diff --git a/compiler/msgs.nim b/compiler/msgs.nim
index c0362693f..2c807806e 100644
--- a/compiler/msgs.nim
+++ b/compiler/msgs.nim
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 import
   std/[strutils, os, tables, terminal, macros, times],
   std/private/miscdollars,
-  options, lineinfos, pathutils, strutils2
+  options, lineinfos, pathutils
 
 import ropes except `%`
 
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ template instLoc*(): InstantiationInfo = instantiationInfo(-2, fullPaths = true)
 template toStdOrrKind(stdOrr): untyped =
   if stdOrr == stdout: stdOrrStdout else: stdOrrStderr
 
+proc toLowerAscii(a: var string) {.inline.} =
+  for c in mitems(a):
+    if isUpperAscii(c): c = char(uint8(c) xor 0b0010_0000'u8)
+
 proc flushDot*(conf: ConfigRef) =
   ## safe to call multiple times
   # xxx one edge case not yet handled is when `printf` is called at CT with `compiletimeFFI`.
@@ -78,7 +82,7 @@ when defined(nimpretty):
   proc fileSection*(conf: ConfigRef; fid: FileIndex; a, b: int): string =
     substr(conf.m.fileInfos[fid.int].fullContent, a, b)
 
-proc canonicalCase(path: var string) =
+proc canonicalCase(path: var string) {.inline.} =
   ## the idea is to only use this for checking whether a path is already in
   ## the table but otherwise keep the original case
   when FileSystemCaseSensitive: discard
@@ -101,16 +105,13 @@ proc fileInfoIdx*(conf: ConfigRef; filename: AbsoluteFile; isKnownFile: var bool
 
   try:
     canon = canonicalizePath(conf, filename)
-    when not defined(nimSeqsV2):
-      shallow(canon.string)
   except OSError:
     canon = filename
     # The compiler uses "filenames" such as `command line` or `stdin`
     # This flag indicates that we are working with such a path here
     pseudoPath = true
 
-  var canon2: string
-  forceCopy(canon2, canon.string) # because `canon` may be shallow
+  var canon2 = canon.string
   canon2.canonicalCase
 
   if conf.m.filenameToIndexTbl.hasKey(canon2):
@@ -119,7 +120,6 @@ proc fileInfoIdx*(conf: ConfigRef; filename: AbsoluteFile; isKnownFile: var bool
   else:
     isKnownFile = false
     result = conf.m.fileInfos.len.FileIndex
-    #echo "ID ", result.int, " ", canon2
     conf.m.fileInfos.add(newFileInfo(canon, if pseudoPath: RelativeFile filename
                                             else: relativeTo(canon, conf.projectPath)))
     conf.m.filenameToIndexTbl[canon2] = result
diff --git a/compiler/strutils2.nim b/compiler/strutils2.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index f44b811c7..000000000
--- a/compiler/strutils2.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-##[
-internal API for now, subject to modifications and moving around
-
-string API's focusing on performance, that can be used as building blocks
-for other routines.
-
-Un-necessary allocations are avoided and appropriate algorithms are used at the
-expense of code clarity when justified.
-]##
-
-proc dataPointer*[T](a: T): pointer =
-  ## same as C++ `data` that works with std::string, std::vector etc.
-  ## Note: safe to use when a.len == 0 but whether the result is nil or not
-  ## is implementation defined for performance reasons.
-  # this could be improved with ocmpiler support to avoid the `if`, e.g. in C++
-  # `&a[0]` is well defined even if a.size() == 0
-  when T is string | seq:
-    if a.len == 0: nil else: cast[pointer](a[0].unsafeAddr)
-  elif T is array:
-    when a.len > 0: a.unsafeAddr
-    else: nil
-  elif T is cstring:
-    cast[pointer](a)
-  else: static: doAssert false, $T
-
-proc setLen*(result: var string, n: int, isInit: bool) =
-  ## when isInit = false, elements are left uninitialized, analog to `{.noinit.}`
-  ## else, there are 0-initialized.
-  # xxx placeholder until system.setLen supports this
-  # to distinguish between algorithms that need 0-initialization vs not; note
-  # that `setLen` for string is inconsistent with `setLen` for seq.
-  # likwise with `newString` vs `newSeq`. This should be fixed in `system`.
-  let n0 = result.len
-  result.setLen(n)
-  if isInit and n > n0:
-    zeroMem(result[n0].addr, n - n0)
-
-proc forceCopy*(result: var string, a: string) =
-  ## also forces a copy if `a` is shallow
-  # the naitve `result = a` would not work if `a` is shallow
-  let n = a.len
-  result.setLen n, isInit = false
-  copyMem(result.dataPointer, a.dataPointer, n)
-
-proc isUpperAscii(c: char): bool {.inline.} =
-  # avoids import strutils.isUpperAscii
-  c in {'A'..'Z'}
-
-proc toLowerAscii*(a: var string) =
-  ## optimized and inplace overload of strutils.toLowerAscii
-  # refs https://github.com/timotheecour/Nim/pull/54
-  # this is 10X faster than a naive implementation using a an optimization trick
-  # that can be adapted in similar contexts. Predictable writes avoid write
-  # hazards and lead to better machine code, compared to random writes arising
-  # from: `if c.isUpperAscii: c = ...`
-  for c in mitems(a):
-    c = chr(c.ord + (if c.isUpperAscii: (ord('a') - ord('A')) else: 0))
diff --git a/tests/stdlib/tstrutils2.nim b/tests/stdlib/tstrutils2.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 2cb5b8ec4..000000000
--- a/tests/stdlib/tstrutils2.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-discard """
-  matrix: "--gc:refc; --gc:orc"
-"""
-
-import "$lib/.." / compiler/strutils2
-import std/assertions
-
-block: # setLen
-  var a = "abc"
-  a.setLen 0
-  a.setLen 3, isInit = false
-  when defined(gcRefc): # bug #19763
-    doAssert a[1] == 'b'
-  a.setLen 0
-  a.setLen 3, isInit = true
-  doAssert a[1] == '\0'
-
-block: # forceCopy
-  var a: string
-  a = "foo"
-  when defined(gcRefc):
-    shallow(a)
-  var b: string
-  b = a
-  doAssert b[0].addr == a[0].addr
-  var c: string
-  c.forceCopy a
-  doAssert c == a
-  doAssert c[0].addr != a[0].addr
-
-block: # toLowerAscii
-  var a = "fooBAr"
-  a.toLowerAscii
-  doAssert a == "foobar"
-
-block: # dataPointer
-  var a: string
-  discard a.dataPointer
-  # doAssert a.dataPointer == nil # not guaranteed