diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 5f160a36e..fd1083b72 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -215,15 +215,15 @@ o/$(MODE)/hdrs.txt: o/$(MODE)/.x $(MAKEFILES) $(call uniq,$(foreach x,$(HDRS) $(
 	$(file >$@) $(foreach x,$(HDRS) $(INCS),$(file >>$@,$(x)))
 
 o/$(MODE)/depend: o/$(MODE)/.x o/$(MODE)/srcs.txt o/$(MODE)/hdrs.txt $(SRCS) $(HDRS) $(INCS)
-	@build/mkdeps -o $@ -r o/$(MODE)/ o/$(MODE)/srcs.txt o/$(MODE)/hdrs.txt
+	@$(COMPILE) -AMKDEPS $(MKDEPS) -o $@ -r o/$(MODE)/ o/$(MODE)/srcs.txt o/$(MODE)/hdrs.txt
 
 TAGS:	o/$(MODE)/srcs.txt $(SRCS)
 	@rm -f $@
-	@ACTION=TAGS TARGET=$@ build/do $(TAGS) $(TAGSFLAGS) -L $< -o $@
+	@$(COMPILE) -ATAGS -T$@ $(TAGS) $(TAGSFLAGS) -L $< -o $@
 
 HTAGS:	o/$(MODE)/hdrs.txt $(HDRS)
 	@rm -f $@
-	@ACTION=TAGS TARGET=$@ build/do build/htags -L $< -o $@
+	@$(COMPILE) -ATAGS -T$@ build/htags -L $< -o $@
 
 loc: o/$(MODE)/tool/build/summy.com
 	find -name \*.h -or -name \*.c -or -name \*.S | \
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ o/cosmopolitan.h:				\
 		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/rollup.com	\
 		libc/integral/normalize.inc	\
 		$(foreach x,$(COSMOPOLITAN_HEADERS),$($(x)_HDRS))
-	@ACTION=ROLLUP TARGET=$@ build/do $^ >$@
+	@$(COMPILE) -AROLLUP -T$@ $^ >$@
 
 o/cosmopolitan.html:							\
 		o/$(MODE)/third_party/chibicc/chibicc.com.dbg		\
diff --git a/ape/ape.S b/ape/ape.S
index b60487c54..60fcd5e13 100644
--- a/ape/ape.S
+++ b/ape/ape.S
@@ -1522,7 +1522,7 @@ metal.thunk:
 	.byte	0x0f,0x1f,0207			# nop rdi binbase
 	.long	(IMAGE_BASE_VIRTUAL-IMAGE_BASE_REAL)/512
 #endif
-/	𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑒
+//	𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑒
 	.endfn	metal.thunk
 metal:
 	xor	%eax,%eax			# clear bss
diff --git a/ape/ape.mk b/ape/ape.mk
index fa044dd45..26fefdaef 100644
--- a/ape/ape.mk
+++ b/ape/ape.mk
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ APE =	$(APE_DEPS)			\
 	o/$(MODE)/ape/ape.lds
 
 APELINK =				\
-	ACTION=LINK.ape 		\
 	$(COMPILE)			\
+	-ALINK.ape			\
 	$(LINK)				\
 	$(LINKARGS)			\
 	$(OUTPUT_OPTION)
diff --git a/build/archive b/build/archive
deleted file mode 100755
index 486dfbaad..000000000
--- a/build/archive
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,53 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-#
-# OVERVIEW
-#
-#   Cosmopolitan Archiver
-#
-# DESCRIPTION
-#
-#   This goes 100x faster than ar and ranlib.
-#
-# EXAMPLE
-#
-#   build/archive rcsD library.a foo.o ...
-
-MKDIR=${MKDIR:-$(command -v mkdir) -p} || exit
-if [ -x "o//tool/build/ar.com" ]; then
-  set -- "o//tool/build/ar.com" "$@"
-else
-  if [ ! -x o/build/bootstrap/ar.com ]; then
-    mkdir -p o/build/bootstrap &&
-      cp -f build/bootstrap/ar.com o/build/bootstrap/ar.com.$$ &&
-      mv -f o/build/bootstrap/ar.com.$$ o/build/bootstrap/ar.com || exit
-  fi
-  set -- o/build/bootstrap/ar.com "$@"
-fi
-OUT=$3
-
-printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-ARCHIVE.a}" "$OUT" >&2
-# if [ "$V" = "0" ]; then
-#   printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-ARCHIVE.a}" "$OUT" >&2
-# else
-#   # some of these windows nt archives are quite huge
-#   COLUMNS=${COLUMNS:-80}
-#   COLUMNS=$((COLUMNS - 4))
-#   printf "%s\n" "$*" |
-#     /usr/bin/fold -s -w $COLUMNS |
-#     sed -e '1bb' -e 's/^/  /' -e ':b' -e '$b' -e 's/$/ \\/' >&2
-# fi
-
-REASON=failed
-trap REASON=interrupted INT
-
-"$@" >/dev/null && exit
-
-if [ "$TERM" = "dumb" ]; then
-  f='%s %s\r\n\r\n'
-else
-  f='\033[91m%s\033[39m \033[94m%s\033[39m\r\n\r\n'
-fi
-printf "$f" "archive $REASON:" "$*" >&2
-exit 1
diff --git a/build/assemble b/build/assemble
deleted file mode 100755
index 39678be39..000000000
--- a/build/assemble
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,49 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-#
-# OVERVIEW
-#
-#   GNU Assembler Veneer
-#
-# DESCRIPTION
-#
-#   This script wraps normal assembler commands that're transparently
-#   passed-through. It adds ephemeral logging and directory creation.
-#
-# EXAMPLE
-#
-#   TARGET=program build/assemble as -o program program.o
-#
-# SEE ALSO
-#
-#   https://justine.storage.googleapis.com/perm/as.pdf
-
-if [ ! -d o/third_party/gcc ]; then
-  third_party/gcc/unbundle.sh
-fi
-
-MKDIR=${MKDIR:-$(command -v mkdir) -p} || exit
-
-if [ "$V" = "0" ]; then
-  printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-OBJECTIFY.s}" "$TARGET" >&2
-else
-  printf "%s\n" "$*" >&2
-fi
-
-if [ "$TARGET" ]; then
-  TARGETDIR="${TARGET%/*}"
-  if [ "$TARGETDIR" != "$TARGET" ] && [ ! -d "$TARGETDIR" ]; then
-    $MKDIR "$TARGETDIR" || exit 2
-  fi
-fi
-
-"$@" && exit
-
-if [ "$TERM" = "dumb" ]; then
-  f='%s %s\r\n\r\n'
-else
-  f='\033[91m%s\033[39m \033[94m%s\033[39m\r\n\r\n'
-fi
-printf "$f" "assemble failed:" "$*" >&2
-exit 1
diff --git a/build/bootstrap/compile.com b/build/bootstrap/compile.com
index 36c829008..ff0c7a674 100755
Binary files a/build/bootstrap/compile.com and b/build/bootstrap/compile.com differ
diff --git a/build/compile b/build/compile
deleted file mode 100755
index 660cfb499..000000000
--- a/build/compile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,298 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-#
-# OVERVIEW
-#
-#   GNU/LLVM Compiler Frontend Frontend
-#
-# DESCRIPTION
-#
-#   This wrapper script filters out certain flags so the compiler won't
-#   whine, and passes extra information to the preprocessor.
-#
-# EXAMPLE
-#
-#   build/compile cc -o program program.c
-
-if [ ! -d o/third_party/gcc ]; then
-  third_party/gcc/unbundle.sh
-fi
-
-if [ "$1" = "clang-10" ]; then
-  if ! command -v clang-10 >/dev/null; then
-    shift
-    set -- o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-gcc "$@"
-  fi
-fi
-
-if [ "$1" = "clang++-10" ]; then
-  if ! command -v clang++-10 >/dev/null; then
-    shift
-    set -- o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-g++ "$@"
-  fi
-fi
-
-MKDIR=${MKDIR:-$(command -v mkdir) -p} || exit
-
-GZME=
-ASAN=
-UBSAN=
-PLAT="${1%% *}"
-FDIAGNOSTIC_COLOR=
-CCNAME=${CCNAME:-gcc}
-CCVERSION=${CCVERSION:-4}
-COUNTERMAND=
-
-# The GNU Compiler Collection passes a lot of CFLAGS to the preprocessor
-# (which we call CCFLAGS) but it should pass more; and we do just that.
-NOPG=0
-FIRST=1
-OUTARG=0
-INVISIBLE=0
-for x; do
-  if [ $FIRST -eq 1 ]; then
-    set --
-    FIRST=0
-  fi
-  if [ $OUTARG -eq 1 ]; then
-    OUTARG=0
-    OUT="$x"
-  fi
-  case "$x" in
-    -o)
-      set -- "$@" "$x"
-      OUTARG=1
-      ;;
-    -w)
-      set -- "$@" "$x" -D__W__
-      ;;
-    -x-no-pg)
-      NOPG=1
-      ;;
-    -pg)
-      if [ $NOPG -eq 0 ] && [ $INVISIBLE -eq 0 ]; then
-        set -- "$@" "$x" -D__PG__  # @see libc/macros.h
-      fi
-      ;;
-    -mfentry)
-      if [ $NOPG -eq 0 ] && [ $INVISIBLE -eq 0 ]; then
-        set -- "$@" "$x" -D__MFENTRY__
-      fi
-      ;;
-    -fomit-frame-pointer)
-      INVISIBLE=1
-      set -- "$@" "$x"
-      ;;
-    -mno-vzeroupper)
-      set -- "$@" "$x" -Wa,-msse2avx -D__MNO_VZEROUPPER__
-      ;;
-    -fsanitize=address)
-      ASAN="$x -D__FSANITIZE_ADDRESS__"
-      ;;
-    -fsanitize=undefined)
-      # UBSAN w/ -fdata-sections exceeds ELF's 65,280 section limit
-      UBSAN="$x -fno-data-sections"
-      ;;
-    -fno-sanitize=address)
-      ASAN=
-      ;;
-    -fno-sanitize=ubsan)
-      UBSAN=
-      ;;
-    -fno-sanitize=all)
-      ASAN=
-      UBSAN=
-      ;;
-    -mnop-mcount)
-      if [ "$CCNAME" = "gcc" ] && [ "$CCVERSION" -ge 6 ]; then
-        set -- "$@" "$x" -D__MNOP_MCOUNT__
-      fi
-      ;;
-    -mrecord-mcount)
-      if [ "$CCNAME" = "gcc" ] && [ "$CCVERSION" -ge 6 ]; then
-        set -- "$@" "$x" -D__MRECORD_MCOUNT__
-      fi
-      ;;
-    -fsanitize=implicit*integer*)
-      if ! [ "$CCNAME" = "gcc" ]; then
-        set -- "$@" "$x"
-      fi
-      ;;
-    -f*sanitize*|-gz*|-*stack-protector*|-fvect-cost*|-mstringop*)
-      if [ "$CCNAME" = "gcc" ] && [ "$CCVERSION" -ge 6 ]; then
-        set -- "$@" "$x"
-      fi
-      ;;
-    -freorder-blocks-and-partition|-fstack-clash-protection)
-      if [ "$CCNAME" = "gcc" ] && [ "$CCVERSION" -ge 8 ]; then
-        set -- "$@" "$x"
-      fi
-      ;;
-    -fdiagnostic-color=*)
-      FDIAGNOSTIC_COLOR=$x
-      ;;
-    -fopt-info*=*.optinfo)
-      if [ "$CCNAME" = "gcc" ] && [ "$CCVERSION" -ge 9 ]; then
-        GZME="$GZME ${x##*=}"
-        set -- "$@" "$x"
-      fi
-      ;;
-    -R*)                         # e.g. clang's -Rpass-missed=all
-      if [ "${PLAT#*clang}" != "${PLAT}" ]; then
-        set -- "$@" "$x"
-      fi
-      ;;
-    -fsave-optimization-record)  # clang only
-      if [ "${PLAT#*clang}" != "${PLAT}" ]; then
-        set -- "$@" "$x"
-      fi
-      ;;
-    *)
-      set -- "$@" "$x"
-      ;;
-  esac
-done
-if [ -z "$FDIAGNOSTIC_COLOR" ] && [ "$TERM" != "dumb" ]; then
-  FDIAGNOSTIC_COLOR=-fdiagnostics-color=always
-fi
-
-if [ "${PLAT#*clang}" != "${PLAT}" ]; then
-  FIRST=1
-  for x; do
-    # clang's assembler isn't complete yet
-    if [ $FIRST -eq 1 ]; then
-      set --                                \
-          "$x"                              \
-          -fno-integrated-as                \
-          -Wno-unused-command-line-argument \
-          -Wno-incompatible-pointer-types-discards-qualifiers
-      FIRST=0
-      continue
-    fi
-    TRAPV= # clang handles -f{,no-}{trap,wrap}v weird
-    # removes flags clang whines about
-    case "$x" in
-      -gstabs) ;;
-      -ftrapv) ;;
-      -ffixed-*) ;;
-      -fcall-saved*) ;;
-      -fsignaling-nans) ;;
-      -fcx-limited-range) ;;
-      -fno-fp-int-builtin-inexact) ;;
-      -Wno-unused-but-set-variable) ;;
-      -Wunsafe-loop-optimizations) ;;
-      -mdispatch-scheduler) ;;
-      -ftracer) ;;
-      -frounding-math) ;;
-      -fmerge-constants) ;;
-      -fmodulo-sched) ;;
-      -msse2avx)
-        set -- "$@" -Wa,-msse2avx
-        ;;
-      -fopt-info-vec) ;;
-      -fopt-info-vec-missed) ;;
-      -fmodulo-sched-allow-regmoves) ;;
-      -fgcse-*) ;;
-      -freschedule-modulo-scheduled-loops) ;;
-      -freschedule-modulo-scheduled-loops) ;;
-      -fipa-pta) ;;
-      -fsched2-use-superblocks) ;;
-      -fbranch-target-load-optimize) ;;
-      -fdelete-dead-exceptions) ;;
-      -funsafe-loop-optimizations) ;;
-      -fcall-used*) ;;
-      -mmitigate-rop) ;;
-      -mnop-mcount) ;;
-      -fno-align-jumps) ;;
-      -fno-align-labels) ;;
-      -fno-align-loops) ;;
-      -fivopts) ;;
-      -fschedule-insns) ;;
-      -fno-semantic-interposition) ;;
-      -mno-fentry) ;;
-      -f*shrink-wrap) ;;
-      -f*schedule-insns2) ;;
-      -fvect-cost-model=*) ;;
-      -fsimd-cost-model=*) ;;
-      -fversion-loops-for-strides) ;;
-      -fopt-info*) ;;
-      -f*var-tracking-assignments) ;;
-      -femit-struct-debug-baseonly) ;;
-      -ftree-loop-vectorize) ;;
-      -gdescribe-dies) ;;
-      -flimit-function-alignment) ;;
-      -ftree-loop-im) ;;
-      -fno-instrument-functions) ;;
-      -fstack-clash-protection) ;;
-      -mstringop-strategy=*) ;;
-      -mpreferred-stack-boundary=*) ;;
-      -*stack-protector*) ;;  # clang requires segmented memory for this
-      -f*gnu-unique) ;;
-      -Wframe-larger-than=*) ;;
-      -f*whole-program) ;;
-      -Wa,--size-check=*) ;;
-      -Wa,--listing*) ;;
-      -mfpmath=sse+387) ;;
-      -Wa,--noexecstack) ;;
-      -freg-struct-return) ;;
-      -mcall-ms2sysv-xlogues) ;;
-      -mno-vzeroupper)
-        set -- "$@" -mllvm -x86-use-vzeroupper=0
-        ;;
-      -Wa,-a*)
-        x="${x#*=}"
-        if [ "$x" ] && [ -p "$x" ]; then
-          printf '' >"$x"
-        fi
-        ;;
-      *)
-        set -- "$@" "$x"
-        ;;
-    esac
-  done
-  set -- "$@" -fno-stack-protector
-else
-  # removes flags only clang supports
-  FIRST=1
-  for x; do
-    if [ $FIRST -eq 1 ]; then
-      set --
-      FIRST=0
-    fi
-    case "$x" in
-      -Oz) set -- "$@" -Os ;;
-      *) set -- "$@" "$x" ;;
-    esac
-  done
-fi
-
-set -- "$@" -no-canonical-prefixes $FDIAGNOSTIC_COLOR $ASAN $UBSAN $COUNTERMAND
-
-if [ "$V" = "0" ]; then
-  printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-COMPILE}" "${TARGET:-$OUT}" >&2
-else
-  printf "%s\n" "$*" >&2
-fi
-
-OUTDIR="${OUT%/*}"
-if [ "$OUTDIR" != "$OUT" ] && [ ! -d "$OUTDIR" ]; then
-  $MKDIR "$OUTDIR" || exit 2
-fi
-
-REASON=failed
-trap REASON=interrupted INT
-
-if "$@"; then
-  for f in $GZME; do
-    if GZ=${GZ:-$(command -v gzip)}; then
-      if [ -f "$f" ]; then
-        build/actuallynice $GZ $ZFLAGS -qf $f &
-      fi
-    fi
-  done
-  exit 0
-fi
-
-printf "\n$LOGFMT" "$CCNAME $CCVERSION: compile $REASON:" "$*" >&2
-exit 1
diff --git a/build/definitions.mk b/build/definitions.mk
index 4635a93db..d84862133 100644
--- a/build/definitions.mk
+++ b/build/definitions.mk
@@ -62,12 +62,15 @@ CLANG = clang-10
 FC = gfortran  #/opt/cross9f/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-gfortran
 
 # see build/compile, etc. which run third_party/gcc/unbundle.sh
+AR = build/bootstrap/ar.com
+PKG = build/bootstrap/package.com
+MKDEPS = build/bootstrap/mkdeps.com
+ZIPOBJ = build/bootstrap/zipobj.com
 AS = o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-as
 CC = o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-gcc
 CXX = o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-g++
 CXXFILT = o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-c++filt
 LD = o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-ld.bfd
-AR = build/archive
 NM = o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-nm
 GCC = o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-gcc
 STRIP = o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-strip
@@ -78,16 +81,12 @@ ADDR2LINE = o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-addr2line
 COMMA := ,
 PWD := $(shell pwd)
 IMAGE_BASE_VIRTUAL ?= 0x400000
+HELLO := $(shell build/hello)
 TMPDIR := $(shell build/findtmp)
-LOGFMT := $(shell build/getlogfmt)
 COMPILE := $(shell build/getcompile)
-CCNAME := $(shell build/getccname $(CC))
 CCVERSION := $(shell build/getccversion $(CC))
-BLAH1 := $(shell build/zipobj 2>/dev/null)
-BLAH2 := $(shell build/package 2>/dev/null)
 
 export ADDR2LINE
-export CCNAME
 export CCVERSION
 export COMPILE
 export CP
@@ -314,8 +313,7 @@ PREPROCESS = $(CC) $(PREPROCESS.flags)
 PREPROCESS.lds = $(CC) $(PREPROCESS.lds.flags)
 LINK = $(LD) $(LINK.flags)
 ELF = o/libc/elf/elf.lds
-ELFLINK = ACTION=LINK.elf $(LINK) $(LINKARGS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION)
-ARCHIVE = $(AR) $(ARFLAGS)
+ELFLINK = $(COMPILE) -ALINK.elf $(LINK) $(LINKARGS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION)
 LINKARGS = $(patsubst %.lds,-T %.lds,$(call uniqr,$(LD.libs) $(filter-out %.pkg,$^)))
 LOLSAN = build/lolsan -b $(IMAGE_BASE_VIRTUAL)
 
diff --git a/build/do b/build/do
deleted file mode 100755
index 932a17f03..000000000
--- a/build/do
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,55 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-#
-# OVERVIEW
-#
-#   Generic Command Runner
-#
-# DESCRIPTION
-#
-#   This does auto mkdir and ephemeral logging.
-#
-# EXAMPLE
-#
-#   build/do PROG [ARGS...]
-
-MKDIR=${MKDIR:-$(command -v mkdir) -p} || exit
-
-# Ensure directory creation if -o PATH flag is passed.
-OUT="$TARGET"
-FIRST=1
-OUTARG=0
-for x; do
-  if [ $FIRST -eq 1 ]; then
-    set --
-    FIRST=0
-  elif [ $OUTARG -eq 1 ]; then
-    OUTARG=0
-    OUT="$x"
-  fi
-  case "$x" in
-    -o)
-      OUTARG=1
-      ;;
-    -o*)
-      OUT=${x#-o}
-      ;;
-  esac
-  set -- "$@" "$x"
-done
-if [ "$OUT" ]; then
-  OUTDIR="${OUT%/*}"
-  if [ "$OUTDIR" != "$OUT" ] && [ ! -d "$OUTDIR" ]; then
-    $MKDIR "$OUTDIR" || exit 2
-  fi
-fi
-
-# Log command.
-if [ "$V" = "0" ]; then
-  printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-BUILD}" "$TARGET" >&2
-else
-  printf "%s\n" "$*" >&2
-fi
-
-exec "$@"
diff --git a/build/getccname b/build/getccname
deleted file mode 100755
index 00640525d..000000000
--- a/build/getccname
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,46 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-#
-# OVERVIEW
-#
-#   Compiler Name Discovery
-#
-# DESCRIPTION
-#
-#   Cosmopolitan itself may be built using either GCC and Clang, and our
-#   build irons out many of the differences between the two. This script
-#   determines which one's in play, which is nontrivial, since they tend
-#   to call themselves so many different names.
-
-if [ ! -d o/third_party/gcc ]; then
-  third_party/gcc/unbundle.sh
-fi
-
-set -e
-
-SPECIAL_TEXT=$(
-  $1 --version |
-    sed -n '
-        /chibicc/ {
-          i\
-chibicc
-          q
-        }
-        /Free Software/ {
-          i\
-gcc
-          q
-        }
-        /clang/ {
-          i\
-clang
-          q
-        }
-      ')
-
-if [ -z "$SPECIAL_TEXT" ]; then
-  echo gcc
-else
-  printf '%s\n' "$SPECIAL_TEXT"
-fi
diff --git a/build/getcompile b/build/getcompile
index 3d330924a..7fbee1812 100755
--- a/build/getcompile
+++ b/build/getcompile
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 if ! [ o/build/bootstrap/compile.com -nt build/bootstrap/compile.com ]; then
   mkdir -p o/build/bootstrap/
   cp -f build/bootstrap/compile.com o/build/bootstrap/compile.$$.com
-  o/build/bootstrap/compile.$$.com --do-nothing
+  o/build/bootstrap/compile.$$.com -n
   mv -f o/build/bootstrap/compile.$$.com o/build/bootstrap/compile.com
 fi
 
diff --git a/build/getlogfmt b/build/getlogfmt
deleted file mode 100755
index 10003eb65..000000000
--- a/build/getlogfmt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-#
-# OVERVIEW
-#
-#   Printf Logger Initializer
-#
-# DESCRIPTION
-#
-#   This program is invoked once by build/definitions.mk to choose the
-#   most appropriate format string when logging command invocations.
-
-W1=15
-if [ "$TERM" = "dumb" ]; then
-  if [ "$COLUMNS" = "" ]; then
-    if TPUT=$(command -v tput); then
-      COLUMNS=$("$TPUT" cols)
-    else
-      COLUMNS=80
-    fi
-  fi
-  COLUMNS=$((COLUMNS - 1))
-  W2=$((COLUMNS - W1))
-  printf '%%-%ds%%-%ds\\r' "$W1" "$W2"
-else
-  echo ♥cosmo >&2
-  printf '\\033[F\\033[K%%-%ds%%s\\r\\n' "$W1"
-fi
diff --git a/build/hello b/build/hello
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..b62ca7693
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/hello
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
+#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
+#
+# SYNOPSIS
+#
+#   HELLO BUILD
+#
+# OVERVIEW
+#
+#   We generate a line at the start of each Makefile run, because if we
+#   use `make V=0` mode then the terminal logging trick we use in
+#   tool/build/compile.c will delete the previous line, and we'd rather
+#   have that line not be the bash prompt that ran make.
+#
+#   This script is also useful for giving us an indicator each time the
+#   build restarts itself from scratch, which can happen in cases like
+#   when dependencies need to be regenerated by tool/build/mkdeps.c
+
+echo ♥cosmo >&2
diff --git a/build/link b/build/link
deleted file mode 100755
index 6f0fc503d..000000000
--- a/build/link
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-#
-# OVERVIEW
-#
-#   GNU Linker Veneer
-#
-# DESCRIPTION
-#
-#   This script wraps normal linker commands that're transparently
-#   passed-through. It adds ephemeral logging and directory creation.
-#
-# EXAMPLE
-#
-#   build/linker ld -o program program.o
-
-if [ ! -d o/third_party/gcc ]; then
-  third_party/gcc/unbundle.sh
-fi
-
-MKDIR=${MKDIR:-$(command -v mkdir) -p} || exit
-
-OUT=
-FIRST=1
-OUTARG=0
-for x; do
-  if [ $FIRST -eq 1 ]; then
-    set --
-    FIRST=0
-  elif [ $OUTARG -eq 1 ]; then
-    OUTARG=0
-    OUT="$x"
-  fi
-  case "$x" in
-    -o)
-      OUTARG=1
-      ;;
-  esac
-  set -- "$@" "$x"
-done
-
-if [ "$V" = "0" ]; then
-  printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-LINK.elf}" "$OUT" >&2
-else
-  printf "%s\n" "$*" >&2
-fi
-
-OUTDIR="${OUT%/*}"
-if [ "$OUTDIR" != "$OUT" ] && [ ! -d "$OUTDIR" ]; then
-  $MKDIR "$OUTDIR" || exit 2
-fi
-
-REASON=failed
-trap REASON=interrupted INT
-
-"$@" && exit
-
-if [ "$TERM" = "dumb" ]; then
-  f='%s %s\r\n\r\n'
-else
-  f='\033[91m%s\033[39m \033[94m%s\033[39m\r\n\r\n'
-fi
-printf "$f" "link $REASON:" "$*" >&2
-exit 1
diff --git a/build/mkdeps b/build/mkdeps
deleted file mode 100755
index a4cbc0da2..000000000
--- a/build/mkdeps
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-
-if [ -x "o/$MODE/tool/build/mkdeps.com" ]; then
-  set -- "o/$MODE/tool/build/mkdeps.com" "$@"
-else
-  if [ ! -x o/build/bootstrap/mkdeps.com ]; then
-    mkdir -p o/build/bootstrap &&
-    cp -a build/bootstrap/mkdeps.com \
-       o/build/bootstrap/mkdeps.com || exit
-  fi
-  set -- o/build/bootstrap/mkdeps.com "$@"
-fi
-
-if [ "$V" = "0" ]; then
-  printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-MKDEPS}" "$3" >&2
-else
-  printf "%s\n" "$*" >&2
-fi
-
-exec "$@"
diff --git a/build/objdump b/build/objdump
deleted file mode 100755
index c1443828e..000000000
--- a/build/objdump
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-#
-# OVERVIEW
-#
-#   GNU Disassembly Veneer
-#
-# DESCRIPTION
-#
-#   This script wraps normal objdump commands that're transparently
-#   passed-through.
-#
-# EXAMPLE
-#
-#   build/objdump -xd o/tiny/examples/life.com.dbg
-
-if [ ! -d o/third_party/gcc ]; then
-  third_party/gcc/unbundle.sh
-fi
-
-exec o/third_party/gcc/bin/x86_64-linux-musl-objdump "$@"
diff --git a/build/online.mk b/build/online.mk
index 6e891771c..ce19ed8f9 100644
--- a/build/online.mk
+++ b/build/online.mk
@@ -23,9 +23,8 @@
 #   - tool/build/runitd.c
 
 .PRECIOUS: o/$(MODE)/%.com.ok
-o/$(MODE)/%.com.ok:					\
-		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/runit.com.dbg	\
-		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/runitd.com		\
+o/$(MODE)/%.com.ok:				\
+		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/runit.com	\
+		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/runitd.com	\
 		o/$(MODE)/%.com
-	@ACTION=TEST TARGET=$@ build/do $^ $(HOSTS)
-	@touch $@
+	@$(COMPILE) -ATEST -tT$@ $^ $(HOSTS)
diff --git a/build/package b/build/package
deleted file mode 100755
index 63ca44aaa..000000000
--- a/build/package
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-
-if [ "$TOOL_BUILD_PACKAGE" ]; then
-  set -- "$TOOL_BUILD_PACKAGE" "$@"
-else
-  if [ -x "o/tool/build/package.com.dbg" ]; then
-    set -- "o/tool/build/package.com.dbg" "$@"
-  else
-    MKDIR=${MKDIR:-$(command -v mkdir) -p} || exit
-    CP=${CP:-$(command -v cp) -f} || exit
-    if [ ! -x o/build/bootstrap/package.com ]; then
-      $MKDIR o/build/bootstrap &&
-        $CP -a build/bootstrap/package.com \
-            o/build/bootstrap/package.com || exit
-    fi
-    set -- o/build/bootstrap/package.com "$@"
-  fi
-fi
-
-printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-PACKAGE}" "$3" >&2
-# if [ "$V" = "0" ]; then
-#   printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-PACKAGE}" "$3" >&2
-# else
-#   COLUMNS=${COLUMNS:-80}
-#   COLUMNS=$((COLUMNS - 4))
-#   printf "%s\n" "$*" |
-#     /usr/bin/fold -s -w $COLUMNS |
-#     sed -e '1bb' -e 's/^/  /' -e ':b' -e '$b' -e 's/$/ \\/' >&2
-# fi
-
-exec "$@"
diff --git a/build/rules.mk b/build/rules.mk
index 84ce0da5d..4941db97e 100644
--- a/build/rules.mk
+++ b/build/rules.mk
@@ -16,73 +16,67 @@
 
 MAKEFLAGS += --no-builtin-rules
 
-o/%.a:; @$(ARCHIVE) $@ $^
-o/%.o: %.s; @TARGET=$@ $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.s) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.o: o/%.s; @TARGET=$@ $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.s) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.s: %.S; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.s: o/%.S; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.i: %.S; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.o: %.S; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.S $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.S) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.o: o/%.S; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.S $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.S) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.s: %.i; @ACTION=COMPILE.i $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.i) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.s: o/%.i; @ACTION=COMPILE.i $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.i) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.o: %.cc; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.cxx $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.cxx) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.o: o/%.cc; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.cxx $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.cxx) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.lds: %.lds; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS.lds) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.inc: %.h; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) -D__ASSEMBLER__ -P $<
-o/%.pkg:; @build/package $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $(addprefix -d,$(filter %.pkg,$^)) $(filter %.o,$^)
-o/%.h.ok: %.h; @ACTION=CHECK.h $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.c) -x c -g0 -o $@ $<
-o/%.h.okk: %.h; @ACTION=CHECK.h $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.cxx) -x c++ -g0 -o $@ $<
-o/%.greg.o: %.greg.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.greg $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.greg.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/%.zip.o: o/%; @build/zipobj $(ZIPOBJ_FLAGS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.a:                             ; @$(COMPILE) -AARCHIVE -T$@ $(AR) $(ARFLAGS) $@ $^
+o/%.o: %.s                         ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.s $(OBJECTIFY.s) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.o: o/%.s                       ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.s $(OBJECTIFY.s) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.s: %.S                         ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.s: o/%.S                       ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.i: %.S                         ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.o: %.S                         ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.S $(OBJECTIFY.S) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.o: o/%.S                       ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.S $(OBJECTIFY.S) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.s: %.i                         ; @$(COMPILE) -ACOMPILE.i $(COMPILE.i) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.s: o/%.i                       ; @$(COMPILE) -ACOMPILE.i $(COMPILE.i) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.o: %.cc                        ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.cxx $(OBJECTIFY.cxx) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.o: o/%.cc                      ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.cxx $(OBJECTIFY.cxx) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.lds: %.lds                     ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS.lds) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.inc: %.h                       ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) -D__ASSEMBLER__ -P $<
+o/%.pkg:                           ; @$(COMPILE) -APACKAGE -T$@ $(PKG) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $(addprefix -d,$(filter %.pkg,$^)) $(filter %.o,$^)
+o/%.h.ok: %.h                      ; @$(COMPILE) -ACHECK.h $(COMPILE.c) -x c -g0 -o $@ $<
+o/%.h.okk: %.h                     ; @$(COMPILE) -ACHECK.h $(COMPILE.cxx) -x c++ -g0 -o $@ $<
+o/%.greg.o: %.greg.c               ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.greg $(OBJECTIFY.greg.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/%.zip.o: o/%                     ; @$(COMPILE) -AZIPOBJ $(ZIPOBJ) $(ZIPOBJ_FLAGS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
 
-o/$(MODE)/%.a:; @$(ARCHIVE) $@ $^
-o/$(MODE)/%: o/$(MODE)/%.dbg; @ACTION=OBJCOPY TARGET=$@ $(COMPILE) $(OBJCOPY) -S -O binary $< $@
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.s; @TARGET=$@ $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.s) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: o/$(MODE)/%.s; @TARGET=$@ $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.s) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.s: %.S; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.s: o/$(MODE)/%.S; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.c $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.f; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.f $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.f) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.F; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.F $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.F) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: o/$(MODE)/%.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.c $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.ss: %.c; @ACTION=COMPILE.c $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.ss: o/$(MODE)/%.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.s $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.i: %.S; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.i: %.c; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.i: %.cc; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.i: o/$(MODE)/%.c; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.h: %.c; @ACTION=AMALGAMATE $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) -fdirectives-only -P $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.h: o/$(MODE)/%.c; @ACTION=AMALGAMATE $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) -fdirectives-only -P $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.S; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.S $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.S) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: o/$(MODE)/%.S; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.S $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.S) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.s: %.i; @ACTION=COMPILE.i $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.i) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.s: o/$(MODE)/%.i; @ACTION=COMPILE.i $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.i) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.cc; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.cxx $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.cxx) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: o/$(MODE)/%.cc; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.cxx $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.cxx) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.lds: %.lds; @ACTION=PREPROCESS $(COMPILE) $(PREPROCESS.lds) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.h.ok: %.h; @ACTION=CHECK.h $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.c) -x c -g0 -o $@ $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.h.okk: %.h; @ACTION=CHECK.h $(COMPILE) $(COMPILE.cxx) -x c++ -g0 -o $@ $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.greg.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.greg $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.greg.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.greg.o: %.greg.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.greg $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.greg.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.ansi.o: %.ansi.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.ansi $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.ansi.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.ansi.o: %.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.ansi $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.ansi.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.c99.o: %.c99.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.c99 $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.c99.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.c11.o: %.c11.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.c11 $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.c11.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.c2x.o: %.c2x.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.c2x $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.c2x.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.initabi.o: %.initabi.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.init $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.initabi.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.ncabi.o: %.ncabi.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.nc $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.ncabi.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.real.o: %.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.real $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.real.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%.runs: o/$(MODE)/%; @ACTION=CHECK.runs TARGET=$< build/runcom $< $(TESTARGS) && touch $@
-o/$(MODE)/%.pkg:; @build/package $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $(addprefix -d,$(filter %.pkg,$^)) $(filter %.o,$^)
-o/$(MODE)/%.zip.o: %; @build/zipobj $(ZIPOBJ_FLAGS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.a:                     ; @$(COMPILE) -AARCHIVE -T$@ $(AR) $(ARFLAGS) $@ $^
+o/$(MODE)/%: o/$(MODE)/%.dbg       ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJCOPY -T$@ $(OBJCOPY) -S -O binary $< $@
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.s                 ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.s $(OBJECTIFY.s) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: o/$(MODE)/%.s       ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.s $(OBJECTIFY.s) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.s: %.S                 ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.s: o/$(MODE)/%.S       ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.c                 ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.c $(OBJECTIFY.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.f                 ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.f $(OBJECTIFY.f) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.F                 ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.F $(OBJECTIFY.F) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: o/$(MODE)/%.c       ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.c $(OBJECTIFY.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.ss: %.c                ; @$(COMPILE) -ACOMPILE.c $(COMPILE.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.ss: o/$(MODE)/%.c      ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.s $(COMPILE.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.i: %.S                 ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.i: %.c                 ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.i: %.cc                ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.i: o/$(MODE)/%.c       ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.h: %.c                 ; @$(COMPILE) -AAMALGAMATE $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) -fdirectives-only -P $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.h: o/$(MODE)/%.c       ; @$(COMPILE) -AAMALGAMATE $(PREPROCESS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) -fdirectives-only -P $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.S                 ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.S $(OBJECTIFY.S) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: o/$(MODE)/%.S       ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.S $(OBJECTIFY.S) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.s: %.i                 ; @$(COMPILE) -ACOMPILE.i $(COMPILE.i) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.s: o/$(MODE)/%.i       ; @$(COMPILE) -ACOMPILE.i $(COMPILE.i) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.cc                ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.cxx $(OBJECTIFY.cxx) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: o/$(MODE)/%.cc      ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.cxx $(OBJECTIFY.cxx) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.lds: %.lds             ; @$(COMPILE) -APREPROCESS $(PREPROCESS.lds) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.h.ok: %.h              ; @$(COMPILE) -ACHECK.h $(COMPILE.c) -x c -g0 -o $@ $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.h.okk: %.h             ; @$(COMPILE) -ACHECK.h $(COMPILE.cxx) -x c++ -g0 -o $@ $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.o: %.greg.c            ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.greg $(OBJECTIFY.greg.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.greg.o: %.greg.c       ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.greg $(OBJECTIFY.greg.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.ansi.o: %.ansi.c       ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.ansi $(OBJECTIFY.ansi.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.ansi.o: %.c            ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.ansi $(OBJECTIFY.ansi.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.c99.o: %.c99.c         ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.c99 $(OBJECTIFY.c99.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.c11.o: %.c11.c         ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.c11 $(OBJECTIFY.c11.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.c2x.o: %.c2x.c         ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.c2x $(OBJECTIFY.c2x.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.initabi.o: %.initabi.c ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.init $(OBJECTIFY.initabi.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.ncabi.o: %.ncabi.c     ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.nc $(OBJECTIFY.ncabi.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.real.o: %.c            ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.real $(OBJECTIFY.real.c) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%.runs: o/$(MODE)/%      ; @$(COMPILE) -ACHECK -tT$@ $< $(TESTARGS)
+o/$(MODE)/%.pkg:                   ; @$(COMPILE) -APACKAGE -T$@ $(PKG) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $(addprefix -d,$(filter %.pkg,$^)) $(filter %.o,$^)
+o/$(MODE)/%.zip.o: %               ; @$(COMPILE) -AZIPOBJ $(ZIPOBJ) $(ZIPOBJ_FLAGS) $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%-gcc.asm: %.c           ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.c $(OBJECTIFY.c) -S -g0 $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
+o/$(MODE)/%-clang.asm: %.c         ; @$(COMPILE) -AOBJECTIFY.c $(OBJECTIFY.c) -S -g0 $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $< || echo / need $(CLANG) >$@
 
-o/$(MODE)/%-gcc.asm: %.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.c $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.c) -S -g0 $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
 o/$(MODE)/%-clang.asm: CC = $(CLANG)
-o/$(MODE)/%-clang.asm: %.c; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.c $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.c) -S -g0 $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $< || echo / need $(CLANG) >$@
-o/$(MODE)/%-gcc.asm: %.f; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.f $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.f) -S -g0 $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%-clang.asm: CC = $(CLANG)
-o/$(MODE)/%-clang.asm: %.f; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.f $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.f) -S -g0 $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $< || echo / need $(CLANG) >$@
-o/$(MODE)/%-gcc.asm: %.F; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.F $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.F) -S -g0 $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $<
-o/$(MODE)/%-clang.asm: CC = $(CLANG)
-o/$(MODE)/%-clang.asm: %.F; @ACTION=OBJECTIFY.F $(COMPILE) $(OBJECTIFY.F) -S -g0 $(OUTPUT_OPTION) $< || echo / need $(CLANG) >$@
diff --git a/build/runcom b/build/runcom
deleted file mode 100755
index a5013b964..000000000
--- a/build/runcom
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-
-DD=${DD:-$(command -v dd)} || exit
-$DD if="$1" of="$1.bak" bs=4096 count=1 conv=notrunc 2>/dev/null
-"$@"
-rc=$?
-echo "$1"
-$DD if="$1.bak" of="$1" bs=4096 count=1 conv=notrunc 2>/dev/null
-exit $rc
diff --git a/build/zipobj b/build/zipobj
deleted file mode 100755
index 02a9097d9..000000000
--- a/build/zipobj
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#-*-mode:sh;indent-tabs-mode:nil;tab-width:2;coding:utf-8-*-┐
-#───vi: set net ft=sh ts=2 sts=2 fenc=utf-8 :vi─────────────┘
-
-MKDIR=${MKDIR:-$(command -v mkdir) -p} || exit
-CP=${CP:-$(command -v cp) -f} || exit
-SED=${SED:-$(command -v sed)} || exit
-
-MODE=
-
-OUT=
-FIRST=1
-OUTARG=0
-for x; do
-  if [ $FIRST -eq 1 ]; then
-    set --
-    FIRST=0
-  elif [ $OUTARG -eq 1 ]; then
-    OUTARG=0
-    OUT="$x"
-  fi
-  case "$x" in
-    -o)
-      OUTARG=1
-      ;;
-  esac
-  set -- "$@" "$x"
-done
-OUTDIR="${OUT%/*}"
-if [ "$OUTDIR" != "$OUT" ] && [ ! -d "$OUTDIR" ]; then
-  $MKDIR "$OUTDIR" || exit 2
-fi
-
-if [ -x "o/$MODE/tool/build/zipobj.com.dbg" ]; then
-  set -- "o/$MODE/tool/build/zipobj.com.dbg" "$@"
-else
-  if [ ! -x o/build/bootstrap/zipobj.com ]; then
-    $MKDIR o/build/bootstrap &&
-    $CP -a build/bootstrap/zipobj.com \
-       o/build/bootstrap/zipobj.com || exit
-  fi
-  set -- o/build/bootstrap/zipobj.com "$@"
-fi
-
-if [ "$V" = "0" ]; then
-  printf "$LOGFMT" "${ACTION:-ZIPOBJ}" "$3" >&2
-else
-  printf "%s\n" "$*" >&2
-fi
-
-exec "$@"
diff --git a/examples/examples.mk b/examples/examples.mk
index d5f06fe15..1374b63a4 100644
--- a/examples/examples.mk
+++ b/examples/examples.mk
@@ -133,10 +133,6 @@ usr/share/dict/words: usr/share/dict/words.gz
 	@$(MKDIR) $(dir $@)
 	@$(GZ) $(ZFLAGS) -d <$< >$@
 
-o/$(MODE)/examples/ugh.ok: o/$(MODE)/examples/wut.com
-	$<
-	touch $@
-
 .PHONY: o/$(MODE)/examples
 o/$(MODE)/examples:						\
 		o/$(MODE)/examples/package			\
diff --git a/examples/touch.c b/examples/touch.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0325bfc92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/touch.c
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#if 0
+/*─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╗
+│ To the extent possible under law, Justine Tunney has waived      │
+│ all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this file,    │
+│ as it is written in the following disclaimers:                   │
+│   • http://unlicense.org/                                        │
+│   • http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/            │
+╚─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────*/
+#endif
+#include "libc/calls/calls.h"
+#include "libc/errno.h"
+#include "libc/runtime/runtime.h"
+#include "libc/stdio/stdio.h"
+#include "libc/str/str.h"
+
+/**
+ * @fileoverview Command for updating timestamps on files.
+ */
+
+int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
+  int i;
+  for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
+    if (touch(argv[i], 0644) == -1) {
+      fprintf(stderr, "ERROR: %s: %s\n", argv[i], strerror(errno));
+      exit(1);
+    }
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/libc/calls/internal.h b/libc/calls/internal.h
index 50c4b6dcf..7c9334bea 100644
--- a/libc/calls/internal.h
+++ b/libc/calls/internal.h
@@ -263,6 +263,7 @@ int sys_sync_nt(void) hidden;
 int sys_sysinfo_nt(struct sysinfo *) hidden;
 int sys_truncate_nt(const char *, u64) hidden;
 int sys_unlinkat_nt(int, const char *, int) hidden;
+int sys_utimes_nt(const char *, const struct timeval[2]) hidden;
 int sys_utimensat_nt(int, const char *, const struct timespec *, int) hidden;
 ssize_t sys_open_nt(int, const char *, u32, i32) nodiscard hidden;
 ssize_t sys_read_nt(struct Fd *, const struct iovec *, size_t, ssize_t) hidden;
diff --git a/libc/calls/sys_utimes_nt.c b/libc/calls/sys_utimes_nt.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8a7638a14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libc/calls/sys_utimes_nt.c
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/*-*- mode:c;indent-tabs-mode:nil;c-basic-offset:2;tab-width:8;coding:utf-8 -*-│
+│vi: set net ft=c ts=2 sts=2 sw=2 fenc=utf-8                                :vi│
+╞══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╡
+│ Copyright 2021 Justine Alexandra Roberts Tunney                              │
+│                                                                              │
+│ Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for         │
+│ any purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the         │
+│ above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.      │
+│                                                                              │
+│ THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL                │
+│ WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED                │
+│ WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE             │
+│ AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL         │
+│ DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR        │
+│ PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER               │
+│ TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR             │
+│ PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.                                                │
+╚─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────*/
+#include "libc/calls/internal.h"
+#include "libc/sysv/consts/at.h"
+
+textwindows int sys_utimes_nt(const char *path, const struct timeval tv[2]) {
+  struct timespec ts[2];
+  if (tv) {
+    ts[0].tv_sec = tv[0].tv_sec;
+    ts[0].tv_nsec = tv[0].tv_usec * 1000;
+    ts[1].tv_sec = tv[1].tv_sec;
+    ts[1].tv_nsec = tv[1].tv_usec * 1000;
+    return sys_utimensat_nt(AT_FDCWD, path, ts, 0);
+  } else {
+    return sys_utimensat_nt(AT_FDCWD, path, NULL, 0);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/libc/calls/touch.c b/libc/calls/touch.c
index f3b32fc14..ba27bff31 100644
--- a/libc/calls/touch.c
+++ b/libc/calls/touch.c
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@
 │ PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.                                                │
 ╚─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────*/
 #include "libc/calls/calls.h"
+#include "libc/errno.h"
 #include "libc/sysv/consts/o.h"
+#include "libc/time/time.h"
 
 /**
  * Creates new file or changes modified time on existing one.
@@ -28,7 +30,12 @@
  * @see creat()
  */
 int touch(const char *file, uint32_t mode) {
-  int fd;
-  if ((fd = open(file, O_CREAT | O_WRONLY, mode)) == -1) return -1;
-  return close(fd);
+  int rc, fd, olderr;
+  olderr = errno;
+  if ((rc = utimes(file, NULL)) == -1 && errno == ENOENT) {
+    errno = olderr;
+    if ((fd = open(file, O_CREAT | O_WRONLY, mode)) == -1) return -1;
+    return close(fd);
+  }
+  return rc;
 }
diff --git a/libc/calls/utime.c b/libc/calls/utime.c
index 31ebb615a..b17f1a388 100644
--- a/libc/calls/utime.c
+++ b/libc/calls/utime.c
@@ -26,16 +26,17 @@
  *
  * @param times if NULL means now
  * @return 0 on success or -1 w/ errno
+ * @asyncsignalsafe
  */
 int utime(const char *path, const struct utimbuf *times) {
-  struct timespec ts[2];
+  struct timeval tv[2];
   if (times) {
-    ts[0].tv_sec = times->actime;
-    ts[0].tv_nsec = 0;
-    ts[1].tv_sec = times->modtime;
-    ts[1].tv_nsec = 0;
-    return utimensat(AT_FDCWD, path, ts, 0);
+    tv[0].tv_sec = times->actime;
+    tv[0].tv_usec = 0;
+    tv[1].tv_sec = times->modtime;
+    tv[1].tv_usec = 0;
+    return utimes(path, tv);
   } else {
-    return utimensat(AT_FDCWD, path, NULL, 0);
+    return utimes(path, NULL);
   }
 }
diff --git a/libc/calls/utimensat-nt.c b/libc/calls/utimensat-nt.c
index 1ba55e415..0a5972cde 100644
--- a/libc/calls/utimensat-nt.c
+++ b/libc/calls/utimensat-nt.c
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 #include "libc/time/time.h"
 
 textwindows int sys_utimensat_nt(int dirfd, const char *path,
-                             const struct timespec ts[2], int flags) {
+                                 const struct timespec ts[2], int flags) {
   int i, rc;
   int64_t fh;
   uint16_t path16[PATH_MAX];
diff --git a/libc/calls/utimensat-sysv.c b/libc/calls/utimensat-sysv.c
index 7df8fbdeb..217961104 100644
--- a/libc/calls/utimensat-sysv.c
+++ b/libc/calls/utimensat-sysv.c
@@ -17,12 +17,33 @@
 │ PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.                                                │
 ╚─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────*/
 #include "libc/calls/internal.h"
+#include "libc/errno.h"
+#include "libc/sysv/consts/at.h"
 #include "libc/time/time.h"
 
+#define __NR_utimensat_linux 0x118 /*RHEL5:CVE-2010-3301*/
+
 int sys_utimensat(int dirfd, const char *path, const struct timespec ts[2],
                   int flags) {
+  int rc, olderr;
+  struct timeval tv[2];
   if (!IsXnu()) {
-    return __sys_utimensat(dirfd, path, ts, flags);
+    olderr = errno;
+    rc = __sys_utimensat(dirfd, path, ts, flags);
+    if (((rc == -1 && errno == ENOSYS) || rc == __NR_utimensat_linux) &&
+        dirfd == AT_FDCWD && !flags) {
+      errno = olderr;
+      if (ts) {
+        tv[0].tv_sec = ts[0].tv_sec;
+        tv[0].tv_usec = ts[0].tv_nsec / 1000;
+        tv[1].tv_sec = ts[1].tv_sec;
+        tv[1].tv_usec = ts[1].tv_nsec / 1000;
+        rc = sys_utimes(path, tv);
+      } else {
+        rc = sys_utimes(path, NULL);
+      }
+    }
+    return rc;
   } else {
     return sys_utimensat_xnu(dirfd, path, ts, flags);
   }
diff --git a/libc/calls/utimensat.c b/libc/calls/utimensat.c
index 2b33be08f..0ea5d6b4c 100644
--- a/libc/calls/utimensat.c
+++ b/libc/calls/utimensat.c
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@
  *
  * @param ts is atime/mtime, or null for current time
  * @param flags can have AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW
- * @note no rhel5 support
+ * @note no xnu/rhel5 support if dirfd≠AT_FDCWD∨flags≠0
+ * @asyncsignalsafe
  */
 int utimensat(int dirfd, const char *path,
               const struct timespec ts[hasatleast 2], int flags) {
diff --git a/libc/calls/utimes.c b/libc/calls/utimes.c
index 0bab34e8b..7fe812540 100644
--- a/libc/calls/utimes.c
+++ b/libc/calls/utimes.c
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 │ TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR             │
 │ PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.                                                │
 ╚─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────*/
+#include "libc/calls/internal.h"
+#include "libc/dce.h"
 #include "libc/sysv/consts/at.h"
 #include "libc/time/time.h"
 
@@ -24,17 +26,17 @@
  *
  * @param times is access/modified and NULL means now
  * @return 0 on success or -1 w/ errno
+ * @asyncsignalsafe
  * @see stat()
  */
-int utimes(const char *path, const struct timeval tv[hasatleast 2]) {
-  struct timespec ts[2];
-  if (tv) {
-    ts[0].tv_sec = tv[0].tv_sec;
-    ts[0].tv_nsec = tv[0].tv_usec * 1000;
-    ts[1].tv_sec = tv[1].tv_sec;
-    ts[1].tv_nsec = tv[1].tv_usec * 1000;
-    return utimensat(AT_FDCWD, path, ts, 0);
+int utimes(const char *path, const struct timeval tv[2]) {
+  if (!IsWindows()) {
+    /*
+     * we don't modernize utimes() into utimensat() because the
+     * latter is poorly supported and utimes() works everywhere
+     */
+    return sys_utimes(path, tv);
   } else {
-    return utimensat(AT_FDCWD, path, NULL, 0);
+    return sys_utimes_nt(path, tv);
   }
 }
diff --git a/libc/nt/nt.mk b/libc/nt/nt.mk
index 52d963e32..759a5073f 100644
--- a/libc/nt/nt.mk
+++ b/libc/nt/nt.mk
@@ -151,8 +151,6 @@ $(LIBC_NT_NTDLL_A):					\
 		libc/nt/ntdll/				\
 		$(LIBC_NT_NTDLL_A).pkg			\
 		$(LIBC_NT_NTDLL_A_OBJS)
-	@$(file >$@.cmd) $(file >>$@.cmd,$(ARCHIVE) $@ $^ >$(LIBC_NT_NTDLL_A).cmd)
-	@$(ARCHIVE) $@ $^
 
 $(LIBC_NT_NTDLL_A).pkg:					\
 		$(LIBC_NT_NTDLL_A_OBJS)			\
diff --git a/libc/unicode/unicode.mk b/libc/unicode/unicode.mk
index 9d146723d..b4779a900 100644
--- a/libc/unicode/unicode.mk
+++ b/libc/unicode/unicode.mk
@@ -61,31 +61,25 @@ o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode: $(LIBC_UNICODE) $(LIBC_UNICODE_CHECKS)
 o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/eastasianwidth.bin:			\
 		libc/unicode/eastasianwidth.txt			\
 		o/$(MODE)/tool/decode/mkwides.com
-	@TARGET=$@ ACTION=MKWIDES build/do			\
-		o/$(MODE)/tool/decode/mkwides.com -o $@ $<
+	@$(COMPILE) -AMKWIDES -T$@ o/$(MODE)/tool/decode/mkwides.com -o $@ $<
 o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/eastasianwidth.bin.lz4:			\
 		o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/eastasianwidth.bin	\
 		o/$(MODE)/third_party/lz4cli/lz4cli.com
-	@TARGET=$@ ACTION=LZ4 build/do				\
-		o/$(MODE)/third_party/lz4cli/lz4cli.com -q -f -9 --content-size $< $@
+	@$(COMPILE) -ALZ4 -T$@ o/$(MODE)/third_party/lz4cli/lz4cli.com -q -f -9 --content-size $< $@
 o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/eastasianwidth.s:			\
 		o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/eastasianwidth.bin.lz4	\
 		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/lz4toasm.com
-	@TARGET=$@ ACTION=BIN2ASM build/do			\
-		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/lz4toasm.com -s kEastAsianWidth -o $@ $<
+	@$(COMPILE) -ABIN2ASM -T$@ o/$(MODE)/tool/build/lz4toasm.com -s kEastAsianWidth -o $@ $<
 
 o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/combiningchars.bin:			\
 		libc/unicode/unicodedata.txt			\
 		o/$(MODE)/tool/decode/mkcombos.com
-	@TARGET=$@ ACTION=MKCOMBOS build/do			\
-		o/$(MODE)/tool/decode/mkcombos.com -o $@ $<
+	@$(COMPILE) -AMKCOMBOS -T$@ o/$(MODE)/tool/decode/mkcombos.com -o $@ $<
 o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/combiningchars.bin.lz4:			\
 		o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/combiningchars.bin	\
 		o/$(MODE)/third_party/lz4cli/lz4cli.com
-	@TARGET=$@ ACTION=LZ4 build/do				\
-		o/$(MODE)/third_party/lz4cli/lz4cli.com -q -f -9 --content-size $< $@
+	@$(COMPILE) -ALZ4 -T$@ o/$(MODE)/third_party/lz4cli/lz4cli.com -q -f -9 --content-size $< $@
 o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/combiningchars.s:			\
 		o/$(MODE)/libc/unicode/combiningchars.bin.lz4	\
 		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/lz4toasm.com
-	@TARGET=$@ ACTION=BIN2ASM build/do			\
-		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/lz4toasm.com -s kCombiningChars -o $@ $<
+	@$(COMPILE) -ABIN2ASM -T$@ o/$(MODE)/tool/build/lz4toasm.com -s kCombiningChars -o $@ $<
diff --git a/test/libc/release/emulate.sh b/test/libc/release/emulate.sh
index 1ac38898b..b925b1a5a 100755
--- a/test/libc/release/emulate.sh
+++ b/test/libc/release/emulate.sh
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 # smoke test userspace binary emulation
 CMD="o/$MODE/tool/build/blinkenlights.com.dbg o/$MODE/examples/hello.com"
-printf '%s\n' "$CMD" >&2
 if OUTPUT="$($CMD)"; then
   if [ x"$OUTPUT" = x"hello world" ]; then
     touch o/$MODE/test/libc/release/emulate.ok
diff --git a/test/libc/release/metal.sh b/test/libc/release/metal.sh
index c3ce7509a..f4893355e 100755
--- a/test/libc/release/metal.sh
+++ b/test/libc/release/metal.sh
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 # smoke test booting on bare metal and printing data to serial uart
 CMD="o/$MODE/tool/build/blinkenlights.com.dbg -r o/$MODE/examples/hello.com"
-printf '%s\n' "$CMD" >&2
 if OUTPUT="$($CMD)"; then
   if [ x"$OUTPUT" = x"hello world" ]; then
     touch o/$MODE/test/libc/release/metal.ok
diff --git a/test/libc/release/test.mk b/test/libc/release/test.mk
index 2b9198805..3760d47a5 100644
--- a/test/libc/release/test.mk
+++ b/test/libc/release/test.mk
@@ -7,11 +7,11 @@ o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/cosmopolitan.zip:			\
 		o/$(MODE)/libc/crt/crt.o			\
 		o/$(MODE)/ape/ape.o				\
 		o/$(MODE)/cosmopolitan.a
-	@zip -j $@ $^
+	@$(COMPILE) -AZIP -T$@ zip -j $@ $^
 
 o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smoke.com:				\
 		o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smoke.com.dbg
-	@$(COMPILE) $(OBJCOPY) -S -O binary $< $@
+	@$(COMPILE) -AOBJCOPY -T$< $(OBJCOPY) -S -O binary $< $@
 
 o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smoke.com.dbg:			\
 		test/libc/release/smoke.c			\
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smoke.com.dbg:			\
 		o/$(MODE)/libc/crt/crt.o			\
 		o/$(MODE)/ape/ape.o				\
 		o/$(MODE)/cosmopolitan.a
-	@ACTION=CC $(COMPILE) $(CC)				\
+	@$(COMPILE) -ACC $(CC)					\
 		-o $@						\
 		-Os						\
 		-static						\
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smoke.com.dbg:			\
 
 o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smokecxx.com:			\
 		o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smokecxx.com.dbg
-	@$(COMPILE) $(OBJCOPY) -S -O binary $< $@
+	@$(COMPILE) -AOBJCOPY -T$< $(OBJCOPY) -S -O binary $< $@
 
 o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smokecxx.com.dbg:			\
 		test/libc/release/smokecxx.cc			\
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smokecxx.com.dbg:			\
 		o/$(MODE)/libc/crt/crt.o			\
 		o/$(MODE)/ape/ape.o				\
 		o/$(MODE)/cosmopolitan.a
-	@ACTION=CXX $(COMPILE) $(CXX)				\
+	@$(COMPILE) -ACXX $(CXX)				\
 		-o $@						\
 		-Os						\
 		-static						\
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/smokeansi.com.dbg:			\
 		o/$(MODE)/libc/crt/crt.o			\
 		o/$(MODE)/ape/ape.o				\
 		o/$(MODE)/cosmopolitan.a
-	@ACTION=ANSI $(COMPILE) $(CC)				\
+	@$(COMPILE) -AANSI $(CC)				\
 		-o $@						\
 		-Os						\
 		-ansi						\
@@ -95,19 +95,19 @@ o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/clang.ok:				\
 		o/$(MODE)/libc/crt/crt.o			\
 		o/$(MODE)/ape/ape.o				\
 		o/$(MODE)/cosmopolitan.a
-	@$<
+	@$(COMPILE) -ASHTEST -T$< $<
 
 o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/metal.ok:				\
 		test/libc/release/metal.sh			\
 		o/$(MODE)/examples/hello.com			\
 		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/blinkenlights.com.dbg
-	@$<
+	@$(COMPILE) -ASHTEST -T$< $<
 
 o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release/emulate.ok:				\
 		test/libc/release/emulate.sh			\
 		o/$(MODE)/examples/hello.com			\
 		o/$(MODE)/tool/build/blinkenlights.com.dbg
-	@$<
+	@$(COMPILE) -ASHTEST -T$< $<
 
 .PHONY: o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release
 o/$(MODE)/test/libc/release:					\
diff --git a/third_party/chibicc/chibicc.mk b/third_party/chibicc/chibicc.mk
index 1a7c68a1d..074863c57 100644
--- a/third_party/chibicc/chibicc.mk
+++ b/third_party/chibicc/chibicc.mk
@@ -122,9 +122,9 @@ o/$(MODE)/third_party/chibicc/chibicc.chibicc.o:			\
 		CHIBICC_FLAGS += $(THIRD_PARTY_CHIBICC_DEFINES)
 
 o/$(MODE)/%.chibicc.o: %.c o/$(MODE)/third_party/chibicc/chibicc.com.dbg
-	@ACTION=CHIBICC TARGET=$@ build/do $(CHIBICC) $(CHIBICC_FLAGS) -c -o $@ $<
+	@$(COMPILE) -ACHIBICC -T$@ $(CHIBICC) $(CHIBICC_FLAGS) -c -o $@ $<
 o/$(MODE)/%.chibicc2.o: %.c o/$(MODE)/third_party/chibicc/chibicc2.com.dbg
-	@ACTION=CHIBICC2 TARGET=$@ build/do $(CHIBICC2) $(CHIBICC_FLAGS) -c -o $@ $<
+	@$(COMPILE) -ACHIBICC2 -T$@ $(CHIBICC2) $(CHIBICC_FLAGS) -c -o $@ $<
 
 THIRD_PARTY_CHIBICC_LIBS = $(foreach x,$(THIRD_PARTY_CHIBICC_ARTIFACTS),$($(x)))
 THIRD_PARTY_CHIBICC_SRCS = $(foreach x,$(THIRD_PARTY_CHIBICC_ARTIFACTS),$($(x)_SRCS))
diff --git a/tool/build/build.mk b/tool/build/build.mk
index 6210e701f..f9448be1b 100644
--- a/tool/build/build.mk
+++ b/tool/build/build.mk
@@ -68,9 +68,7 @@ o/$(MODE)/tool/build/build.pkg:				\
 o/$(MODE)/%.ctest.ok:					\
 		%.ctest					\
 		$(TOOL_BUILD_CALCULATOR)
-	@TARGET=$@ ACTION=MKWIDES build/do		\
-	$(TOOL_BUILD_CALCULATOR) $< && \
-	touch $@
+	@$(COMPILE) -AMKWIDES -tT$@ $(TOOL_BUILD_CALCULATOR) $<
 
 o/$(MODE)/tool/build/%.com.dbg:				\
 		$(TOOL_BUILD_DEPS)			\
diff --git a/tool/build/compile.c b/tool/build/compile.c
index ae174a3f8..92bfb75c4 100644
--- a/tool/build/compile.c
+++ b/tool/build/compile.c
@@ -18,30 +18,54 @@
 ╚─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────*/
 #include "libc/bits/safemacros.h"
 #include "libc/calls/calls.h"
+#include "libc/calls/copyfile.h"
 #include "libc/calls/sigbits.h"
 #include "libc/calls/struct/sigset.h"
 #include "libc/errno.h"
 #include "libc/fmt/conv.h"
+#include "libc/log/color.internal.h"
 #include "libc/log/log.h"
 #include "libc/mem/mem.h"
 #include "libc/runtime/runtime.h"
 #include "libc/str/str.h"
 #include "libc/sysv/consts/sig.h"
 #include "libc/x/x.h"
+#include "third_party/getopt/getopt.h"
 
 #define MANUAL \
   "\
+SYNOPSIS\n\
+\n\
+  compile.com [FLAGS] COMMAND [ARGS...]\n\
+\n\
 OVERVIEW\n\
 \n\
-  GNU/LLVM Compiler Collection Frontend Frontend\n\
+  Compiler Collection Frontend Frontend\n\
 \n\
 DESCRIPTION\n\
 \n\
-  This launches gcc or clang after scrubbing flags.\n\
+  This is a generic command wrapper, e.g.\n\
 \n\
-EXAMPLE\n\
+    compile.com gcc -o program program.c\n\
 \n\
-  compile.com gcc -o program program.c\n\
+  This wrapper provides the following services:\n\
+\n\
+    - Ensures the output directory exists\n\
+    - Echo the launched subcommand (silent mode supported if V=0)\n\
+    - Magic filtering of GCC vs. Clang flag incompatibilities\n\
+    - Unzips the vendored GCC toolchain if it hasn't happened yet\n\
+    - Making temporary copies of APE executables w/o side-effects\n\
+    - Truncating long lines in \"TERM=dumb\" terminals like emacs\n\
+\n\
+  This wrapper is extremely fast.\n\
+\n\
+FLAGS\n\
+\n\
+  -A ACTION    specifies short command name for V=0 logging\n\
+  -T TARGET    specifies target name for V=0 logging\n\
+  -t           touch target on success\n\
+  -n           do nothing (used to prime the executable)\n\
+  -?           print help\n\
 \n"
 
 struct Flags {
@@ -65,13 +89,22 @@ bool wantnopg;
 bool wantpg;
 bool wantrecord;
 bool wantubsan;
+bool touchtarget;
 
-char *cc;
+char *cmd;
+char *cachedcmd;
+char *originalcmd;
 char *colorflag;
 char *outdir;
 char *outpath;
+char *action;
+char *target;
 char ccpath[PATH_MAX];
 int ccversion;
+int columns;
+
+sigset_t mask;
+sigset_t savemask;
 
 struct Flags flags;
 struct Command command;
@@ -129,6 +162,17 @@ const char *const kGccOnlyFlags[] = {
     "-mno-fentry",
 };
 
+char *DescribeCommand(void) {
+  if (iscc) {
+    if (isgcc) {
+      return xasprintf("gcc %d", ccversion);
+    } else if (isclang) {
+      return xasprintf("clang %d", ccversion);
+    }
+  }
+  return basename(cmd);
+}
+
 bool IsGccOnlyFlag(const char *s) {
   int m, l, r, x;
   l = 0;
@@ -174,40 +218,75 @@ void AddFlag(char *s) {
       command.n += n;
     }
   } else {
-    command.p = realloc(command.p, command.n + 1);
-    command.p[command.n] = '\n';
-    command.n += 1;
+    command.p = realloc(command.p, command.n + 2);
+    command.p[command.n++] = '\r';
+    command.p[command.n++] = '\n';
   }
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
-  int i, ws, pid;
-  sigset_t mask, savemask;
+int Launch(void) {
+  int ws, pid;
+  if ((pid = vfork()) == -1) exit(errno);
+  if (!pid) {
+    sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &savemask, NULL);
+    execv(cmd, flags.p);
+    _exit(127);
+  }
+  while (waitpid(pid, &ws, 0) == -1) {
+    if (errno != EINTR) exit(errno);
+  }
+  return ws;
+}
 
-  if (argc == 1) {
+int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
+  char *p;
+  size_t n;
+  int i, ws, rc, opt;
+
+  /*
+   * parse prefix arguments
+   */
+  while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, "?hntA:T:")) != -1) {
+    switch (opt) {
+      case 'n':
+        exit(0);
+      case 't':
+        touchtarget = true;
+        break;
+      case 'A':
+        action = optarg;
+        break;
+      case 'T':
+        target = optarg;
+        break;
+      case '?':
+      case 'h':
+        write(1, MANUAL, sizeof(MANUAL) - 1);
+        exit(0);
+      default:
+        write(2, MANUAL, sizeof(MANUAL) - 1);
+        exit(1);
+    }
+  }
+  if (optind == argc) {
     write(2, MANUAL, sizeof(MANUAL) - 1);
     exit(1);
   }
 
-  if (argc == 2 && !strcmp(argv[1], "--do-nothing")) {
-    exit(0);
-  }
-
-  if (!isdirectory("o/third_party/gcc")) {
-    system("third_party/gcc/unbundle.sh");
-  }
-
-  cc = argv[1];
-  if (!strchr(cc, '/')) {
-    if (!(cc = commandv(argv[1], ccpath))) exit(127);
+  cmd = argv[optind];
+  if (!strchr(cmd, '/')) {
+    if (!(cmd = commandv(cmd, ccpath))) exit(127);
   }
 
   ccversion = atoi(firstnonnull(emptytonull(getenv("CCVERSION")), "4"));
-  isgcc = !!strstr(basename(cc), "gcc");
-  isclang = !!strstr(basename(cc), "clang");
+  isgcc = !!strstr(basename(cmd), "gcc");
+  isclang = !!strstr(basename(cmd), "clang");
   iscc = isgcc | isclang;
 
-  for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
+  /*
+   * ingest flag arguments
+   */
+  for (i = optind; i < argc; ++i) {
     if (argv[i][0] != '-') {
       AddFlag(argv[i]);
       continue;
@@ -297,7 +376,13 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
       AddFlag(argv[i]);
     }
   }
+  if (!outpath) {
+    outpath = target;
+  }
 
+  /*
+   * append special flags
+   */
   if (iscc) {
     if (isclang) {
       /* AddFlag("-fno-integrated-as"); */
@@ -337,8 +422,14 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     }
   }
 
+  /*
+   * terminate argument list passed to subprocess
+   */
   AddFlag(NULL);
 
+  /*
+   * ensure output directory exists
+   */
   if (outpath) {
     outdir = xdirname(outpath);
     if (!isdirectory(outdir)) {
@@ -346,23 +437,100 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     }
   }
 
-  write(2, command.p, command.n);
+  /*
+   * log command being run
+   */
+  if (!strcmp(nulltoempty(getenv("V")), "0") && !IsTerminalInarticulate()) {
+    p = xasprintf("\e[F\e[K%-15s%s\r\n", firstnonnull(action, "BUILD"),
+                  firstnonnull(target, nulltoempty(outpath)));
+    n = strlen(p);
+  } else {
+    if (IsTerminalInarticulate() &&
+        (columns = atoi(nulltoempty(getenv("COLUMNS")))) > 25 &&
+        command.n > columns + 2) {
+      /* emacs command window is very slow so truncate lines */
+      command.n = columns + 2;
+      command.p[command.n - 5] = '.';
+      command.p[command.n - 4] = '.';
+      command.p[command.n - 3] = '.';
+      command.p[command.n - 2] = '\r';
+      command.p[command.n - 1] = '\n';
+    }
+    p = command.p;
+    n = command.n;
+  }
+  write(2, p, n);
 
+  /*
+   * create temporary copy when launching APE binaries
+   */
+  if (!IsWindows() && endswith(cmd, ".com")) {
+    cachedcmd = xasprintf("o/%s", cmd);
+    if (fileexists(cachedcmd)) {
+      cmd = cachedcmd;
+    } else {
+      if (startswith(cmd, "o/")) {
+        cachedcmd = NULL;
+      }
+      originalcmd = cmd;
+      cmd = xasprintf("%s.tmp.%d", originalcmd, getpid());
+      copyfile(originalcmd, cmd, 0);
+    }
+  }
+
+  /*
+   * launch command
+   */
   sigfillset(&mask);
   sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, &mask, &savemask);
-  if ((pid = vfork()) == -1) exit(errno);
-  if (!pid) {
-    sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &savemask, NULL);
-    execv(cc, flags.p);
-    _exit(127);
-  }
-  while (waitpid(pid, &ws, 0) == -1) {
-    if (errno != EINTR) exit(errno);
+  ws = Launch();
+
+  /*
+   * if execve() failed unzip gcc and try again
+   */
+  if (WIFEXITED(ws) && WEXITSTATUS(ws) == 127 &&
+      startswith(cmd, "o/third_party/gcc") &&
+      fileexists("third_party/gcc/unbundle.sh")) {
+    system("third_party/gcc/unbundle.sh");
+    ws = Launch();
   }
 
-  if (WIFEXITED(ws)) {
-    return WEXITSTATUS(ws);
-  } else {
-    return 128 + WTERMSIG(ws);
+  /*
+   * cleanup temporary copy of ape executable
+   */
+  if (originalcmd) {
+    if (cachedcmd && WIFEXITED(ws) && !WEXITSTATUS(ws)) {
+      makedirs(xdirname(cachedcmd), 0755);
+      rename(cmd, cachedcmd);
+    } else {
+      unlink(cmd);
+    }
   }
+
+  /*
+   * propagate exit
+   */
+  if (WIFEXITED(ws)) {
+    if (!WEXITSTATUS(ws)) {
+      if (touchtarget && target) {
+        makedirs(xdirname(target), 0755);
+        touch(target, 0644);
+      }
+      return 0;
+    } else {
+      p = xasprintf("%s%s EXITED WITH %d%s: %.*s\r\n", RED2, DescribeCommand(),
+                    WEXITSTATUS(ws), RESET, command.n, command.p);
+      rc = WEXITSTATUS(ws);
+    }
+  } else {
+    p = xasprintf("%s%s TERMINATED BY %s%s: %.*s\r\n", RED2, DescribeCommand(),
+                  strsignal(WTERMSIG(ws)), RESET, command.n, command.p);
+    rc = 128 + WTERMSIG(ws);
+  }
+
+  /*
+   * print full command in the event of error
+   */
+  write(2, p, strlen(p));
+  return rc;
 }