diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 8807634..4beadb6 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -13,12 +13,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "autocfg"
-version = "1.1.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "d468802bab17cbc0cc575e9b053f41e72aa36bfa6b7f55e3529ffa43161b97fa"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "bitflags"
 version = "1.3.2"
@@ -31,12 +25,6 @@ version = "1.0.78"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "a20104e2335ce8a659d6dd92a51a767a0c062599c73b343fd152cb401e828c3d"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "cfg-if"
-version = "1.0.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "baf1de4339761588bc0619e3cbc0120ee582ebb74b53b4efbf79117bd2da40fd"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "clap"
 version = "4.1.1"
@@ -88,61 +76,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "roff",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "crossbeam-channel"
-version = "0.5.6"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "c2dd04ddaf88237dc3b8d8f9a3c1004b506b54b3313403944054d23c0870c521"
-dependencies = [
- "cfg-if",
- "crossbeam-utils",
-]
-
-[[package]]
-name = "crossbeam-deque"
-version = "0.8.2"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "715e8152b692bba2d374b53d4875445368fdf21a94751410af607a5ac677d1fc"
-dependencies = [
- "cfg-if",
- "crossbeam-epoch",
- "crossbeam-utils",
-]
-
-[[package]]
-name = "crossbeam-epoch"
-version = "0.9.13"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "01a9af1f4c2ef74bb8aa1f7e19706bc72d03598c8a570bb5de72243c7a9d9d5a"
-dependencies = [
- "autocfg",
- "cfg-if",
- "crossbeam-utils",
- "memoffset",
- "scopeguard",
-]
-
-[[package]]
-name = "crossbeam-utils"
-version = "0.8.14"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "4fb766fa798726286dbbb842f174001dab8abc7b627a1dd86e0b7222a95d929f"
-dependencies = [
- "cfg-if",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "data-encoding"
 version = "2.3.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "23d8666cb01533c39dde32bcbab8e227b4ed6679b2c925eba05feabea39508fb"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "either"
-version = "1.8.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "90e5c1c8368803113bf0c9584fc495a58b86dc8a29edbf8fe877d21d9507e797"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "errno"
 version = "0.2.8"
@@ -233,15 +172,6 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "ffbee8634e0d45d258acb448e7eaab3fce7a0a467395d4d9f228e3c1f01fb2e4"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "memoffset"
-version = "0.7.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5de893c32cde5f383baa4c04c5d6dbdd735cfd4a794b0debdb2bb1b421da5ff4"
-dependencies = [
- "autocfg",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "num_cpus"
 version = "1.15.0"
@@ -258,28 +188,6 @@ version = "6.4.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "9b7820b9daea5457c9f21c69448905d723fbd21136ccf521748f23fd49e723ee"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "rayon"
-version = "1.6.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6db3a213adf02b3bcfd2d3846bb41cb22857d131789e01df434fb7e7bc0759b7"
-dependencies = [
- "either",
- "rayon-core",
-]
-
-[[package]]
-name = "rayon-core"
-version = "1.10.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "cac410af5d00ab6884528b4ab69d1e8e146e8d471201800fa1b4524126de6ad3"
-dependencies = [
- "crossbeam-channel",
- "crossbeam-deque",
- "crossbeam-utils",
- "num_cpus",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "roff"
 version = "0.2.1"
@@ -309,12 +217,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi-util",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "scopeguard"
-version = "1.1.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "d29ab0c6d3fc0ee92fe66e2d99f700eab17a8d57d1c1d3b748380fb20baa78cd"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "shitbox"
 version = "0.1.0"
@@ -328,7 +230,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "hostname",
  "libc",
  "num_cpus",
- "rayon",
  "termcolor",
  "textwrap",
  "walkdir",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 5ef0ee9..4f592a7 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ data-encoding = "2.3"
 hostname = { version = "0.3", features = ["set"] }
 libc = "0.2"
 num_cpus = "1.15"
-rayon = "1.6.1"
 termcolor = "1.1"
 textwrap = { version = "0.16", default-features = false, features = ["smawk"] }
 walkdir = "2.3.2"
diff --git a/src/cmd/chown/mod.rs b/src/cmd/chown/mod.rs
index 025e3ee..798ef89 100644
--- a/src/cmd/chown/mod.rs
+++ b/src/cmd/chown/mod.rs
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 use super::Cmd;
-use crate::{fs::FileType, pw};
-use clap::{Arg, ArgAction, ArgGroup, Command, ValueHint};
+use crate::pw;
+use clap::{Arg, ArgAction, ArgGroup, ArgMatches, Command, ValueHint};
 use std::{
     error::Error,
-    fs::{self, File},
+    fs::File,
     io,
     os::{fd::AsRawFd, unix::prelude::MetadataExt},
     path::PathBuf,
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ impl Cmd for Chown {
                     .help("operate on files and directories recursively")
                     .short('R')
                     .long("recursive")
-                    .requires("links")
                     .action(ArgAction::SetTrue),
                 Arg::new("cli-traverse")
                     .help(
@@ -80,59 +79,19 @@ impl Cmd for Chown {
         let Some(matches) = matches else {
             return Err(Box::new(io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::Other, "no input")));
         };
-        let recurse = if matches.get_flag("recursive") {
-            if matches.get_flag("full-traverse") {
-                Some(Recurse {
-                    traversal: Traversal::FullLinks,
-                    same_filesystem: matches.get_flag("same-filesystem"),
-                })
-            } else if matches.get_flag("cli-traverse") {
-                Some(Recurse {
-                    traversal: Traversal::CliLinks,
-                    same_filesystem: matches.get_flag("same-filesystem"),
-                })
-            } else {
-                Some(Recurse {
-                    traversal: Traversal::NoLinks,
-                    same_filesystem: matches.get_flag("same-filesystem"),
-                })
-            }
-        } else {
-            None
-        };
-        let feedback = if matches.get_flag("verbose") {
-            Some(Feedback::Full)
-        } else if matches.get_flag("changes") {
-            Some(Feedback::Changes)
-        } else {
-            None
-        };
+        let recurse = Recurse::from_matches(matches);
+        let feedback = Feedback::from_matches(matches);
         let (user, group) = if let Some(who) = matches.get_one::<String>("user") {
             if let Some((u, g)) = who.split_once(':') {
                 let uid = pw::get_uid_for_name(u)
                     .ok_or(io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::Other, "cannot get uid"))?;
                 let gid = pw::get_gid_for_groupname(g)
                     .ok_or(io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::Other, "cannot get gid"))?;
-                (
-                    User {
-                        name: u.to_string(),
-                        uid,
-                    },
-                    Some(Group {
-                        name: g.to_string(),
-                        gid,
-                    }),
-                )
+                (User { name: u, uid }, Some(Group { name: g, gid }))
             } else {
                 let uid = pw::get_uid_for_name(who)
                     .ok_or(io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::Other, "cannot get uid"))?;
-                (
-                    User {
-                        name: who.to_string(),
-                        uid,
-                    },
-                    None,
-                )
+                (User { name: who, uid }, None)
             }
         } else {
             return Err(Box::new(io::Error::new(
@@ -146,9 +105,17 @@ impl Cmd for Chown {
                     path: PathBuf::from(f),
                     user: user.clone(),
                     group: group.clone(),
-                    recurse,
                     feedback,
                 };
+                if let Some(r) = recurse {
+                    if action.path.is_dir() {
+                        action.recurse(recurse)?;
+                    } else if action.path.is_symlink() {
+                        if r.traversal != Traversal::NoLinks {
+                            action.recurse(recurse)?;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
                 action.apply()?;
             }
         }
@@ -168,10 +135,13 @@ enum Traversal {
 }
 
 impl Traversal {
-    fn increment(&self) -> Self {
-        match self {
-            Self::CliLinks => Self::NoLinks,
-            _ => *self,
+    fn from_matches(matches: &ArgMatches) -> Self {
+        if matches.get_flag("full-traverse") {
+            Traversal::FullLinks
+        } else if matches.get_flag("cli-traverse") {
+            Self::CliLinks
+        } else {
+            Self::NoLinks
         }
     }
 }
@@ -183,10 +153,14 @@ struct Recurse {
 }
 
 impl Recurse {
-    fn increment(&self) -> Self {
-        Self {
-            traversal: self.traversal.increment(),
-            same_filesystem: self.same_filesystem,
+    fn from_matches(matches: &ArgMatches) -> Option<Self> {
+        if matches.get_flag("recursive") {
+            Some(Self {
+                traversal: Traversal::from_matches(matches),
+                same_filesystem: matches.get_flag("same-filesystem"),
+            })
+        } else {
+            None
         }
     }
 }
@@ -197,28 +171,39 @@ enum Feedback {
     Changes,
 }
 
+impl Feedback {
+    fn from_matches(matches: &ArgMatches) -> Option<Self> {
+        if matches.get_flag("verbose") {
+            Some(Feedback::Full)
+        } else if matches.get_flag("changes") {
+            Some(Feedback::Changes)
+        } else {
+            None
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Clone, Debug)]
-struct User {
-    name: String,
+struct User<'a> {
+    name: &'a str,
     uid: u32,
 }
 
 #[derive(Clone, Debug)]
-struct Group {
-    name: String,
+struct Group<'a> {
+    name: &'a str,
     gid: u32,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug)]
-struct Action {
+struct Action<'a> {
     path: PathBuf,
-    user: User,
-    group: Option<Group>,
-    recurse: Option<Recurse>,
+    user: User<'a>,
+    group: Option<Group<'a>>,
     feedback: Option<Feedback>,
 }
 
-impl Action {
+impl Action<'_> {
     fn apply(&self) -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
         let fd = File::open(&self.path)?;
         let meta = fd.metadata()?;
@@ -234,66 +219,19 @@ impl Action {
                 return Err(io::Error::last_os_error().into());
             }
         }
-        let ft = FileType::from(meta);
-        match ft {
-            FileType::File => {}
-            FileType::Symlink => {
-                let tgt = fs::read_link(&self.path)?;
-                if tgt.is_dir() {
-                    if let Some(r) = self.recurse {
-                        if r.traversal != Traversal::NoLinks {
-                            self.recurse()?;
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-            FileType::Dir => {
-                if let Some(r) = self.recurse {
-                    if r.traversal != Traversal::NoLinks {
-                        self.recurse()?;
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-        }
+        drop(fd);
         if let Some(feedback) = self.feedback {
             match feedback {
                 Feedback::Full => {
                     if self.user.uid != uid || self.group.as_ref().map(|x| x.gid) != Some(gid) {
-                        if let Some(g) = &self.group {
-                            println!(
-                                "{} changed to {}:{}",
-                                &self.path.display(),
-                                &self.user.name,
-                                &g.name
-                            );
-                        } else {
-                            println!("{} changed to {}", &self.path.display(), &self.user.name);
-                        }
+                        self.display_changes(uid, gid)?;
                     } else {
-                        if let Some(g) = &self.group {
-                            println!(
-                                "{} retained as {}:{}",
-                                &self.path.display(),
-                                &self.user.name,
-                                &g.name
-                            );
-                        } else {
-                            println!("{} retained as {}", &self.path.display(), &self.user.name);
-                        }
+                        self.display_retained();
                     }
                 }
                 Feedback::Changes => {
                     if self.user.uid != uid || self.group.as_ref().map(|x| x.gid) != Some(gid) {
-                        if let Some(g) = &self.group {
-                            println!(
-                                "{} changed to {}:{}",
-                                self.path.display(),
-                                &self.user.name,
-                                &g.name
-                            );
-                        } else {
-                            println!("{}, changed to {}", self.path.display(), &self.user.name);
-                        }
+                        self.display_changes(uid, gid)?;
                     }
                 }
             }
@@ -301,28 +239,56 @@ impl Action {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    fn display_changes(&self, uid: u32, gid: u32) -> Result<(), std::str::Utf8Error> {
+        let username = pw::get_username_for_uid(uid)?;
+        let groupname = pw::get_groupname_for_gid(gid)?;
+        if let Some(g) = &self.group {
+            println!(
+                "{} changed from {username}:{groupname} to {}:{}",
+                &self.path.display(),
+                &self.user.name,
+                &g.name
+            );
+        } else {
+            println!(
+                "{} changed from {username} to {}",
+                &self.path.display(),
+                &self.user.name
+            );
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    fn display_retained(&self) {
+        if let Some(g) = &self.group {
+            println!(
+                "{} retained as {}:{}",
+                &self.path.display(),
+                &self.user.name,
+                &g.name
+            );
+        } else {
+            println!("{} retained as {}", &self.path.display(), &self.user.name);
+        }
+    }
+
     fn into_child(&self, entry: DirEntry) -> Result<Self, Box<dyn Error>> {
         let path = entry.path().to_path_buf();
-        let recurse = if let Some(r) = self.recurse {
-            Some(r.increment())
-        } else {
-            None
-        };
         Ok(Self {
             path,
             user: self.user.clone(),
             group: self.group.clone(),
-            recurse,
             feedback: self.feedback,
         })
     }
 
-    fn recurse(&self) -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
+    fn recurse(&self, recurse: Option<Recurse>) -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
         let walker = WalkDir::new(&self.path)
-            .same_file_system(self.recurse.map_or(false, |x| !x.same_filesystem))
-            .follow_links(self.recurse.map_or(false, |x| match x.traversal {
-                Traversal::NoLinks | Traversal::CliLinks => false,
-                _ => true,
+            .max_open(1)
+            .same_file_system(recurse.map_or(false, |x| x.same_filesystem))
+            .follow_links(recurse.map_or(false, |x| match x.traversal {
+                Traversal::FullLinks => true,
+                _ => false,
             }));
         for entry in walker {
             let entry = entry?;