate "/" . map go . S8.split '%'
   where
 	go = S8.concat . unescafterfirst . S8.split '&'
 	unescafterfirst [] = []
@@ -634,7 +642,7 @@ fileKey' = deserializeKey' . S8.intercalate "/" . map go . S8.split '%'
 keyPath :: Key -> Hasher -> RawFilePath
 keyPath key hasher = hasher key P.</> f P.</> f
   where
-	f = keyFile' key
+	f = keyFile key
 
 {- All possibile locations to store a key in a special remote
  - using different directory hashes.
diff --git a/Annex/Perms.hs b/Annex/Perms.hs
index d2b270dd40..a24e0362f0 100644
--- a/Annex/Perms.hs
+++ b/Annex/Perms.hs
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ annexFileMode = withShared $ return . go
 createAnnexDirectory :: FilePath -> Annex ()
 createAnnexDirectory dir = walk dir [] =<< top
   where
-	top = parentDir <$> fromRepo gitAnnexDir
+	top = parentDir . fromRawFilePath <$> fromRepo gitAnnexDir
 	walk d below stop
 		| d `equalFilePath` stop = done
 		| otherwise = ifM (liftIO $ doesDirectoryExist d)
diff --git a/Annex/VariantFile.hs b/Annex/VariantFile.hs
index 65f989ebae..781732368d 100644
--- a/Annex/VariantFile.hs
+++ b/Annex/VariantFile.hs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ mkVariant file variant = takeDirectory file
  -}
 variantFile :: FilePath -> Key -> FilePath
 variantFile file key
-	| doubleconflict = mkVariant file (keyFile key)
+	| doubleconflict = mkVariant file (fromRawFilePath (keyFile key))
 	| otherwise = mkVariant file (shortHash $ serializeKey' key)
   where
 	doubleconflict = variantMarker `isInfixOf` file
diff --git a/Assistant/Repair.hs b/Assistant/Repair.hs
index f8e7bedcec..a96921796c 100644
--- a/Assistant/Repair.hs
+++ b/Assistant/Repair.hs
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ repairStaleGitLocks r = do
 	repairStaleLocks lockfiles
 	return $ not $ null lockfiles
   where
-	findgitfiles = dirContentsRecursiveSkipping (== dropTrailingPathSeparator annexDir) True . fromRawFilePath . Git.localGitDir
+	findgitfiles = dirContentsRecursiveSkipping (== dropTrailingPathSeparator (fromRawFilePath annexDir)) True . fromRawFilePath . Git.localGitDir
 	islock f
 		| "gc.pid" `isInfixOf` f = False
 		| ".lock" `isSuffixOf` f = True
diff --git a/Command/AddUnused.hs b/Command/AddUnused.hs
index 025b25e4d0..b14e85bde5 100644
--- a/Command/AddUnused.hs
+++ b/Command/AddUnused.hs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ perform key = next $ do
 	addLink file key Nothing
 	return True
   where
-	file = "unused." ++ keyFile key
+	file = "unused." ++ fromRawFilePath (keyFile key)
 
 {- The content is not in the annex, but in another directory, and
  - it seems better to error out, rather than moving bad/tmp content into
diff --git a/Command/Fsck.hs b/Command/Fsck.hs
index 3010a6ce37..65c0112ea7 100644
--- a/Command/Fsck.hs
+++ b/Command/Fsck.hs
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ performRemote key afile backend numcopies remote =
 		pid <- liftIO getPID
 		t <- fromRepo gitAnnexTmpObjectDir
 		createAnnexDirectory t
-		let tmp = t </> "fsck" ++ show pid ++ "." ++ keyFile key
+		let tmp = t </> "fsck" ++ show pid ++ "." ++ fromRawFilePath (keyFile key)
 		let cleanup = liftIO $ catchIO (removeFile tmp) (const noop)
 		cleanup
 		cleanup `after` a tmp
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ badContent key = do
 badContentRemote :: Remote -> FilePath -> Key -> Annex String
 badContentRemote remote localcopy key = do
 	bad <- fromRepo gitAnnexBadDir
-	let destbad = bad </> keyFile key
+	let destbad = bad </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile key)
 	movedbad <- ifM (inAnnex key <||> liftIO (doesFileExist destbad))
 		( return False
 		, do
diff --git a/Command/Info.hs b/Command/Info.hs
index 94292077f8..3448ee6ef2 100644
--- a/Command/Info.hs
+++ b/Command/Info.hs
@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@ disk_size :: Stat
 disk_size = simpleStat "available local disk space" $
 	calcfree
 		<$> (lift $ annexDiskReserve <$> Annex.getGitConfig)
-		<*> (lift $ inRepo $ getDiskFree . gitAnnexDir)
+		<*> (lift $ inRepo $ getDiskFree . fromRawFilePath . gitAnnexDir)
 		<*> mkSizer
   where
 	calcfree reserve (Just have) sizer = unwords
@@ -674,7 +674,7 @@ staleSize label dirspec = go =<< lift (dirKeys dirspec)
 	keysizes keys = do
 		dir <- lift $ fromRepo dirspec
 		liftIO $ forM keys $ \k -> catchDefaultIO 0 $
-			getFileSize (dir </> keyFile k)
+			getFileSize (dir </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile k))
 
 aside :: String -> String
 aside s = " (" ++ s ++ ")"
diff --git a/Command/Map.hs b/Command/Map.hs
index de2a0c6dd6..c35ad6870d 100644
--- a/Command/Map.hs
+++ b/Command/Map.hs
@@ -46,7 +46,9 @@ start = startingNoMessage (ActionItemOther Nothing) $ do
 	umap <- uuidDescMap
 	trustmap <- trustMapLoad
 		
-	file <- (</>) <$> fromRepo gitAnnexDir <*> pure "map.dot"
+	file <- (</>)
+		<$> fromRepo (fromRawFilePath . gitAnnexDir)
+		<*> pure "map.dot"
 
 	liftIO $ writeFile file (drawMap rs trustmap umap)
 	next $
diff --git a/Command/Uninit.hs b/Command/Uninit.hs
index 29278a6c4e..ff9c4d3880 100644
--- a/Command/Uninit.hs
+++ b/Command/Uninit.hs
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ startCheckIncomplete file _ = giveup $ unlines
 
 finish :: Annex ()
 finish = do
-	annexdir <- fromRepo gitAnnexDir
+	annexdir <- fromRawFilePath <$> fromRepo gitAnnexDir
 	annexobjectdir <- fromRepo gitAnnexObjectDir
 	leftovers <- removeUnannexed =<< listKeys InAnnex
 	prepareRemoveAnnexDir annexdir
diff --git a/Database/Keys.hs b/Database/Keys.hs
index 7b34bae39a..77506d1b26 100644
--- a/Database/Keys.hs
+++ b/Database/Keys.hs
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ import Git.Command
 import Git.Types
 import Git.Index
 
+import qualified Data.ByteString as S
+import qualified System.FilePath.ByteString as P
+
 {- Runs an action that reads from the database.
  -
  - If the database doesn't already exist, it's not created; mempty is
@@ -263,7 +266,7 @@ reconcileStaged qh = do
 		-- pointer file. And a pointer file that is replaced with
 		-- a non-pointer file will match this.
 		, Param $ "-G^" ++ fromRawFilePath (toInternalGitPath $
-			toRawFilePath (pathSeparator:objectDir))
+			P.pathSeparator `S.cons` objectDir')
 		-- Don't include files that were deleted, because this only
 		-- wants to update information for files that are present
 		-- in the index.
diff --git a/Database/Keys/SQL.hs b/Database/Keys/SQL.hs
index 3846aaf625..cc307f996a 100644
--- a/Database/Keys/SQL.hs
+++ b/Database/Keys/SQL.hs
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ import Database.Types
 import Database.Handle
 import qualified Database.Queue as H
 import Utility.InodeCache
-import Utility.FileSystemEncoding
 import Git.FilePath
 
 import Database.Persist.Sql hiding (Key)
diff --git a/Git/UnionMerge.hs b/Git/UnionMerge.hs
index 85d9687e4c..e046895a1c 100644
--- a/Git/UnionMerge.hs
+++ b/Git/UnionMerge.hs
@@ -70,18 +70,18 @@ diffOpts = ["--raw", "-z", "-r", "--no-renames", "-l0"]
 doMerge :: HashObjectHandle -> CatFileHandle -> [String] -> Repo -> Streamer
 doMerge hashhandle ch differ repo streamer = do
 	(diff, cleanup) <- pipeNullSplit (map Param differ) repo
-	go (map decodeBL' diff)
+	go diff
 	void $ cleanup
   where
 	go [] = noop
-	go (info:file:rest) = mergeFile info file hashhandle ch >>=
+	go (info:file:rest) = mergeFile (decodeBL' info) (L.toStrict file) hashhandle ch >>=
 		maybe (go rest) (\l -> streamer l >> go rest)
 	go (_:[]) = error $ "parse error " ++ show differ
 
 {- Given an info line from a git raw diff, and the filename, generates
  - a line suitable for update-index that union merges the two sides of the
  - diff. -}
-mergeFile :: String -> FilePath -> HashObjectHandle -> CatFileHandle -> IO (Maybe L.ByteString)
+mergeFile :: String -> RawFilePath -> HashObjectHandle -> CatFileHandle -> IO (Maybe L.ByteString)
 mergeFile info file hashhandle h = case filter (/= nullSha) [Ref asha, Ref bsha] of
 	[] -> return Nothing
 	(sha:[]) -> use sha
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ mergeFile info file hashhandle h = case filter (/= nullSha) [Ref asha, Ref bsha]
   where
 	[_colonmode, _bmode, asha, bsha, _status] = words info
 	use sha = return $ Just $
-		updateIndexLine sha TreeFile $ asTopFilePath $ toRawFilePath file
+		updateIndexLine sha TreeFile $ asTopFilePath file
 	-- Get file and split into lines to union merge.
 	-- The encoding of the file is assumed to be either ASCII or utf-8;
 	-- in either case it's safe to split on \n
diff --git a/Logs.hs b/Logs.hs
index 18a045b452..5faec561ef 100644
--- a/Logs.hs
+++ b/Logs.hs
@@ -119,18 +119,18 @@ exportLog = "export.log"
 {- The pathname of the location log file for a given key. -}
 locationLogFile :: GitConfig -> Key -> RawFilePath
 locationLogFile config key =
-	branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile' key <> ".log"
+	branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile key <> ".log"
 
 {- The filename of the url log for a given key. -}
 urlLogFile :: GitConfig -> Key -> RawFilePath
 urlLogFile config key = 
-	branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile' key <> urlLogExt
+	branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile key <> urlLogExt
 
 {- Old versions stored the urls elsewhere. -}
 oldurlLogs :: GitConfig -> Key -> [RawFilePath]
 oldurlLogs config key =
 	[ "remote/web" P.</> hdir P.</> serializeKey' key <> ".log"
-	, "remote/web" P.</> hdir P.</> keyFile' key <> ".log"
+	, "remote/web" P.</> hdir P.</> keyFile key <> ".log"
 	]
   where
 	hdir = branchHashDir config key
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ isUrlLog file = urlLogExt `S.isSuffixOf` file
 {- The filename of the remote state log for a given key. -}
 remoteStateLogFile :: GitConfig -> Key -> RawFilePath
 remoteStateLogFile config key = 
-	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile' key)
+	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile key)
 		<> remoteStateLogExt
 
 remoteStateLogExt :: S.ByteString
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ isRemoteStateLog path = remoteStateLogExt `S.isSuffixOf` path
 {- The filename of the chunk log for a given key. -}
 chunkLogFile :: GitConfig -> Key -> RawFilePath
 chunkLogFile config key = 
-	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile' key)
+	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile key)
 		<> chunkLogExt
 
 chunkLogExt :: S.ByteString
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ isChunkLog path = chunkLogExt `S.isSuffixOf` path
 {- The filename of the metadata log for a given key. -}
 metaDataLogFile :: GitConfig -> Key -> RawFilePath
 metaDataLogFile config key =
-	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile' key)
+	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile key)
 		<> metaDataLogExt
 
 metaDataLogExt :: S.ByteString
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ isMetaDataLog path = metaDataLogExt `S.isSuffixOf` path
 {- The filename of the remote metadata log for a given key. -}
 remoteMetaDataLogFile :: GitConfig -> Key -> RawFilePath
 remoteMetaDataLogFile config key = 
-	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile' key)
+	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile key)
 		<> remoteMetaDataLogExt
 
 remoteMetaDataLogExt :: S.ByteString
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ isRemoteMetaDataLog path = remoteMetaDataLogExt `S.isSuffixOf` path
 {- The filename of the remote content identifier log for a given key. -}
 remoteContentIdentifierLogFile :: GitConfig -> Key -> RawFilePath
 remoteContentIdentifierLogFile config key =
-	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile' key)
+	(branchHashDir config key P.</> keyFile key)
 		<> remoteContentIdentifierExt
 
 remoteContentIdentifierExt :: S.ByteString
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ isRemoteContentIdentifierLog path = remoteContentIdentifierExt `S.isSuffixOf` pa
 {- From an extension and a log filename, get the key that it's a log for. -}
 extLogFileKey :: S.ByteString -> RawFilePath -> Maybe Key
 extLogFileKey expectedext path
-	| encodeBS' ext == expectedext = fileKey base
+	| encodeBS' ext == expectedext = fileKey (toRawFilePath base)
 	| otherwise = Nothing
   where
 	file = takeFileName (fromRawFilePath path)
diff --git a/Logs/Transfer.hs b/Logs/Transfer.hs
index 2dabe5cf34..ab9a8ca61b 100644
--- a/Logs/Transfer.hs
+++ b/Logs/Transfer.hs
@@ -195,12 +195,12 @@ recordFailedTransfer t info = do
 transferFile :: Transfer -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
 transferFile (Transfer direction u kd) r = transferDir direction r
 	</> filter (/= '/') (fromUUID u)
-	</> keyFile (mkKey (const kd))
+	</> fromRawFilePath (keyFile (mkKey (const kd)))
 
 {- The transfer information file to use to record a failed Transfer -}
 failedTransferFile :: Transfer -> Git.Repo -> FilePath
 failedTransferFile (Transfer direction u kd) r = failedTransferDir u direction r
-	</> keyFile (mkKey (const kd))
+	</> fromRawFilePath (keyFile (mkKey (const kd)))
 
 {- The transfer lock file corresponding to a given transfer info file. -}
 transferLockFile :: FilePath -> FilePath
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ parseTransferFile file
 		[direction, u, key] -> Transfer
 			<$> parseDirection direction
 			<*> pure (toUUID u)
-			<*> fmap (fromKey id) (fileKey key)
+			<*> fmap (fromKey id) (fileKey (toRawFilePath key))
 		_ -> Nothing
   where
 	bits = splitDirectories file
diff --git a/Remote/BitTorrent.hs b/Remote/BitTorrent.hs
index 09fa5ed744..0bbf4b24a7 100644
--- a/Remote/BitTorrent.hs
+++ b/Remote/BitTorrent.hs
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ downloadTorrentFile u = do
 			createAnnexDirectory (parentDir torrent)
 			if isTorrentMagnetUrl u
 				then withOtherTmp $ \othertmp -> do
-					kf <- keyFile <$> torrentUrlKey u
+					kf <- fromRawFilePath . keyFile <$> torrentUrlKey u
 					let metadir = othertmp </> "torrentmeta" </> kf
 					createAnnexDirectory metadir
 					showOutput
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ downloadTorrentContent :: Key -> URLString -> FilePath -> Int -> MeterUpdate ->
 downloadTorrentContent k u dest filenum p = do
 	torrent <- tmpTorrentFile u
 	withOtherTmp $ \othertmp -> do
-		kf <- keyFile <$> torrentUrlKey u
+		kf <- fromRawFilePath . keyFile <$> torrentUrlKey u
 		let downloaddir = othertmp </> "torrent" </> kf
 		createAnnexDirectory downloaddir
 		f <- wantedfile torrent
diff --git a/Remote/Directory.hs b/Remote/Directory.hs
index 933ccd23ce..3aa6185155 100644
--- a/Remote/Directory.hs
+++ b/Remote/Directory.hs
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ getLocation d k = do
 {- Directory where the file(s) for a key are stored. -}
 storeDir :: FilePath -> Key -> FilePath
 storeDir d k = addTrailingPathSeparator $
-	d </> fromRawFilePath (hashDirLower def k) </> keyFile k
+	d </> fromRawFilePath (hashDirLower def k) </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile k)
 
 {- Check if there is enough free disk space in the remote's directory to
  - store the key. Note that the unencrypted key size is checked. -}
@@ -164,12 +164,13 @@ store d chunkconfig k b p = liftIO $ do
 	case chunkconfig of
 		LegacyChunks chunksize -> Legacy.store chunksize finalizeStoreGeneric k b p tmpdir destdir
 		_ -> do
-			let tmpf = tmpdir </> keyFile k
+			let tmpf = tmpdir </> kf
 			meteredWriteFile p tmpf b
 			finalizeStoreGeneric tmpdir destdir
 			return True
   where
-	tmpdir = addTrailingPathSeparator $ d </> "tmp" </> keyFile k
+	tmpdir = addTrailingPathSeparator $ d </> "tmp" </> kf
+	kf = fromRawFilePath (keyFile k)
 	destdir = storeDir d k
 
 {- Passed a temp directory that contains the files that should be placed
diff --git a/Remote/Directory/LegacyChunked.hs b/Remote/Directory/LegacyChunked.hs
index fb3626f489..d9d5a860ce 100644
--- a/Remote/Directory/LegacyChunked.hs
+++ b/Remote/Directory/LegacyChunked.hs
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ store chunksize finalizer k b p = storeHelper finalizer k $ \dests ->
 retrieve :: (FilePath -> Key -> [FilePath]) -> FilePath -> Preparer Retriever
 retrieve locations d basek a = withOtherTmp $ \tmpdir -> do
 	showLongNote "This remote uses the deprecated chunksize setting. So this will be quite slow."
-	let tmp = tmpdir </> keyFile basek ++ ".directorylegacy.tmp"
+	let tmp = tmpdir </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile basek) ++ ".directorylegacy.tmp"
 	a $ Just $ byteRetriever $ \k sink -> do
 		liftIO $ void $ withStoredFiles d locations k $ \fs -> do
 			forM_ fs $
diff --git a/Remote/GCrypt.hs b/Remote/GCrypt.hs
index c3a3f31348..9fa5916978 100644
--- a/Remote/GCrypt.hs
+++ b/Remote/GCrypt.hs
@@ -351,9 +351,9 @@ store' :: Git.Repo -> Remote -> Remote.Rsync.RsyncOpts -> Storer
 store' repo r rsyncopts
 	| not $ Git.repoIsUrl repo = 
 		byteStorer $ \k b p -> guardUsable repo (return False) $ liftIO $ do
-			let tmpdir = Git.repoLocation repo </> "tmp" </> keyFile k
+			let tmpdir = Git.repoLocation repo </> "tmp" </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile k)
 			void $ tryIO $ createDirectoryIfMissing True tmpdir
-			let tmpf = tmpdir </> keyFile k
+			let tmpf = tmpdir </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile k)
 			meteredWriteFile p tmpf b
 			let destdir = parentDir $ gCryptLocation repo k
 			Remote.Directory.finalizeStoreGeneric tmpdir destdir
diff --git a/Remote/Helper/Chunked/Legacy.hs b/Remote/Helper/Chunked/Legacy.hs
index c804b23754..e7a7c5fc67 100644
--- a/Remote/Helper/Chunked/Legacy.hs
+++ b/Remote/Helper/Chunked/Legacy.hs
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ storeChunks key tmp dest storer recorder finalizer = either onerr return
 		warningIO (show e)
 		return False
 
-	basef = tmp ++ keyFile key
+	basef = tmp ++ fromRawFilePath (keyFile key)
 	tmpdests = map (basef ++ ) chunkStream
 
 {- Given a list of destinations to use, chunks the data according to the
diff --git a/Remote/Rsync.hs b/Remote/Rsync.hs
index f171b69e60..1847514002 100644
--- a/Remote/Rsync.hs
+++ b/Remote/Rsync.hs
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ remove o k = removeGeneric o includes
 		[ parentDir dir
 		, dir
 		-- match content directory and anything in it
-		, dir </> keyFile k </> "***"
+		, dir </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile k) </> "***"
 		]
 
 {- An empty directory is rsynced to make it delete. Everything is excluded,
diff --git a/Remote/Rsync/RsyncUrl.hs b/Remote/Rsync/RsyncUrl.hs
index 2b0dbc1966..dc810dea4d 100644
--- a/Remote/Rsync/RsyncUrl.hs
+++ b/Remote/Rsync/RsyncUrl.hs
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ rsyncUrls :: RsyncOpts -> Key -> [RsyncUrl]
 rsyncUrls o k = map use dirHashes
   where
 	use h = rsyncUrl o </> fromRawFilePath (hash h) </> rsyncEscape o (f </> f)
-	f = keyFile k
+	f = fromRawFilePath (keyFile k)
 #ifndef mingw32_HOST_OS
 	hash h = h def k
 #else
diff --git a/Remote/WebDAV/DavLocation.hs b/Remote/WebDAV/DavLocation.hs
index 3893533a22..bd188a6de4 100644
--- a/Remote/WebDAV/DavLocation.hs
+++ b/Remote/WebDAV/DavLocation.hs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ inLocation d = inDAVLocation (</> d')
 
 {- The directory where files(s) for a key are stored. -}
 keyDir :: Key -> DavLocation
-keyDir k = addTrailingPathSeparator $ hashdir </> keyFile k
+keyDir k = addTrailingPathSeparator $ hashdir </> fromRawFilePath (keyFile k)
   where
 #ifndef mingw32_HOST_OS
 	hashdir = fromRawFilePath $ hashDirLower def k
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ keyDir k = addTrailingPathSeparator $ hashdir </> keyFile k
 #endif
 
 keyLocation :: Key -> DavLocation
-keyLocation k = keyDir k ++ keyFile k
+keyLocation k = keyDir k ++ fromRawFilePath (keyFile k)
 
 {- Paths containing # or ? cannot be represented in an url, so fails on
  - those. -}
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ exportLocation l =
 
 {- Where we store temporary data for a key as it's being uploaded. -}
 keyTmpLocation :: Key -> DavLocation
-keyTmpLocation = tmpLocation . keyFile
+keyTmpLocation = tmpLocation . fromRawFilePath . keyFile
 
 tmpLocation :: FilePath -> DavLocation
 tmpLocation f = "git-annex-webdav-tmp-" ++ f
diff --git a/Upgrade/V0.hs b/Upgrade/V0.hs
index 00dce6d125..2b5b2d4eba 100644
--- a/Upgrade/V0.hs
+++ b/Upgrade/V0.hs
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ upgrade = do
 	showAction "v0 to v1"
 
 	-- do the reorganisation of the key files
-	olddir <- fromRepo gitAnnexDir
+	olddir <- fromRawFilePath <$> fromRepo gitAnnexDir
 	keys <- getKeysPresent0 olddir
 	forM_ keys $ \k -> moveAnnex k $ olddir </> keyFile0 k
 
diff --git a/Upgrade/V1.hs b/Upgrade/V1.hs
index e311044664..88a3494484 100644
--- a/Upgrade/V1.hs
+++ b/Upgrade/V1.hs
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ logFile2 = logFile' (hashDirLower def)
 
 logFile' :: (Key -> RawFilePath) -> Key -> Git.Repo -> String
 logFile' hasher key repo =
-	gitStateDir repo ++ fromRawFilePath (hasher key) ++ keyFile key ++ ".log"
+	gitStateDir repo ++ fromRawFilePath (hasher key) ++ fromRawFilePath (keyFile key) ++ ".log"
 
 stateDir :: FilePath
 stateDir = addTrailingPathSeparator ".git-annex"
diff --git a/Upgrade/V7.hs b/Upgrade/V7.hs
index 600f91e206..d3ba494619 100644
--- a/Upgrade/V7.hs
+++ b/Upgrade/V7.hs
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ upgrade automatic = do
 	return True
 
 gitAnnexKeysDbOld :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexKeysDbOld r = gitAnnexDir r </> "keys"
+gitAnnexKeysDbOld r = fromRawFilePath (gitAnnexDir r) </> "keys"
 
 gitAnnexKeysDbLockOld :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
 gitAnnexKeysDbLockOld r = gitAnnexKeysDbOld r ++ ".lck"
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ gitAnnexKeysDbIndexCacheOld :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
 gitAnnexKeysDbIndexCacheOld r = gitAnnexKeysDbOld r ++ ".cache"
 
 gitAnnexContentIdentifierDbDirOld :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
-gitAnnexContentIdentifierDbDirOld r = gitAnnexDir r </> "cids"
+gitAnnexContentIdentifierDbDirOld r = fromRawFilePath (gitAnnexDir r) </> "cids"
 
 gitAnnexContentIdentifierLockOld :: Git.Repo -> FilePath
 gitAnnexContentIdentifierLockOld r = gitAnnexContentIdentifierDbDirOld r ++ ".lck"
diff --git a/doc/devblog/day_614__bytestring_wrapping_up.mdwn b/doc/devblog/day_614__bytestring_wrapping_up.mdwn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..db686e7d6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/devblog/day_614__bytestring_wrapping_up.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+Cut the last release before the switch over to end-to-end ByteString.
+(Including fixing the rpm repo's index which had not been getting updated.)
+
+I had left the `bs` branch last week with a known bug, so got that fixed.
+Also there were some encoding problems on windows with the ByteString
+filepaths, which needed a new release of filepath-bytestring to clean up.
+Now I think the `bs` branch is really in a mergeable state.
+(It's still not tested on Windows at all though.)
+
+Took the last little while to do some more profiling. Mostly the remaining
+ByteString conversions barely seem worth doing (1% improvement at most),
+but [[todo/optimise_journal_access]] seems like it could pay off well.
+
+Also found time in there somewhere to implement `git annex inprogress
+--key`
diff --git a/doc/profiling/comment_7_95f5afb616c7eba60473cdeb85a070b0._comment b/doc/profiling/comment_7_95f5afb616c7eba60473cdeb85a070b0._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..05db73f4fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/profiling/comment_7_95f5afb616c7eba60473cdeb85a070b0._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="joey"
+ subject="""comment 7"""
+ date="2019-12-18T19:18:04Z"
+ content="""
+Updated profiling. git-annex find is now ByteString end-to-end!
+Note the massive reduction in alloc, and improved runtime.
+
+	        Wed Dec 11 14:41 2019 Time and Allocation Profiling Report  (Final)
+	
+	           git-annex +RTS -p -RTS find
+	
+	        total time  =        1.51 secs   (1515 ticks @ 1000 us, 1 processor)
+	        total alloc = 608,475,328 bytes  (excludes profiling overheads)
+	
+	COST CENTRE                      MODULE                           SRC                                                    %time %alloc
+	
+	keyFile'                         Annex.Locations                  Annex/Locations.hs:(590,1)-(600,30)                      8.2   16.6
+	>>=.\.succ'                      Data.Attoparsec.Internal.Types   Data/Attoparsec/Internal/Types.hs:146:13-76              4.7    0.7
+	getAnnexLinkTarget'.probesymlink Annex.Link                       Annex/Link.hs:79:9-46                                    4.2    7.6
+	>>=.\                            Data.Attoparsec.Internal.Types   Data/Attoparsec/Internal/Types.hs:(146,9)-(147,44)       3.9    2.3
+	parseLinkTarget                  Annex.Link                       Annex/Link.hs:(255,1)-(263,25)                           3.9   11.8
+	doesPathExist                    Utility.RawFilePath              Utility/RawFilePath.hs:30:1-25                           3.4    0.6
+	keyFile'.esc                     Annex.Locations                  Annex/Locations.hs:(596,9)-(600,30)                      3.2   14.7
+	fileKey'                         Annex.Locations                  Annex/Locations.hs:(609,1)-(619,41)                      3.0    4.7
+	parseLinkTargetOrPointer         Annex.Link                       Annex/Link.hs:(240,1)-(244,25)                           2.8    0.2
+	hashUpdates.\.\.\                Crypto.Hash                      Crypto/Hash.hs:85:48-99                                  2.5    0.1
+	combineAlways                    System.FilePath.Posix.ByteString System/FilePath/Posix/../Internal.hs:(698,1)-(704,67)    2.0    3.3
+	getState                         Annex                            Annex.hs:(251,1)-(254,27)                                2.0    1.1
+	withPtr.makeTrampoline           Basement.Block.Base              Basement/Block/Base.hs:(401,5)-(404,31)                  1.9    1.7
+	withMutablePtrHint               Basement.Block.Base              Basement/Block/Base.hs:(468,1)-(482,50)                  1.8    1.2
+	parseKeyVariety                  Types.Key                        Types/Key.hs:(323,1)-(371,42)                            1.8    0.0
+	fileKey'.go                      Annex.Locations                  Annex/Locations.hs:611:9-55                              1.7    2.2
+	isLinkToAnnex                    Annex.Link                       Annex/Link.hs:(299,1)-(305,47)                           1.7    1.0
+	hashDirMixed                     Annex.DirHashes                  Annex/DirHashes.hs:(82,1)-(90,27)                        1.7    1.3
+	primitive                        Basement.Monad                   Basement/Monad.hs:72:5-18                                1.6    0.1
+	withPtr                          Basement.Block.Base              Basement/Block/Base.hs:(395,1)-(404,31)                  1.5    1.6
+	mkKeySerialization               Types.Key                        Types/Key.hs:(115,1)-(117,22)                            1.1    2.8
+	decimal.step                     Data.Attoparsec.ByteString.Char8 Data/Attoparsec/ByteString/Char8.hs:448:9-49             0.8    1.2
+"""]]
diff --git a/doc/todo/addunlocked_config_setting/comment_3_6909726735abb7945930ba45632e4769._comment b/doc/todo/addunlocked_config_setting/comment_3_6909726735abb7945930ba45632e4769._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e16430a758
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/todo/addunlocked_config_setting/comment_3_6909726735abb7945930ba45632e4769._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="joey"
+ subject="""comment 3"""
+ date="2019-12-19T15:29:40Z"
+ content="""
+Retargeting this todo at something useful post-git-add-kerfluffle,
+annex.addunlocked could usefully be a pagespec to allow adding some files
+unlocked and others locked (by git-annex add only, not git add).
+"true" would be the same as "anything" and false as "nothing".
+
+---
+
+It may also then make sense to let it be configured in .gitattributes.
+Although, the ugliness of setting a pagespec in .gitattributes,
+as was done for annex.largefiles, coupled with the overhead of needing to
+query that from git-check-attr for every file, makes me wary.
+
+(Surprising amount of `git-annex add` time is in querying the
+annex.largefiles and annex.backend attributes. Setting the former in
+gitconfig avoids the attribute query and speeds up add of smaller files by
+2%. Granted I've sped up add (except hashing) by probably 20% this month,
+and with large files the hashing dominates.)
+
+The query overhead could maybe be finessed: Since adding a file
+already queries gitattributes for two other things, a single query could be
+done for a file and the result cached.
+
+Letting it be globally configured via `git-annex config` is an alternative
+that I'm leaning toward.
+(That would also need some caching, easier to implement and faster
+since it is not a per-file value as the gitattribute would be.)
+"""]]
diff --git a/doc/todo/git-annex-cat/comment_3_347a33a4a77fd385ab8f3551138b75e1._comment b/doc/todo/git-annex-cat/comment_3_347a33a4a77fd385ab8f3551138b75e1._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8c5929974c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/todo/git-annex-cat/comment_3_347a33a4a77fd385ab8f3551138b75e1._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="Ilya_Shlyakhter"
+ avatar="http://cdn.libravatar.org/avatar/1647044369aa7747829c38b9dcc84df0"
+ subject="named pipes as destination files"
+ date="2019-12-18T18:41:57Z"
+ content="""
+\"getting object content from remotes involve a destination file that is written to\" -- what happens if git-annex makes a named pipe, and passes that as the destination file name to the remote?
+"""]]
diff --git a/doc/todo/making_it_easier_to_smudge_dotfiles/comment_1_73ad5cd7f65c94a1db859d22eb6eece4._comment b/doc/todo/making_it_easier_to_smudge_dotfiles/comment_1_73ad5cd7f65c94a1db859d22eb6eece4._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..96b75c3d10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/todo/making_it_easier_to_smudge_dotfiles/comment_1_73ad5cd7f65c94a1db859d22eb6eece4._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="joey"
+ subject="""comment 1"""
+ date="2019-12-19T16:08:09Z"
+ content="""
+Hmm, it used to be that `git add .` would smudge all dotfiles without that
+line, but now annex.largefiles has to be configured for it to smudge
+anything.
+
+So, this could be dealt with in annex.largefiles. Both `anything` and
+`include=*` currently match dotfiles. It's kind of weird really that `*`
+matches dotfiles; it does not in the shell. If `*` did not match dotfiles
+(and `anything` is just an alias for `include=*`), it would be fairly safe
+to remove the `.* !filter` line by default. (If annex.largefiles has a
+content-based setting, and a dotfile is large enough or the right mime type
+or whatever, it's reasonable to default to smudging it.)
+
+Then, you could set annex.largfiles to match the dotfiles you want,
+eg `include=* or include=.mydotfile`. You could put the config in
+.gitattributes if you want to configure it globally.
+
+This change to annex.largefiles would also let `git-annex add`
+stop skipping dotfiles by default; instead annex.largefiles would not match
+dotfiles unless the user explicitly configured it to, and so the dotfiles
+would be added as small files, directly to git.
+
+I like this because it unifies the behaviors of the two ways of adding,
+and it reduces the complexity, rather than adding more.
+
+Removing the `.* !filter` line by default 
+would need to be done as part of the v8 upgrade, or a later upgrade.
+"""]]
diff --git a/doc/todo/making_it_easier_to_smudge_dotfiles/comment_2_3912c1194c3f4f0e4c372e7603e0a3e5._comment b/doc/todo/making_it_easier_to_smudge_dotfiles/comment_2_3912c1194c3f4f0e4c372e7603e0a3e5._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..11cd3e4441
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/todo/making_it_easier_to_smudge_dotfiles/comment_2_3912c1194c3f4f0e4c372e7603e0a3e5._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="joey"
+ subject="""comment 2"""
+ date="2019-12-19T17:17:31Z"
+ content="""
+`*` is not only used in annex.largefiles, but other pagespecs too.
+Like preferred content:
+
+	exclude=archive/*
+
+So changing `*` to not match dotfiles would have wide reaching effects,
+and it's really not good for different versions of git-annex to parse
+preferred content expressions differently. And it seems too confusing to
+have `*` match differently in annex.largefiles than in other pagespecs.
+
+Having a single config that controls both kinds of adds still seems like a
+good idea, but I don't know what that config should be.
+annex.largedotfiles?
+"""]]
diff --git a/doc/todo/optimise_by_converting_Ref_to_ByteString.mdwn b/doc/todo/optimise_by_converting_Ref_to_ByteString.mdwn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..11328a9f37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/todo/optimise_by_converting_Ref_to_ByteString.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Profiling of `git annex find --not --in web` suggests that converting Ref
+to contain a ByteString, rather than a String, would eliminate a
+fromRawFilePath that uses about 1% of runtime.
diff --git a/doc/todo/optimise_journal_access.mdwn b/doc/todo/optimise_journal_access.mdwn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a49441cf5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/todo/optimise_journal_access.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+Often a command will need to read a number of files from the git-annex
+branch, and it uses getJournalFile for each to check for any journalled
+change that has not reached the branch. But typically, the journal is empty
+and in such a case, that's a lot of time spent trying to open journal files
+that DNE.
+
+Profiling eg, `git annex find --in web` shows things called by getJournalFile
+use around 5% of runtime.
+
+What if, once at startup, it checked if the journal was entirely empty.
+If so, it can remember that, and avoid reading journal files.
+Perhaps paired with staging the journal if it's not empty.
+
+This could lead to behavior changes in some cases where one command is
+writing changes and another command used to read them from the journal and
+may no longer do so. But any such behavior change is of a behavior that
+used to involve a race; the reader could just as well be ahead of the
+writer and it would have already behaved as it would after the change.
+
+But: When a process writes to the journal, it will need to update its state
+to remember it's no longer empty. --[[Joey]]
diff --git a/doc/todo/optimize_by_converting_String_to_ByteString.mdwn b/doc/todo/optimize_by_converting_String_to_ByteString.mdwn
index 9fcc9e5319..830f18d549 100644
--- a/doc/todo/optimize_by_converting_String_to_ByteString.mdwn
+++ b/doc/todo/optimize_by_converting_String_to_ByteString.mdwn
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Benchmarking `git-annex find`, speedups range from 28-66%. The files fly by
 much more snappily. Other commands likely also speed up, but do more work
 than find so the improvement is not as large.
 
-The `bs` branch is in a mergeable state now.
+The `bs` branch is in a mergeable state now. [[done]]
 
 Stuff not entirely finished: