diff --git a/Annex/AdjustedBranch/Merge.hs b/Annex/AdjustedBranch/Merge.hs
index c2cce8754d..79f86c2884 100644
--- a/Annex/AdjustedBranch/Merge.hs
+++ b/Annex/AdjustedBranch/Merge.hs
@@ -82,15 +82,14 @@ mergeToAdjustedBranch tomerge (origbranch, adj) mergeconfig canresolvemerge comm
 				refs <- liftIO $ dirContentsRecursive $
 					git_dir' </> "refs"
 				let refs' = (git_dir' </> "packed-refs") : refs
-				liftIO $ forM_ refs' $ \src ->
+				liftIO $ forM_ refs' $ \src -> do
+					let src' = toRawFilePath src
 					whenM (doesFileExist src) $ do
-						dest <- relPathDirToFile git_dir
-							(toRawFilePath src)
+						dest <- relPathDirToFile git_dir src'
 						let dest' = toRawFilePath tmpgit P.</> dest
 						createDirectoryUnder git_dir
 							(P.takeDirectory dest')
-						void $ createLinkOrCopy src
-							(fromRawFilePath dest')
+						void $ createLinkOrCopy src' dest'
 				-- This reset makes git merge not care
 				-- that the work tree is empty; otherwise
 				-- it will think that all the files have
diff --git a/Annex/Content.hs b/Annex/Content.hs
index 754127bd55..e0dc1a7841 100644
--- a/Annex/Content.hs
+++ b/Annex/Content.hs
@@ -410,9 +410,7 @@ moveAnnex key af src = ifM (checkSecureHashes' key)
 	storeobject dest = ifM (liftIO $ R.doesPathExist dest)
 		( alreadyhave
 		, adjustedBranchRefresh af $ modifyContentDir dest $ do
-			liftIO $ moveFile
-				(fromRawFilePath src)
-				(fromRawFilePath dest)
+			liftIO $ moveFile src dest
 			-- Freeze the object file now that it is in place.
 			-- Waiting until now to freeze it allows for freeze
 			-- hooks that prevent moving the file.
@@ -654,17 +652,16 @@ removeAnnex (ContentRemovalLock key) = withObjectLoc key $ \file ->
 
 {- Moves a key out of .git/annex/objects/ into .git/annex/bad, and
  - returns the file it was moved to. -}
-moveBad :: Key -> Annex FilePath
+moveBad :: Key -> Annex RawFilePath
 moveBad key = do
 	src <- calcRepo (gitAnnexLocation key)
 	bad <- fromRepo gitAnnexBadDir
 	let dest = bad P.</> P.takeFileName src
-	let dest' = fromRawFilePath dest
 	createAnnexDirectory (parentDir dest)
 	cleanObjectLoc key $
-		liftIO $ moveFile (fromRawFilePath src) dest'
+		liftIO $ moveFile src dest
 	logStatus key InfoMissing
-	return dest'
+	return dest
 
 data KeyLocation = InAnnex | InAnywhere
 
diff --git a/Annex/Journal.hs b/Annex/Journal.hs
index 0d6056b9ba..de0ad77655 100644
--- a/Annex/Journal.hs
+++ b/Annex/Journal.hs
@@ -84,10 +84,11 @@ setJournalFile _jl ru file content = withOtherTmp $ \tmp -> do
 	createAnnexDirectory jd
 	-- journal file is written atomically
 	let jfile = journalFile file
-	let tmpfile = fromRawFilePath (tmp P.</> jfile)
+	let tmpfile = tmp P.</> jfile
 	liftIO $ do
-		withFile tmpfile WriteMode $ \h -> writeJournalHandle h content
-		moveFile tmpfile (fromRawFilePath (jd P.</> jfile))
+		withFile (fromRawFilePath tmpfile) WriteMode $ \h ->
+			writeJournalHandle h content
+		moveFile tmpfile (jd P.</> jfile)
 
 data JournalledContent
 	= NoJournalledContent
diff --git a/Annex/Link.hs b/Annex/Link.hs
index edafe9029a..9cc39ab81d 100644
--- a/Annex/Link.hs
+++ b/Annex/Link.hs
@@ -218,10 +218,10 @@ restagePointerFile (Restage True) f orig = withTSDelta $ \tsd ->
 		    showwarning = warning $ unableToRestage Nothing
 		    go Nothing = showwarning
 		    go (Just _) = withTmpDirIn (fromRawFilePath $ Git.localGitDir r) "annexindex" $ \tmpdir -> do
-			let tmpindex = tmpdir </> "index"
+			let tmpindex = toRawFilePath (tmpdir </> "index")
 			let updatetmpindex = do
 				r' <- liftIO $ Git.Env.addGitEnv r Git.Index.indexEnv
-					=<< Git.Index.indexEnvVal (toRawFilePath tmpindex)
+					=<< Git.Index.indexEnvVal tmpindex
 				-- Avoid git warning about CRLF munging.
 				let r'' = r' { gitGlobalOpts = gitGlobalOpts r' ++
 					[ Param "-c"
@@ -233,9 +233,9 @@ restagePointerFile (Restage True) f orig = withTSDelta $ \tsd ->
 							whenM checkunmodified $
 								feed f'
 			let replaceindex = catchBoolIO $ do
-				moveFile tmpindex (fromRawFilePath realindex)
+				moveFile tmpindex realindex
 				return True
-			ok <- liftIO (createLinkOrCopy (fromRawFilePath realindex) tmpindex)
+			ok <- liftIO (createLinkOrCopy realindex tmpindex)
 				<&&> updatetmpindex
 				<&&> liftIO replaceindex
 			unless ok showwarning
diff --git a/Annex/ReplaceFile.hs b/Annex/ReplaceFile.hs
index 04125fd7c3..21c6f29744 100644
--- a/Annex/ReplaceFile.hs
+++ b/Annex/ReplaceFile.hs
@@ -75,13 +75,13 @@ replaceFile' createdirectory file checkres action = withOtherTmp $ \othertmpdir
 		let tmpfile = tmpdir </> basetmp
 		r <- action tmpfile
 		when (checkres r) $
-			replaceFileFrom tmpfile file createdirectory
+			replaceFileFrom (toRawFilePath tmpfile) (toRawFilePath file) createdirectory
 		return r
 
-replaceFileFrom :: FilePath -> FilePath -> (RawFilePath -> Annex ()) -> Annex ()
+replaceFileFrom :: RawFilePath -> RawFilePath -> (RawFilePath -> Annex ()) -> Annex ()
 replaceFileFrom src dest createdirectory = go `catchIO` fallback
   where
 	go = liftIO $ moveFile src dest
 	fallback _ = do
-		createdirectory (parentDir (toRawFilePath dest))
+		createdirectory (parentDir dest)
 		go
diff --git a/Command/Add.hs b/Command/Add.hs
index 671f16799e..17a00d7e10 100644
--- a/Command/Add.hs
+++ b/Command/Add.hs
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import Utility.InodeCache
 import Annex.InodeSentinal
 import Annex.CheckIgnore
 import qualified Utility.RawFilePath as R
+import qualified System.FilePath.ByteString as P
 
 import System.PosixCompat.Files
 
@@ -208,15 +209,15 @@ start si file addunlockedmatcher =
 		starting "add" (ActionItemTreeFile file) si $
 			addingExistingLink file key $
 				withOtherTmp $ \tmp -> do
-					let tmpf = fromRawFilePath tmp </> fromRawFilePath file
-					liftIO $ moveFile (fromRawFilePath file) tmpf
-					ifM (isSymbolicLink <$> liftIO (getSymbolicLinkStatus tmpf))
+					let tmpf = tmp P.</> file
+					liftIO $ moveFile file tmpf
+					ifM (isSymbolicLink <$> liftIO (R.getSymbolicLinkStatus tmpf))
 						( do
-							liftIO $ removeFile tmpf
+							liftIO $ R.removeLink tmpf
 							addSymlink file key Nothing
 							next $ cleanup key =<< inAnnex key
 						, do
-							liftIO $ moveFile tmpf (fromRawFilePath file)
+							liftIO $ moveFile tmpf file
 							next $ return True
 						)
 	fixuppointer s key =
diff --git a/Command/Fsck.hs b/Command/Fsck.hs
index d93c6f1707..cac06ecfc2 100644
--- a/Command/Fsck.hs
+++ b/Command/Fsck.hs
@@ -613,7 +613,7 @@ honorDead dead
 badContent :: Key -> Annex String
 badContent key = do
 	dest <- moveBad key
-	return $ "moved to " ++ dest
+	return $ "moved to " ++ fromRawFilePath dest
 
 {- Bad content is dropped from the remote. We have downloaded a copy
  - from the remote to a temp file already (in some cases, it's just a
@@ -633,7 +633,7 @@ badContentRemote remote localcopy key = do
 				ifM (isSymbolicLink <$> R.getSymbolicLinkStatus localcopy)
 					( copyFileExternal CopyTimeStamps (fromRawFilePath localcopy) destbad'
 					, do
-						moveFile (fromRawFilePath localcopy) destbad'
+						moveFile localcopy destbad
 						return True
 					)
 		)
diff --git a/Command/Import.hs b/Command/Import.hs
index 21d847ea50..21fd0a9bef 100644
--- a/Command/Import.hs
+++ b/Command/Import.hs
@@ -207,12 +207,8 @@ startLocal o addunlockedmatcher largematcher mode (srcfile, destfile) =
 					(fromRawFilePath destfile)
 				return $ removeWhenExistsWith R.removeLink destfile
 			else do
-				moveFile 
-					(fromRawFilePath srcfile)
-					(fromRawFilePath destfile)
-				return $ moveFile
-					(fromRawFilePath destfile)
-					(fromRawFilePath srcfile)
+				moveFile srcfile destfile
+				return $ moveFile destfile srcfile
 		-- Make sure that the dest file has its write permissions
 		-- removed; the src file normally already did, but may
 		-- have imported it from a filesystem that does not allow
diff --git a/Command/SetKey.hs b/Command/SetKey.hs
index ec15cf87c7..e7393e13bb 100644
--- a/Command/SetKey.hs
+++ b/Command/SetKey.hs
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ perform file key = do
 	ok <- getViaTmp RetrievalAllKeysSecure DefaultVerify key (AssociatedFile Nothing) $ \dest -> unVerified $
 		if dest /= file
 			then liftIO $ catchBoolIO $ do
-				moveFile (fromRawFilePath file) (fromRawFilePath dest)
+				moveFile file dest
 				return True
 		else return True
 	if ok
diff --git a/Git/Repair.hs b/Git/Repair.hs
index 7d47f84614..7e058e25df 100644
--- a/Git/Repair.hs
+++ b/Git/Repair.hs
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ explodePacks r = go =<< listPackFiles r
 			let dest = objectsDir r P.</> f
 			createDirectoryIfMissing True
 				(fromRawFilePath (parentDir dest))
-			moveFile objfile (fromRawFilePath dest)
+			moveFile (toRawFilePath objfile) dest
 		forM_ packs $ \packfile -> do
 			let f = toRawFilePath packfile
 			removeWhenExistsWith R.removeLink f
diff --git a/Remote/Borg.hs b/Remote/Borg.hs
index 5e34256fe9..7c31038661 100644
--- a/Remote/Borg.hs
+++ b/Remote/Borg.hs
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ retrieveExportWithContentIdentifierM borgrepo loc _ dest gk _ = do
 		forceSuccessProcess p pid
 		-- Filepaths in borg archives are relative, so it's ok to
 		-- combine with </>
-		moveFile (fromRawFilePath othertmp </> fromRawFilePath archivefile) dest
+		moveFile (othertmp P.</> archivefile) (toRawFilePath dest)
 		removeDirectoryRecursive (fromRawFilePath othertmp)
 
 	(archivename, archivefile) = extractImportLocation loc
diff --git a/Remote/Helper/Chunked.hs b/Remote/Helper/Chunked.hs
index 72e33fe77e..f9014074b0 100644
--- a/Remote/Helper/Chunked.hs
+++ b/Remote/Helper/Chunked.hs
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ writeRetrievedContent
 writeRetrievedContent dest enc encc mh mp content miv = case (enc, mh, content) of
 	(Nothing, Nothing, FileContent f)
 		| f == dest -> noop
-		| otherwise -> liftIO $ moveFile f dest
+		| otherwise -> liftIO $ moveFile (toRawFilePath f) (toRawFilePath dest)
 	(Just (cipher, _), _, ByteContent b) -> do
 		cmd <- gpgCmd <$> Annex.getGitConfig
 		decrypt cmd encc cipher (feedBytes b) $
diff --git a/Remote/Rsync.hs b/Remote/Rsync.hs
index e2ac08a616..ab3c0b42ed 100644
--- a/Remote/Rsync.hs
+++ b/Remote/Rsync.hs
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ store o k src meterupdate = storeGeneric o meterupdate basedest populatedest
 		then do
 			rename src dest
 			return True
-		else createLinkOrCopy src dest
+		else createLinkOrCopy (toRawFilePath src) (toRawFilePath dest)
 	{- If the key being sent is encrypted or chunked, the file
 	 - containing its content is a temp file, and so can be
 	 - renamed into place. Otherwise, the file is the annexed
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ storeExportM o src _k loc meterupdate =
 	storeGeneric o meterupdate basedest populatedest
   where
 	basedest = fromRawFilePath (fromExportLocation loc)
-	populatedest = liftIO . createLinkOrCopy src
+	populatedest = liftIO . createLinkOrCopy (toRawFilePath src) . toRawFilePath
 
 retrieveExportM :: RsyncOpts -> Key -> ExportLocation -> FilePath -> MeterUpdate -> Annex Verification
 retrieveExportM o k loc dest p =
diff --git a/Utility/CopyFile.hs b/Utility/CopyFile.hs
index 9c93e70199..59e1ca278d 100644
--- a/Utility/CopyFile.hs
+++ b/Utility/CopyFile.hs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ module Utility.CopyFile (
 
 import Common
 import qualified BuildInfo
+import qualified Utility.RawFilePath as R
 
 data CopyMetaData 
 	-- Copy timestamps when possible, but no other metadata, and
@@ -86,10 +87,10 @@ copyCoW meta src dest
 
 {- Create a hard link if the filesystem allows it, and fall back to copying
  - the file. -}
-createLinkOrCopy :: FilePath -> FilePath -> IO Bool
+createLinkOrCopy :: RawFilePath -> RawFilePath -> IO Bool
 createLinkOrCopy src dest = go `catchIO` const fallback
   where
 	go = do
-		createLink src dest
+		R.createLink src dest
 		return True
-	fallback = copyFileExternal CopyAllMetaData src dest
+	fallback = copyFileExternal CopyAllMetaData (fromRawFilePath src) (fromRawFilePath dest)
diff --git a/Utility/MoveFile.hs b/Utility/MoveFile.hs
index 3ea17e8405..ebce9ac39d 100644
--- a/Utility/MoveFile.hs
+++ b/Utility/MoveFile.hs
@@ -14,8 +14,7 @@ module Utility.MoveFile (
 ) where
 
 import Control.Monad
-import System.FilePath
-import System.PosixCompat.Files hiding (removeLink)
+import System.PosixCompat.Files (isDirectory)
 import System.IO.Error
 import Prelude
 
@@ -28,17 +27,19 @@ import Utility.SystemDirectory
 import Utility.Tmp
 import Utility.Exception
 import Utility.Monad
+import Utility.FileSystemEncoding
+import qualified Utility.RawFilePath as R
 
 {- Moves one filename to another.
  - First tries a rename, but falls back to moving across devices if needed. -}
-moveFile :: FilePath -> FilePath -> IO ()
-moveFile src dest = tryIO (rename src dest) >>= onrename
+moveFile :: RawFilePath -> RawFilePath -> IO ()
+moveFile src dest = tryIO (R.rename src dest) >>= onrename
   where
 	onrename (Right _) = noop
 	onrename (Left e)
 		| isPermissionError e = rethrow
 		| isDoesNotExistError e = rethrow
-		| otherwise = viaTmp mv dest ()
+		| otherwise = viaTmp mv (fromRawFilePath dest) ()
 	  where
 		rethrow = throwM e
 
@@ -46,16 +47,20 @@ moveFile src dest = tryIO (rename src dest) >>= onrename
 			-- copyFile is likely not as optimised as
 			-- the mv command, so we'll use the command.
 			--
-			-- But, while Windows has a "mv", it does not seem very
-			-- reliable, so use copyFile there.
+			-- But, while Windows has a "mv", it does not
+			-- seem very reliable, so use copyFile there.
 #ifndef mingw32_HOST_OS	
 			-- If dest is a directory, mv would move the file
 			-- into it, which is not desired.
 			whenM (isdir dest) rethrow
-			ok <- boolSystem "mv" [Param "-f", Param src, Param tmp]
+			ok <- boolSystem "mv"
+				[ Param "-f"
+				, Param (fromRawFilePath src)
+				, Param tmp
+				]
 			let e' = e
 #else
-			r <- tryIO $ copyFile src tmp
+			r <- tryIO $ copyFile (fromRawFilePath src) tmp
 			let (ok, e') = case r of
 				Left err -> (False, err)
 				Right _ -> (True, e)
@@ -67,7 +72,7 @@ moveFile src dest = tryIO (rename src dest) >>= onrename
 
 #ifndef mingw32_HOST_OS	
 	isdir f = do
-		r <- tryIO $ getFileStatus f
+		r <- tryIO $ R.getFileStatus f
 		case r of
 			(Left _) -> return False
 			(Right s) -> return $ isDirectory s
diff --git a/Utility/RawFilePath.hs b/Utility/RawFilePath.hs
index f32b2260f8..4ee347668d 100644
--- a/Utility/RawFilePath.hs
+++ b/Utility/RawFilePath.hs
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ module Utility.RawFilePath (
 	getCurrentDirectory,
 	createDirectory,
 	setFileMode,
+	rename,
 ) where
 
 #ifndef mingw32_HOST_OS
@@ -87,4 +88,7 @@ createDirectory = D.createDirectory . fromRawFilePath
 
 setFileMode :: RawFilePath -> FileMode -> IO () 
 setFileMode = F.setFileMode . fromRawFilePath
+
+rename :: RawFilePath -> RawFilePath -> IO ()
+rename a b = F.rename (fromRawFilePath a) (fromRawFilePath b)
 #endif