diff --git a/Makefile.in b/Makefile.in
index 790d3d6..f72c50e 100644
--- a/Makefile.in
+++ b/Makefile.in
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ VERSION=	@PACKAGE_VERSION@
 SRCS=		main.c summary.c tools.c pkgindb.c depends.c actions.c \
 		pkglist.c download.c order.c impact.c autoremove.c fsops.c \
 		pkgindb_queries.c pkg_str.c sqlite_callbacks.c selection.c \
-		pkg_check.c pkg_infos.c preferred.c
+		pkg_check.c pkg_infos.c pkg_install.c preferred.c
 # included from libinstall
 SRCS+=		automatic.c dewey.c fexec.c global.c opattern.c pkgdb.c var.c
 SRCS+=		xwrapper.c
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ LOCALBASE?=		@prefix@
 BINDIR?=		${LOCALBASE}/bin
 PKG_SYSCONFDIR?=	${LOCALBASE}/etc
 VARBASE?=		/var
-PKG_DBDIR?=		${VARBASE}/db/pkg
 .if !defined(PKGMANDIR)
 MANDIR=		${LOCALBASE}/share/man
 .endif
@@ -78,8 +77,6 @@ CPPFLAGS+=	-g
 
 CPPFLAGS+=	-DLOCALBASE=\"${LOCALBASE}\" 			\
 		-DPKG_SYSCONFDIR=\"${PKG_SYSCONFDIR}\"		\
-		-DPKG_DBDIR="\"${PKG_DBDIR}\""			\
-		-DDEF_LOG_DIR="\"${PKG_DBDIR}\""		\
 		-DPKGIN_DBDIR=\"${PKGIN_DBDIR}\"		\
 		-DPKGTOOLS=\"${PKGTOOLS}\"
 
diff --git a/actions.c b/actions.c
index e967320..71446c9 100644
--- a/actions.c
+++ b/actions.c
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ do_pkg_remove(Plisthead *removehead)
 #ifndef DEBUG
 		if (!verbosity)
 			log_tag(MSG_REMOVING, premove->depend);
-		if (fexec(PKG_DELETE, verb_flag("-f"), premove->depend, NULL)
+		if (fexec(pkg_delete, verb_flag("-f"), premove->depend, NULL)
 			!= EXIT_SUCCESS)
 			err_count++;
 #endif
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ do_pkg_install(Plisthead *installhead)
 		/* there was a previous version, record +PRESERVE path */
 		if (pinstall->old != NULL)
 			snprintf(preserve, BUFSIZ, "%s/%s/%s",
-				PKG_DBDIR, pinstall->old, PRESERVE_FNAME);
+				pkgdb_get_dir(), pinstall->old, PRESERVE_FNAME);
 
 		/* are we upgrading pkg_install ? */
 		if (pi_upgrade) { /* set in order.c */
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ do_pkg_install(Plisthead *installhead)
 			/* every other package */
 			pflags = verb_flag("-D");
 
-		if (fexec(PKG_ADD, pflags, pkgpath, NULL) == EXIT_FAILURE)
+		if (fexec(pkg_add, pflags, pkgpath, NULL) == EXIT_FAILURE)
 			rc = EXIT_FAILURE;
 #endif
 	} /* installation loop */
diff --git a/autoremove.c b/autoremove.c
index 401784d..aa04d56 100644
--- a/autoremove.c
+++ b/autoremove.c
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ pkgin_autoremove()
 			}
 		}
 		snprintf(preserve, BUFSIZ, "%s/%s/%s",
-				PKG_DBDIR, pkglist->full, PRESERVE_FNAME);
+		    pkgdb_get_dir(), pkglist->full, PRESERVE_FNAME);
 		/* is or a dependency or a preserved package */
 		if (is_keep_dep || access(preserve, F_OK) != -1)
 			continue;
diff --git a/external/lib.h b/external/lib.h
index c6d3889..009e3e2 100644
--- a/external/lib.h
+++ b/external/lib.h
@@ -422,18 +422,8 @@ void    append_plist(package_t *, FILE *);
 int     delete_package(Boolean, Boolean, package_t *, Boolean);
 
 /* Package Database */
-int     pkgdb_open(int);
-void    pkgdb_close(void);
-int     pkgdb_store(const char *, const char *);
-char   *pkgdb_retrieve(const char *);
-int	pkgdb_dump(void);
-int     pkgdb_remove(const char *);
-int	pkgdb_remove_pkg(const char *);
-char   *pkgdb_refcount_dir(void);
-char   *_pkgdb_getPKGDB_FILE(char *, unsigned);
-const char *_pkgdb_getPKGDB_DIR(void);
-void	_pkgdb_setPKGDB_DIR(const char *);
-
+const char   *pkgdb_get_dir(void);
+void	pkgdb_set_dir(const char *, int);
 char   *pkgdb_pkg_file(const char *, const char *);
 
 /* List of packages functions */
diff --git a/external/pkgdb.c b/external/pkgdb.c
index a687555..8a5a671 100644
--- a/external/pkgdb.c
+++ b/external/pkgdb.c
@@ -1,20 +1,7 @@
-/*	$NetBSD: pkgdb.c,v 1.1.1.1 2008/09/30 19:00:27 joerg Exp $	*/
-
-#if HAVE_CONFIG_H
-#include "config.h"
-#endif
-#if HAVE_NBCOMPAT_H
-#include <nbcompat.h>
-#endif
-#if HAVE_SYS_CDEFS_H
-#include <sys/cdefs.h>
-#endif
-#ifndef lint
-__RCSID("$NetBSD: pkgdb.c,v 1.1.1.1 2008/09/30 19:00:27 joerg Exp $");
-#endif
+/* NetBSD: pkgdb.c,v 1.39 2010/04/20 21:22:38 joerg Exp */
 
 /*-
- * Copyright (c) 1999-2008 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
+ * Copyright (c) 1999-2010 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
  * All rights reserved.
  *
  * This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation
@@ -42,313 +29,39 @@ __RCSID("$NetBSD: pkgdb.c,v 1.1.1.1 2008/09/30 19:00:27 joerg Exp $");
  * POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
  */
 
-#if HAVE_DB_185_H
-#include <db_185.h>
-#elif HAVE_DB1_DB_H
-#include <db1/db.h>
-#elif HAVE_DB_H
-#include <db.h>
-#endif
-#if HAVE_ERR_H
-#include <err.h>
-#endif
-#if HAVE_ERRNO_H
-#include <errno.h>
-#endif
-#if HAVE_FCNTL_H
-#include <fcntl.h>
-#endif
-#if HAVE_STDARG_H
-#include <stdarg.h>
-#endif
-#if HAVE_STDIO_H
-#include <stdio.h>
-#endif
-#if HAVE_STRING_H
-#include <string.h>
-#endif
-#if defined(HAVE_DBOPEN) || (defined(HAVE___DB185_OPEN) && defined(HAVE_DB_185_H))
-#define	HAVE_DBLIB	1
-#else
-#define	HAVE_DBLIB	0
-#endif
-
-#include "lib.h"
-
-#define PKGDB_FILE	"pkgdb.byfile.db"	/* indexed by filename */
-
 /*
- * Where we put logging information by default if PKG_DBDIR is unset.
+ * This is a much simplified version of pkgdb.c that provides what is required
+ * by the other files we have pulled from pkg_install.  It is also modified to
+ * set pkgdb_dir explicitly to what we have parsed from pkg_admin(1).
  */
-#ifndef DEF_LOG_DIR
-#define DEF_LOG_DIR		"/var/db/pkg"
-#endif
 
-/* just in case we change the environment variable name */
-#if 0 /* defined by upstream Makefile */
-#define PKG_DBDIR		"PKG_DBDIR"
-#endif
+#include "lib.h"
 
-#if HAVE_DBLIB
-static DB   *pkgdbp;
-#endif
 static char *pkgdb_dir = NULL;
-static char  pkgdb_cache[MaxPathSize];
+static int pkgdb_dir_prio = 0;
 
-#if HAVE_DBLIB
-/*
- *  Open the pkg-database
- *  Return value:
- *   1: everything ok
- *   0: error
- */
-int
-pkgdb_open(int mode)
+const char *
+pkgdb_get_dir(void)
 {
-	BTREEINFO info;
-	char	cachename[MaxPathSize];
-
-	/* try our btree format first */
-	info.flags = 0;
-	info.cachesize = 2*1024*1024;
-	info.maxkeypage = 0;
-	info.minkeypage = 0;
-	info.psize = 4096;
-	info.compare = NULL;
-	info.prefix = NULL;
-	info.lorder = 0;
-	pkgdbp = (DB *) dbopen(_pkgdb_getPKGDB_FILE(cachename, sizeof(cachename)),
-	    (mode == ReadOnly) ? O_RDONLY : O_RDWR | O_CREAT,
-	    0644, DB_BTREE, (void *) &info);
-	return (pkgdbp != NULL);
+	return pkgdb_dir;
 }
 
-/*
- * Close the pkg database
- */
 void
-pkgdb_close(void)
-{
-	if (pkgdbp != NULL) {
-		(void) (*pkgdbp->close) (pkgdbp);
-		pkgdbp = NULL;
-	}
-}
-
-/*
- * Store value "val" with key "key" in database
- * Return value is as from ypdb_store:
- *  0: ok
- *  1: key already present
- * -1: some other error, see errno
- */
-int
-pkgdb_store(const char *key, const char *val)
-{
-	DBT     keyd, vald;
-
-	if (pkgdbp == NULL)
-		return -1;
-
-	keyd.data = (void *) key;
-	keyd.size = strlen(key) + 1;
-	vald.data = (void *) val;
-	vald.size = strlen(val) + 1;
-
-	if (keyd.size > MaxPathSize || vald.size > MaxPathSize)
-		return -1;
-
-	return (*pkgdbp->put) (pkgdbp, &keyd, &vald, R_NOOVERWRITE);
-}
-
-/*
- * Recall value for given key
- * Return value:
- *  NULL if some error occurred or value for key not found (check errno!)
- *  String for "value" else
- */
-char   *
-pkgdb_retrieve(const char *key)
-{
-	DBT     keyd, vald;
-	int     status;
-
-	if (pkgdbp == NULL)
-		return NULL;
-
-	keyd.data = (void *) key;
-	keyd.size = strlen(key) + 1;
-	errno = 0;		/* to be sure it's 0 if the key doesn't match anything */
-
-	vald.data = (void *)NULL;
-	vald.size = 0;
-	status = (*pkgdbp->get) (pkgdbp, &keyd, &vald, 0);
-	if (status) {
-		vald.data = NULL;
-		vald.size = 0;
-	}
-
-	return vald.data;
-}
-
-/* dump contents of the database to stdout */
-int
-pkgdb_dump(void)
-{
-	DBT     key;
-	DBT	val;
-	int	type;
-
-	if (pkgdb_open(ReadOnly)) {
-		for (type = R_FIRST ; (*pkgdbp->seq)(pkgdbp, &key, &val, type) == 0 ; type = R_NEXT) {
-			printf("file: %.*s pkg: %.*s\n",
-				(int) key.size, (char *) key.data,
-				(int) val.size, (char *) val.data);
-		}
-		pkgdb_close();
-		return 0;
-	} else
-		return -1;
-}
-
-/*
- *  Remove data set from pkgdb
- *  Return value as ypdb_delete:
- *   0: everything ok
- *   1: key not present
- *  -1: some error occurred (see errno)
- */
-int
-pkgdb_remove(const char *key)
+pkgdb_set_dir(const char *dir, int prio)
 {
-	DBT     keyd;
+	if (prio < pkgdb_dir_prio)
+		return;
 
-	if (pkgdbp == NULL)
-		return -1;
+	pkgdb_dir_prio = prio;
 
-	keyd.data = (char *) key;
-	keyd.size = strlen(key) + 1;
-	if (keyd.size > MaxPathSize)
-		return -1;
+	if (dir == pkgdb_dir)
+		return;
 
-	return (*pkgdbp->del) (pkgdbp, &keyd, 0);
-}
-
-/*
- *  Remove any entry from the cache which has a data field of `pkg'.
- *  Return value:
- *   1: everything ok
- *   0: error
- */
-int
-pkgdb_remove_pkg(const char *pkg)
-{
-	DBT     data;
-	DBT     key;
-	int	type;
-	int	ret;
-	int	cc;
-	char	cachename[MaxPathSize];
-
-	if (pkgdbp == NULL) {
-		return 0;
-	}
-	(void) _pkgdb_getPKGDB_FILE(cachename, sizeof(cachename));
-	cc = strlen(pkg);
-	for (ret = 1, type = R_FIRST; (*pkgdbp->seq)(pkgdbp, &key, &data, type) == 0 ; type = R_NEXT) {
-		if ((cc + 1) == data.size && strncmp(data.data, pkg, cc) == 0) {
-			if (Verbose) {
-				printf("Removing file `%s' from %s\n", (char *)key.data, cachename);
-			}
-			switch ((*pkgdbp->del)(pkgdbp, &key, 0)) {
-			case -1:
-				warn("Error removing `%s' from %s", (char *)key.data, cachename);
-				ret = 0;
-				break;
-			case 1:
-				warn("Key `%s' not present in %s", (char *)key.data, cachename);
-				ret = 0;
-				break;
-
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	return ret;
-}
-
-#else /* !HAVE_DBLIB */
-
-int	pkgdb_open(int mode) { return 1; }
-void	pkgdb_close(void) {}
-int	pkgdb_store(const char *key, const char *val) { return 0; }
-char   *pkgdb_retrieve(const char *key) { return NULL; }
-int	pkgdb_dump(void) { return 0; }
-int	pkgdb_remove(const char *key) { return 0; }
-int	pkgdb_remove_pkg(const char *pkg) { return 1; }
-
-#endif /* HAVE_DBLIB */
-
-/*
- *  Return the location of the package reference counts database directory.
- */
-char *
-pkgdb_refcount_dir(void)
-{
-	static char buf[MaxPathSize];
-	char *tmp;
-
-	if ((tmp = getenv(PKG_REFCOUNT_DBDIR_VNAME)))
-		strlcpy(buf, tmp, sizeof(buf));
-	else
-		snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%s.refcount", _pkgdb_getPKGDB_DIR());
-	return buf;
-}
-
-/*
- *  Return name of cache file in the buffer that was passed.
- */
-char *
-_pkgdb_getPKGDB_FILE(char *buf, unsigned size)
-{
-	(void) snprintf(buf, size, "%s/%s", _pkgdb_getPKGDB_DIR(), PKGDB_FILE);
-	return buf;
-}
-
-/*
- *  Return directory where pkgdb is stored
- */
-const char *
-_pkgdb_getPKGDB_DIR(void)
-{
-	char *tmp;
-
-	if (pkgdb_dir == NULL) {
-		if ((tmp = getenv(PKG_DBDIR)))
-			_pkgdb_setPKGDB_DIR(tmp);
-		else
-			_pkgdb_setPKGDB_DIR(DEF_LOG_DIR);
-	}
-
-	return pkgdb_dir;
-}
-
-/*
- *  Set the first place we look for where pkgdb is stored.
- */
-void
-_pkgdb_setPKGDB_DIR(const char *dir)
-{
-	(void) snprintf(pkgdb_cache, sizeof(pkgdb_cache), "%s", dir);
-	pkgdb_dir = pkgdb_cache;
+	pkgdb_dir = xstrdup(dir);
 }
 
 char *
 pkgdb_pkg_file(const char *pkg, const char *file)
 {
-	char *buf;
-
-	if (asprintf(&buf, "%s/%s/%s", _pkgdb_getPKGDB_DIR(), pkg, file) == -1)
-		err(EXIT_FAILURE, "asprintf failed");
-
-	return buf;
+	return xasprintf("%s/%s/%s", pkgdb_get_dir(), pkg, file);
 }
diff --git a/main.c b/main.c
index 150852b..66f55db 100644
--- a/main.c
+++ b/main.c
@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	uint8_t		need_upgrade, need_refresh;
 	uint8_t		do_inst = DO_INST; /* by default, do install packages */
 	int 		ch, i, rc = EXIT_SUCCESS;
-	struct stat	sb;
 	const char	*chrootpath = NULL;
 
 	setprogname(argv[0]);
@@ -137,15 +136,8 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			errx(-1, MSG_CHDIR_FAILED);
 	}
 
-	/* check for pkg_install */
-	if (stat(PKG_ADD, &sb) < 0)
-		errx(EXIT_FAILURE, MSG_PKG_INSTALL_NOT_PRESENT);
-
-	/* retrieve PKG_DBDIR from pkg_admin(1) */
-	get_pkg_dbdir();
-
-	/* for pkg_install */
-	unsetenv("PKG_PATH");
+	/* Configure pkg_install */
+	setup_pkg_install();
 
 	/* Configure pkgin database directory */
 	setup_pkgin_dbdir();
diff --git a/pkg_infos.c b/pkg_infos.c
index 5b5005c..846ef30 100644
--- a/pkg_infos.c
+++ b/pkg_infos.c
@@ -43,8 +43,8 @@ show_pkg_info(char flag, char *pkgname)
 
 	/* loop through PKG_REPOS */
 	for (prepos = pkg_repos; *prepos != NULL; prepos++) {
-		snprintf(cmd, BUFSIZ,
-			PKG_INFO" -%c %s/%s%s", flag, *prepos, fullpkgname, PKG_EXT);
+		snprintf(cmd, BUFSIZ, "%s -%c %s/%s%s",
+		    pkg_info, flag, *prepos, fullpkgname, PKG_EXT);
 
 		if ((out_cmd = exec_list(cmd, NULL)) == NULL)
 			continue;
diff --git a/pkg_install.c b/pkg_install.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b949c67
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg_install.c
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2018 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
+ * All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
+ * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
+ * are met:
+ * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+ *    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+ * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
+ *    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
+ *    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
+ *
+ * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
+ * ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
+ * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
+ * ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
+ * FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
+ * DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
+ * OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
+ * HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
+ * LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
+ * OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
+ * SUCH DAMAGE.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Routines for configuring and using pkg_install utilities.
+ */
+
+#include "pkgin.h"
+
+char *pkg_install_dir;
+char *pkg_add;
+char *pkg_admin;
+char *pkg_delete;
+char *pkg_info;
+
+/*
+ * Configure the location to pkg_install used in this instance, either via the
+ * PKG_INSTALL_DIR environment variable or the default compiled-in location.
+ */
+void
+setup_pkg_install()
+{
+	FILE *fp;
+	char *line, *p;
+	size_t len;
+	ssize_t llen;
+
+	if ((p = getenv("PKG_INSTALL_DIR")) != NULL)
+		pkg_install_dir = xstrdup(p);
+	else
+		pkg_install_dir = xstrdup(PKGTOOLS);
+
+	pkg_add = xasprintf("%s/pkg_add", pkg_install_dir);
+	pkg_admin = xasprintf("%s/pkg_admin", pkg_install_dir);
+	pkg_info = xasprintf("%s/pkg_info", pkg_install_dir);
+	pkg_delete = xasprintf("%s/pkg_delete", pkg_install_dir);
+
+	/* Sanity check */
+	if (access(pkg_admin, X_OK) != 0)
+		err(EXIT_FAILURE, "Cannot execute %s", pkg_admin);
+
+	/* Ensure pkg_install only looks at our specified paths */
+	unsetenv("PKG_PATH");
+
+	/* Get PKG_DBDIR from pkg_admin */
+	p = xasprintf("%s config-var PKG_DBDIR", pkg_admin);
+
+	if ((fp = popen(p, "r")) == NULL)
+		err(EXIT_FAILURE, "Cannot execute '%s'", p);
+
+	line = NULL; len = 0;
+	while ((llen = getline(&line, &len, fp)) > 0) {
+		if (line[llen - 1] == '\n')
+			line[llen - 1] = '\0';
+		pkgdb_set_dir(line, 1);
+	}
+	pclose(fp);
+
+	free(line);
+	free(p);
+
+	if (pkgdb_get_dir() == NULL)
+		errx(EXIT_FAILURE, "Could not determine PKG_DBDIR");
+}
diff --git a/pkgin.h b/pkgin.h
index 0e7ea70..27bd38f 100644
--- a/pkgin.h
+++ b/pkgin.h
@@ -50,13 +50,6 @@
 #include "lib.h"
 #include "dewey.h"
 
-#ifndef PKGTOOLS
-#define PKGTOOLS "/usr/sbin"
-#endif
-#define PKG_DELETE PKGTOOLS"/pkg_delete"
-#define PKG_ADD PKGTOOLS"/pkg_add"
-#define PKG_INFO PKGTOOLS"/pkg_info"
-
 #define PKG_SUMMARY "pkg_summary"
 #define PKG_EXT ".tgz"
 #define PKGIN_CONF PKG_SYSCONFDIR"/pkgin"
@@ -224,8 +217,6 @@ extern int		l_plistcounter;
 extern char		*env_repos;
 extern char		**pkg_repos;
 extern char  		lslimit;
-extern char		pkgtools_flags[];
-extern char		pkg_dbdir[];
 extern Plisthead	r_plisthead;
 extern Plisthead	l_plisthead;
 extern FILE		*tracefp;
@@ -306,6 +297,14 @@ void		show_prov_req(const char *, const char *);
 /* pkg_infos.c */
 void		show_pkg_info(char, char *);
 
+/* pkg_install.c */
+extern char	*pkg_install_dir;
+extern char	*pkg_add;
+extern char	*pkg_admin;
+extern char	*pkg_delete;
+extern char	*pkg_info;
+void		setup_pkg_install(void);
+
 /* pkgindb.c */
 #define PRIVS_PKGDB	0x1
 #define PRIVS_PKGINDB	0x2
@@ -315,7 +314,6 @@ extern char	*pkgin_cache;
 extern char	*pkgin_errlog;
 extern char	*pkgin_sqllog;
 void		setup_pkgin_dbdir(void);
-void		get_pkg_dbdir(void);
 uint8_t		have_privs(int);
 
 /* preferred.c */
diff --git a/pkgindb.c b/pkgindb.c
index 1a7dd34..bbfb645 100644
--- a/pkgindb.c
+++ b/pkgindb.c
@@ -49,8 +49,6 @@ static const char *pragmaopts[] = {
 	NULL
 };
 
-char pkg_dbdir[BUFSIZ];
-
 char *pkgin_dbdir;
 char *pkgin_sqldb;
 char *pkgin_cache;
@@ -83,27 +81,12 @@ setup_pkgin_dbdir(void)
 	}
 }
 
-void
-get_pkg_dbdir(void)
-{
-	char **exec_cmd;
-
-	if ((exec_cmd =
-		exec_list(PKGTOOLS"/pkg_admin config-var PKG_DBDIR", NULL))
-		== NULL)
-		strcpy(pkg_dbdir, PKG_DBDIR);
-	else {
-		XSTRCPY(pkg_dbdir, exec_cmd[0]);
-		free_list(exec_cmd);
-	}
-}
-
 uint8_t
 have_privs(int reqd)
 {
 	if ((reqd & PRIVS_PKGDB) &&
-	    (access(pkg_dbdir, F_OK) == 0) &&
-	    (access(pkg_dbdir, W_OK) < 0))
+	    (access(pkgdb_get_dir(), F_OK) == 0) &&
+	    (access(pkgdb_get_dir(), W_OK) < 0))
 		return 0;
 
 	if ((reqd & PRIVS_PKGINDB) &&
@@ -282,14 +265,13 @@ pkgindb_reset()
 int
 pkg_db_mtime()
 {
-	uint8_t		pkgdb_present = 1;
 	struct stat	st;
 	time_t	   	db_mtime = 0;
 	char		str_mtime[20], buf[BUFSIZ];
 
 	/* no pkgdb file */
-	if (stat(pkg_dbdir, &st) < 0)
-		pkgdb_present = 0;
+	if (stat(pkgdb_get_dir(), &st) < 0)
+		return 0;
 
 	str_mtime[0] = '\0';
 
@@ -300,7 +282,7 @@ pkg_db_mtime()
 		db_mtime = (time_t)strtol(str_mtime, (char **)NULL, 10);
 
 	/* mtime is up to date */
-	if (!pkgdb_present || db_mtime == st.st_mtime)
+	if (db_mtime == st.st_mtime)
 		return 0;
 
 	snprintf(buf, BUFSIZ, UPDATE_PKGDB_MTIME, (long long)st.st_mtime);
diff --git a/summary.c b/summary.c
index 81ac513..5bf9af8 100644
--- a/summary.c
+++ b/summary.c
@@ -558,12 +558,9 @@ update_localdb(char **pkgkeep)
 	Pkglist		*pkglist;
 
 	/* has the pkgdb (pkgsrc) changed ? if not, continue */
-	if (!pkg_db_mtime() || !pkgdb_open(ReadWrite))
+	if (!pkg_db_mtime())
 		return;
 
-	/* just checking */
-	pkgdb_close();
-
 	/* record the keep list */
 	keeplisthead = rec_pkglist(KEEP_LOCAL_PKGS);
 	/* delete local pkg table (faster than updating) */