diff --git a/libtransmission/platform.cc b/libtransmission/platform.cc
index 2670861ce..5bafcca6c 100644
--- a/libtransmission/platform.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/platform.cc
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
  */
 
 #include <algorithm>
+#include <cstdarg>
 #include <cstdlib>
+#include <cstring>
 #include <list>
 #include <string>
 #include <string_view>
@@ -48,6 +50,50 @@
 
 using namespace std::literals;
 
+static char* tr_buildPath(char const* first_element, ...)
+{
+    // pass 1: allocate enough space for the string
+    va_list vl;
+    va_start(vl, first_element);
+    auto bufLen = size_t{};
+    for (char const* element = first_element; element != nullptr;)
+    {
+        bufLen += strlen(element) + 1;
+        element = va_arg(vl, char const*);
+    }
+    va_end(vl);
+    char* const buf = tr_new(char, bufLen);
+    if (buf == nullptr)
+    {
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+
+    /* pass 2: build the string piece by piece */
+    char* pch = buf;
+    va_start(vl, first_element);
+    for (char const* element = first_element; element != nullptr;)
+    {
+        size_t const elementLen = strlen(element);
+        pch = std::copy_n(element, elementLen, pch);
+        *pch++ = TR_PATH_DELIMITER;
+        element = va_arg(vl, char const*);
+    }
+    va_end(vl);
+
+    // if nonempty, eat the unwanted trailing slash
+    if (pch != buf)
+    {
+        --pch;
+    }
+
+    // zero-terminate the string
+    *pch++ = '\0';
+
+    /* sanity checks & return */
+    TR_ASSERT(pch - buf == (ptrdiff_t)bufLen);
+    return buf;
+}
+
 /***
 ****  THREADS
 ***/
@@ -219,32 +265,28 @@ static char const* getHomeDir(void)
 #define TORRENT_SUBDIR "torrents"
 #endif
 
-void tr_setConfigDir(tr_session* session, char const* configDir)
+void tr_setConfigDir(tr_session* session, std::string_view config_dir)
 {
-    session->configDir = tr_strdup(configDir);
-
-    char* path = tr_buildPath(configDir, RESUME_SUBDIR, nullptr);
-    tr_sys_dir_create(path, TR_SYS_DIR_CREATE_PARENTS, 0777, nullptr);
-    session->resumeDir = path;
-
-    path = tr_buildPath(configDir, TORRENT_SUBDIR, nullptr);
-    tr_sys_dir_create(path, TR_SYS_DIR_CREATE_PARENTS, 0777, nullptr);
-    session->torrentDir = path;
+    session->config_dir = config_dir;
+    session->resume_dir = tr_strvPath(config_dir, RESUME_SUBDIR);
+    session->torrent_dir = tr_strvPath(config_dir, TORRENT_SUBDIR);
+    tr_sys_dir_create(session->resume_dir.c_str(), TR_SYS_DIR_CREATE_PARENTS, 0777, nullptr);
+    tr_sys_dir_create(session->torrent_dir.c_str(), TR_SYS_DIR_CREATE_PARENTS, 0777, nullptr);
 }
 
 char const* tr_sessionGetConfigDir(tr_session const* session)
 {
-    return session->configDir;
+    return session->config_dir.c_str();
 }
 
 char const* tr_getTorrentDir(tr_session const* session)
 {
-    return session->torrentDir;
+    return session->torrent_dir.c_str();
 }
 
 char const* tr_getResumeDir(tr_session const* session)
 {
-    return session->resumeDir;
+    return session->resume_dir.c_str();
 }
 
 char const* tr_getDefaultConfigDir(char const* appname)
diff --git a/libtransmission/platform.h b/libtransmission/platform.h
index 58dfb8f0d..83df0d5a1 100644
--- a/libtransmission/platform.h
+++ b/libtransmission/platform.h
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #endif
 
 #include <string>
+#include <string_view>
 
 /**
  * @addtogroup tr_session Session
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@
  * @see tr_getTorrentDir()
  * @see tr_getWebClientDir()
  */
-void tr_setConfigDir(tr_session* session, char const* configDir);
+void tr_setConfigDir(tr_session* session, std::string_view config_dir);
 
 /** @brief return the directory where .resume files are stored */
 char const* tr_getResumeDir(tr_session const*);
diff --git a/libtransmission/session.cc b/libtransmission/session.cc
index 670529d42..2d4bb71d1 100644
--- a/libtransmission/session.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/session.cc
@@ -472,7 +472,7 @@ void tr_sessionGetSettings(tr_session const* s, tr_variant* d)
     tr_variantDictAddBool(d, TR_KEY_anti_brute_force_enabled, tr_sessionGetAntiBruteForceEnabled(s));
 }
 
-bool tr_sessionLoadSettings(tr_variant* dict, char const* configDir, char const* appName)
+bool tr_sessionLoadSettings(tr_variant* dict, char const* config_dir, char const* appName)
 {
     TR_ASSERT(tr_variantIsDict(dict));
 
@@ -485,14 +485,14 @@ bool tr_sessionLoadSettings(tr_variant* dict, char const* configDir, char const*
     tr_variantFree(&oldDict);
 
     /* if caller didn't specify a config dir, use the default */
-    if (tr_str_is_empty(configDir))
+    if (tr_str_is_empty(config_dir))
     {
-        configDir = tr_getDefaultConfigDir(appName);
+        config_dir = tr_getDefaultConfigDir(appName);
     }
 
     /* file settings override the defaults */
     auto fileSettings = tr_variant{};
-    auto const filename = tr_strvPath(configDir, "settings.json"sv);
+    auto const filename = tr_strvPath(config_dir, "settings.json"sv);
     auto success = bool{};
     if (tr_error* error = nullptr; tr_variantFromFile(&fileSettings, TR_VARIANT_PARSE_JSON, filename.c_str(), &error))
     {
@@ -510,12 +510,12 @@ bool tr_sessionLoadSettings(tr_variant* dict, char const* configDir, char const*
     return success;
 }
 
-void tr_sessionSaveSettings(tr_session* session, char const* configDir, tr_variant const* clientSettings)
+void tr_sessionSaveSettings(tr_session* session, char const* config_dir, tr_variant const* clientSettings)
 {
     TR_ASSERT(tr_variantIsDict(clientSettings));
 
     tr_variant settings;
-    auto const filename = tr_strvPath(configDir, "settings.json"sv);
+    auto const filename = tr_strvPath(config_dir, "settings.json"sv);
 
     tr_variantInitDict(&settings, 0);
 
@@ -588,11 +588,11 @@ struct init_data
     bool done;
     bool messageQueuingEnabled;
     tr_session* session;
-    char const* configDir;
+    char const* config_dir;
     tr_variant* clientSettings;
 };
 
-tr_session* tr_sessionInit(char const* configDir, bool messageQueuingEnabled, tr_variant* clientSettings)
+tr_session* tr_sessionInit(char const* config_dir, bool messageQueuingEnabled, tr_variant* clientSettings)
 {
     TR_ASSERT(tr_variantIsDict(clientSettings));
 
@@ -625,7 +625,7 @@ tr_session* tr_sessionInit(char const* configDir, bool messageQueuingEnabled, tr
     auto data = init_data{};
     data.done = false;
     data.session = session;
-    data.configDir = configDir;
+    data.config_dir = config_dir;
     data.messageQueuingEnabled = messageQueuingEnabled;
     data.clientSettings = clientSettings;
     tr_runInEventThread(session, tr_sessionInitImpl, &data);
@@ -724,7 +724,7 @@ static void tr_sessionInitImpl(void* vdata)
 
     tr_logSetQueueEnabled(data->messageQueuingEnabled);
 
-    tr_setConfigDir(session, data->configDir);
+    tr_setConfigDir(session, data->config_dir);
 
     session->peerMgr = tr_peerMgrNew(session);
 
@@ -735,7 +735,7 @@ static void tr_sessionInitImpl(void* vdata)
     **/
 
     {
-        auto const filename = tr_strvPath(session->configDir, "blocklists"sv);
+        auto const filename = tr_strvPath(session->config_dir, "blocklists"sv);
         tr_sys_dir_create(filename.c_str(), TR_SYS_DIR_CREATE_PARENTS, 0777, nullptr);
         loadBlocklists(session);
     }
@@ -2003,9 +2003,6 @@ void tr_sessionClose(tr_session* session)
     delete session->turtle.minutes;
     tr_session_id_free(session->session_id);
 
-    tr_free(session->configDir);
-    tr_free(session->resumeDir);
-    tr_free(session->torrentDir);
     delete session;
 }
 
@@ -2290,7 +2287,7 @@ static void loadBlocklists(tr_session* session)
     auto const isEnabled = session->useBlocklist();
 
     /* walk the blocklist directory... */
-    auto const dirname = tr_strvPath(session->configDir, "blocklists"sv);
+    auto const dirname = tr_strvPath(session->config_dir, "blocklists"sv);
     auto const odir = tr_sys_dir_open(dirname.c_str(), nullptr);
 
     if (odir == TR_BAD_SYS_DIR)
@@ -2444,7 +2441,7 @@ int tr_blocklistSetContent(tr_session* session, char const* contentFilename)
 
     if (it == std::end(src))
     {
-        auto path = tr_strvJoin(session->configDir, "blocklists"sv, name);
+        auto path = tr_strvJoin(session->config_dir, "blocklists"sv, name);
         b = tr_blocklistFileNew(path.c_str(), session->useBlocklist());
         src.push_back(b);
     }
diff --git a/libtransmission/session.h b/libtransmission/session.h
index 0f30558c8..878187f01 100644
--- a/libtransmission/session.h
+++ b/libtransmission/session.h
@@ -321,9 +321,9 @@ public:
     std::map<int, tr_torrent*> torrentsById;
     std::map<tr_sha1_digest_t, tr_torrent*> torrentsByHash;
 
-    char* configDir;
-    char* resumeDir;
-    char* torrentDir;
+    std::string config_dir;
+    std::string resume_dir;
+    std::string torrent_dir;
 
     std::list<tr_blocklistFile*> blocklists;
     struct tr_peerMgr* peerMgr;
diff --git a/libtransmission/torrent.h b/libtransmission/torrent.h
index 51701f7e3..7f5543cab 100644
--- a/libtransmission/torrent.h
+++ b/libtransmission/torrent.h
@@ -751,7 +751,7 @@ void tr_torrentGotBlock(tr_torrent* tor, tr_block_index_t blockIndex);
 /**
  * @brief Like tr_torrentFindFile(), but splits the filename into base and subpath.
  *
- * If the file is found, "tr_buildPath(base, subpath, nullptr)"
+ * If the file is found, "tr_strvPath(base, subpath, nullptr)"
  * will generate the complete filename.
  *
  * @return true if the file is found, false otherwise.
diff --git a/libtransmission/tr-dht.cc b/libtransmission/tr-dht.cc
index 22de6d966..b86add23a 100644
--- a/libtransmission/tr-dht.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/tr-dht.cc
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ static void dht_bootstrap(void* closure)
 
     if (!bootstrap_done(cl->session, 0))
     {
-        auto const bootstrap_file = tr_strvPath(cl->session->configDir, "dht.bootstrap");
+        auto const bootstrap_file = tr_strvPath(cl->session->config_dir, "dht.bootstrap");
 
         tr_sys_file_t const f = tr_sys_file_open(bootstrap_file.c_str(), TR_SYS_FILE_READ, 0, nullptr);
 
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ int tr_dhtInit(tr_session* ss)
         dht_debug = stderr;
     }
 
-    auto const dat_file = tr_strvPath(ss->configDir, "dht.dat"sv);
+    auto const dat_file = tr_strvPath(ss->config_dir, "dht.dat"sv);
     auto benc = tr_variant{};
     auto const ok = tr_variantFromFile(&benc, TR_VARIANT_PARSE_BENC, dat_file);
 
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ void tr_dhtUninit(tr_session* ss)
             tr_variantDictAddRaw(&benc, TR_KEY_nodes6, compact6, out6 - compact6);
         }
 
-        auto const dat_file = tr_strvPath(ss->configDir, "dht.dat");
+        auto const dat_file = tr_strvPath(ss->config_dir, "dht.dat");
         tr_variantToFile(&benc, TR_VARIANT_FMT_BENC, dat_file);
         tr_variantFree(&benc);
     }
diff --git a/libtransmission/utils.cc b/libtransmission/utils.cc
index 5777cf112..310a9ea99 100644
--- a/libtransmission/utils.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/utils.cc
@@ -401,51 +401,6 @@ bool tr_saveFile(std::string_view filename_in, std::string_view contents, tr_err
     return true;
 }
 
-char* tr_buildPath(char const* first_element, ...)
-{
-
-    /* pass 1: allocate enough space for the string */
-    va_list vl;
-    va_start(vl, first_element);
-    auto bufLen = size_t{};
-    for (char const* element = first_element; element != nullptr;)
-    {
-        bufLen += strlen(element) + 1;
-        element = va_arg(vl, char const*);
-    }
-    va_end(vl);
-    char* const buf = tr_new(char, bufLen);
-    if (buf == nullptr)
-    {
-        return nullptr;
-    }
-
-    /* pass 2: build the string piece by piece */
-    char* pch = buf;
-    va_start(vl, first_element);
-    for (char const* element = first_element; element != nullptr;)
-    {
-        size_t const elementLen = strlen(element);
-        pch = std::copy_n(element, elementLen, pch);
-        *pch++ = TR_PATH_DELIMITER;
-        element = va_arg(vl, char const*);
-    }
-    va_end(vl);
-
-    // if nonempty, eat the unwanted trailing slash
-    if (pch != buf)
-    {
-        --pch;
-    }
-
-    // zero-terminate the string
-    *pch++ = '\0';
-
-    /* sanity checks & return */
-    TR_ASSERT(pch - buf == (ptrdiff_t)bufLen);
-    return buf;
-}
-
 tr_disk_space tr_dirSpace(std::string_view dir)
 {
     if (std::empty(dir))
diff --git a/libtransmission/utils.h b/libtransmission/utils.h
index 03219cdc7..56590fb80 100644
--- a/libtransmission/utils.h
+++ b/libtransmission/utils.h
@@ -82,10 +82,6 @@ bool tr_loadFile(std::vector<char>& setme, std::string_view filename, tr_error**
 
 bool tr_saveFile(std::string_view filename, std::string_view contents, tr_error** error = nullptr);
 
-/** @brief build a filename from a series of elements using the
-           platform's correct directory separator. */
-char* tr_buildPath(char const* first_element, ...) TR_GNUC_NULL_TERMINATED TR_GNUC_MALLOC;
-
 template<typename... T, typename std::enable_if_t<(std::is_convertible_v<T, std::string_view> && ...), bool> = true>
 std::string& tr_buildBuf(std::string& setme, T... args)
 {
diff --git a/libtransmission/web.cc b/libtransmission/web.cc
index 3d6fc4f60..31b56472b 100644
--- a/libtransmission/web.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/web.cc
@@ -424,7 +424,7 @@ static void tr_webThreadFunc(void* vsession)
         tr_logAddNamedInfo("web", "NB: invalid certs will show up as 'Could not connect to tracker' like many other errors");
     }
 
-    auto const str = tr_strvPath(session->configDir, "cookies.txt");
+    auto const str = tr_strvPath(session->config_dir, "cookies.txt");
     if (tr_sys_path_exists(str.c_str(), nullptr))
     {
         web->cookie_filename = tr_strvDup(str);
diff --git a/tests/libtransmission/utils-test.cc b/tests/libtransmission/utils-test.cc
index 180e97cfa..1ad7ea4f4 100644
--- a/tests/libtransmission/utils-test.cc
+++ b/tests/libtransmission/utils-test.cc
@@ -146,15 +146,6 @@ TEST_F(UtilsTest, trStrvDup)
     tr_free(str);
 }
 
-TEST_F(UtilsTest, trBuildpath)
-{
-    auto out = makeString(tr_buildPath("foo", "bar", nullptr));
-    EXPECT_EQ("foo" TR_PATH_DELIMITER_STR "bar", out);
-
-    out = makeString(tr_buildPath("", "foo", "bar", nullptr));
-    EXPECT_EQ(TR_PATH_DELIMITER_STR "foo" TR_PATH_DELIMITER_STR "bar", out);
-}
-
 TEST_F(UtilsTest, trStrvPath)
 {
     EXPECT_EQ("foo" TR_PATH_DELIMITER_STR "bar", tr_strvPath("foo", "bar"));
diff --git a/utils/create.cc b/utils/create.cc
index abaa8cca9..7fe033f1b 100644
--- a/utils/create.cc
+++ b/utils/create.cc
@@ -7,11 +7,13 @@
  */
 
 #include <array>
-#include <stdio.h> /* fprintf() */
-#include <stdlib.h> /* strtoul(), EXIT_FAILURE */
-#include <inttypes.h> /* PRIu32 */
+#include <cinttypes>
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <cstdlib>
+#include <string>
 
 #include <libtransmission/transmission.h>
+
 #include <libtransmission/error.h>
 #include <libtransmission/file.h>
 #include <libtransmission/makemeta.h>
@@ -23,12 +25,15 @@
 
 using namespace std::literals;
 
-static char constexpr MyName[] = "transmission-create";
-static char constexpr Usage[] = "Usage: transmission-create [options] <file|directory>";
+namespace
+{
 
-static uint32_t constexpr KiB = 1024;
+char constexpr MyName[] = "transmission-create";
+char constexpr Usage[] = "Usage: transmission-create [options] <file|directory>";
 
-static auto constexpr Options = std::array<tr_option, 8>{
+uint32_t constexpr KiB = 1024;
+
+auto constexpr Options = std::array<tr_option, 8>{
     { { 'p', "private", "Allow this torrent to only be used with the specified tracker(s)", "p", false, nullptr },
       { 'r', "source", "Set the source for private trackers", "r", true, "<source>" },
       { 'o', "outfile", "Save the generated .torrent to this filename", "o", true, "<file>" },
@@ -42,16 +47,16 @@ static auto constexpr Options = std::array<tr_option, 8>{
 struct app_options
 {
     std::vector<tr_tracker_info> trackers;
+    std::string outfile;
+    char const* comment = nullptr;
+    char const* infile = nullptr;
+    char const* source = nullptr;
+    uint32_t piecesize_kib = 0;
     bool is_private = false;
     bool show_version = false;
-    char const* comment = nullptr;
-    char const* outfile = nullptr;
-    char const* infile = nullptr;
-    uint32_t piecesize_kib = 0;
-    char const* source = nullptr;
 };
 
-static int parseCommandLine(app_options& options, int argc, char const* const* argv)
+int parseCommandLine(app_options& options, int argc, char const* const* argv)
 {
     int c;
     char const* optarg;
@@ -110,7 +115,7 @@ static int parseCommandLine(app_options& options, int argc, char const* const* a
     return 0;
 }
 
-static char* tr_getcwd(void)
+char* tr_getcwd(void)
 {
     char* result;
     tr_error* error = nullptr;
@@ -127,9 +132,10 @@ static char* tr_getcwd(void)
     return result;
 }
 
+} // namespace
+
 int tr_main(int argc, char* argv[])
 {
-    char* out2 = nullptr;
     tr_metainfo_builder* b = nullptr;
 
     tr_logSetLevel(TR_LOG_ERROR);
@@ -157,7 +163,7 @@ int tr_main(int argc, char* argv[])
         return EXIT_FAILURE;
     }
 
-    if (options.outfile == nullptr)
+    if (std::empty(options.outfile))
     {
         tr_error* error = nullptr;
         char* base = tr_sys_path_basename(options.infile, &error);
@@ -170,7 +176,7 @@ int tr_main(int argc, char* argv[])
 
         auto const end = tr_strvJoin(base, ".torrent"sv);
         char* cwd = tr_getcwd();
-        options.outfile = out2 = tr_buildPath(cwd, end.c_str(), nullptr);
+        options.outfile = tr_strvDup(tr_strvPath(cwd, end.c_str()));
         tr_free(cwd);
         tr_free(base);
     }
@@ -188,7 +194,7 @@ int tr_main(int argc, char* argv[])
         }
     }
 
-    printf("Creating torrent \"%s\"\n", options.outfile);
+    printf("Creating torrent \"%s\"\n", options.outfile.c_str());
 
     b = tr_metaInfoBuilderCreate(options.infile);
 
@@ -214,7 +220,7 @@ int tr_main(int argc, char* argv[])
 
     tr_makeMetaInfo(
         b,
-        options.outfile,
+        options.outfile.c_str(),
         std::data(options.trackers),
         std::size(options.trackers),
         options.comment,
@@ -264,6 +270,5 @@ int tr_main(int argc, char* argv[])
     putc('\n', stdout);
 
     tr_metaInfoBuilderFree(b);
-    tr_free(out2);
     return EXIT_SUCCESS;
 }