diff --git a/default.nix b/default.nix
index b5eab39..a015c6c 100644
--- a/default.nix
+++ b/default.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 let
   perform =
     {
-      lib ? null,
       pipef ? null,
       initf ? null,
       filterf,
@@ -12,23 +11,19 @@ let
     }:
     path:
     let
-      result =
-        if pipef == null then
-          { imports = [ module ]; }
-        else if lib == null then
-          throw "You need to call withLib before trying to read the tree."
-        else
-          pipef (leafs lib path);
+      result = if pipef == null then { imports = [ module ]; } else pipef (leafs path);
 
-      # module exists so we delay access to lib til we are part of the module system.
+      # module stays a function: callers may apply it as a module function, and
+      # keeping it a lambda defers the tree read (`leafs path`) until module-eval
+      # rather than at `it ./dir` construction time. It no longer needs `lib` —
+      # the reader is pure `builtins` — so the argument is ignored.
       module =
-        { lib, ... }:
+        _:
         let
-          files = leafs lib path;
-          imports = if scoped == { } then files else map scoped-import files;
+          files = leafs path;
         in
         {
-          inherit imports;
+          imports = if scoped == { } then files else map scoped-import files;
         };
 
       scoped-import = builtins.scopedImport (
@@ -40,22 +35,19 @@ let
       );
 
       leafs =
-        lib:
         let
-          treeFiles = t: (t.withLib lib).files;
-
           listFilesRecursive =
             x:
             if isImportTree x then
-              treeFiles x
+              x.files
             else if hasOutPath x then
               listFilesRecursive x.outPath
             else if isDirectory x then
-              lib.filesystem.listFilesRecursive x
+              listDirFilesRecursive x
             else
               [ x ];
 
-          nixFilter = andNot (lib.hasInfix "/_") (lib.hasSuffix ".nix");
+          nixFilter = andNot (hasInfix "/_") (hasSuffix ".nix");
 
           initialFilter = if initf != null then initf else nixFilter;
 
@@ -68,31 +60,31 @@ let
           isFileRelative =
             root:
             { file, rel }:
-            if file != null && lib.hasPrefix root file then
+            if file != null && hasPrefix root file then
               {
                 file = null;
-                rel = lib.removePrefix root file;
+                rel = removePrefix root file;
               }
             else
               { inherit file rel; };
           getFileRelative = { file, rel }: if rel == null then file else rel;
 
+          # Strip the first matching root-directory prefix from a file, yielding a
+          # path relative to that root (or the file itself if none match). Folds the
+          # `{ file, rel }` state directly over the roots — once a root matches,
+          # `file` becomes null and later roots are no-ops.
           makeRelative =
             roots:
-            lib.pipe roots [
-              (lib.lists.flatten)
-              (builtins.filter isDirectory)
-              (builtins.map builtins.toString)
-              (builtins.map isFileRelative)
-              (fx: fx ++ [ getFileRelative ])
-              (
-                fx: file:
-                lib.pipe {
-                  file = builtins.toString file;
-                  rel = null;
-                } fx
-              )
-            ];
+            let
+              dirs = builtins.map builtins.toString (builtins.filter isDirectory (flatten roots));
+            in
+            file:
+            getFileRelative (
+              builtins.foldl' (acc: root: isFileRelative root acc) {
+                file = builtins.toString file;
+                rel = null;
+              } dirs
+            );
 
           rootRelative =
             roots:
@@ -102,24 +94,78 @@ let
             x: if isPathLike x then mkRel x else x;
         in
         root:
-        lib.pipe
-          [ paths root ]
-          [
-            (lib.lists.flatten)
-            (map listFilesRecursive)
-            (lib.lists.flatten)
-            (builtins.filter (
-              compose filter (rootRelative [
-                paths
-                root
-              ])
-            ))
-            (map mapf)
+        let
+          roots = flatten [
+            paths
+            root
           ];
+          files = flatten (map listFilesRecursive roots);
+          relativize = rootRelative [
+            paths
+            root
+          ];
+        in
+        map mapf (builtins.filter (compose filter relativize) files);
 
     in
     result;
 
+  # ── utilities vendored from nixpkgs lib (behavior-identical, pure builtins) ──
+
+  # lib.lists.flatten
+  flatten = x: if builtins.isList x then builtins.concatMap flatten x else [ x ];
+
+  # lib.strings.hasPrefix
+  hasPrefix = pre: s: builtins.substring 0 (builtins.stringLength pre) s == pre;
+
+  # lib.strings.removePrefix
+  removePrefix =
+    pre: s:
+    let
+      n = builtins.stringLength pre;
+    in
+    if builtins.substring 0 n s == pre then builtins.substring n (builtins.stringLength s - n) s else s;
+
+  # lib.strings.hasSuffix
+  hasSuffix =
+    suffix: content:
+    let
+      lenSuffix = builtins.stringLength suffix;
+      lenContent = builtins.stringLength content;
+    in
+    lenContent >= lenSuffix && builtins.substring (lenContent - lenSuffix) lenContent content == suffix;
+
+  # lib.strings.hasInfix — literal substring scan (no regex, so no escaping hazard)
+  hasInfix =
+    infix: content:
+    let
+      lenInfix = builtins.stringLength infix;
+      lenContent = builtins.stringLength content;
+      go =
+        i:
+        if i + lenInfix > lenContent then
+          false
+        else if builtins.substring i lenInfix content == infix then
+          true
+        else
+          go (i + 1);
+    in
+    go 0;
+
+  # lib.filesystem.listFilesRecursive
+  listDirFilesRecursive =
+    dir:
+    let
+      entries = builtins.readDir dir;
+    in
+    builtins.concatMap (
+      name:
+      if entries.${name} == "directory" then
+        listDirFilesRecursive (dir + "/${name}")
+      else
+        [ (dir + "/${name}") ]
+    ) (builtins.attrNames entries);
+
   compose =
     g: f: x:
     g (f x);
@@ -199,7 +245,9 @@ let
             addAPI = api: accAttr "api" (a: a // api);
 
             # Configuration updates (non-accumulating)
-            withLib = lib: mergeAttrs { inherit lib; };
+            # withLib is retained as a no-op for backward compatibility: the tree
+            # reader no longer needs nixpkgs lib, so any passed lib is ignored.
+            withLib = _lib: mergeAttrs { };
             initFilter = initf: mergeAttrs { inherit initf; };
             pipeTo = pipef: mergeAttrs { inherit pipef; };
             leafs = mergeAttrs { pipef = (i: i); };
diff --git a/docs/src/content/docs/guides/combinator.mdx b/docs/src/content/docs/guides/combinator.mdx
index 153e61e..6c1c6f7 100644
--- a/docs/src/content/docs/guides/combinator.mdx
+++ b/docs/src/content/docs/guides/combinator.mdx
@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@ Combinator syntax allows you to pass functions to `import-tree` to configure and
 ```nix
 # Without combinators (verbose)
 let
-  configured = import-tree.withLib lib;
+  configured = import-tree.map import;
   leafs = configured.leafs;
 in
 leafs ./modules
 
 # With combinators (terse)
-import-tree (it: it.withLib lib) (it: it.leafs) ./modules
+import-tree (it: it.map import) (it: it.leafs) ./modules
 ```
 
 ## How It Works
@@ -26,17 +26,16 @@ import-tree (it: it.withLib lib) (it: it.leafs) ./modules
 When you call `import-tree` with a function (a zero-argument function), it receives the current import-tree object and can call any methods on it:
 
 ```nix
-import-tree (self: self.withLib lib)
+import-tree (self: self.addPath ./modules)
 ```
 
 The function is applied, and the result replaces the state. You can chain multiple functions:
 
 ```nix
 import-tree 
-  (it: it.withLib lib)           # first: add lib
-  (it: it.addPath ./modules)     # second: add path
-  (it: it.filter (lib.hasSuffix "mod.nix"))  # third: filter
-  ./src                          # finally: evaluate
+  (it: it.addPath ./modules)                 # first: add a path
+  (it: it.filter (lib.hasSuffix "mod.nix"))  # then: filter
+  ./src                                      # finally: evaluate
 ```
 
 This is purely syntactic sugar - it's equivalent to piping through the operations in order.
@@ -50,7 +49,6 @@ Get a filtered file list in one expression:
 
 ```nix
 import-tree
-  (it: it.withLib lib)
   (it: it.filter (lib.hasSuffix "mod.nix"))
   (it: it.leafs)
   ./modules
diff --git a/docs/src/content/docs/guides/mapping.mdx b/docs/src/content/docs/guides/mapping.mdx
index ebd0496..b1ac47b 100644
--- a/docs/src/content/docs/guides/mapping.mdx
+++ b/docs/src/content/docs/guides/mapping.mdx
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ Multiple `.map` calls compose left-to-right (the first map runs first):
 import-tree
   (i: i.map import)             # import each .nix file
   (i: i.map builtins.stringLength) # get the length of each result
-  (i: i.withLib lib)
   (i: i.leafs ./dir)
 ```
 
@@ -42,7 +41,6 @@ When used with `.leafs` or `.pipeTo`, `.map` transforms paths into arbitrary val
 import-tree
   (i: i.initFilter (lib.hasSuffix ".md"))
   (i: i.map builtins.readFile)
-  (i: i.withLib lib)
   (i: i.leafs ./docs)
 
 # => [ "# Title\n..." "# Other\n..." ]
diff --git a/docs/src/content/docs/guides/outside-modules.mdx b/docs/src/content/docs/guides/outside-modules.mdx
index f157447..0e85366 100644
--- a/docs/src/content/docs/guides/outside-modules.mdx
+++ b/docs/src/content/docs/guides/outside-modules.mdx
@@ -8,27 +8,18 @@ description: Use import-tree to list files programmatically, without importing t
 `import-tree` doesn't have to produce module imports. You can use it to get a plain list of files:
 
 ```nix
-(import-tree.withLib pkgs.lib).leafs ./modules
+import-tree.leafs ./modules
 # => [ /path/to/modules/a.nix /path/to/modules/b.nix ]
 ```
 
-### withLib
-
-Outside module evaluation, `import-tree` needs access to `lib` (specifically `lib.filesystem.listFilesRecursive`). Call `.withLib` before `.leafs` or `.pipeTo`:
-
-```nix
-import-tree.withLib lib
-```
-
-Omitting `.withLib` when calling `.leafs` produces an error:
-`"You need to call withLib before trying to read the tree."`
+The tree reader is implemented with pure `builtins`, so `.leafs`, `.files` and `.pipeTo` work everywhere — including outside module evaluation — with no setup.
 
 ### leafs
 
 `.leafs` returns a configured import-tree that, when given a path, produces a flat list of discovered files:
 
 ```nix
-(import-tree.withLib lib).leafs ./src
+import-tree.leafs ./src
 # => [ ./src/main.nix ./src/utils.nix ]
 ```
 
@@ -39,7 +30,6 @@ Omitting `.withLib` when calling `.leafs` produces an error:
 ```nix
 import-tree 
   (i: i.addPath ./modules)
-  (i: i.withLib lib)
   (i: i.files)
 ```
 
@@ -48,7 +38,7 @@ import-tree
 `.pipeTo` takes a function that receives the list of discovered paths, letting you process the results:
 
 ```nix
-import-tree (it: it.withLib lib) (it: it.pipeTo builtins.length) ./modules
+import-tree.pipeTo builtins.length ./modules
 # => 5  (number of .nix files)
 ```
 
@@ -57,8 +47,7 @@ Combine with `.map` for powerful pipelines:
 ```nix
 import-tree
   (i: i.map import)
-  (i: i.pipeTo lib.length)
-  (i: i.withLib lib)
+  (i: i.pipeTo builtins.length)
   (i: i ./modules)
 ```
 
diff --git a/docs/src/content/docs/reference/api.mdx b/docs/src/content/docs/reference/api.mdx
index 0222cd4..fe63575 100644
--- a/docs/src/content/docs/reference/api.mdx
+++ b/docs/src/content/docs/reference/api.mdx
@@ -177,20 +177,12 @@ import-tree (it: it.addScoped { foo = 42 }) (it: it.addScoped { bar = 99 })
 
 ## Output
 
-### `.withLib <lib>`
-
-Required before `.leafs` or `.pipeTo` when used outside module evaluation. Provides `lib.filesystem.listFilesRecursive`.
-
-```nix
-import-tree.withLib pkgs.lib
-```
-
 ### `.leafs`
 
 Returns a configured import-tree that produces file lists instead of modules:
 
 ```nix
-(import-tree.withLib lib).leafs ./modules
+import-tree.leafs ./modules
 # => [ ./modules/a.nix ./modules/b.nix ]
 ```
 
@@ -199,7 +191,7 @@ Returns a configured import-tree that produces file lists instead of modules:
 Shorthand for `.leafs.result`:
 
 ```nix
-(import-tree.addPath ./modules).withLib lib |>.files
+(import-tree.addPath ./modules).files
 ```
 
 ### `.pipeTo <fn>`
@@ -207,7 +199,7 @@ Shorthand for `.leafs.result`:
 Like `.leafs` but pipes the result list through `fn`:
 
 ```nix
-(import-tree.withLib lib).pipeTo builtins.length ./modules
+import-tree.pipeTo builtins.length ./modules
 # => 3
 ```
 
diff --git a/docs/src/content/docs/reference/examples.mdx b/docs/src/content/docs/reference/examples.mdx
index 37cb50c..73e1b5d 100644
--- a/docs/src/content/docs/reference/examples.mdx
+++ b/docs/src/content/docs/reference/examples.mdx
@@ -63,7 +63,6 @@ import-tree
   (i: i.initFilter (lib.hasSuffix ".json"))
   (i: i.map builtins.readFile)
   (i: i.map builtins.fromJSON)
-  (i: i.withLib lib)
   (i: i.leafs ./config)
 # => list of parsed JSON objects
 ```
@@ -91,7 +90,7 @@ in {
 ## Counting Files
 
 ```nix
-(import-tree.withLib lib).pipeTo builtins.length ./modules
+import-tree.pipeTo builtins.length ./modules
 ```
 
 ## Mixing with Manual Imports
diff --git a/tests.nix b/tests.nix
index 600402f..9e16deb 100644
--- a/tests.nix
+++ b/tests.nix
@@ -1,16 +1,22 @@
 let
   lib = import <nixpkgs/lib>;
   it = import ./.;
+  # withLib is now a no-op (the tree reader is pure builtins), so `lit == it`.
+  # Kept so these tests also exercise the backward-compat shim.
   lit = it.withLib lib;
 in
 {
   import-tree = {
-    leafs."test fails if no lib has been set" = {
-      expr = it.leafs ./tree;
-      expectedError.type = "ThrownError";
+    leafs."test works without withLib (lib no longer required)" = {
+      expr = it.leafs ./tree/a;
+      expected = [
+        ./tree/a/a_b.nix
+        ./tree/a/b/b_a.nix
+        ./tree/a/b/m.nix
+      ];
     };
 
-    leafs."test succeeds when lib has been set" = {
+    leafs."test withLib is a no-op kept for backward compatibility" = {
       expr = (it.withLib lib).leafs ./tree/hello;
       expected = [ ];
     };