diff --git a/perl/lib/Nix/Store.xs b/perl/lib/Nix/Store.xs
index 6730197b5..4a928594b 100644
--- a/perl/lib/Nix/Store.xs
+++ b/perl/lib/Nix/Store.xs
@@ -256,9 +256,9 @@ SV *
 hashPath(char * algo, int base32, char * path)
     PPCODE:
         try {
-            PosixSourceAccessor accessor;
+            auto [accessor, canonPath] = PosixSourceAccessor::createAtRoot(path);
             Hash h = hashPath(
-                accessor, CanonPath::fromCwd(path),
+                accessor, canonPath,
                 FileIngestionMethod::Recursive, parseHashAlgo(algo)).first;
             auto s = h.to_string(base32 ? HashFormat::Nix32 : HashFormat::Base16, false);
             XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSVpv(s.c_str(), 0)));
@@ -336,10 +336,10 @@ StoreWrapper::addToStore(char * srcPath, int recursive, char * algo)
     PPCODE:
         try {
             auto method = recursive ? FileIngestionMethod::Recursive : FileIngestionMethod::Flat;
-            PosixSourceAccessor accessor;
+            auto [accessor, canonPath] = PosixSourceAccessor::createAtRoot(srcPath);
             auto path = THIS->store->addToStore(
                 std::string(baseNameOf(srcPath)),
-                accessor, CanonPath::fromCwd(srcPath),
+                accessor, canonPath,
                 method, parseHashAlgo(algo));
             XPUSHs(sv_2mortal(newSVpv(THIS->store->printStorePath(path).c_str(), 0)));
         } catch (Error & e) {
diff --git a/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.cc b/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.cc
index 193972272..58f04e225 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.cc
+++ b/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.cc
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ Bindings * MixEvalArgs::getAutoArgs(EvalState & state)
     for (auto & i : autoArgs) {
         auto v = state.allocValue();
         if (i.second[0] == 'E')
-            state.mkThunk_(*v, state.parseExprFromString(i.second.substr(1), state.rootPath(CanonPath::fromCwd())));
+            state.mkThunk_(*v, state.parseExprFromString(i.second.substr(1), state.rootPath(".")));
         else
             v->mkString(((std::string_view) i.second).substr(1));
         res.insert(state.symbols.create(i.first), v);
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ Bindings * MixEvalArgs::getAutoArgs(EvalState & state)
     return res.finish();
 }
 
-SourcePath lookupFileArg(EvalState & state, std::string_view s, CanonPath baseDir)
+SourcePath lookupFileArg(EvalState & state, std::string_view s, const Path * baseDir)
 {
     if (EvalSettings::isPseudoUrl(s)) {
         auto storePath = fetchers::downloadTarball(
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ SourcePath lookupFileArg(EvalState & state, std::string_view s, CanonPath baseDi
     }
 
     else
-        return state.rootPath(CanonPath(s, baseDir));
+        return state.rootPath(baseDir ? absPath(s, *baseDir) : absPath(s));
 }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.hh b/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.hh
index 4b403d936..2eb63e15d 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.hh
+++ b/src/libcmd/common-eval-args.hh
@@ -29,6 +29,6 @@ private:
     std::map<std::string, std::string> autoArgs;
 };
 
-SourcePath lookupFileArg(EvalState & state, std::string_view s, CanonPath baseDir = CanonPath::fromCwd());
+SourcePath lookupFileArg(EvalState & state, std::string_view s, const Path * baseDir = nullptr);
 
 }
diff --git a/src/libcmd/editor-for.cc b/src/libcmd/editor-for.cc
index 67653d9c9..6bf36bd64 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/editor-for.cc
+++ b/src/libcmd/editor-for.cc
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Strings editorFor(const SourcePath & file, uint32_t line)
         editor.find("vim") != std::string::npos ||
         editor.find("kak") != std::string::npos))
         args.push_back(fmt("+%d", line));
-    args.push_back(path->abs());
+    args.push_back(path->string());
     return args;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/libcmd/installables.cc b/src/libcmd/installables.cc
index 736c41a1e..16d25d3cf 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/installables.cc
+++ b/src/libcmd/installables.cc
@@ -487,10 +487,11 @@ Installables SourceExprCommand::parseInstallables(
             state->eval(e, *vFile);
         }
         else if (file) {
-            state->evalFile(lookupFileArg(*state, *file, CanonPath::fromCwd(getCommandBaseDir())), *vFile);
+            auto dir = absPath(getCommandBaseDir());
+            state->evalFile(lookupFileArg(*state, *file, &dir), *vFile);
         }
         else {
-            CanonPath dir(CanonPath::fromCwd(getCommandBaseDir()));
+            Path dir = absPath(getCommandBaseDir());
             auto e = state->parseExprFromString(*expr, state->rootPath(dir));
             state->eval(e, *vFile);
         }
diff --git a/src/libcmd/repl.cc b/src/libcmd/repl.cc
index c9df1c257..26b032693 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/repl.cc
+++ b/src/libcmd/repl.cc
@@ -897,7 +897,7 @@ void NixRepl::addVarToScope(const Symbol name, Value & v)
 
 Expr * NixRepl::parseString(std::string s)
 {
-    return state->parseExprFromString(std::move(s), state->rootPath(CanonPath::fromCwd()), staticEnv);
+    return state->parseExprFromString(std::move(s), state->rootPath("."), staticEnv);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/libexpr/eval.cc b/src/libexpr/eval.cc
index bffbd5f1a..6fc9df237 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/eval.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/eval.cc
@@ -394,14 +394,14 @@ EvalState::EvalState(
     , emptyBindings(0)
     , rootFS(
         evalSettings.restrictEval || evalSettings.pureEval
-        ? ref<InputAccessor>(AllowListInputAccessor::create(makeFSInputAccessor(CanonPath::root), {},
+        ? ref<InputAccessor>(AllowListInputAccessor::create(makeFSInputAccessor(), {},
             [](const CanonPath & path) -> RestrictedPathError {
                 auto modeInformation = evalSettings.pureEval
                     ? "in pure evaluation mode (use '--impure' to override)"
                     : "in restricted mode";
                 throw RestrictedPathError("access to absolute path '%1%' is forbidden %2%", path, modeInformation);
             }))
-        : makeFSInputAccessor(CanonPath::root))
+        : makeFSInputAccessor())
     , corepkgsFS(makeMemoryInputAccessor())
     , internalFS(makeMemoryInputAccessor())
     , derivationInternal{corepkgsFS->addFile(
@@ -2739,7 +2739,7 @@ Expr * EvalState::parseStdin()
     // drainFD should have left some extra space for terminators
     buffer.append("\0\0", 2);
     auto s = make_ref<std::string>(std::move(buffer));
-    return parse(s->data(), s->size(), Pos::Stdin{.source = s}, rootPath(CanonPath::fromCwd()), staticBaseEnv);
+    return parse(s->data(), s->size(), Pos::Stdin{.source = s}, rootPath("."), staticBaseEnv);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/libexpr/eval.hh b/src/libexpr/eval.hh
index 756ab98e3..8e639a1fa 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/eval.hh
+++ b/src/libexpr/eval.hh
@@ -306,6 +306,11 @@ public:
      */
     SourcePath rootPath(CanonPath path);
 
+    /**
+     * Variant which accepts relative paths too.
+     */
+    SourcePath rootPath(PathView path);
+
     /**
      * Allow access to a path.
      */
diff --git a/src/libexpr/paths.cc b/src/libexpr/paths.cc
index 099607638..50d0d9895 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/paths.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/paths.cc
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 #include "eval.hh"
-#include "fs-input-accessor.hh"
 
 namespace nix {
 
@@ -8,4 +7,9 @@ SourcePath EvalState::rootPath(CanonPath path)
     return {rootFS, std::move(path)};
 }
 
+SourcePath EvalState::rootPath(PathView path)
+{
+    return {rootFS, CanonPath(absPath(path))};
+}
+
 }
diff --git a/src/libfetchers/fs-input-accessor.cc b/src/libfetchers/fs-input-accessor.cc
index 46bc6b70d..ee24c621a 100644
--- a/src/libfetchers/fs-input-accessor.cc
+++ b/src/libfetchers/fs-input-accessor.cc
@@ -6,72 +6,30 @@ namespace nix {
 
 struct FSInputAccessor : InputAccessor, PosixSourceAccessor
 {
-    CanonPath root;
-
-    FSInputAccessor(const CanonPath & root)
-        : root(root)
-    {
-        displayPrefix = root.isRoot() ? "" : root.abs();
-    }
-
-    void readFile(
-        const CanonPath & path,
-        Sink & sink,
-        std::function<void(uint64_t)> sizeCallback) override
-    {
-        auto absPath = makeAbsPath(path);
-        PosixSourceAccessor::readFile(absPath, sink, sizeCallback);
-    }
-
-    bool pathExists(const CanonPath & path) override
-    {
-        return PosixSourceAccessor::pathExists(makeAbsPath(path));
-    }
-
-    std::optional<Stat> maybeLstat(const CanonPath & path) override
-    {
-        return PosixSourceAccessor::maybeLstat(makeAbsPath(path));
-    }
-
-    DirEntries readDirectory(const CanonPath & path) override
-    {
-        DirEntries res;
-        for (auto & entry : PosixSourceAccessor::readDirectory(makeAbsPath(path)))
-            res.emplace(entry);
-        return res;
-    }
-
-    std::string readLink(const CanonPath & path) override
-    {
-        return PosixSourceAccessor::readLink(makeAbsPath(path));
-    }
-
-    CanonPath makeAbsPath(const CanonPath & path)
-    {
-        return root / path;
-    }
-
-    std::optional<CanonPath> getPhysicalPath(const CanonPath & path) override
-    {
-        return makeAbsPath(path);
-    }
+    using PosixSourceAccessor::PosixSourceAccessor;
 };
 
-ref<InputAccessor> makeFSInputAccessor(const CanonPath & root)
+ref<InputAccessor> makeFSInputAccessor()
 {
-    return make_ref<FSInputAccessor>(root);
+    return make_ref<FSInputAccessor>();
+}
+
+ref<InputAccessor> makeFSInputAccessor(std::filesystem::path root)
+{
+    return make_ref<FSInputAccessor>(std::move(root));
 }
 
 ref<InputAccessor> makeStorePathAccessor(
     ref<Store> store,
     const StorePath & storePath)
 {
-    return makeFSInputAccessor(CanonPath(store->toRealPath(storePath)));
+    // FIXME: should use `store->getFSAccessor()`
+    return makeFSInputAccessor(std::filesystem::path { store->toRealPath(storePath) });
 }
 
 SourcePath getUnfilteredRootPath(CanonPath path)
 {
-    static auto rootFS = makeFSInputAccessor(CanonPath::root);
+    static auto rootFS = makeFSInputAccessor();
     return {rootFS, path};
 }
 
diff --git a/src/libfetchers/fs-input-accessor.hh b/src/libfetchers/fs-input-accessor.hh
index a98e83511..e60906bd8 100644
--- a/src/libfetchers/fs-input-accessor.hh
+++ b/src/libfetchers/fs-input-accessor.hh
@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@ namespace nix {
 class StorePath;
 class Store;
 
-ref<InputAccessor> makeFSInputAccessor(
-    const CanonPath & root);
+ref<InputAccessor> makeFSInputAccessor();
+
+ref<InputAccessor> makeFSInputAccessor(std::filesystem::path root);
 
 ref<InputAccessor> makeStorePathAccessor(
     ref<Store> store,
diff --git a/src/libfetchers/git-utils.cc b/src/libfetchers/git-utils.cc
index 1256a4c2c..cb4a84e53 100644
--- a/src/libfetchers/git-utils.cc
+++ b/src/libfetchers/git-utils.cc
@@ -140,15 +140,15 @@ T peelObject(git_repository * repo, git_object * obj, git_object_t type)
 struct GitRepoImpl : GitRepo, std::enable_shared_from_this<GitRepoImpl>
 {
     /** Location of the repository on disk. */
-    CanonPath path;
+    std::filesystem::path path;
     Repository repo;
 
-    GitRepoImpl(CanonPath _path, bool create, bool bare)
+    GitRepoImpl(std::filesystem::path _path, bool create, bool bare)
         : path(std::move(_path))
     {
         initLibGit2();
 
-        if (pathExists(path.abs())) {
+        if (pathExists(path.native())) {
             if (git_repository_open(Setter(repo), path.c_str()))
                 throw Error("opening Git repository '%s': %s", path, git_error_last()->message);
         } else {
@@ -221,10 +221,10 @@ struct GitRepoImpl : GitRepo, std::enable_shared_from_this<GitRepoImpl>
         return toHash(*oid);
     }
 
-    std::vector<Submodule> parseSubmodules(const CanonPath & configFile)
+    std::vector<Submodule> parseSubmodules(const std::filesystem::path & configFile)
     {
         GitConfig config;
-        if (git_config_open_ondisk(Setter(config), configFile.abs().c_str()))
+        if (git_config_open_ondisk(Setter(config), configFile.c_str()))
             throw Error("parsing .gitmodules file: %s", git_error_last()->message);
 
         ConfigIterator it;
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ struct GitRepoImpl : GitRepo, std::enable_shared_from_this<GitRepoImpl>
 
         /* Get submodule info. */
         auto modulesFile = path / ".gitmodules";
-        if (pathExists(modulesFile.abs()))
+        if (pathExists(modulesFile))
             info.submodules = parseSubmodules(modulesFile);
 
         return info;
@@ -389,10 +389,10 @@ struct GitRepoImpl : GitRepo, std::enable_shared_from_this<GitRepoImpl>
         auto dir = this->path;
         Strings gitArgs;
         if (shallow) {
-            gitArgs = { "-C", dir.abs(), "fetch", "--quiet", "--force", "--depth", "1", "--", url, refspec };
+            gitArgs = { "-C", dir, "fetch", "--quiet", "--force", "--depth", "1", "--", url, refspec };
         }
         else {
-            gitArgs = { "-C", dir.abs(), "fetch", "--quiet", "--force", "--", url, refspec };
+            gitArgs = { "-C", dir, "fetch", "--quiet", "--force", "--", url, refspec };
         }
 
         runProgram(RunOptions {
@@ -438,7 +438,7 @@ struct GitRepoImpl : GitRepo, std::enable_shared_from_this<GitRepoImpl>
                 .args = {
                     "-c",
                     "gpg.ssh.allowedSignersFile=" + allowedSignersFile,
-                    "-C", path.abs(),
+                    "-C", path,
                     "verify-commit",
                     rev.gitRev()
                 },
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ struct GitRepoImpl : GitRepo, std::enable_shared_from_this<GitRepoImpl>
     }
 };
 
-ref<GitRepo> GitRepo::openRepo(const CanonPath & path, bool create, bool bare)
+ref<GitRepo> GitRepo::openRepo(const std::filesystem::path & path, bool create, bool bare)
 {
     return make_ref<GitRepoImpl>(path, create, bare);
 }
@@ -781,7 +781,7 @@ std::vector<std::tuple<GitRepoImpl::Submodule, Hash>> GitRepoImpl::getSubmodules
 
     auto rawAccessor = getRawAccessor(rev);
 
-    for (auto & submodule : parseSubmodules(CanonPath(pathTemp))) {
+    for (auto & submodule : parseSubmodules(pathTemp)) {
         auto rev = rawAccessor->getSubmoduleRev(submodule.path);
         result.push_back({std::move(submodule), rev});
     }
diff --git a/src/libfetchers/git-utils.hh b/src/libfetchers/git-utils.hh
index 768554780..e55affb12 100644
--- a/src/libfetchers/git-utils.hh
+++ b/src/libfetchers/git-utils.hh
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ struct GitRepo
     virtual ~GitRepo()
     { }
 
-    static ref<GitRepo> openRepo(const CanonPath & path, bool create = false, bool bare = false);
+    static ref<GitRepo> openRepo(const std::filesystem::path & path, bool create = false, bool bare = false);
 
     virtual uint64_t getRevCount(const Hash & rev) = 0;
 
diff --git a/src/libfetchers/git.cc b/src/libfetchers/git.cc
index 26fe79596..bef945d54 100644
--- a/src/libfetchers/git.cc
+++ b/src/libfetchers/git.cc
@@ -415,7 +415,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
         // If this is a local directory and no ref or revision is
         // given, then allow the use of an unclean working tree.
         if (!input.getRef() && !input.getRev() && repoInfo.isLocal)
-            repoInfo.workdirInfo = GitRepo::openRepo(CanonPath(repoInfo.url))->getWorkdirInfo();
+            repoInfo.workdirInfo = GitRepo::openRepo(repoInfo.url)->getWorkdirInfo();
 
         return repoInfo;
     }
@@ -429,7 +429,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
         if (auto res = cache->lookup(key))
             return getIntAttr(*res, "lastModified");
 
-        auto lastModified = GitRepo::openRepo(CanonPath(repoDir))->getLastModified(rev);
+        auto lastModified = GitRepo::openRepo(repoDir)->getLastModified(rev);
 
         cache->upsert(key, Attrs{{"lastModified", lastModified}});
 
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
 
         Activity act(*logger, lvlChatty, actUnknown, fmt("getting Git revision count of '%s'", repoInfo.url));
 
-        auto revCount = GitRepo::openRepo(CanonPath(repoDir))->getRevCount(rev);
+        auto revCount = GitRepo::openRepo(repoDir)->getRevCount(rev);
 
         cache->upsert(key, Attrs{{"revCount", revCount}});
 
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
     std::string getDefaultRef(const RepoInfo & repoInfo) const
     {
         auto head = repoInfo.isLocal
-            ? GitRepo::openRepo(CanonPath(repoInfo.url))->getWorkdirRef()
+            ? GitRepo::openRepo(repoInfo.url)->getWorkdirRef()
             : readHeadCached(repoInfo.url);
         if (!head) {
             warn("could not read HEAD ref from repo at '%s', using 'master'", repoInfo.url);
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
         if (repoInfo.isLocal) {
             repoDir = repoInfo.url;
             if (!input.getRev())
-                input.attrs.insert_or_assign("rev", GitRepo::openRepo(CanonPath(repoDir))->resolveRef(ref).gitRev());
+                input.attrs.insert_or_assign("rev", GitRepo::openRepo(repoDir)->resolveRef(ref).gitRev());
         } else {
             Path cacheDir = getCachePath(repoInfo.url, getShallowAttr(input));
             repoDir = cacheDir;
@@ -519,7 +519,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
             createDirs(dirOf(cacheDir));
             PathLocks cacheDirLock({cacheDir});
 
-            auto repo = GitRepo::openRepo(CanonPath(cacheDir), true, true);
+            auto repo = GitRepo::openRepo(cacheDir, true, true);
 
             Path localRefFile =
                 ref.compare(0, 5, "refs/") == 0
@@ -588,7 +588,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
             // cache dir lock is removed at scope end; we will only use read-only operations on specific revisions in the remainder
         }
 
-        auto repo = GitRepo::openRepo(CanonPath(repoDir));
+        auto repo = GitRepo::openRepo(repoDir);
 
         auto isShallow = repo->isShallow();
 
@@ -664,7 +664,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
             for (auto & submodule : repoInfo.workdirInfo.submodules)
                 repoInfo.workdirInfo.files.insert(submodule.path);
 
-        auto repo = GitRepo::openRepo(CanonPath(repoInfo.url), false, false);
+        auto repo = GitRepo::openRepo(repoInfo.url, false, false);
 
         auto exportIgnore = getExportIgnoreAttr(input);
 
@@ -703,7 +703,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
         }
 
         if (!repoInfo.workdirInfo.isDirty) {
-            auto repo = GitRepo::openRepo(CanonPath(repoInfo.url));
+            auto repo = GitRepo::openRepo(repoInfo.url);
 
             if (auto ref = repo->getWorkdirRef())
                 input.attrs.insert_or_assign("ref", *ref);
diff --git a/src/libutil/archive.cc b/src/libutil/archive.cc
index b783b29e0..351ee094b 100644
--- a/src/libutil/archive.cc
+++ b/src/libutil/archive.cc
@@ -110,8 +110,8 @@ void SourceAccessor::dumpPath(
 
 time_t dumpPathAndGetMtime(const Path & path, Sink & sink, PathFilter & filter)
 {
-    PosixSourceAccessor accessor;
-    accessor.dumpPath(CanonPath::fromCwd(path), sink, filter);
+    auto [accessor, canonPath] = PosixSourceAccessor::createAtRoot(path);
+    accessor.dumpPath(canonPath, sink, filter);
     return accessor.mtime;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/libutil/canon-path.cc b/src/libutil/canon-path.cc
index bf948be5d..1223ba33c 100644
--- a/src/libutil/canon-path.cc
+++ b/src/libutil/canon-path.cc
@@ -20,11 +20,6 @@ CanonPath::CanonPath(const std::vector<std::string> & elems)
         push(s);
 }
 
-CanonPath CanonPath::fromCwd(std::string_view path)
-{
-    return CanonPath(unchecked_t(), absPath(path));
-}
-
 std::optional<CanonPath> CanonPath::parent() const
 {
     if (isRoot()) return std::nullopt;
diff --git a/src/libutil/canon-path.hh b/src/libutil/canon-path.hh
index fb2d9244b..2f8ff381e 100644
--- a/src/libutil/canon-path.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/canon-path.hh
@@ -52,8 +52,6 @@ public:
      */
     CanonPath(const std::vector<std::string> & elems);
 
-    static CanonPath fromCwd(std::string_view path = ".");
-
     static CanonPath root;
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/libutil/posix-source-accessor.cc b/src/libutil/posix-source-accessor.cc
index 5f26fa67b..0300de01e 100644
--- a/src/libutil/posix-source-accessor.cc
+++ b/src/libutil/posix-source-accessor.cc
@@ -6,6 +6,33 @@
 
 namespace nix {
 
+PosixSourceAccessor::PosixSourceAccessor(std::filesystem::path && root)
+    : root(std::move(root))
+{
+    assert(root.empty() || root.is_absolute());
+    displayPrefix = root;
+}
+
+PosixSourceAccessor::PosixSourceAccessor()
+    : PosixSourceAccessor(std::filesystem::path {})
+{ }
+
+std::pair<PosixSourceAccessor, CanonPath> PosixSourceAccessor::createAtRoot(const std::filesystem::path & path)
+{
+    std::filesystem::path path2 = absPath(path.native());
+    return {
+        PosixSourceAccessor { path2.root_path() },
+        CanonPath { static_cast<std::string>(path2.relative_path()) },
+    };
+}
+
+std::filesystem::path PosixSourceAccessor::makeAbsPath(const CanonPath & path)
+{
+    return root.empty()
+        ? (std::filesystem::path { path.abs() })
+        : root / path.rel();
+}
+
 void PosixSourceAccessor::readFile(
     const CanonPath & path,
     Sink & sink,
@@ -13,9 +40,11 @@ void PosixSourceAccessor::readFile(
 {
     assertNoSymlinks(path);
 
-    AutoCloseFD fd = open(path.c_str(), O_RDONLY | O_CLOEXEC | O_NOFOLLOW);
+    auto ap = makeAbsPath(path);
+
+    AutoCloseFD fd = open(ap.c_str(), O_RDONLY | O_CLOEXEC | O_NOFOLLOW);
     if (!fd)
-        throw SysError("opening file '%1%'", path);
+        throw SysError("opening file '%1%'", ap.native());
 
     struct stat st;
     if (fstat(fd.get(), &st) == -1)
@@ -46,7 +75,7 @@ void PosixSourceAccessor::readFile(
 bool PosixSourceAccessor::pathExists(const CanonPath & path)
 {
     if (auto parent = path.parent()) assertNoSymlinks(*parent);
-    return nix::pathExists(path.abs());
+    return nix::pathExists(makeAbsPath(path));
 }
 
 std::optional<struct stat> PosixSourceAccessor::cachedLstat(const CanonPath & path)
@@ -60,7 +89,7 @@ std::optional<struct stat> PosixSourceAccessor::cachedLstat(const CanonPath & pa
     }
 
     std::optional<struct stat> st{std::in_place};
-    if (::lstat(path.c_str(), &*st)) {
+    if (::lstat(makeAbsPath(path).c_str(), &*st)) {
         if (errno == ENOENT || errno == ENOTDIR)
             st.reset();
         else
@@ -95,7 +124,7 @@ SourceAccessor::DirEntries PosixSourceAccessor::readDirectory(const CanonPath &
 {
     assertNoSymlinks(path);
     DirEntries res;
-    for (auto & entry : nix::readDirectory(path.abs())) {
+    for (auto & entry : nix::readDirectory(makeAbsPath(path))) {
         std::optional<Type> type;
         switch (entry.type) {
         case DT_REG: type = Type::tRegular; break;
@@ -110,12 +139,12 @@ SourceAccessor::DirEntries PosixSourceAccessor::readDirectory(const CanonPath &
 std::string PosixSourceAccessor::readLink(const CanonPath & path)
 {
     if (auto parent = path.parent()) assertNoSymlinks(*parent);
-    return nix::readLink(path.abs());
+    return nix::readLink(makeAbsPath(path));
 }
 
-std::optional<CanonPath> PosixSourceAccessor::getPhysicalPath(const CanonPath & path)
+std::optional<std::filesystem::path> PosixSourceAccessor::getPhysicalPath(const CanonPath & path)
 {
-    return path;
+    return makeAbsPath(path);
 }
 
 void PosixSourceAccessor::assertNoSymlinks(CanonPath path)
diff --git a/src/libutil/posix-source-accessor.hh b/src/libutil/posix-source-accessor.hh
index b2bd39805..717c8f017 100644
--- a/src/libutil/posix-source-accessor.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/posix-source-accessor.hh
@@ -9,6 +9,16 @@ namespace nix {
  */
 struct PosixSourceAccessor : virtual SourceAccessor
 {
+    /**
+     * Optional root path to prefix all operations into the native file
+     * system. This allows prepending funny things like `C:\` that
+     * `CanonPath` intentionally doesn't support.
+     */
+    const std::filesystem::path root;
+
+    PosixSourceAccessor();
+    PosixSourceAccessor(std::filesystem::path && root);
+
     /**
      * The most recent mtime seen by lstat(). This is a hack to
      * support dumpPathAndGetMtime(). Should remove this eventually.
@@ -28,7 +38,22 @@ struct PosixSourceAccessor : virtual SourceAccessor
 
     std::string readLink(const CanonPath & path) override;
 
-    std::optional<CanonPath> getPhysicalPath(const CanonPath & path) override;
+    std::optional<std::filesystem::path> getPhysicalPath(const CanonPath & path) override;
+
+    /**
+     * Create a `PosixSourceAccessor` and `CanonPath` corresponding to
+     * some native path.
+     *
+     * The `PosixSourceAccessor` is rooted as far up the tree as
+     * possible, (e.g. on Windows it could scoped to a drive like
+     * `C:\`). This allows more `..` parent accessing to work.
+     *
+     * See
+     * [`std::filesystem::path::root_path`](https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/filesystem/path/root_path)
+     * and
+     * [`std::filesystem::path::relative_path`](https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/filesystem/path/relative_path).
+     */
+    static std::pair<PosixSourceAccessor, CanonPath> createAtRoot(const std::filesystem::path & path);
 
 private:
 
@@ -38,6 +63,8 @@ private:
     void assertNoSymlinks(CanonPath path);
 
     std::optional<struct stat> cachedLstat(const CanonPath & path);
+
+    std::filesystem::path makeAbsPath(const CanonPath & path);
 };
 
 }
diff --git a/src/libutil/source-accessor.hh b/src/libutil/source-accessor.hh
index 4f4ff09c1..aff7da09c 100644
--- a/src/libutil/source-accessor.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/source-accessor.hh
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #pragma once
 
+#include <filesystem>
+
 #include "canon-path.hh"
 #include "hash.hh"
 
@@ -119,7 +121,7 @@ struct SourceAccessor
      * possible. This is only possible for filesystems that are
      * materialized in the root filesystem.
      */
-    virtual std::optional<CanonPath> getPhysicalPath(const CanonPath & path)
+    virtual std::optional<std::filesystem::path> getPhysicalPath(const CanonPath & path)
     { return std::nullopt; }
 
     bool operator == (const SourceAccessor & x) const
diff --git a/src/libutil/source-path.cc b/src/libutil/source-path.cc
index 341daf39c..0f154e779 100644
--- a/src/libutil/source-path.cc
+++ b/src/libutil/source-path.cc
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ void SourcePath::dumpPath(
     PathFilter & filter) const
 { return accessor->dumpPath(path, sink, filter); }
 
-std::optional<CanonPath> SourcePath::getPhysicalPath() const
+std::optional<std::filesystem::path> SourcePath::getPhysicalPath() const
 { return accessor->getPhysicalPath(path); }
 
 std::string SourcePath::to_string() const
diff --git a/src/libutil/source-path.hh b/src/libutil/source-path.hh
index bde07b08f..a2f4ddd1e 100644
--- a/src/libutil/source-path.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/source-path.hh
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ struct SourcePath
      * Return the location of this path in the "real" filesystem, if
      * it has a physical location.
      */
-    std::optional<CanonPath> getPhysicalPath() const;
+    std::optional<std::filesystem::path> getPhysicalPath() const;
 
     std::string to_string() const;
 
diff --git a/src/nix-build/nix-build.cc b/src/nix-build/nix-build.cc
index 549adfbf7..a372e4b1c 100644
--- a/src/nix-build/nix-build.cc
+++ b/src/nix-build/nix-build.cc
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ static void main_nix_build(int argc, char * * argv)
     else
         for (auto i : left) {
             if (fromArgs)
-                exprs.push_back(state->parseExprFromString(std::move(i), state->rootPath(CanonPath::fromCwd())));
+                exprs.push_back(state->parseExprFromString(std::move(i), state->rootPath(".")));
             else {
                 auto absolute = i;
                 try {
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ static void main_nix_build(int argc, char * * argv)
             try {
                 auto expr = state->parseExprFromString(
                     "(import <nixpkgs> {}).bashInteractive",
-                    state->rootPath(CanonPath::fromCwd()));
+                    state->rootPath("."));
 
                 Value v;
                 state->eval(expr, v);
diff --git a/src/nix-env/nix-env.cc b/src/nix-env/nix-env.cc
index dfc6e70eb..1f311733b 100644
--- a/src/nix-env/nix-env.cc
+++ b/src/nix-env/nix-env.cc
@@ -413,7 +413,7 @@ static void queryInstSources(EvalState & state,
             loadSourceExpr(state, *instSource.nixExprPath, vArg);
 
             for (auto & i : args) {
-                Expr * eFun = state.parseExprFromString(i, state.rootPath(CanonPath::fromCwd()));
+                Expr * eFun = state.parseExprFromString(i, state.rootPath("."));
                 Value vFun, vTmp;
                 state.eval(eFun, vFun);
                 vTmp.mkApp(&vFun, &vArg);
diff --git a/src/nix-instantiate/nix-instantiate.cc b/src/nix-instantiate/nix-instantiate.cc
index b9e626aed..86e6f008d 100644
--- a/src/nix-instantiate/nix-instantiate.cc
+++ b/src/nix-instantiate/nix-instantiate.cc
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ static int main_nix_instantiate(int argc, char * * argv)
             for (auto & i : files) {
                 auto p = state->findFile(i);
                 if (auto fn = p.getPhysicalPath())
-                    std::cout << fn->abs() << std::endl;
+                    std::cout << fn->native() << std::endl;
                 else
                     throw Error("'%s' has no physical path", p);
             }
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ static int main_nix_instantiate(int argc, char * * argv)
 
         for (auto & i : files) {
             Expr * e = fromArgs
-                ? state->parseExprFromString(i, state->rootPath(CanonPath::fromCwd()))
+                ? state->parseExprFromString(i, state->rootPath("."))
                 : state->parseExprFromFile(resolveExprPath(lookupFileArg(*state, i)));
             processExpr(*state, attrPaths, parseOnly, strict, autoArgs,
                 evalOnly, outputKind, xmlOutputSourceLocation, e);
diff --git a/src/nix-store/nix-store.cc b/src/nix-store/nix-store.cc
index 017818ed5..99dbfe6e3 100644
--- a/src/nix-store/nix-store.cc
+++ b/src/nix-store/nix-store.cc
@@ -176,12 +176,11 @@ static void opAdd(Strings opFlags, Strings opArgs)
 {
     if (!opFlags.empty()) throw UsageError("unknown flag");
 
-    PosixSourceAccessor accessor;
-    for (auto & i : opArgs)
+    for (auto & i : opArgs) {
+        auto [accessor, canonPath] = PosixSourceAccessor::createAtRoot(i);
         cout << fmt("%s\n", store->printStorePath(store->addToStore(
-            std::string(baseNameOf(i)),
-            accessor,
-            CanonPath::fromCwd(i))));
+            std::string(baseNameOf(i)), accessor, canonPath)));
+    }
 }
 
 
@@ -201,14 +200,15 @@ static void opAddFixed(Strings opFlags, Strings opArgs)
     HashAlgorithm hashAlgo = parseHashAlgo(opArgs.front());
     opArgs.pop_front();
 
-    PosixSourceAccessor accessor;
-    for (auto & i : opArgs)
+    for (auto & i : opArgs) {
+        auto [accessor, canonPath] = PosixSourceAccessor::createAtRoot(i);
         std::cout << fmt("%s\n", store->printStorePath(store->addToStoreSlow(
             baseNameOf(i),
             accessor,
-            CanonPath::fromCwd(i),
+            canonPath,
             method,
             hashAlgo).path));
+    }
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/nix/add-to-store.cc b/src/nix/add-to-store.cc
index 7c534517d..d3e66dc21 100644
--- a/src/nix/add-to-store.cc
+++ b/src/nix/add-to-store.cc
@@ -60,9 +60,7 @@ struct CmdAddToStore : MixDryRun, StoreCommand
     {
         if (!namePart) namePart = baseNameOf(path);
 
-        PosixSourceAccessor accessor;
-
-        auto path2 = CanonPath::fromCwd(path);
+        auto [accessor, path2] = PosixSourceAccessor::createAtRoot(path);
 
         auto storePath = dryRun
             ? store->computeStorePath(
diff --git a/src/nix/eval.cc b/src/nix/eval.cc
index e6a022e5f..2044c8c2b 100644
--- a/src/nix/eval.cc
+++ b/src/nix/eval.cc
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ struct CmdEval : MixJSON, InstallableValueCommand, MixReadOnlyOption
 
         if (apply) {
             auto vApply = state->allocValue();
-            state->eval(state->parseExprFromString(*apply, state->rootPath(CanonPath::fromCwd())), *vApply);
+            state->eval(state->parseExprFromString(*apply, state->rootPath(".")), *vApply);
             auto vRes = state->allocValue();
             state->callFunction(*vApply, *v, *vRes, noPos);
             v = vRes;
diff --git a/src/nix/hash.cc b/src/nix/hash.cc
index 4837891c6..eec1c0eae 100644
--- a/src/nix/hash.cc
+++ b/src/nix/hash.cc
@@ -89,8 +89,8 @@ struct CmdHashBase : Command
             else
                 hashSink = std::make_unique<HashSink>(ha);
 
-            PosixSourceAccessor accessor;
-            dumpPath(accessor, CanonPath::fromCwd(path), *hashSink, mode);
+            auto [accessor, canonPath] = PosixSourceAccessor::createAtRoot(path);
+            dumpPath(accessor, canonPath, *hashSink, mode);
 
             Hash h = hashSink->finish().first;
             if (truncate && h.hashSize > 20) h = compressHash(h, 20);
diff --git a/src/nix/prefetch.cc b/src/nix/prefetch.cc
index 84b79ea28..6e3f878d9 100644
--- a/src/nix/prefetch.cc
+++ b/src/nix/prefetch.cc
@@ -123,10 +123,9 @@ std::tuple<StorePath, Hash> prefetchFile(
         Activity act(*logger, lvlChatty, actUnknown,
             fmt("adding '%s' to the store", url));
 
-        PosixSourceAccessor accessor;
+        auto [accessor, canonPath] = PosixSourceAccessor::createAtRoot(tmpFile);
         auto info = store->addToStoreSlow(
-            *name,
-            accessor, CanonPath::fromCwd(tmpFile),
+            *name, accessor, canonPath,
             ingestionMethod, hashAlgo, {}, expectedHash);
         storePath = info.path;
         assert(info.ca);