diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 8eef913..338079f 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -136,9 +136,6 @@ require_lws_config(LWS_ROLE_WS				1 requirements)
 if (SAI_SERVER)
 	require_lws_config(LWS_WITH_JOSE		1 requirements)
 endif()
-if (SAI_BUILDER)
-	require_lws_config(LWS_WITH_THREADPOOL		1 requirements)
-endif()
 #require_lws_config(LWS_WITH_PLUGINS_BUILTIN		1 requirements)
 
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ae2822d..60ddec8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ Feature|dependency
 ---|---
 either|libwebsockets
 server|libsqlite3
-builder|libgit2 pthreads
+builder|pthreads
 jig (linux only)|libgpiod
 
 #### Unix / Linux
@@ -346,17 +346,10 @@ $ sudo systemctl enable sai-builder
 
 #### Windows builder only
 
-Build libgit2 via vcpkg, this takes <10mins
-
-```
-> vcpkg install libgit2:x64-windows
-```
-
 You have to make git2.dll and some deps visible, in /windows/system32 or similar
 
 ```
 > sudo cp "\Users\<user>\vcpkg\installed\x64-windows\bin\pcre.dll" "\windows\system32"
-> sudo cp "\Users\<user>\vcpkg\libgit2_x64-windows\bin\git2.dll" "\windows\system32"
 ```
 
 Build lws the same way as for unix, except with
@@ -369,7 +362,7 @@ Build lws the same way as for unix, except with
 For sai it's also very similar to unix, but with
 
 ```
-> cmake .. -DSAI_SERVER=0 -DSAI_LWS_INC_PATH="\Users\<user>\libwebsockets\build\include" -DSAI_LWS_LIB_PATH="\Users\<user>\libwebsockets\build\lib\Debug\websockets.lib" -DSAI_GIT2_INC_PATH="\Users\<user>\vcpkg\packages\libgit2_x64-windows\include" -DSAI_GIT2_LIB_PATH="\Users\<user>\vcpkg\packages\libgit2_x64-windows\lib\git2.lib" -DSAI_EXT_PTHREAD_INCLUDE_DIR="C:\Program Files (x86)\pthreads\include" -DSAI_EXT_PTHREAD_LIBRARIES="C:\Program Files (x86)\pthreads\lib\x64\libpthreadGC2.a"
+> cmake .. -DSAI_SERVER=0 -DSAI_LWS_INC_PATH="\Users\<user>\libwebsockets\build\include" -DSAI_LWS_LIB_PATH="\Users\<user>\libwebsockets\build\lib\Debug\websockets.lib" -DSAI_EXT_PTHREAD_INCLUDE_DIR="C:\Program Files (x86)\pthreads\include" -DSAI_EXT_PTHREAD_LIBRARIES="C:\Program Files (x86)\pthreads\lib\x64\libpthreadGC2.a"
 > cmake --build . --config DEBUG
 > sudo cmake --install . --config DEBUG 
 ```
diff --git a/src/builder/CMakeLists.txt b/src/builder/CMakeLists.txt
index d5866cd..82eaff7 100644
--- a/src/builder/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/builder/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -37,54 +37,12 @@ if (requirements)
                link_directories("/usr/local/lib")
 	endif()
 
-	#
-	# libgit2 paths (builder)
-	#
 	if (SAI_BUILDER)
-	       #
-	       # libgit2 paths
-	       #
-	       find_path(   SAI_GIT2_INC_PATH NAMES "git2.h")
-	       find_library(SAI_GIT2_LIB_PATH NAMES "git2")
-	       
-	       if (SAI_GIT2_INC_PATH AND SAI_GIT2_LIB_PATH)
-		       set(SAI_DEPLIBS "${SAI_GIT2_LIB_PATH}" ${SAI_DEPLIBS})
-		       include_directories(BEFORE "${SAI_GIT2_INC_PATH}")
-	       else()
-		       message(FATAL_ERROR " Unable to find libgit2")
-	       endif()
-	       
-	       target_link_libraries(${SUB} ${SAI_GIT2_LIB_PATH})
-
 		if (APPLE)
 		    target_link_libraries(sai-builder "-framework IOKit")
 		endif() 
        endif()
 
-	set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES ${SAI_GIT2_LIB_PATH})
-	
-	CHECK_C_SOURCE_COMPILES("#include <git2.h>
-        int main(void) {
-               const git_error *e = git_error_last();
-                return !!e->message;
-        }" SAI_HAVE_LIBGIT2_GIT_ERROR)
-        
-        if (SAI_HAVE_LIBGIT2_GIT_ERROR)
-        	set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "-DSAI_HAVE_LIBGIT2_GIT_ERROR ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS}")
-        endif()
-
-	CHECK_C_SOURCE_COMPILES("
-                #include <git2.h>
-		int main(int argc, char **argv) {
-			git_proxy_options o;
-			git_proxy_options_init(&o, GIT_PROXY_OPTIONS_VERSION);
-			return 0;
-	}" LIBGIT2_HAVE_GIT_PROXY_OPTIONS_INIT)
-
-	if (LIBGIT2_HAVE_GIT_PROXY_OPTIONS_INIT)
-        	set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "-DLIBGIT2_HAVE_GIT_PROXY_OPTIONS_INIT ${CMAKE_C_FLAGS}")
-        endif()
-
 	#configure_file("${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake/sai_config_private.h.in"
 	#	       "${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/sai_config_private.h")
 	#
diff --git a/src/builder/b-comms.c b/src/builder/b-comms.c
index aac38f5..8f0fd49 100644
--- a/src/builder/b-comms.c
+++ b/src/builder/b-comms.c
@@ -51,157 +51,6 @@ saib_m_rx(void *userobj, const uint8_t *buf, size_t len, int flags)
 }
 
 /*
- * We come here for every platform's threadpool sync
- */
-
-static int
-tp_sync_check(struct lws_dll2 *d, void *user)
-{
-	sai_plat_t *sp = lws_container_of(d, sai_plat_t, sai_plat_list);
-	struct sai_plat_server *spm = (struct sai_plat_server *)user;
-	struct sai_nspawn *ns;
-	int n, soe;
-	void *vp;
-
-	/*
-	 * Let's look into every nspawn for each platform then...
-	 */
-
-	lws_start_foreach_dll_safe(struct lws_dll2 *, d, d1,
-				   sp->nspawn_owner.head) {
-
-		ns = lws_container_of(d, struct sai_nspawn, list);
-		soe = ns->state;
-
-		/*
-		 * We can't deal with nspawns bound to a different server or
-		 * nspawns not with an active threadpool task
-		 */
-
-		if (!ns->tp_task || spm != ns->spm)
-			goto next;
-
-		/*
-		 * We may not be the only threadpool task that wants
-		 * to sync... so bear in mind we want to loop after
-		 * handling this particular one
-		 */
-
-		// lwsl_notice("%s: tp svc, state %d '%s'\n", __func__,
-		//	    ns->state, ns->pending_mirror_log);
-
-		/*
-		 * We got here by threadpool sync... logify the
-		 * >saib> message from the thread...
-		 */
-
-		if (ns->pending_mirror_log[0]) {
-			lwsl_notice("%s: logging %s\n", __func__,
-					ns->pending_mirror_log);
-			saib_log_chunk_create(ns, ns->pending_mirror_log,
-					strlen(ns->pending_mirror_log), 3);
-			ns->pending_mirror_log[0] = 0;
-		}
-
-		//(soe == NSSTATE_WAIT_REMOTE_MIRROR ||
-		//	    soe == NSSTATE_FAILED ||
-		//	    soe == NSSTATE_CHECKOUT ||
-		//	    soe == NSSTATE_CHECKEDOUT) &&
-
-		n = (int)lws_threadpool_task_status(ns->tp_task, &vp);
-		lwsl_info("%s: WRITEABLE: ss=%p: "
-			   "task %p, priv %p, status %d\n", __func__, spm->ss,
-			   ns->tp_task, vp, n);
-		switch (n) {
-		case LWS_TP_STATUS_FINISHED:
-		case LWS_TP_STATUS_STOPPED:
-		case LWS_TP_STATUS_QUEUED:
-		case LWS_TP_STATUS_RUNNING:
-		case LWS_TP_STATUS_STOPPING:
-			goto next;
-
-		case LWS_TP_STATUS_SYNCING:
-			/*
-			 * This is what the threadpool thread wants to hear from
-			 * us in order to continue on.  The choice in the second
-			 * arg is whether to ask the thread to stop or not.
-			 *
-			 * MIRROR: let thread continue on to CHECKOUT
-			 * WAIT_REMOTE_MIRROR: continue to wait
-			 * CHECKOUT: go back into CHECKOUT
-			 * FAILED or CHECKEDOUT: we're done, stop the thread
-			 *
-			 * This wakes the stalled task, we can't read its
-			 * state after this
-			 */
-
-			lws_threadpool_task_sync(ns->tp_task,
-					soe == NSSTATE_CHECKEDOUT ||
-					soe == NSSTATE_FAILED);
-
-			if (soe != NSSTATE_CHECKEDOUT &&
-			    soe != NSSTATE_FAILED) {
-				lwsl_notice("%s: task still going, status %d, "
-						"sp = %p, sp->ss = %p\n",
-						__func__, n, sp, ns->spm->ss);
-				goto next;
-			}
-			/*
-			 * We asked for the task to stop... let's move on
-			 * while that's happening
-			 */
-			break;
-
-		default:
-			return 1;
-		}
-
-		/*
-		 * The thread is over... either FAILED...
-		 */
-
-		if (soe == NSSTATE_FAILED) {
-			lwsl_notice("%s: thread over with FAILED\n",
-					__func__);
-			goto failer;
-		}
-
-		/*
-		 * ...or we did the mirror and let's spawn the actual task now
-		 */
-
-		lwsl_notice("%s: Destroying checkout thread, spawning task\n",
-				__func__);
-		ns->tp_task = NULL;
-
-		lws_sul_cancel(&ns->sul_task_cancel);
-		saib_set_ns_state(ns, NSSTATE_BUILD);
-
-		n = saib_spawn(ns);
-		if (n) {
-			lwsl_err("%s: spawn failed: %d\n", __func__, n);
-failer:
-			saib_set_ns_state(ns, NSSTATE_FAILED);
-			saib_task_grace(ns);
-			saib_queue_task_status_update(ns->sp, ns->spm, NULL);
-		}
-
-next:
-
-		if (ns->artifact_owner.head) {
-			/*
-			 * This nspawn has an outstanding artifact to upload
-			 */
-		}
-
-		lwsl_debug("%s: next tp sync\n", __func__);
-
-	} lws_end_foreach_dll_safe(d, d1);
-
-	return 0;
-}
-
-/*
  * We cover requested tx for any instance of a platform that can takes tasks
  * from the same server... it means just by coming here, no particular
  * platform / sai_plat is implied...
@@ -223,14 +72,6 @@ saib_m_tx(void *userobj, lws_ss_tx_ordinal_t ord, uint8_t *buf, size_t *len,
 	int n = 0;
 
 	/*
-	 * We are the ss / wsi that any threadpool instances on any platform
-	 * with tasks for this server are trying to sync to.  We need to handle
-	 * and resume them all.
-	 */
-
-	lws_dll2_foreach_safe(&builder.sai_plat_owner, spm, tp_sync_check);
-
-	/*
 	 * Any builder state updates / rejections to process?
 	 */
 
@@ -436,7 +277,27 @@ saib_m_tx(void *userobj, lws_ss_tx_ordinal_t ord, uint8_t *buf, size_t *len,
 			star = walk;
 
 		ns = lws_container_of(walk, struct sai_nspawn, list);
-		if (spm != ns->spm || !ns->chunk_cache.count || !ns->chunk_cache.tail)
+		if (spm != ns->spm)
+			continue;
+
+		if (ns->state_changed) {
+			ns->state_changed = 0;
+
+			switch (ns->state) {
+			case NSSTATE_CHECKEDOUT:
+				saib_set_ns_state(ns, NSSTATE_BUILD);
+				if (saib_spawn(ns)) {
+					lwsl_err("%s: saib_spawn failed\n",
+						 __func__);
+					saib_set_ns_state(ns, NSSTATE_FAILED);
+				}
+				break;
+			default:
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (!ns->chunk_cache.count || !ns->chunk_cache.tail)
 			continue;
 
 		/*
@@ -530,12 +391,12 @@ cleanup_on_ss_destroy(struct lws_dll2 *d, void *user)
 		struct sai_nspawn *ns =
 			lws_container_of(d, struct sai_nspawn, list);
 
-		if (ns->spm == spm && ns->tp) {
-			lwsl_notice("%s: calling threadpool_destroy\n", __func__);
-			lws_threadpool_finish(ns->tp);
-			lws_threadpool_destroy(ns->tp);
-			ns->tp = NULL;
-			ns->tp_task = NULL;
+		if (ns->spm == spm) {
+			/*
+			 * This pss is about to go away, make sure the ns
+			 * can't reference it any more no matter what happens
+			 */
+			ns->spm = NULL;
 		}
 	} lws_end_foreach_dll_safe(d, d1);
 
diff --git a/src/builder/b-mirror.c b/src/builder/b-mirror.c
index ac32dc8..5e4e768 100644
--- a/src/builder/b-mirror.c
+++ b/src/builder/b-mirror.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 /*
  * sai-builder com-warmcat-sai client protocol implementation
  *
- * Copyright (C) 2019 - 2020 Andy Green <andy@warmcat.com>
+ * Copyright (C) 2019 - 2021 Andy Green <andy@warmcat.com>
  *
  *  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
  *  modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
@@ -23,659 +23,301 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include <signal.h>
 #include <assert.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
 
 #include "b-private.h"
 
-#include <git2.h>
-
-enum {
-	SRFS_REQUESTING,
-	SRFS_PROCESSING,
-	SRFS_FAILED,
-	SRFS_SUCCEEDED,
-};
-
-/*
- * Request to do the remote -> local mirror action
- */
-
-typedef struct sai_mirror_req {
-	lws_dll2_t		list;
-
-	struct sai_nspawn	*ns;
-
-	char			path[100]; /* local mirror path */
-	char			url[100];
-	char			hash[130];
-	char			ref[96];
-
-	int			state;
-} sai_mirror_req_t;
-
-static void
-sai_mirror_req_state_set(sai_mirror_req_t *req, int n)
-{
-	lwsl_notice("%s: req %p: %d -> %d\n", __func__, req, req->state, n);
-	req->state = n;
-}
-
-enum {
-	SAIB_CHECKOUT_OK,
-	SAIB_CHECKOUT_NOT_IN_LOCAL_MIRROR,
-	SAIB_CHECKOUT_CHECKOUT_FAILED,
-};
-
-static int
-sai_mirror_local_checkout(struct sai_nspawn *ns)
-{
-	git_checkout_options co_opts = GIT_CHECKOUT_OPTIONS_INIT;
-	git_fetch_options opts = GIT_FETCH_OPTIONS_INIT;
-	git_repository *git_repo_build_specific = NULL;
-	char dp[512], spec[256], *paths[] = { spec }, inp[512];
-	git_strarray rfs = { paths, 1 };
-	git_object *treeish;
-	git_remote *remote;
-	int n, tries = 2;
-
-	lws_strncpy(inp, ns->inp, sizeof(inp) - 1);
-	if (inp[strlen(inp) - 1] == '\\')
-		inp[strlen(inp) - 1] = '\0';
-
-	/*
-	 * Remove anything that was already in the build-specific dir
-	 */
-
-	lwsl_notice("%s: rm -rf %s\n", __func__, inp);
-	lws_dir(inp, NULL, lws_dir_rm_rf_cb);
-
-	/*
-	 * Make sure the build-specific dir itself is left standing in there.
-	 *
-	 * We can only create files and dirs using the global sai:nobody
-	 * credentials since we have dropped root long ago
-	 */
-
-	if (mkdir(inp, 0755))
-		lwsl_notice("%s: mkdir %s failed\n", __func__, ns->inp);
-
-	/*
-	 * Create the build-specific git dir and init it
-	 */
-
-	n = git_repository_init(&git_repo_build_specific, inp, 0);
-	if (n) {
-#if defined(SAI_HAVE_LIBGIT2_GIT_ERROR)
-		const git_error *e = git_error_last();
-
-		lwsl_err("%s: unable to init temp repo %s: %d %s\n",
-			 __func__, ns->inp, n, e ? e->message : "?");
+static const char * const git_helper_sh =
+	"#!/bin/bash\n"
+#if defined(__APPLE__)
+       "export PATH=/opt/homebrew/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin\n"
 #else
-		lwsl_err("%s: unable to init temp repo %s: %d\n",
-					 __func__, ns->inp, n);
+       "export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH\n"
 #endif
+	"set -e\n"
+       "echo \"git_helper_sh: starting\"\n"
+	"OPERATION=$1\n"
+	"shift\n"
+	"if [ \"$OPERATION\" == \"mirror\" ]; then\n"
+	"    REMOTE_URL=$1\n"
+	"    REF=$2\n"
+	"    HASH=$3\n"
+	"    MIRROR_PATH=$4\n"
+	"    mkdir -p \"$MIRROR_PATH\"\n"
+	"    if [ ! -d \"$MIRROR_PATH/.git\" ]; then\n"
+	"        git init --bare \"$MIRROR_PATH\"\n"
+	"    fi\n"
+	"    REFSPEC=\"$REF:ref-$HASH\"\n"
+	"    git -C \"$MIRROR_PATH\" fetch \"$REMOTE_URL\" \"$REFSPEC\"\n"
+	"elif [ \"$OPERATION\" == \"checkout\" ]; then\n"
+	"    MIRROR_PATH=$1\n"
+	"    BUILD_DIR=$2\n"
+	"    HASH=$3\n"
+	"    if [ ! -d \"$BUILD_DIR/.git\" ]; then\n"
+	"        rm -rf \"$BUILD_DIR\"\n"
+	"        mkdir -p \"$BUILD_DIR\"\n"
+	"        git -C \"$BUILD_DIR\" init\n"
+	"    fi\n"
+	"    if ! git -C \"$BUILD_DIR\" fetch \"$MIRROR_PATH\" \"ref-$HASH\"; then\n"
+	"        exit 2\n"
+	"    fi\n"
+	"    git -C \"$BUILD_DIR\" checkout -f \"$HASH\"\n"
+	"    git -C \"$BUILD_DIR\" clean -fdx\n"
+	"else\n"
+	"    exit 1\n"
+	"fi\n"
+       "echo \">>> Git helper script finished.\"\n"
+	"exit 0\n";
 
-		return SAIB_CHECKOUT_CHECKOUT_FAILED;
-	}
-
-	/*
-	 * Attempt to fetch the ref we are interested in from our local mirror
-	 *
-	 * Create a temp remote against the destination repo
-	 */
-
-	if (git_remote_create_anonymous(&remote, git_repo_build_specific,
-					ns->path)) {
-		lwsl_err("%s: cant find remote %s\n", __func__,
-			 ns->git_repo_url);
-
-		git_repository_free(git_repo_build_specific);
-		return SAIB_CHECKOUT_CHECKOUT_FAILED;
-	}
+#if defined(WIN32)
+static const char * const git_helper_bat =
+       "@echo on\n"
+	"setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion\n"
+       "echo \"git_helper_bat: starting\"\n"
+	"set \"OPERATION=%~1\"\n"
+       "echo \"OPERATION: !OPERATION!\"\n"
+	"if /i \"!OPERATION!\"==\"mirror\" (\n"
+	"    set \"REMOTE_URL=%~2\"\n"
+	"    set \"REF=%~3\"\n"
+	"    set \"HASH=%~4\"\n"
+	"    set \"MIRROR_PATH=%~5\"\n"
+       "    echo \"REMOTE_URL: !REMOTE_URL!\"\n"
+       "    echo \"REF: !REF!\"\n"
+       "    echo \"HASH: !HASH!\"\n"
+       "    echo \"MIRROR_PATH: !MIRROR_PATH!\"\n"
+	"    if not exist \"!MIRROR_PATH!\\.\" (\n"
+	"    mkdir \"!MIRROR_PATH!\"\n"
+	"    )\n"
+	"    if not exist \"!MIRROR_PATH!\\.git\" (\n"
+	"        git init --bare \"!MIRROR_PATH!\"\n"
+	"        if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1\n"
+	"    )\n"
+	"    set \"REFSPEC=!REF!:ref-!HASH!\"\n"
+       "    echo \"REFSPEC: !REFSPEC!\"\n"
+	"    git -C \"!MIRROR_PATH!\" fetch \"!REMOTE_URL!\" \"!REFSPEC!\" 2>&1\n"
+	"    if !ERRORLEVEL! neq 0 (\n"
+	"        echo \"git fetch failed with errorlevel !ERRORLEVEL!\"\n"
+	"        exit /b 1\n"
+	"    )\n"
+	"    exit /b 0\n"
+	")\n"
+	"if /i \"!OPERATION!\"==\"checkout\" (\n"
+	"    set \"MIRROR_PATH=%~2\"\n"
+	"    set \"BUILD_DIR=%~3\"\n"
+	"    set \"HASH=%~4\"\n"
+       "    echo \"MIRROR_PATH: !MIRROR_PATH!\"\n"
+       "    echo \"BUILD_DIR: !BUILD_DIR!\"\n"
+       "    echo \"HASH: !HASH!\"\n"
+	"    if not exist \"!BUILD_DIR!\\.git\" (\n"
+	"        if exist \"!BUILD_DIR!\\\" rmdir /s /q \"!BUILD_DIR!\"\n"
+	"        mkdir \"!BUILD_DIR!\"\n"
+	"        git -C \"!BUILD_DIR!\" init\n"
+	"        if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1\n"
+	"    )\n"
+	"    git -C \"!BUILD_DIR!\" fetch \"!MIRROR_PATH!\" \"ref-!HASH!\"\n"
+	"    if errorlevel 1 exit /b 2\n"
+	"    git -C \"!BUILD_DIR!\" checkout -f \"!HASH!\"\n"
+	"    if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1\n"
+       "    echo \">>> Git helper script finished.\"\n"
+	"    exit /b 0\n"
+	")\n"
+	"exit /b 1\n";
+#endif
 
-	lws_snprintf(spec, sizeof(spec), "ref-%s:ref-%s", ns->hash, ns->hash);
+static void sai_git_mirror_reap_cb(void *opaque, lws_usec_t *accounting,
+				   siginfo_t *si, int we_killed_him);
 
-	lwsl_notice("%s: Attempting to fetch %s from mirror to %s\n",
-		    __func__, spec, ns->inp);
+static void
+sai_git_checkout_reap_cb(void *opaque, lws_usec_t *accounting, siginfo_t *si,
+		int we_killed_him)
+{
+	struct saib_opaque_spawn *op = (struct saib_opaque_spawn *)opaque;
+	struct sai_nspawn *ns = op->ns;
+	int exit_code = -1;
 
-	/*
-	 * Fetch the tree from the local mirror to our local build repo
-	 * This may take an open-ended amount of time
-	 */
+       lwsl_notice("%s: mirror reap callback started\n", __func__);
 
-#if defined(LIBGIT2_HAVE_GIT_PROXY_OPTIONS_INIT)
-	git_proxy_options_init(&opts.proxy_opts, GIT_PROXY_OPTIONS_VERSION);
-#endif
+       lwsl_warn("%s: reap at %llu: we_killed_him: %d\n",
+		  __func__, (unsigned long long)lws_now_usecs(),
+                 we_killed_him);
 
-	n = git_remote_fetch(remote, &rfs, &opts, "fetch");
-	git_remote_free(remote);
-	if (n) {
-		lwsl_notice("%s: git_remote_fetch() says %d\n", __func__, n);
-#if defined(SAI_HAVE_LIBGIT2_GIT_ERROR)
-		const git_error *e = git_error_last();
+	if (we_killed_him)
+		goto fail;
 
-		lwsl_err("%s: git_remote_fetch libgit err: %d %s\n",
-			 __func__, n, e ? e->message : "?");
+#if !defined(WIN32)
+	if (si->si_code == CLD_EXITED)
+		exit_code = si->si_status;
+#else
+       exit_code = si->retcode & 0xff;
 #endif
-		git_repository_free(git_repo_build_specific);
-		return SAIB_CHECKOUT_NOT_IN_LOCAL_MIRROR;
-	}
 
-	/*
-	 * Check out the commit we fetched into the ephemeral local build dir...
-	 * this should be a formality since we already retreived the ref into
-	 * ephemeral local build dir's repo.
-	 */
-
-	lws_snprintf(spec, sizeof(spec), "ref-%s", ns->hash);
-	n = git_revparse_single(&treeish, git_repo_build_specific, spec);
-	if (n) {
-		lwsl_notice("%s: revparse %s failed: %d\n", __func__, spec, n);
-		git_repository_free(git_repo_build_specific);
-		return SAIB_CHECKOUT_NOT_IN_LOCAL_MIRROR;
+	if (exit_code == 0) {
+		saib_set_ns_state(ns, NSSTATE_CHECKEDOUT);
+		goto onward;
 	}
 
-again:
-	co_opts.checkout_strategy = GIT_CHECKOUT_FORCE;
-	n = git_checkout_tree(git_repo_build_specific, treeish, &co_opts);
-	git_object_free(treeish);
-	if (n) {
-		if (n == GIT_EUNBORNBRANCH && tries--) {
-			lwsl_warn("%s: git checkout says HEAD is empty branch\n",
-				  __func__);
-
-			/*
-			 * It's telling us we need to delete the local mirror
-			 * HEAD and retry
-			 */
-
-			lws_snprintf(dp, sizeof(dp), "%s/HEAD", ns->inp);
-			unlink(dp);
-
-			goto again;
-		}
-		goto co_failed;
+	if (exit_code == 2) {
+		saib_start_mirror(ns);
+		goto onward;
 	}
 
-	lws_snprintf(spec, sizeof(spec), "refs/heads/ref-%s", ns->hash);
-	git_repository_set_head(git_repo_build_specific, spec);
-
-	lwsl_notice("%s: checkout OK\n", __func__);
-
-	git_repository_free(git_repo_build_specific);
-
-	return SAIB_CHECKOUT_OK;
-
-co_failed:
-	lwsl_err("%s: git checkout failed: %d\n", __func__, n);
-	git_repository_free(git_repo_build_specific);
-
-	return SAIB_CHECKOUT_CHECKOUT_FAILED;
+fail:
+	saib_set_ns_state(ns, NSSTATE_FAILED);
+onward:
+	ns->op = NULL;
+	free(op);
 }
 
-
-/*
- * We are a threadpool thread handling queueing on remote mirror "thread_repo",
- * and afterwards checking out a ref from the local copy.
- *
- * The main git2 process just goes away and does the fetch atomically.  Wrapping
- * it in an extra threadpool thread lets us continue to be resposive while we're
- * waiting for the remote mirror fetch.
- */
-
-enum lws_threadpool_task_return
-saib_mirror_task(void *user, enum lws_threadpool_task_status s)
+static void
+sai_git_mirror_reap_cb(void *opaque, lws_usec_t *accounting, siginfo_t *si,
+		int we_killed_him)
 {
-	struct sai_nspawn *ns = (struct sai_nspawn *)user;
-	sai_mirror_instance_t *mi;
-	sai_mirror_req_t *req;
-	int n, m;
-
-	lwsl_warn("%s: entry: state %d\n", __func__, ns->state);
-
-	mi = &builder.mi;
-
-	if (s == LWS_TP_STATUS_STOPPING)
-		return LWS_TP_RETURN_STOPPED;
-
-	switch (ns->state) {
-	case NSSTATE_INIT:
-	case NSSTATE_MOUNTING:
-
-	case NSSTATE_STARTING_MIRROR:
-		lwsl_notice("%s: NSSTATE_STARTING_MIRROR\n", __func__);
-		ns->state = NSSTATE_CHECKOUT_SPEC;
-		/* fallthru */
-
-	case NSSTATE_CHECKOUT_SPEC:
-		/*
-		 * First attempt to checkout from local mirror, in case we
-		 * already fetched it to the local mirror for an earlier task
-		 */
-
-		lwsl_notice("%s: NSSTATE_CHECKOUT_SPEC\n", __func__);
-		switch (sai_mirror_local_checkout(ns)) {
-		case SAIB_CHECKOUT_OK:
-			/*
-			 * oh we have it then... do a final sync and have the
-			 * foreground handler STOP us when we resume
-			 */
-
-			lwsl_notice("%s: syncing checkout %s done\n", __func__,
-				    ns->inp);
-			ns->state = NSSTATE_CHECKEDOUT;
-
-			lws_snprintf(ns->pending_mirror_log,
-				     sizeof(ns->pending_mirror_log),
-				     ">saib> Local mirror checkout %s\n", ns->hash);
-
-			return LWS_TP_RETURN_SYNC;
-
-		case SAIB_CHECKOUT_NOT_IN_LOCAL_MIRROR:
-			/*
-			 * Basically it means we have to get it from the remote
-			 * repo into the local mirror first... clear down the
-			 * local build dir
-			 */
-
-			lws_dir(ns->inp, NULL, lws_dir_rm_rf_cb);
-
-			/*
-			 * Make sure the dir itself is left standing in there
-			 */
-
-			if (mkdir(ns->inp, 0755))
-				lwsl_notice("%s: mkdir %s failed\n", __func__, ns->inp);
-
-			/*
-			 * Form a request, kick the remoting thread and then
-			 * wait on the condition in the request
-			 */
-
-			req = malloc(sizeof(*req));
-			if (!req)
-				goto fail;
-
-			/*
-			 * The request needs to exist with a standalone
-			 * lifetime regardless of what's happening to the ns or
-			 * threadpool thread while it waits, or proceeds
-			 * asynchronously
-			 */
-
-			lwsl_notice("%s: NOT_IN_LOCAL_MIRROR %s\n", __func__, ns->ref);
-			memset(req, 0, sizeof(*req));
-			req->state = SRFS_REQUESTING;
-			req->ns = ns;
-			lws_strncpy(req->url, ns->git_repo_url, sizeof(req->url));
-			lws_strncpy(req->hash, ns->hash, sizeof(req->hash));
-			lws_strncpy(req->ref, ns->ref, sizeof(req->ref));
-			lws_strncpy(req->path, ns->path, sizeof(req->path));
-
-			pthread_mutex_lock(&mi->mut);
-			lws_dll2_add_tail(&req->list, &mi->pending_req);
-
-			pthread_cond_broadcast(&mi->cond);
-			pthread_mutex_unlock(&mi->mut);
-
-			ns->state = NSSTATE_WAIT_REMOTE_MIRROR;
-			ns->mirror_wait_budget = 600;
-
-			lws_snprintf(ns->pending_mirror_log,
-				     sizeof(ns->pending_mirror_log),
-				     ">saib> Starting REMOTE MIRROR FETCH\n");
-
-			return LWS_TP_RETURN_SYNC;
-
-		case SAIB_CHECKOUT_CHECKOUT_FAILED:
-
-			lws_snprintf(ns->pending_mirror_log,
-				     sizeof(ns->pending_mirror_log),
-				     ">saib> Checkout failed...\n");
-
-			goto fail;
-		}
-
-		break;
-
-	case NSSTATE_CHECKOUT:
-		/*
-		 * We come here after the remote -> local mirror operation
-		 * seemed to go well, to complete the flow by checking out
-		 * the newly-fetched commit.  We can only go OK or fail.
-		 */
-
-		lwsl_notice("%s: NSSTATE_CHECKOUT\n", __func__);
-		m = sai_mirror_local_checkout(ns);
-		lwsl_notice("%s: sai_mirror_local_checkout() says %d\n", __func__, m);
-		switch (m) {
-		case SAIB_CHECKOUT_OK:
-			/*
-			 * oh we have it then... do a final sync and have the
-			 * foreground handler STOP us when we resume
-			 */
-
-			lwsl_notice("%s: syncing checkout %s done\n", __func__,
-				    ns->inp);
-			ns->state = NSSTATE_CHECKEDOUT;
-
-			lws_snprintf(ns->pending_mirror_log,
-				     sizeof(ns->pending_mirror_log),
-				     ">saib> Remote->Local->Checked out %s\n", ns->hash);
+	struct saib_opaque_spawn *op = (struct saib_opaque_spawn *)opaque;
+	struct sai_nspawn *ns = op->ns;
+	int exit_code = -1;
 
-			return LWS_TP_RETURN_SYNC;
+               // lwsl_warn("%s: reap at %llu: we_killed_him: %d, si_code: %d, si_status: %d\n",
+               //  __func__, (unsigned long long)lws_now_usecs(),
+               //  we_killed_him, si->si_code, si->si_status);
 
-		case SAIB_CHECKOUT_NOT_IN_LOCAL_MIRROR:
-			/* fallthru */
-			lwsl_notice("%s: checkout not in local mirror\n", __func__);
-		case SAIB_CHECKOUT_CHECKOUT_FAILED:
-
-			lws_snprintf(ns->pending_mirror_log,
-				     sizeof(ns->pending_mirror_log),
-				     ">saib> Checkout failed after mirror...\n");
-			lwsl_notice("%s: checkout failed\n", __func__);
+	if (we_killed_him)
+		goto fail;
 
-			goto fail;
-		}
-		break;
-
-	case NSSTATE_CHECKEDOUT:
-	case NSSTATE_BUILD:
-	case NSSTATE_DONE:
-	case NSSTATE_FAILED:
-		break;
-
-	case NSSTATE_WAIT_REMOTE_MIRROR:
-
-		/*
-		 * We are waiting for our request to be handled... we need to
-		 * watch the req completed list at intervals.  Anything on the
-		 * completed_req owner has either completed or failed.
-		 */
-
-		lwsl_notice("%s: NSSTATE_WAIT_REMOTE_MIRROR\n", __func__);
-		pthread_mutex_lock(&mi->mut);
-
-		lws_start_foreach_dll_safe(struct lws_dll2 *, d, d1,
-					   mi->completed_req.head) {
-			sai_mirror_req_t *r = lws_container_of(d,
-							sai_mirror_req_t, list);
-
-			if (r->ns == ns) {
-
-				/*
-				 * It's our request that has completed
-				 */
-
-				n = r->state;
-
-				lws_dll2_remove(&r->list);
-				pthread_mutex_unlock(&mi->mut);
-				free(r);
-
-				if (n == SRFS_FAILED) {
-					lwsl_notice("%s: mirror req failed\n",
-						    __func__);
-					goto fail;
-				}
-
-				/*
-				 * Leave in NSSTATE_CHECKOUT and come back to
-				 * continue with checking out after we have
-				 * sync'd with comms to server
-				 */
-
-				ns->state = NSSTATE_CHECKOUT;
-				lws_snprintf(ns->pending_mirror_log,
-					     sizeof(ns->pending_mirror_log),
-					     ">saib> Remote -> Local OK\n");
-
-				return LWS_TP_RETURN_SYNC;
-			}
-
-		} lws_end_foreach_dll_safe(d, d1);
-
-		pthread_mutex_unlock(&mi->mut);  /* --- mi->mut unlock */
-
-#if defined(WIN32)
-		Sleep(1000);
+#if !defined(WIN32)
+	if (si->si_code == CLD_EXITED)
+		exit_code = si->si_status;
 #else
-		sleep(1);
+       exit_code = si->retcode & 0xff;
 #endif
 
-		if (!--ns->mirror_wait_budget) {
-			lws_snprintf(ns->pending_mirror_log, sizeof(ns->pending_mirror_log),
-				     ">saib> timed out waiting for mirror\n");
-			lwsl_notice("%s: timed out waiting for mirror\n", __func__);
-
-			goto fail;
-		}
-
-		lws_snprintf(ns->pending_mirror_log, sizeof(ns->pending_mirror_log),
-			     ">saib> Waiting on MIRROR...\n");
-
-		return LWS_TP_RETURN_SYNC;
-	}
-
-	return LWS_TP_RETURN_SYNC;
+	if (exit_code == 0) {
+		/* mirror succeeded, now try checkout again */
+               lwsl_notice("%s: mirror success, starting checkout\n", __func__);
+		saib_start_checkout(ns);
+		goto onward;
+       } else
+               lwsl_warn("%s: exit code 0x%x == failure\n", __func__, (unsigned int)exit_code);
 
 fail:
-
-	/*
-	 * If we have an incomplete request on the mirror thread, remove it
-	 */
-
-	pthread_mutex_lock(&mi->mut);
-	lws_start_foreach_dll_safe(struct lws_dll2 *, d, d1,
-				   mi->pending_req.head) {
-		sai_mirror_req_t *r = lws_container_of(d,
-						sai_mirror_req_t, list);
-
-		if (r->ns == ns) {
-			lws_dll2_remove(&r->list);
-			free(r);
-		}
-
-	} lws_end_foreach_dll_safe(d, d1);
-	pthread_mutex_unlock(&mi->mut);
-
-	lwsl_err("%s: failed\n", __func__);
-	ns->retcode = SAISPRF_EXIT | 253;
-
-	return LWS_TP_RETURN_SYNC;
+	saib_set_ns_state(ns, NSSTATE_FAILED);
+onward:
+	ns->op = NULL;
+	free(op);
 }
 
-/*
- * This thread serially handles requests for remote mirrors, since there's a
- * write lock in the filesystem copy when someone is updating the mirror.
- *
- * It picks takes queued requests from the head
- */
-
-void *
-thread_repo(void *d)
+static int
+saib_spawn_git_helper(struct sai_nspawn *ns, const char *operation)
 {
-	sai_mirror_instance_t *mi = (sai_mirror_instance_t *)d;
-	sai_mirror_req_t *req, rcopy;
-	int new_state;
-	int n;
-
-	lwsl_notice("%s: repo thread start\n", __func__);
-
-	git_libgit2_init();
-
-	while (!mi->finish) {
-		git_fetch_options opts = GIT_FETCH_OPTIONS_INIT;
-		char spec[96], *paths[] = { spec };
-		git_strarray rfs = { paths, 1 };
-		git_repository *repo_mirror;
-		git_remote *remote;
-
-		pthread_mutex_lock(&mi->mut);
-
-		/* we sleep if there are no requests pending or ongoing */
-
-		while (!mi->pending_req.count && !mi->finish)
-			pthread_cond_wait(&mi->cond, &mi->mut);
-
-		if (mi->finish) {
-			pthread_mutex_unlock(&mi->mut);
-			break;
-		}
-
-		/*
-		 * Starting from the head, look for the first request that's in
-		 * a state we should start the remote for it
-		 */
-
-		req = NULL;
-		lws_start_foreach_dll_safe(struct lws_dll2 *, d, d1,
-					   mi->pending_req.head) {
-			sai_mirror_req_t *r = lws_container_of(d,
-							sai_mirror_req_t, list);
-
-			if (r->state == SRFS_REQUESTING) {
-				req = r;
-				lwsl_notice("%s: setting processing\n",
-						__func__);
-				sai_mirror_req_state_set(req, SRFS_PROCESSING);
-				break;
-			}
-
-		} lws_end_foreach_dll_safe(d, d1);
-
-		//req = lws_dll2_get_head(&bi->requests);
-
-		//lws_dll2_remove(&->overall_list);
-
-		/*
-		 * The request object on the list might be removed and destroyed
-		 * while we do this long-term mirroring action.  So take a temp
-		 * copy of it to set the action up, before releasing the mutex.
-		 */
-		if (req)
-			rcopy = *req;
-
-		pthread_mutex_unlock(&mi->mut);
-		if (!req)
-			continue;
-
-		/*
-		 * ... we cannot dereference req after releasing the mutex.
-		 * We made a temp copy of it in rcopy, to set the transaction
-		 * up we can use that so we can be sure it's around for that.
-		 */
-
-		/*
-		 * git init --bare <path>
-		 */
-
-		new_state = SRFS_FAILED;
-		repo_mirror = NULL;
-		if (git_repository_init(&repo_mirror, rcopy.path, 1)) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "%s: unable to init sticky repo %s, errno %d\n",
-				 __func__, rcopy.path, errno);
-
-			goto fail_out;
-		}
-
-		/*
-		 * Fetch over the branch or tag we're interested in from the
-		 * remote repo and into our local sticky mirror
-		 *
-		 *  git fetch <remote repo> +<ref>:<ref>
-		 */
-
-		if (git_remote_create_anonymous(&remote, repo_mirror, rcopy.url)) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "%s: cant find remote %s\n", __func__,
-				 rcopy.url);
-
-			git_repository_free(repo_mirror);
-			goto fail_out;
-		}
-
-		lws_snprintf(spec, sizeof(spec), "%s:ref-%s", rcopy.ref, rcopy.hash);
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s: fetching %s %s\n", __func__, rcopy.url, spec);
-
-#if defined(LIBGIT2_HAVE_GIT_PROXY_OPTIONS_INIT)
-	git_proxy_options_init(&opts.proxy_opts, GIT_PROXY_OPTIONS_VERSION);
+	struct lws_spawn_piped_info info;
+	struct saib_opaque_spawn *op;
+       char script_path[1024], inp[512];
+	const char *pargs[9];
+	const char **env = NULL;
+#if defined(__APPLE__)
+	const char *env_array[2];
+       char path_env[256];
+#endif
+	ssize_t n;
+	int fd, count = 0;
+
+#if defined(__APPLE__)
+	lws_snprintf(path_env, sizeof(path_env),
+		     "PATH=/usr/local/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin");
+	env_array[0] = path_env;
+	env_array[1] = NULL;
+	env = (const char **)env_array;
 #endif
 
-		/*
-		 * This may take an open-ended amount of time
-		 */
+#if defined(WIN32)
+	lws_snprintf(script_path, sizeof(script_path), "%s\\sai-git-helper-%d.bat",
+		     builder.home, ns->instance_idx);
+#else
+	lws_snprintf(script_path, sizeof(script_path), "%s/sai-git-helper-%d.sh",
+		     builder.home, ns->instance_idx);
+#endif
 
-		n = git_remote_fetch(remote, &rfs, &opts, "fetch");
-#if defined(SAI_HAVE_LIBGIT2_GIT_ERROR)
-               if (n) {
-			const git_error *e = git_error_last();
+	fd = open(script_path, O_CREAT | O_TRUNC | O_WRONLY, 0755);
+	if (fd < 0)
+		return -1;
 
-			if (e)
-				fprintf(stderr, "%s: git error %s\n", __func__,
-						e->message);
-               }
+#if defined(WIN32)
+	n = write(fd, git_helper_bat, strlen(git_helper_bat));
+#else
+	n = write(fd, git_helper_sh, strlen(git_helper_sh));
 #endif
-
-               git_remote_free(remote);
-               git_repository_free(repo_mirror);
-
-               if (n) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "%s: failed to fetch %s, n: %d\n",
-				__func__, spec, n);
-			goto fail_out;
-		}
-
-		fprintf(stderr, "%s: syncing mirror fetch %s %s successful\n",
-			    __func__, rcopy.url, rcopy.hash);
-
-		new_state = SRFS_SUCCEEDED;
-
-fail_out:
-		/*
-		 * We notify the threadpool monitoring thread
-		 */
-
-		pthread_mutex_lock(&mi->mut);
-
-		/*
-		 * The requestor and its request may have gone.  And, it's
-		 * possible we got several queued requests that were actually
-		 * waiting for the same mirror transaction which has now
-		 * succeeded or failed the same for all of them.
-		 *
-		 * Let's take the approach to lock the queue and tell everybody
-		 * at once who's asking for the same thing what the outcome was.
-		 */
-		lws_start_foreach_dll_safe(struct lws_dll2 *, d, d1,
-					   mi->pending_req.head) {
-			sai_mirror_req_t *r = lws_container_of(d,
-							sai_mirror_req_t, list);
-
-			if ((r->state == SRFS_REQUESTING ||
-			    r->state == SRFS_PROCESSING) &&
-			    !strcmp(r->url, rcopy.url) &&
-			    !strcmp(r->hash, rcopy.hash) &&
-			    !strcmp(r->path, rcopy.path) &&
-			    !strcmp(r->ref, rcopy.ref)) {
-				/*
-				 * Change the state of matching guys and put
-				 * them on to the completed_req list owner
-				 */
-				fprintf(stderr, "%s: setting req state %d\n",
-						__func__, new_state);
-				sai_mirror_req_state_set(r, new_state);
-				lws_dll2_remove(&r->list);
-				lws_dll2_add_tail(&r->list, &mi->completed_req);
-			}
-
-		} lws_end_foreach_dll_safe(d, d1);
-
-		pthread_mutex_unlock(&mi->mut);
+	close(fd);
+
+	if (n < 0)
+		return -1;
+
+	pargs[count++] = script_path;
+	pargs[count++] = operation;
+
+	if (!strcmp(operation, "mirror")) {
+		pargs[count++] = ns->git_repo_url;
+		pargs[count++] = ns->ref;
+		pargs[count++] = ns->hash;
+		pargs[count++] = ns->path;
+	} else { /* checkout */
+		lws_strncpy(inp, ns->inp, sizeof(inp) - 1);
+		if (inp[strlen(inp) - 1] == '\\')
+			inp[strlen(inp) - 1] = '\0';
+		pargs[count++] = ns->path;
+		pargs[count++] = inp;
+		pargs[count++] = ns->hash;
+	}
+	pargs[count++] = NULL;
+
+	memset(&info, 0, sizeof(info));
+	info.vh			= builder.vhost;
+	info.exec_array		= pargs;
+	info.env_array		= env;
+	info.protocol_name	= "sai-stdxxx";
+	info.timeout_us		= 5 * 60 * LWS_US_PER_SEC;
+
+	if (!strcmp(operation, "mirror"))
+		info.reap_cb = sai_git_mirror_reap_cb;
+	else
+		info.reap_cb = sai_git_checkout_reap_cb;
+
+	op = malloc(sizeof(*op));
+	if (!op)
+		return -1;
+	memset(op, 0, sizeof(*op));
+
+	op->ns = ns;
+	ns->op = op;
+
+	info.opaque = op;
+	info.owner = &builder.lsp_owner;
+	info.plsp = &op->lsp;
+
+	// lwsl_warn("%s: spawning git-helper for %s at %llu\n", __func__,
+	//	  operation, (unsigned long long)lws_now_usecs());
+
+	if (lws_spawn_piped(&info) == NULL) {
+		lwsl_err("%s: lws_spawn_piped for %s failed\n", __func__,
+			 operation);
+		ns->op = NULL;
+		/* op is attached to wsi and will be freed later */
+		return -1;
 	}
 
-	lwsl_notice("%s: repo thread exiting\n", __func__);
+	if (!strcmp(operation, "mirror"))
+		saib_set_ns_state(ns, NSSTATE_WAIT_REMOTE_MIRROR);
 
-	git_libgit2_shutdown();
-	pthread_exit(NULL);
+	return 0;
+}
 
-	return NULL;
+int
+saib_start_mirror(struct sai_nspawn *ns)
+{
+	return saib_spawn_git_helper(ns, "mirror");
+}
+
+int
+saib_start_checkout(struct sai_nspawn *ns)
+{
+       lwsl_notice("%s: starting checkout\n", __func__);
+	return saib_spawn_git_helper(ns, "checkout");
 }
diff --git a/src/builder/b-nspawn.c b/src/builder/b-nspawn.c
index fca417e..70612b4 100644
--- a/src/builder/b-nspawn.c
+++ b/src/builder/b-nspawn.c
@@ -78,22 +78,36 @@ static int
 callback_sai_stdwsi(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reason,
 		    void *user, void *in, size_t len)
 {
-	struct sai_nspawn *ns = (struct sai_nspawn *)lws_get_opaque_user_data(wsi);
+	struct saib_opaque_spawn *op =
+		(struct saib_opaque_spawn *)lws_get_opaque_user_data(wsi);
+	struct sai_nspawn *ns = op ? op->ns : NULL;
 	uint8_t buf[600];
 	int ilen;
 
+	// lwsl_warn("%s: reason %d\n", __func__, reason);
+
 	switch (reason) {
 
 	case LWS_CALLBACK_RAW_CLOSE_FILE:
-		lwsl_user("%s: RAW_CLOSE_FILE wsi %p: fd: %d, stdfd: %d\n",
-			  __func__, wsi, lws_get_socket_fd(wsi),
-			  lws_spawn_get_stdfd(wsi));
+		lwsl_warn("%s: RAW_CLOSE_FILE at %llu, wsi %p: fd: %d, stdfd: %d\n",
+			  __func__, (unsigned long long)lws_now_usecs(), wsi,
+			  lws_get_socket_fd(wsi), lws_spawn_get_stdfd(wsi));
 
 		ilen = lws_snprintf((char *)buf, sizeof(buf), "Stdwsi %d close\n", lws_spawn_get_stdfd(wsi));
-		saib_log_chunk_create(ns, buf, (size_t)ilen, 3);
+		if (ns) {
+			saib_log_chunk_create(ns, buf, (size_t)ilen, 3);
+			if (ns->spm)
+				if (lws_ss_request_tx(ns->spm->ss))
+					lwsl_warn("%s: lws_ss_request_tx failed\n",
+						  __func__);
+		}
 
-		if (ns->lsp)
-			lws_spawn_stdwsi_closed(ns->lsp, wsi);
+               lwsl_wsi_err(wsi, "CLOSING: op %p, op->lsp %p", op, op ? op->lsp : NULL);
+		if (op && op->lsp) {
+			lws_spawn_stdwsi_closed(op->lsp, wsi);
+			if (ns)
+				lws_cancel_service(ns->builder->context);
+		}
 		break;
 
 	case LWS_CALLBACK_RAW_RX_FILE:
@@ -116,15 +130,15 @@ callback_sai_stdwsi(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reason,
 
 		len = (unsigned int)ilen;
 
-		if (!ns->spm) {
+		if (!op || !op->ns || !op->ns->spm) {
 			printf("%s: (%d) %.*s\n", __func__, (int)lws_spawn_get_stdfd(wsi), (int)len, buf);
 			return -1;
 		}
 
-		if (!saib_log_chunk_create(ns, buf, len, lws_spawn_get_stdfd(wsi)))
+		if (!saib_log_chunk_create(op->ns, buf, len, lws_spawn_get_stdfd(wsi)))
 			return -1;
 
-		return lws_ss_request_tx(ns->spm->ss) ? -1 : 0;
+		return lws_ss_request_tx(op->ns->spm->ss) ? -1 : 0;
 
 	default:
 		break;
@@ -141,7 +155,11 @@ static void
 sai_lsp_reap_cb(void *opaque, lws_usec_t *accounting, siginfo_t *si,
 		int we_killed_him)
 {
-	struct sai_nspawn *ns = (struct sai_nspawn *)opaque;
+	struct saib_opaque_spawn *op = (struct saib_opaque_spawn *)opaque;
+	struct sai_nspawn *ns = op ? op->ns : NULL;
+
+	// lwsl_warn("%s: reap at %llu: we_killed_him: %d\n", __func__,
+	//	  (unsigned long long)lws_now_usecs(), we_killed_him);
 
 	saib_log_chunk_create(ns, ">saib> Reaping build process\n", 29, 3);
 
@@ -199,6 +217,10 @@ ok:
 	lwsl_notice("%s: finished, waiting to drain logs (this ns %d, spm in flight %d)\n",
 			__func__, ns->chunk_cache.count,
 			ns->spm ? ns->spm->logs_in_flight : -99);
+
+	if (ns)
+		ns->op = NULL;
+	free(op);
 }
 
 #if defined(WIN32)
@@ -211,6 +233,7 @@ static const char * const runscript =
 	"set SAI_LOGPROXY_TTY1=%s\n"
 	"set HOME=%s\n"
 	"cd %s\\jobs\\%s\\%s &&"
+	" rmdir /s /q build & "
 	"%s"
 ;
 
@@ -234,7 +257,7 @@ static const char * const runscript =
 	"export SAI_LOGPROXY_TTY1=%s\n"
 	"set -e\n"
 	"cd %s/jobs/$SAI_OVN/$SAI_PROJECT\n"
-
+	"rm -rf build\n"
 	"%s\n"
 	"exit $?\n"
 ;
@@ -245,6 +268,7 @@ int
 saib_spawn(struct sai_nspawn *ns)
 {
 	struct lws_spawn_piped_info info;
+	struct saib_opaque_spawn *op;
 	char args[290], st[2048], *p;
 	const char *respath = "unk";
 	const char * cmd[] = {
@@ -252,7 +276,7 @@ saib_spawn(struct sai_nspawn *ns)
 		NULL
 	};
 	const char *env[] = {
-		"PATH=/usr/bin:/bin",
+		"PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin",
 		"LANG=en_US.UTF-8",
 		NULL
 	};
@@ -336,20 +360,41 @@ saib_spawn(struct sai_nspawn *ns)
 	info.max_log_lines	= 10000;
 	info.timeout_us		= 30 * 60 * LWS_US_PER_SEC;
 	info.reap_cb		= sai_lsp_reap_cb;
-	info.opaque		= ns;
-	info.plsp		= &ns->lsp;
 #if defined(__linux__)
 	info.cgroup_name_suffix = cgroup;
 	info.p_cgroup_ret	= &in_cgroup;
 #endif
 
-	ns->lsp = lws_spawn_piped(&info);
-	if (!ns->lsp) {
+	op = malloc(sizeof(*op));
+	if (!op)
+		return 1;
+	memset(op, 0, sizeof(*op));
+
+	op->ns = ns;
+	ns->op = op;
+
+	info.opaque = op;
+	info.owner = &builder.lsp_owner;
+	info.plsp = &op->lsp;
+
+	// lwsl_warn("%s: spawning build script at %llu\n", __func__,
+	//	  (unsigned long long)lws_now_usecs());
+
+	lws_spawn_piped(&info);
+	if (!op->lsp) {
+		/*
+		 * op is attached to wsi and will be freed in reap cb,
+		 * we can't free it here
+		 */
+		ns->op = NULL;
 		lwsl_err("%s: failed\n", __func__);
 
 		return 1;
 	}
 
+	// lwsl_warn("%s: build script spawn returned at %llu\n", __func__,
+	//	  (unsigned long long)lws_now_usecs());
+
 #if defined(__linux__)
 	lwsl_notice("%s: lws_spawn_piped started (cgroup: %d)\n", __func__, in_cgroup);
 #endif
diff --git a/src/builder/b-private.h b/src/builder/b-private.h
index 5baa4b3..67d0823 100644
--- a/src/builder/b-private.h
+++ b/src/builder/b-private.h
@@ -31,13 +31,18 @@
 #define mkdir(x,y) _mkdir(x)
 #define rmdir _rmdir
 #define unlink _unlink
-#define HAVE_STRUCT_TIMESPEC
 #if defined(pid_t)
 #undef pid_t
 #endif
 #endif
 #include <pthread.h>
-#include <git2.h>
+
+struct lws_spawn_piped;
+
+struct saib_opaque_spawn {
+	struct sai_nspawn	*ns;
+	struct lws_spawn_piped	*lsp;
+};
 
 #define SAI_LOAD_REPORT_US	(1 * LWS_US_PER_SEC)
 #define SAI_IDLE_GRACE_US	(30 * LWS_US_PER_SEC)
@@ -78,19 +83,6 @@ enum {
 
 
 
-typedef struct sai_mirror_instance {
-	pthread_mutex_t			mut;
-	pthread_cond_t			cond;
-
-	pthread_t			repo_thread;
-
-	lws_dll2_owner_t		pending_req;
-	lws_dll2_owner_t		completed_req;
-
-	uint8_t				finish;
-} sai_mirror_instance_t;
-
-
 /*
  * This represents this builder process as a whole
  */
@@ -99,6 +91,7 @@ struct sai_builder {
 	lws_dll2_owner_t	sai_plat_owner; /* list of platforms we offer */
 	lws_dll2_owner_t	sai_plat_server_owner; /* servers we connect to */
 	lws_dll2_owner_t	devices_owner; /* sai_serial_t */
+	lws_dll2_owner_t	lsp_owner; /* list of lws_spawn_piped */
 
 	struct lws_ss_handle	*ss_stay;
 
@@ -128,8 +121,6 @@ struct sai_builder {
 
 	const char		*host;		/* prepended before hostname */
 
-	sai_mirror_instance_t	mi;
-
 	char			path[256];
 
 #if defined(__linux__) || defined(__APPLE__)
@@ -221,9 +212,6 @@ rm_rf_cb(const char *dirpath, void *user, struct lws_dir_entry *lde);
 extern const struct lws_protocols protocol_logproxy, protocol_resproxy;
 
 void *
-thread_repo(void *d);
-
-void *
 thread_suspend(void *d);
 
 
@@ -244,3 +232,6 @@ int
 saib_get_system_cpu(struct sai_builder *b);
 
 int saib_get_cpu_count(void);
+
+int saib_start_mirror(struct sai_nspawn *ns);
+int saib_start_checkout(struct sai_nspawn *ns);
diff --git a/src/builder/b-sai.c b/src/builder/b-sai.c
index faf0680..626afcd 100644
--- a/src/builder/b-sai.c
+++ b/src/builder/b-sai.c
@@ -726,7 +726,6 @@ void sigint_handler(int sig)
 void
 sai_ns_destroy(struct sai_nspawn *ns)
 {
-
 	lws_dll2_remove(&ns->list);
 	free(ns);
 }
@@ -741,7 +740,6 @@ int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 #endif
 	struct stat sb;
 	const char *p;
-	void *retval;
 
 #if !defined(WIN32)
 
@@ -986,28 +984,6 @@ int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 	}
 #endif
 
-	pthread_mutex_init(&builder.mi.mut, NULL);
-	pthread_cond_init(&builder.mi.cond, NULL);
-
-
-	/*
-	 * Our approach is to split off a thread to do the git remote handling
-	 * in a serialized way blocking the related threadpool threads until it
-	 * completes, without blocking the main (lws) event loop thread.
-	 *
-	 * It has to be segregated because there is a repo write lock with one
-	 * owner at a time for remote -> local mirror write operation.
-	 *
-	 * local mirror -> build-specific checkout doesn't need the write lock
-	 * and can happen concurrently at the threadpool threads.
-	 */
-
-	if (pthread_create(&builder.mi.repo_thread, NULL, thread_repo,
-			   &builder.mi)) {
-		lwsl_err("%s: repo thread creation failed\n", __func__);
-		return 1;
-	}
-
 	while (!lws_service(builder.context, 0) && !interrupted)
 		;
 
@@ -1057,20 +1033,6 @@ bail:
 
 	lws_sul_cancel(&builder.sul_idle);
 
-	/*
-	 * Clean up after the spawn threads
-	 */
-
-	pthread_mutex_lock(&builder.mi.mut);
-	builder.mi.finish = 1;
-	pthread_cond_broadcast(&builder.mi.cond);
-	pthread_mutex_unlock(&builder.mi.mut);
-
-	pthread_join(builder.mi.repo_thread, &retval);
-
-	pthread_mutex_destroy(&builder.mi.mut);
-	pthread_cond_destroy(&builder.mi.cond);
-
 	lws_context_destroy(builder.context);
 
 	return 0;
diff --git a/src/builder/b-task.c b/src/builder/b-task.c
index f7848ff..e479f18 100644
--- a/src/builder/b-task.c
+++ b/src/builder/b-task.c
@@ -153,17 +153,8 @@ saib_task_destroy(struct sai_nspawn *ns)
 			return;
 	}
 
-	if (ns->tp) {
-		ns->tp_task = NULL;
-		lwsl_notice("%s: calling threadpool_finish\n", __func__);
-		lws_threadpool_finish(ns->tp);
-		lwsl_notice("%s: calling threadpool_destroy\n", __func__);
-		lws_threadpool_destroy(ns->tp);
-		ns->tp = NULL;
-	}
 
 	if (ns->task && ns->task->told_ongoing) {
-
 		/*
 		 * Account that we're not doing this task any more
 		 */
@@ -423,13 +414,13 @@ saib_sul_task_cancel(struct lws_sorted_usec_list *sul)
 	char s[64];
 	int n;
 
-	if (!ns->lsp)
+	if (!ns->op || !ns->op->lsp)
 		return;
 
 	n = lws_snprintf(s, sizeof(s), ">saib> Cancelling...\n");
 	saib_log_chunk_create(ns, s, (size_t)n, 3);
 
-	lws_spawn_piped_kill_child_process(ns->lsp);
+	lws_spawn_piped_kill_child_process(ns->op->lsp);
 	if (!--ns->term_budget)
 		return;
 
@@ -440,8 +431,6 @@ saib_sul_task_cancel(struct lws_sorted_usec_list *sul)
 int
 saib_ws_json_rx_builder(struct sai_plat_server *spm, const void *in, size_t len)
 {
-	struct lws_threadpool_create_args tca;
-	struct lws_threadpool_task_args tpa;
 	sai_plat_t *sp = NULL;
 	struct sai_nspawn *ns;
 	sai_resource_t *reso;
@@ -529,9 +518,13 @@ saib_ws_json_rx_builder(struct sai_plat_server *spm, const void *in, size_t len)
 					   sp->nspawn_owner.head) {
 		       struct sai_nspawn *xns = lws_container_of(d,
 						 struct sai_nspawn, list);
+		       char found = 0;
 
 		       n++;
-		       if (!xns->task) {
+		       if (!xns->task)
+			       found = 1;
+
+		       if (found) {
 			       ns = xns;
 			       break;
 		       }
@@ -556,13 +549,6 @@ saib_ws_json_rx_builder(struct sai_plat_server *spm, const void *in, size_t len)
 
 //		lwsl_hexdump_warn(task->build, strlen(task->build));
 
-		/* create a taskqueue just for preparing this specific spawn */
-
-		memset(&tpa, 0, sizeof(tpa));
-		tca.threads = 1;
-		tca.max_queue_depth = 1;
-		ns->tp = lws_threadpool_create(builder.context, &tca, "nsp-%s",
-					       task->uuid);
 
 		lws_strncpy(ns->fsm.distro, task->platform,
 			    sizeof(ns->fsm.distro));
@@ -692,21 +678,11 @@ saib_ws_json_rx_builder(struct sai_plat_server *spm, const void *in, size_t len)
 
 		saib_set_ns_state(ns, NSSTATE_STARTING_MIRROR);
 
-		memset(&tpa, 0, sizeof(tpa));
-		tpa.ss = spm->ss;
-		tpa.user = ns;
-		tpa.name = "nsp";
-		tpa.task = saib_mirror_task;
-
 		ns->user_cancel = 0;
 		ns->spins = 0;
 
-		lwsl_warn("%s: enqueuing mirror thread\n", __func__);
-
-		ns->tp_task = lws_threadpool_enqueue(ns->tp, &tpa, "tptask-%s",
-						     task->uuid);
-		if (!ns->tp_task) {
-			lwsl_err("%s: threadpool enqueue failed\n", __func__);
+		if (saib_start_mirror(ns)) {
+			lwsl_err("%s: saib_start_mirror failed\n", __func__);
 			goto bail;
 		}
 
@@ -716,8 +692,6 @@ saib_ws_json_rx_builder(struct sai_plat_server *spm, const void *in, size_t len)
 		 * after that needs to adjust sp->ongoing accordingly
 		 */
 
-		lwsl_warn("%s: enqueued mirror thread, ns->tp_task %p\n", __func__, ns->tp_task);
-
 		lwsl_notice("%s: ongoing %d -> %d\n", __func__, sp->ongoing,
 			    sp->ongoing + 1);
 		sp->ongoing++;
diff --git a/src/common/include/private.h b/src/common/include/private.h
index 6d0e62d..0475e3d 100644
--- a/src/common/include/private.h
+++ b/src/common/include/private.h
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@
  * structs common to builder and server
  */
 
+#if defined(WIN32)
+#define HAVE_STRUCT_TIMESPEC
+#endif
+
 //#include <sai_config_private.h>
 
 #if defined(__linux__)
@@ -33,6 +37,7 @@
 
 struct sai_plat;
 struct sai_builder;
+struct saib_opaque_spawn;
 
 typedef enum {
 	SAIES_WAITING				= 0,
@@ -155,13 +160,11 @@ struct sai_nspawn {
 	lws_dll2_t			list;		/* sai_plat owner lists sai_nspawns */
 	struct sai_builder		*builder;
 	struct lws_fsmount		fsm;
-	struct lws_spawn_piped		*lsp;
+	struct saib_opaque_spawn	*op;
 	sai_task_t			*task;
 
 	lws_dll2_owner_t		artifact_owner; /* struct artifact_path */
 
-	struct lws_threadpool		*tp;
-	struct lws_threadpool_task	*tp_task;
 	lws_sorted_usec_list_t		sul_cleaner;
 	lws_sorted_usec_list_t		sul_task_cancel;
 
@@ -191,6 +194,7 @@ struct sai_nspawn {
 	uint8_t				finished_when_logs_drained:1;
 	uint8_t				state_changed:1;
 	uint8_t				user_cancel:1;
+
 };
 
 /*
diff --git a/src/server/s-websrv.c b/src/server/s-websrv.c
index f904009..93d63d6 100644
--- a/src/server/s-websrv.c
+++ b/src/server/s-websrv.c
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ websrvss_ws_tx(void *userobj, lws_ss_tx_ordinal_t ord, uint8_t *buf,
 	*flags = (som ? LWSSS_FLAG_SOM : 0) | (eom ? LWSSS_FLAG_EOM : 0);
 	*len = (size_t)used;
 
-	lwsl_warn("%s: srv -> web: len %d flags %d\n", __func__, (int)*len, (int)*flags);
+	// lwsl_warn("%s: srv -> web: len %d flags %d\n", __func__, (int)*len, (int)*flags);
 
 	if (m->bltx)
 		return lws_ss_request_tx(m->ss);
diff --git a/src/server/s-ws-builder.c b/src/server/s-ws-builder.c
index d9f3cea..7bd2f01 100644
--- a/src/server/s-ws-builder.c
+++ b/src/server/s-ws-builder.c
@@ -1092,7 +1092,7 @@ sais_ws_json_tx_builder(struct vhd *vhd, struct pss *pss, uint8_t *buf,
 	}
 
 
-	if (!pss->issue_task_owner.count)
+       if (!pss->issue_task_owner.count || !pss->issue_task_owner.head)
 		return 0; /* nothing to send */
 
 	/*