diff --git a/src/bootstrap/compile.rs b/src/bootstrap/compile.rs
index b6bb11d07ef0..2e792b6053ea 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/compile.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/compile.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 
 use std::borrow::Cow;
 use std::env;
-use std::fs::{self, File};
+use std::fs;
 use std::io::BufReader;
 use std::io::prelude::*;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
@@ -707,7 +707,7 @@ impl Step for CodegenBackend {
         }
         let stamp = codegen_backend_stamp(builder, compiler, target, backend);
         let codegen_backend = codegen_backend.to_str().unwrap();
-        t!(t!(File::create(&stamp)).write_all(codegen_backend.as_bytes()));
+        t!(fs::write(&stamp, &codegen_backend));
     }
 }
 
@@ -796,8 +796,7 @@ fn copy_codegen_backends_to_sysroot(builder: &Builder,
 
     for backend in builder.config.rust_codegen_backends.iter() {
         let stamp = codegen_backend_stamp(builder, compiler, target, *backend);
-        let mut dylib = String::new();
-        t!(t!(File::open(&stamp)).read_to_string(&mut dylib));
+        let dylib = t!(fs::read_to_string(&stamp));
         let file = Path::new(&dylib);
         let filename = file.file_name().unwrap().to_str().unwrap();
         // change `librustc_codegen_llvm-xxxxxx.so` to `librustc_codegen_llvm-llvm.so`
@@ -1137,10 +1136,7 @@ pub fn run_cargo(builder: &Builder,
     // contents (the list of files to copy) is different or if any dep's mtime
     // is newer then we rewrite the stamp file.
     deps.sort();
-    let mut stamp_contents = Vec::new();
-    if let Ok(mut f) = File::open(stamp) {
-        t!(f.read_to_end(&mut stamp_contents));
-    }
+    let stamp_contents = fs::read(stamp);
     let stamp_mtime = mtime(&stamp);
     let mut new_contents = Vec::new();
     let mut max = None;
@@ -1156,7 +1152,10 @@ pub fn run_cargo(builder: &Builder,
     }
     let max = max.unwrap();
     let max_path = max_path.unwrap();
-    if stamp_contents == new_contents && max <= stamp_mtime {
+    let contents_equal = stamp_contents
+        .map(|contents| contents == new_contents)
+        .unwrap_or_default();
+    if contents_equal && max <= stamp_mtime {
         builder.verbose(&format!("not updating {:?}; contents equal and {:?} <= {:?}",
                 stamp, max, stamp_mtime));
         return deps
@@ -1166,7 +1165,7 @@ pub fn run_cargo(builder: &Builder,
     } else {
         builder.verbose(&format!("updating {:?} as deps changed", stamp));
     }
-    t!(t!(File::create(stamp)).write_all(&new_contents));
+    t!(fs::write(&stamp, &new_contents));
     deps
 }
 
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/config.rs b/src/bootstrap/config.rs
index 8fc2d5787cb4..1dafbe148afd 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/config.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/config.rs
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@
 
 use std::collections::{HashMap, HashSet};
 use std::env;
-use std::fs::{self, File};
-use std::io::prelude::*;
+use std::fs;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::process;
 use std::cmp;
@@ -416,9 +415,7 @@ impl Config {
         config.run_host_only = !(flags.host.is_empty() && !flags.target.is_empty());
 
         let toml = file.map(|file| {
-            let mut f = t!(File::open(&file));
-            let mut contents = String::new();
-            t!(f.read_to_string(&mut contents));
+            let contents = t!(fs::read_to_string(&file));
             match toml::from_str(&contents) {
                 Ok(table) => table,
                 Err(err) => {
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/dist.rs b/src/bootstrap/dist.rs
index 6108692e43c6..d9ff6276d526 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/dist.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/dist.rs
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@
 //! pieces of `rustup.rs`!
 
 use std::env;
-use std::fs::{self, File};
-use std::io::{Read, Write};
+use std::fs;
+use std::io::Write;
 use std::path::{PathBuf, Path};
 use std::process::{Command, Stdio};
 
@@ -1511,8 +1511,7 @@ impl Step for Extended {
         }
 
         let xform = |p: &Path| {
-            let mut contents = String::new();
-            t!(t!(File::open(p)).read_to_string(&mut contents));
+            let mut contents = t!(fs::read_to_string(p));
             if rls_installer.is_none() {
                 contents = filter(&contents, "rls");
             }
@@ -1523,8 +1522,8 @@ impl Step for Extended {
                 contents = filter(&contents, "rustfmt");
             }
             let ret = tmp.join(p.file_name().unwrap());
-            t!(t!(File::create(&ret)).write_all(contents.as_bytes()));
-            return ret
+            t!(fs::write(&ret, &contents));
+            ret
         };
 
         if target.contains("apple-darwin") {
@@ -1869,8 +1868,7 @@ impl Step for HashSign {
         let file = builder.config.dist_gpg_password_file.as_ref().unwrap_or_else(|| {
             panic!("\n\nfailed to specify `dist.gpg-password-file` in `config.toml`\n\n")
         });
-        let mut pass = String::new();
-        t!(t!(File::open(&file)).read_to_string(&mut pass));
+        let pass = t!(fs::read_to_string(&file));
 
         let today = output(Command::new("date").arg("+%Y-%m-%d"));
 
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/doc.rs b/src/bootstrap/doc.rs
index e9c27a3f3cf3..2d0625b26dbe 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/doc.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/doc.rs
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@
 //! `rustdoc`.
 
 use std::collections::HashSet;
-use std::fs::{self, File};
-use std::io::prelude::*;
+use std::fs;
 use std::io;
 use std::path::{PathBuf, Path};
 
@@ -379,12 +378,11 @@ impl Step for Standalone {
         let version_info = out.join("version_info.html");
 
         if !builder.config.dry_run && !up_to_date(&version_input, &version_info) {
-            let mut info = String::new();
-            t!(t!(File::open(&version_input)).read_to_string(&mut info));
-            let info = info.replace("VERSION", &builder.rust_release())
-                           .replace("SHORT_HASH", builder.rust_info.sha_short().unwrap_or(""))
-                           .replace("STAMP", builder.rust_info.sha().unwrap_or(""));
-            t!(t!(File::create(&version_info)).write_all(info.as_bytes()));
+            let info = t!(fs::read_to_string(&version_input))
+                .replace("VERSION", &builder.rust_release())
+                .replace("SHORT_HASH", builder.rust_info.sha_short().unwrap_or(""))
+                .replace("STAMP", builder.rust_info.sha().unwrap_or(""));
+            t!(fs::write(&version_info, &info));
         }
 
         for file in t!(fs::read_dir(builder.src.join("src/doc"))) {
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/lib.rs b/src/bootstrap/lib.rs
index 2832f5bebddd..a62830da4bb6 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/lib.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/lib.rs
@@ -1067,9 +1067,8 @@ impl Build {
 
     /// Returns the `a.b.c` version that the given package is at.
     fn release_num(&self, package: &str) -> String {
-        let mut toml = String::new();
         let toml_file_name = self.src.join(&format!("src/tools/{}/Cargo.toml", package));
-        t!(t!(File::open(toml_file_name)).read_to_string(&mut toml));
+        let toml = t!(fs::read_to_string(&toml_file_name));
         for line in toml.lines() {
             let prefix = "version = \"";
             let suffix = "\"";
@@ -1151,8 +1150,7 @@ impl Build {
         }
 
         let mut paths = Vec::new();
-        let mut contents = Vec::new();
-        t!(t!(File::open(stamp)).read_to_end(&mut contents));
+        let contents = t!(fs::read(stamp));
         // This is the method we use for extracting paths from the stamp file passed to us. See
         // run_cargo for more information (in compile.rs).
         for part in contents.split(|b| *b == 0) {
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/native.rs b/src/bootstrap/native.rs
index 448967ef0c2e..150b6bea1806 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/native.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/native.rs
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
 use std::env;
 use std::ffi::OsString;
 use std::fs::{self, File};
-use std::io::{Read, Write};
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::process::Command;
 
@@ -75,8 +74,7 @@ impl Step for Llvm {
         }
 
         let rebuild_trigger = builder.src.join("src/rustllvm/llvm-rebuild-trigger");
-        let mut rebuild_trigger_contents = String::new();
-        t!(t!(File::open(&rebuild_trigger)).read_to_string(&mut rebuild_trigger_contents));
+        let rebuild_trigger_contents = t!(fs::read_to_string(&rebuild_trigger));
 
         let (out_dir, llvm_config_ret_dir) = if emscripten {
             let dir = builder.emscripten_llvm_out(target);
@@ -93,8 +91,7 @@ impl Step for Llvm {
         let build_llvm_config = llvm_config_ret_dir
             .join(exe("llvm-config", &*builder.config.build));
         if done_stamp.exists() {
-            let mut done_contents = String::new();
-            t!(t!(File::open(&done_stamp)).read_to_string(&mut done_contents));
+            let done_contents = t!(fs::read_to_string(&done_stamp));
 
             // If LLVM was already built previously and contents of the rebuild-trigger file
             // didn't change from the previous build, then no action is required.
@@ -261,7 +258,7 @@ impl Step for Llvm {
 
         cfg.build();
 
-        t!(t!(File::create(&done_stamp)).write_all(rebuild_trigger_contents.as_bytes()));
+        t!(fs::write(&done_stamp, &rebuild_trigger_contents));
 
         build_llvm_config
     }
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/sanity.rs b/src/bootstrap/sanity.rs
index 15d3bccba09c..7a9e6d4fd387 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/sanity.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/sanity.rs
@@ -21,8 +21,7 @@
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::env;
 use std::ffi::{OsString, OsStr};
-use std::fs::{self, File};
-use std::io::Read;
+use std::fs;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::process::Command;
 
@@ -235,9 +234,7 @@ $ pacman -R cmake && pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-cmake
     }
 
     if build.config.channel == "stable" {
-        let mut stage0 = String::new();
-        t!(t!(File::open(build.src.join("src/stage0.txt")))
-            .read_to_string(&mut stage0));
+        let stage0 = t!(fs::read_to_string(build.src.join("src/stage0.txt")));
         if stage0.contains("\ndev:") {
             panic!("bootstrapping from a dev compiler in a stable release, but \
                     should only be bootstrapping from a released compiler!");
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/test.rs b/src/bootstrap/test.rs
index da827356800e..4ece3435e929 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/test.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/test.rs
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@
 use std::env;
 use std::ffi::OsString;
 use std::fmt;
-use std::fs::{self, File};
-use std::io::Read;
+use std::fs;
 use std::iter;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::process::Command;
@@ -1427,10 +1426,8 @@ impl Step for ErrorIndex {
 }
 
 fn markdown_test(builder: &Builder, compiler: Compiler, markdown: &Path) -> bool {
-    match File::open(markdown) {
-        Ok(mut file) => {
-            let mut contents = String::new();
-            t!(file.read_to_string(&mut contents));
+    match fs::read_to_string(markdown) {
+        Ok(contents) => {
             if !contents.contains("```") {
                 return true;
             }
diff --git a/src/libcore/convert.rs b/src/libcore/convert.rs
index dbc28ef7cf6a..2d4813718f41 100644
--- a/src/libcore/convert.rs
+++ b/src/libcore/convert.rs
@@ -327,7 +327,8 @@ pub trait Into<T>: Sized {
 /// An example usage for error handling:
 ///
 /// ```
-/// use std::io::{self, Read};
+/// use std::fs;
+/// use std::io;
 /// use std::num;
 ///
 /// enum CliError {
@@ -348,9 +349,7 @@ pub trait Into<T>: Sized {
 /// }
 ///
 /// fn open_and_parse_file(file_name: &str) -> Result<i32, CliError> {
-///     let mut file = std::fs::File::open("test")?;
-///     let mut contents = String::new();
-///     file.read_to_string(&mut contents)?;
+///     let mut contents = fs::read_to_string(&file_name)?;
 ///     let num: i32 = contents.trim().parse()?;
 ///     Ok(num)
 /// }
diff --git a/src/librustc/infer/lexical_region_resolve/graphviz.rs b/src/librustc/infer/lexical_region_resolve/graphviz.rs
index a210d63f129e..512e57d810aa 100644
--- a/src/librustc/infer/lexical_region_resolve/graphviz.rs
+++ b/src/librustc/infer/lexical_region_resolve/graphviz.rs
@@ -31,9 +31,8 @@ use std::borrow::Cow;
 use std::collections::hash_map::Entry::Vacant;
 use std::collections::btree_map::BTreeMap;
 use std::env;
-use std::fs::File;
+use std::fs;
 use std::io;
-use std::io::prelude::*;
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
 
 fn print_help_message() {
@@ -268,5 +267,5 @@ fn dump_region_data_to<'a, 'gcx, 'tcx>(region_rels: &RegionRelations<'a, 'gcx, '
     debug!("dump_region_data calling render");
     let mut v = Vec::new();
     dot::render(&g, &mut v).unwrap();
-    File::create(path).and_then(|mut f| f.write_all(&v))
+    fs::write(path, &v)
 }
diff --git a/src/librustc_codegen_utils/codegen_backend.rs b/src/librustc_codegen_utils/codegen_backend.rs
index b328873800e0..74718460f562 100644
--- a/src/librustc_codegen_utils/codegen_backend.rs
+++ b/src/librustc_codegen_utils/codegen_backend.rs
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@
 #![feature(box_syntax)]
 
 use std::any::Any;
-use std::io::{self, Write};
-use std::fs::File;
+use std::io::Write;
+use std::fs;
 use std::path::Path;
 use std::sync::{mpsc, Arc};
 
@@ -81,11 +81,7 @@ pub struct NoLlvmMetadataLoader;
 
 impl MetadataLoader for NoLlvmMetadataLoader {
     fn get_rlib_metadata(&self, _: &Target, filename: &Path) -> Result<MetadataRef, String> {
-        let mut file = File::open(filename)
-            .map_err(|e| format!("metadata file open err: {:?}", e))?;
-
-        let mut buf = Vec::new();
-        io::copy(&mut file, &mut buf).unwrap();
+        let buf = fs::read(filename).map_err(|e| format!("metadata file open err: {:?}", e))?;
         let buf: OwningRef<Vec<u8>, [u8]> = OwningRef::new(buf);
         Ok(rustc_erase_owner!(buf.map_owner_box()))
     }
@@ -209,8 +205,7 @@ impl CodegenBackend for MetadataOnlyCodegenBackend {
             } else {
                 &ongoing_codegen.metadata.raw_data
             };
-            let mut file = File::create(&output_name).unwrap();
-            file.write_all(metadata).unwrap();
+            fs::write(&output_name, metadata).unwrap();
         }
 
         sess.abort_if_errors();
diff --git a/src/librustdoc/html/render.rs b/src/librustdoc/html/render.rs
index 30054f66e2fe..b316cddf0c8e 100644
--- a/src/librustdoc/html/render.rs
+++ b/src/librustdoc/html/render.rs
@@ -778,10 +778,7 @@ fn write_shared(
     let mut themes: FxHashSet<String> = FxHashSet::default();
 
     for entry in &cx.shared.themes {
-        let mut content = Vec::with_capacity(100000);
-
-        let mut f = try_err!(File::open(&entry), &entry);
-        try_err!(f.read_to_end(&mut content), &entry);
+        let content = try_err!(fs::read(&entry), &entry);
         let theme = try_none!(try_none!(entry.file_stem(), &entry).to_str(), &entry);
         let extension = try_none!(try_none!(entry.extension(), &entry).to_str(), &entry);
         write(cx.dst.join(format!("{}{}.{}", theme, cx.shared.resource_suffix, extension)),
@@ -881,10 +878,7 @@ themePicker.onblur = handleThemeButtonsBlur;
         if !options.enable_minification {
             try_err!(fs::copy(css, out), css);
         } else {
-            let mut f = try_err!(File::open(css), css);
-            let mut buffer = String::with_capacity(1000);
-
-            try_err!(f.read_to_string(&mut buffer), css);
+            let buffer = try_err!(fs::read_to_string(css), css);
             write_minify(out, &buffer, options.enable_minification)?;
         }
     }
@@ -2102,8 +2096,7 @@ impl Context {
                 if !buf.is_empty() {
                     try_err!(this.shared.ensure_dir(&this.dst), &this.dst);
                     let joint_dst = this.dst.join("index.html");
-                    let mut dst = try_err!(File::create(&joint_dst), &joint_dst);
-                    try_err!(dst.write_all(&buf), &joint_dst);
+                    try_err!(fs::write(&joint_dst, buf), &joint_dst);
                 }
 
                 let m = match item.inner {
@@ -2137,8 +2130,7 @@ impl Context {
                 let file_name = &item_path(item_type, name);
                 try_err!(self.shared.ensure_dir(&self.dst), &self.dst);
                 let joint_dst = self.dst.join(file_name);
-                let mut dst = try_err!(File::create(&joint_dst), &joint_dst);
-                try_err!(dst.write_all(&buf), &joint_dst);
+                try_err!(fs::write(&joint_dst, buf), &joint_dst);
 
                 if !self.render_redirect_pages {
                     all.append(full_path(self, &item), &item_type);
diff --git a/src/librustdoc/theme.rs b/src/librustdoc/theme.rs
index 55a11d197659..206a72cebfef 100644
--- a/src/librustdoc/theme.rs
+++ b/src/librustdoc/theme.rs
@@ -9,9 +9,8 @@
 // except according to those terms.
 
 use rustc_data_structures::fx::FxHashSet;
-use std::fs::File;
+use std::fs;
 use std::hash::{Hash, Hasher};
-use std::io::Read;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 use errors::Handler;
@@ -278,12 +277,9 @@ pub fn get_differences(against: &CssPath, other: &CssPath, v: &mut Vec<String>)
 pub fn test_theme_against<P: AsRef<Path>>(f: &P, against: &CssPath, diag: &Handler)
     -> (bool, Vec<String>)
 {
-    let mut file = try_something!(File::open(f), diag, (false, Vec::new()));
-    let mut data = Vec::with_capacity(1000);
-
-    try_something!(file.read_to_end(&mut data), diag, (false, Vec::new()));
+    let data = try_something!(fs::read(f), diag, (false, vec![]));
     let paths = load_css_paths(&data);
-    let mut ret = Vec::new();
+    let mut ret = vec![];
     get_differences(against, &paths, &mut ret);
     (true, ret)
 }
diff --git a/src/libsyntax/ext/expand.rs b/src/libsyntax/ext/expand.rs
index 14f19c493b33..bb5be7f5394b 100644
--- a/src/libsyntax/ext/expand.rs
+++ b/src/libsyntax/ext/expand.rs
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ use tokenstream::{TokenStream, TokenTree};
 use visit::{self, Visitor};
 
 use rustc_data_structures::fx::FxHashMap;
-use std::fs::File;
-use std::io::Read;
+use std::fs;
+use std::io::ErrorKind;
 use std::{iter, mem};
 use std::rc::Rc;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
@@ -1507,20 +1507,8 @@ impl<'a, 'b> Folder for InvocationCollector<'a, 'b> {
                         return noop_fold_attribute(at, self);
                     }
 
-                    let mut buf = vec![];
                     let filename = self.cx.root_path.join(file.to_string());
-
-                    match File::open(&filename).and_then(|mut f| f.read_to_end(&mut buf)) {
-                        Ok(..) => {}
-                        Err(e) => {
-                            self.cx.span_err(at.span,
-                                             &format!("couldn't read {}: {}",
-                                                      filename.display(),
-                                                      e));
-                        }
-                    }
-
-                    match String::from_utf8(buf) {
+                    match fs::read_to_string(&filename) {
                         Ok(src) => {
                             let src_interned = Symbol::intern(&src);
 
@@ -1530,21 +1518,34 @@ impl<'a, 'b> Folder for InvocationCollector<'a, 'b> {
 
                             let include_info = vec![
                                 dummy_spanned(ast::NestedMetaItemKind::MetaItem(
-                                        attr::mk_name_value_item_str(Ident::from_str("file"),
-                                                                     dummy_spanned(file)))),
+                                    attr::mk_name_value_item_str(
+                                        Ident::from_str("file"),
+                                        dummy_spanned(file),
+                                    ),
+                                )),
                                 dummy_spanned(ast::NestedMetaItemKind::MetaItem(
-                                        attr::mk_name_value_item_str(Ident::from_str("contents"),
-                                                            dummy_spanned(src_interned)))),
+                                    attr::mk_name_value_item_str(
+                                        Ident::from_str("contents"),
+                                        dummy_spanned(src_interned),
+                                    ),
+                                )),
                             ];
 
                             let include_ident = Ident::from_str("include");
                             let item = attr::mk_list_item(DUMMY_SP, include_ident, include_info);
                             items.push(dummy_spanned(ast::NestedMetaItemKind::MetaItem(item)));
                         }
-                        Err(_) => {
-                            self.cx.span_err(at.span,
-                                             &format!("{} wasn't a utf-8 file",
-                                                      filename.display()));
+                        Err(ref e) if e.kind() == ErrorKind::InvalidData => {
+                            self.cx.span_err(
+                                at.span,
+                                &format!("{} wasn't a utf-8 file", filename.display()),
+                            );
+                        }
+                        Err(e) => {
+                            self.cx.span_err(
+                                at.span,
+                                &format!("couldn't read {}: {}", filename.display(), e),
+                            );
                         }
                     }
                 } else {
diff --git a/src/libsyntax/ext/source_util.rs b/src/libsyntax/ext/source_util.rs
index 75e25083d03b..ec27ceeb74c2 100644
--- a/src/libsyntax/ext/source_util.rs
+++ b/src/libsyntax/ext/source_util.rs
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ use smallvec::SmallVec;
 use symbol::Symbol;
 use tokenstream;
 
-use std::fs::File;
-use std::io::prelude::*;
+use std::fs;
+use std::io::ErrorKind;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use rustc_data_structures::sync::Lrc;
 
@@ -137,18 +137,7 @@ pub fn expand_include_str(cx: &mut ExtCtxt, sp: Span, tts: &[tokenstream::TokenT
         None => return DummyResult::expr(sp)
     };
     let file = res_rel_file(cx, sp, file);
-    let mut bytes = Vec::new();
-    match File::open(&file).and_then(|mut f| f.read_to_end(&mut bytes)) {
-        Ok(..) => {}
-        Err(e) => {
-            cx.span_err(sp,
-                        &format!("couldn't read {}: {}",
-                                file.display(),
-                                e));
-            return DummyResult::expr(sp);
-        }
-    };
-    match String::from_utf8(bytes) {
+    match fs::read_to_string(&file) {
         Ok(src) => {
             let interned_src = Symbol::intern(&src);
 
@@ -157,11 +146,13 @@ pub fn expand_include_str(cx: &mut ExtCtxt, sp: Span, tts: &[tokenstream::TokenT
             cx.source_map().new_source_file(file.into(), src);
 
             base::MacEager::expr(cx.expr_str(sp, interned_src))
+        },
+        Err(ref e) if e.kind() == ErrorKind::InvalidData => {
+            cx.span_err(sp, &format!("{} wasn't a utf-8 file", file.display()));
+            DummyResult::expr(sp)
         }
-        Err(_) => {
-            cx.span_err(sp,
-                        &format!("{} wasn't a utf-8 file",
-                                file.display()));
+        Err(e) => {
+            cx.span_err(sp, &format!("couldn't read {}: {}", file.display(), e));
             DummyResult::expr(sp)
         }
     }
@@ -174,22 +165,23 @@ pub fn expand_include_bytes(cx: &mut ExtCtxt, sp: Span, tts: &[tokenstream::Toke
         None => return DummyResult::expr(sp)
     };
     let file = res_rel_file(cx, sp, file);
-    let mut bytes = Vec::new();
-    match File::open(&file).and_then(|mut f| f.read_to_end(&mut bytes)) {
-        Err(e) => {
-            cx.span_err(sp,
-                        &format!("couldn't read {}: {}", file.display(), e));
-            DummyResult::expr(sp)
-        }
-        Ok(..) => {
-            let src = match String::from_utf8(bytes.clone()) {
-                Ok(contents) => contents,
-                Err(..) => "".to_string()
+    match fs::read(&file) {
+        Ok(bytes) => {
+            // Add the contents to the source map if it contains UTF-8.
+            let (contents, bytes) = match String::from_utf8(bytes) {
+                Ok(s) => {
+                    let bytes = s.as_bytes().to_owned();
+                    (s, bytes)
+                },
+                Err(e) => (String::new(), e.into_bytes()),
             };
-
-            cx.source_map().new_source_file(file.into(), src);
+            cx.source_map().new_source_file(file.into(), contents);
 
             base::MacEager::expr(cx.expr_lit(sp, ast::LitKind::ByteStr(Lrc::new(bytes))))
+        },
+        Err(e) => {
+            cx.span_err(sp, &format!("couldn't read {}: {}", file.display(), e));
+            DummyResult::expr(sp)
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/libsyntax/source_map.rs b/src/libsyntax/source_map.rs
index ee60d2dd6156..45008129e83b 100644
--- a/src/libsyntax/source_map.rs
+++ b/src/libsyntax/source_map.rs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use std::env;
 use std::fs;
-use std::io::{self, Read};
+use std::io;
 use errors::SourceMapper;
 
 /// Return the span itself if it doesn't come from a macro expansion,
@@ -96,9 +96,7 @@ impl FileLoader for RealFileLoader {
     }
 
     fn read_file(&self, path: &Path) -> io::Result<String> {
-        let mut src = String::new();
-        fs::File::open(path)?.read_to_string(&mut src)?;
-        Ok(src)
+        fs::read_to_string(path)
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/tools/build-manifest/src/main.rs b/src/tools/build-manifest/src/main.rs
index bf95b31ae3ca..d9834f9f0a00 100644
--- a/src/tools/build-manifest/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/tools/build-manifest/src/main.rs
@@ -606,7 +606,7 @@ impl Builder {
 
         let filename = path.file_name().unwrap().to_str().unwrap();
         let sha256 = self.output.join(format!("{}.sha256", filename));
-        t!(t!(File::create(&sha256)).write_all(&sha.stdout));
+        t!(fs::write(&sha256, &sha.stdout));
 
         let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&sha.stdout);
         stdout.split_whitespace().next().unwrap().to_string()
@@ -643,7 +643,7 @@ impl Builder {
 
     fn write(&self, contents: &str, channel_name: &str, suffix: &str) {
         let dst = self.output.join(format!("channel-rust-{}{}", channel_name, suffix));
-        t!(t!(File::create(&dst)).write_all(contents.as_bytes()));
+        t!(fs::write(&dst, contents));
         self.hash(&dst);
         self.sign(&dst);
     }
diff --git a/src/tools/cargotest/main.rs b/src/tools/cargotest/main.rs
index 5b717c45254c..ab74e7b7a7fd 100644
--- a/src/tools/cargotest/main.rs
+++ b/src/tools/cargotest/main.rs
@@ -11,8 +11,7 @@
 use std::env;
 use std::process::Command;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
-use std::fs::File;
-use std::io::Write;
+use std::fs;
 
 struct Test {
     repo: &'static str,
@@ -91,10 +90,7 @@ fn test_repo(cargo: &Path, out_dir: &Path, test: &Test) {
     println!("testing {}", test.repo);
     let dir = clone_repo(test, out_dir);
     if let Some(lockfile) = test.lock {
-        File::create(&dir.join("Cargo.lock"))
-            .expect("")
-            .write_all(lockfile.as_bytes())
-            .expect("");
+        fs::write(&dir.join("Cargo.lock"), lockfile).unwrap();
     }
     if !run_cargo_test(cargo, &dir, test.packages) {
         panic!("tests failed for {}", test.repo);
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/main.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/main.rs
index f63950b448a1..65f6bff7eaf5 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/main.rs
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ use getopts::Options;
 use std::env;
 use std::ffi::OsString;
 use std::fs;
-use std::io::{self, Read};
+use std::io::{self, ErrorKind};
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::process::Command;
 use test::ColorConfig;
@@ -686,13 +686,11 @@ fn up_to_date(
 ) -> bool {
     let stamp_name = stamp(config, testpaths, revision);
     // Check hash.
-    let mut f = match fs::File::open(&stamp_name) {
+    let contents = match fs::read_to_string(&stamp_name) {
         Ok(f) => f,
+        Err(ref e) if e.kind() == ErrorKind::InvalidData => panic!("Can't read stamp contents"),
         Err(_) => return true,
     };
-    let mut contents = String::new();
-    f.read_to_string(&mut contents)
-        .expect("Can't read stamp contents");
     let expected_hash = runtest::compute_stamp_hash(config);
     if contents != expected_hash {
         return true;
diff --git a/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest.rs b/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest.rs
index c654230e2032..45527a7cce53 100644
--- a/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest.rs
+++ b/src/tools/compiletest/src/runtest.rs
@@ -458,11 +458,7 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
             None => 2,
         };
 
-        let mut src = String::new();
-        File::open(&self.testpaths.file)
-            .unwrap()
-            .read_to_string(&mut src)
-            .unwrap();
+        let src = fs::read_to_string(&self.testpaths.file).unwrap();
         let mut srcs = vec![src];
 
         let mut round = 0;
@@ -500,12 +496,7 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
         let mut expected = match self.props.pp_exact {
             Some(ref file) => {
                 let filepath = self.testpaths.file.parent().unwrap().join(file);
-                let mut s = String::new();
-                File::open(&filepath)
-                    .unwrap()
-                    .read_to_string(&mut s)
-                    .unwrap();
-                s
+                fs::read_to_string(&filepath).unwrap()
             }
             None => srcs[srcs.len() - 2].clone(),
         };
@@ -1949,10 +1940,7 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
 
     fn dump_output_file(&self, out: &str, extension: &str) {
         let outfile = self.make_out_name(extension);
-        File::create(&outfile)
-            .unwrap()
-            .write_all(out.as_bytes())
-            .unwrap();
+        fs::write(&outfile, out).unwrap();
     }
 
     /// Create a filename for output with the given extension.  Example:
@@ -2149,11 +2137,7 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
         path: &P,
         mut other_files: Option<&mut Vec<String>>,
     ) -> Vec<usize> {
-        let mut file =
-            fs::File::open(path).expect("markdown_test_output_check_entry File::open failed");
-        let mut content = String::new();
-        file.read_to_string(&mut content)
-            .expect("markdown_test_output_check_entry read_to_string failed");
+        let content = fs::read_to_string(&path).unwrap();
         let mut ignore = false;
         content
             .lines()
@@ -2826,11 +2810,7 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
     }
 
     fn check_mir_dump(&self) {
-        let mut test_file_contents = String::new();
-        fs::File::open(self.testpaths.file.clone())
-            .unwrap()
-            .read_to_string(&mut test_file_contents)
-            .unwrap();
+        let test_file_contents = fs::read_to_string(&self.testpaths.file).unwrap();
         if let Some(idx) = test_file_contents.find("// END RUST SOURCE") {
             let (_, tests_text) = test_file_contents.split_at(idx + "// END_RUST SOURCE".len());
             let tests_text_str = String::from(tests_text);
@@ -2894,9 +2874,7 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
         }
         self.check_mir_test_timestamp(test_name, &output_file);
 
-        let mut dumped_file = fs::File::open(output_file.clone()).unwrap();
-        let mut dumped_string = String::new();
-        dumped_file.read_to_string(&mut dumped_string).unwrap();
+        let dumped_string = fs::read_to_string(&output_file).unwrap();
         let mut dumped_lines = dumped_string
             .lines()
             .map(|l| nocomment_mir_line(l))
@@ -3108,19 +3086,13 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
     }
 
     fn load_expected_output_from_path(&self, path: &Path) -> Result<String, String> {
-        let mut result = String::new();
-        match File::open(path).and_then(|mut f| f.read_to_string(&mut result)) {
-            Ok(_) => Ok(result),
-            Err(e) => Err(format!(
-                "failed to load expected output from `{}`: {}",
-                path.display(),
-                e
-            )),
-        }
+        fs::read_to_string(path).map_err(|err| {
+            format!("failed to load expected output from `{}`: {}", path.display(), err)
+        })
     }
 
     fn delete_file(&self, file: &PathBuf) {
-        if let Err(e) = ::std::fs::remove_file(file) {
+        if let Err(e) = fs::remove_file(file) {
             self.fatal(&format!(
                 "failed to delete `{}`: {}",
                 file.display(),
@@ -3182,16 +3154,13 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
         for output_file in &files {
             if actual.is_empty() {
                 self.delete_file(output_file);
-            } else {
-                match File::create(&output_file).and_then(|mut f| f.write_all(actual.as_bytes())) {
-                    Ok(()) => {}
-                    Err(e) => self.fatal(&format!(
-                        "failed to write {} to `{}`: {}",
-                        kind,
-                        output_file.display(),
-                        e
-                    )),
-                }
+            } else if let Err(err) = fs::write(&output_file, &actual) {
+                self.fatal(&format!(
+                    "failed to write {} to `{}`: {}",
+                    kind,
+                    output_file.display(),
+                    err,
+                ));
             }
         }
 
@@ -3243,9 +3212,8 @@ impl<'test> TestCx<'test> {
     }
 
     fn create_stamp(&self) {
-        let mut f = File::create(::stamp(&self.config, self.testpaths, self.revision)).unwrap();
-        f.write_all(compute_stamp_hash(&self.config).as_bytes())
-            .unwrap();
+        let stamp = ::stamp(&self.config, self.testpaths, self.revision);
+        fs::write(&stamp, compute_stamp_hash(&self.config)).unwrap();
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/tools/error_index_generator/main.rs b/src/tools/error_index_generator/main.rs
index a5556e1d570e..03add412b645 100644
--- a/src/tools/error_index_generator/main.rs
+++ b/src/tools/error_index_generator/main.rs
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ extern crate serialize as rustc_serialize;
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 use std::env;
 use std::error::Error;
-use std::fs::{read_dir, File};
-use std::io::{Read, Write};
+use std::fs::{self, read_dir, File};
+use std::io::Write;
 use std::path::Path;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::cell::RefCell;
@@ -210,8 +210,7 @@ fn load_all_errors(metadata_dir: &Path) -> Result<ErrorMetadataMap, Box<dyn Erro
     for entry in read_dir(metadata_dir)? {
         let path = entry?.path();
 
-        let mut metadata_str = String::new();
-        File::open(&path).and_then(|mut f| f.read_to_string(&mut metadata_str))?;
+        let metadata_str = fs::read_to_string(&path)?;
 
         let some_errors: ErrorMetadataMap = json::decode(&metadata_str)?;
 
diff --git a/src/tools/tidy/src/bins.rs b/src/tools/tidy/src/bins.rs
index f6e42c8dc17b..ae930555d091 100644
--- a/src/tools/tidy/src/bins.rs
+++ b/src/tools/tidy/src/bins.rs
@@ -24,13 +24,10 @@ pub fn check(_path: &Path, _bad: &mut bool) {}
 #[cfg(unix)]
 pub fn check(path: &Path, bad: &mut bool) {
     use std::fs;
-    use std::io::Read;
     use std::process::{Command, Stdio};
     use std::os::unix::prelude::*;
 
-    if let Ok(mut file) = fs::File::open("/proc/version") {
-        let mut contents = String::new();
-        file.read_to_string(&mut contents).unwrap();
+    if let Ok(contents) = fs::read_to_string("/proc/version") {
         // Probably on Windows Linux Subsystem or Docker via VirtualBox,
         // all files will be marked as executable, so skip checking.
         if contents.contains("Microsoft") || contents.contains("boot2docker") {
diff --git a/src/tools/tidy/src/cargo.rs b/src/tools/tidy/src/cargo.rs
index 466d2fa0d2bd..ac7e968dff76 100644
--- a/src/tools/tidy/src/cargo.rs
+++ b/src/tools/tidy/src/cargo.rs
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@
 //! `extern crate` declarations. This should help us keep the DAG correctly
 //! structured through various refactorings to prune out unnecessary edges.
 
-use std::io::prelude::*;
-use std::fs::File;
+use std::fs;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 pub fn check(path: &Path, bad: &mut bool) {
@@ -41,10 +40,8 @@ pub fn check(path: &Path, bad: &mut bool) {
 // Verify that the dependencies in Cargo.toml at `tomlfile` are sync'd with the
 // `extern crate` annotations in the lib.rs at `libfile`.
 fn verify(tomlfile: &Path, libfile: &Path, bad: &mut bool) {
-    let mut toml = String::new();
-    let mut librs = String::new();
-    t!(t!(File::open(tomlfile)).read_to_string(&mut toml));
-    t!(t!(File::open(libfile)).read_to_string(&mut librs));
+    let toml = t!(fs::read_to_string(&tomlfile));
+    let librs = t!(fs::read_to_string(&libfile));
 
     if toml.contains("name = \"bootstrap\"") {
         return
diff --git a/src/tools/tidy/src/deps.rs b/src/tools/tidy/src/deps.rs
index 3e27c3d4915f..05c974569a3c 100644
--- a/src/tools/tidy/src/deps.rs
+++ b/src/tools/tidy/src/deps.rs
@@ -11,8 +11,7 @@
 //! Check license of third-party deps by inspecting vendor
 
 use std::collections::{BTreeSet, HashSet, HashMap};
-use std::fs::File;
-use std::io::Read;
+use std::fs;
 use std::path::Path;
 use std::process::Command;
 
@@ -262,8 +261,7 @@ fn check_license(path: &Path) -> bool {
     if !path.exists() {
         panic!("{} does not exist", path.display());
     }
-    let mut contents = String::new();
-    t!(t!(File::open(path)).read_to_string(&mut contents));
+    let contents = t!(fs::read_to_string(&path));
 
     let mut found_license = false;
     for line in contents.lines() {
diff --git a/src/tools/tidy/src/extdeps.rs b/src/tools/tidy/src/extdeps.rs
index a78d2d4ee4e1..377a7c33d75a 100644
--- a/src/tools/tidy/src/extdeps.rs
+++ b/src/tools/tidy/src/extdeps.rs
@@ -10,8 +10,7 @@
 
 // ! Check for external package sources. Allow only vendorable packages.
 
-use std::fs::File;
-use std::io::Read;
+use std::fs;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 /// List of whitelisted sources for packages
@@ -25,8 +24,7 @@ pub fn check(path: &Path, bad: &mut bool) {
     let path = path.join("../Cargo.lock");
 
     // open and read the whole file
-    let mut cargo_lock = String::new();
-    t!(t!(File::open(path)).read_to_string(&mut cargo_lock));
+    let cargo_lock = t!(fs::read_to_string(&path));
 
     // process each line
     for line in cargo_lock.lines() {
diff --git a/src/tools/tidy/src/features.rs b/src/tools/tidy/src/features.rs
index 85b123e4af51..b0bd5ba8dbdb 100644
--- a/src/tools/tidy/src/features.rs
+++ b/src/tools/tidy/src/features.rs
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::fmt;
-use std::fs::File;
+use std::fs::{self, File};
 use std::io::prelude::*;
 use std::path::Path;
 
@@ -183,9 +183,7 @@ fn test_filen_gate(filen_underscore: &str, features: &mut Features) -> bool {
 }
 
 pub fn collect_lang_features(base_src_path: &Path, bad: &mut bool) -> Features {
-    let mut contents = String::new();
-    let path = base_src_path.join("libsyntax/feature_gate.rs");
-    t!(t!(File::open(path)).read_to_string(&mut contents));
+    let contents = t!(fs::read_to_string(base_src_path.join("libsyntax/feature_gate.rs")));
 
     // we allow rustc-internal features to omit a tracking issue.
     // these features must be marked with `// rustc internal` in its own group.