diff --git a/DEPENDENCIES.md b/DEPENDENCIES.md
index 192c9cdf7903c..861e3a30a6157 100644
--- a/DEPENDENCIES.md
+++ b/DEPENDENCIES.md
@@ -132,7 +132,6 @@ graph LR;
   npm-->parse-conflict-json;
   npm-->proc-log;
   npm-->read-package-json-fast;
-  npm-->read-package-json;
   npm-->read;
   npm-->semver;
   npm-->ssri;
@@ -563,7 +562,6 @@ graph LR;
   npm-->proc-log;
   npm-->qrcode-terminal;
   npm-->read-package-json-fast;
-  npm-->read-package-json;
   npm-->read;
   npm-->remark-gfm;
   npm-->remark-github;
diff --git a/lib/commands/access.js b/lib/commands/access.js
index 318151fc81e2c..2417f3a3f2c85 100644
--- a/lib/commands/access.js
+++ b/lib/commands/access.js
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
-const path = require('path')
-
 const libnpmaccess = require('libnpmaccess')
 const npa = require('npm-package-arg')
-const readPackageJson = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const localeCompare = require('@isaacs/string-locale-compare')('en')
 
 const otplease = require('../utils/otplease.js')
@@ -178,8 +176,8 @@ class Access extends BaseCommand {
   async #getPackage (name, requireScope) {
     if (!name) {
       try {
-        const pkg = await readPackageJson(path.resolve(this.npm.prefix, 'package.json'))
-        name = pkg.name
+        const { content } = await pkgJson.normalize(this.npm.prefix)
+        name = content.name
       } catch (err) {
         if (err.code === 'ENOENT') {
           throw Object.assign(new Error('no package name given and no package.json found'), {
diff --git a/lib/commands/config.js b/lib/commands/config.js
index dfd44015cd043..576c8b56a6f9c 100644
--- a/lib/commands/config.js
+++ b/lib/commands/config.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ const { spawn } = require('child_process')
 const { EOL } = require('os')
 const ini = require('ini')
 const localeCompare = require('@isaacs/string-locale-compare')('en')
-const rpj = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const log = require('../utils/log-shim.js')
 
 // These are the configs that we can nerf-dart. Not all of them currently even
@@ -346,15 +346,15 @@ ${defData}
     }
 
     if (!this.npm.global) {
-      const pkgPath = resolve(this.npm.prefix, 'package.json')
-      const pkg = await rpj(pkgPath).catch(() => ({}))
+      const { content } = await pkgJson.normalize(this.npm.prefix).catch(() => ({ content: {} }))
 
-      if (pkg.publishConfig) {
+      if (content.publishConfig) {
+        const pkgPath = resolve(this.npm.prefix, 'package.json')
         msg.push(`; "publishConfig" from ${pkgPath}`)
         msg.push('; This set of config values will be used at publish-time.', '')
-        const pkgKeys = Object.keys(pkg.publishConfig).sort(localeCompare)
+        const pkgKeys = Object.keys(content.publishConfig).sort(localeCompare)
         for (const k of pkgKeys) {
-          const v = publicVar(k) ? JSON.stringify(pkg.publishConfig[k]) : '(protected)'
+          const v = publicVar(k) ? JSON.stringify(content.publishConfig[k]) : '(protected)'
           msg.push(`${k} = ${v}`)
         }
         msg.push('')
diff --git a/lib/commands/diff.js b/lib/commands/diff.js
index 3924166af0a88..64d81d525d79d 100644
--- a/lib/commands/diff.js
+++ b/lib/commands/diff.js
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ const npa = require('npm-package-arg')
 const pacote = require('pacote')
 const pickManifest = require('npm-pick-manifest')
 const log = require('../utils/log-shim')
-const readPackage = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const BaseCommand = require('../base-command.js')
 
 class Diff extends BaseCommand {
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ class Diff extends BaseCommand {
   async packageName (path) {
     let name
     try {
-      const pkg = await readPackage(resolve(this.prefix, 'package.json'))
+      const { content: pkg } = await pkgJson.normalize(this.prefix)
       name = pkg.name
     } catch (e) {
       log.verbose('diff', 'could not read project dir package.json')
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ class Diff extends BaseCommand {
     let noPackageJson
     let pkgName
     try {
-      const pkg = await readPackage(resolve(this.prefix, 'package.json'))
+      const { content: pkg } = await pkgJson.normalize(this.prefix)
       pkgName = pkg.name
     } catch (e) {
       log.verbose('diff', 'could not read project dir package.json')
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ class Diff extends BaseCommand {
     if (semverA && semverB) {
       let pkgName
       try {
-        const pkg = await readPackage(resolve(this.prefix, 'package.json'))
+        const { content: pkg } = await pkgJson.normalize(this.prefix)
         pkgName = pkg.name
       } catch (e) {
         log.verbose('diff', 'could not read project dir package.json')
diff --git a/lib/commands/dist-tag.js b/lib/commands/dist-tag.js
index bc61a4691e55a..584fbbc8ad6e0 100644
--- a/lib/commands/dist-tag.js
+++ b/lib/commands/dist-tag.js
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 const npa = require('npm-package-arg')
-const path = require('path')
 const regFetch = require('npm-registry-fetch')
 const semver = require('semver')
 const log = require('../utils/log-shim')
 const otplease = require('../utils/otplease.js')
-const readPackage = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const BaseCommand = require('../base-command.js')
 
 class DistTag extends BaseCommand {
@@ -152,7 +151,7 @@ class DistTag extends BaseCommand {
       if (this.npm.global) {
         throw this.usageError()
       }
-      const { name } = await readPackage(path.resolve(this.npm.prefix, 'package.json'))
+      const { content: { name } } = await pkgJson.normalize(this.npm.prefix)
       if (!name) {
         throw this.usageError()
       }
diff --git a/lib/commands/explore.js b/lib/commands/explore.js
index 0d915cb4c6958..63667114d3f68 100644
--- a/lib/commands/explore.js
+++ b/lib/commands/explore.js
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 // npm explore <pkg>[@<version>]
 // open a subshell to the package folder.
 
-const rpj = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const runScript = require('@npmcli/run-script')
-const { join, resolve, relative } = require('path')
+const { join, relative } = require('path')
 const log = require('../utils/log-shim.js')
 const completion = require('../utils/completion/installed-shallow.js')
 const BaseCommand = require('../base-command.js')
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ class Explore extends BaseCommand {
     // the set of arguments, or the shell config, and let @npmcli/run-script
     // handle all the escaping and PATH setup stuff.
 
-    const pkg = await rpj(resolve(path, 'package.json')).catch(er => {
+    const { content: pkg } = await pkgJson.normalize(path).catch(er => {
       log.error('explore', `It doesn't look like ${pkgname} is installed.`)
       throw er
     })
diff --git a/lib/commands/init.js b/lib/commands/init.js
index 1e5661a7840f2..4f77b2903c100 100644
--- a/lib/commands/init.js
+++ b/lib/commands/init.js
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ const { relative, resolve } = require('path')
 const { mkdir } = require('fs/promises')
 const initJson = require('init-package-json')
 const npa = require('npm-package-arg')
-const rpj = require('read-package-json-fast')
 const libexec = require('libnpmexec')
 const mapWorkspaces = require('@npmcli/map-workspaces')
 const PackageJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
@@ -54,7 +53,7 @@ class Init extends BaseCommand {
     // reads package.json for the top-level folder first, by doing this we
     // ensure the command throw if no package.json is found before trying
     // to create a workspace package.json file or its folders
-    const pkg = await rpj(resolve(this.npm.localPrefix, 'package.json')).catch((err) => {
+    const { content: pkg } = await PackageJson.normalize(this.npm.localPrefix).catch(err => {
       if (err.code === 'ENOENT') {
         log.warn('Missing package.json. Try with `--include-workspace-root`.')
       }
@@ -217,7 +216,7 @@ class Init extends BaseCommand {
     // translate workspaces paths into an array containing workspaces names
     const workspaces = []
     for (const path of workspacesPaths) {
-      const { name } = await rpj(resolve(path, 'package.json')).catch(() => ({}))
+      const { content: { name } } = await PackageJson.normalize(path).catch(() => ({ content: {} }))
 
       if (name) {
         workspaces.push(name)
diff --git a/lib/commands/link.js b/lib/commands/link.js
index 61ae5a9808868..725912c2e7aa6 100644
--- a/lib/commands/link.js
+++ b/lib/commands/link.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ const readdir = util.promisify(fs.readdir)
 const { resolve } = require('path')
 
 const npa = require('npm-package-arg')
-const rpj = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const semver = require('semver')
 
 const reifyFinish = require('../utils/reify-finish.js')
@@ -96,11 +96,12 @@ class Link extends ArboristWorkspaceCmd {
     const names = []
     for (const a of args) {
       const arg = npa(a)
-      names.push(
-        arg.type === 'directory'
-          ? (await rpj(resolve(arg.fetchSpec, 'package.json'))).name
-          : arg.name
-      )
+      if (arg.type === 'directory') {
+        const { content } = await pkgJson.normalize(arg.fetchSpec)
+        names.push(content.name)
+      } else {
+        names.push(arg.name)
+      }
     }
 
     // npm link should not save=true by default unless you're
diff --git a/lib/commands/owner.js b/lib/commands/owner.js
index 3a997db800db7..201f348d689a3 100644
--- a/lib/commands/owner.js
+++ b/lib/commands/owner.js
@@ -3,14 +3,13 @@ const npmFetch = require('npm-registry-fetch')
 const pacote = require('pacote')
 const log = require('../utils/log-shim')
 const otplease = require('../utils/otplease.js')
-const readPackageJsonFast = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const BaseCommand = require('../base-command.js')
-const { resolve } = require('path')
 
-const readJson = async (pkg) => {
+const readJson = async (path) => {
   try {
-    const json = await readPackageJsonFast(pkg)
-    return json
+    const { content } = await pkgJson.normalize(path)
+    return content
   } catch {
     return {}
   }
@@ -54,7 +53,7 @@ class Owner extends BaseCommand {
       if (this.npm.global) {
         return []
       }
-      const { name } = await readJson(resolve(this.npm.prefix, 'package.json'))
+      const { name } = await readJson(this.npm.prefix)
       if (!name) {
         return []
       }
@@ -130,7 +129,7 @@ class Owner extends BaseCommand {
       if (this.npm.global) {
         throw this.usageError()
       }
-      const { name } = await readJson(resolve(prefix, 'package.json'))
+      const { name } = await readJson(prefix)
       if (!name) {
         throw this.usageError()
       }
diff --git a/lib/commands/publish.js b/lib/commands/publish.js
index 8befbc5ca34ce..54707278f9691 100644
--- a/lib/commands/publish.js
+++ b/lib/commands/publish.js
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-const util = require('util')
 const log = require('../utils/log-shim.js')
 const semver = require('semver')
 const pack = require('libnpmpack')
@@ -17,11 +16,7 @@ const { getContents, logTar } = require('../utils/tar.js')
 // revisit this at some point, and have a minimal set that's a SemVer-major
 // change that ought to get a RFC written on it.
 const { flatten } = require('../utils/config/index.js')
-
-// this is the only case in the CLI where we want to use the old full slow
-// 'read-package-json' module, because we want to pull in all the defaults and
-// metadata, like git sha's and default scripts and all that.
-const readJson = util.promisify(require('read-package-json'))
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 
 const BaseCommand = require('../base-command.js')
 class Publish extends BaseCommand {
@@ -204,7 +199,9 @@ class Publish extends BaseCommand {
   async getManifest (spec, opts) {
     let manifest
     if (spec.type === 'directory') {
-      manifest = await readJson(`${spec.fetchSpec}/package.json`)
+      // Prepare is the special function for publishing, different than normalize
+      const { content } = await pkgJson.prepare(spec.fetchSpec)
+      manifest = content
     } else {
       manifest = await pacote.manifest(spec, {
         ...opts,
diff --git a/lib/commands/run-script.js b/lib/commands/run-script.js
index e1bce0e52a513..6b568dab65249 100644
--- a/lib/commands/run-script.js
+++ b/lib/commands/run-script.js
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
-const { resolve } = require('path')
 const runScript = require('@npmcli/run-script')
 const { isServerPackage } = runScript
-const rpj = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const log = require('../utils/log-shim.js')
 const didYouMean = require('../utils/did-you-mean.js')
 const { isWindowsShell } = require('../utils/is-windows.js')
@@ -39,9 +38,8 @@ class RunScript extends BaseCommand {
   async completion (opts) {
     const argv = opts.conf.argv.remain
     if (argv.length === 2) {
-      // find the script name
-      const json = resolve(this.npm.localPrefix, 'package.json')
-      const { scripts = {} } = await rpj(json).catch(er => ({}))
+      const { content: { scripts = {} } } = await pkgJson.normalize(this.npm.localPrefix)
+        .catch(er => ({ content: {} }))
       if (opts.isFish) {
         return Object.keys(scripts).map(s => `${s}\t${scripts[s].slice(0, 30)}`)
       }
@@ -70,7 +68,10 @@ class RunScript extends BaseCommand {
     // null value
     const scriptShell = this.npm.config.get('script-shell') || undefined
 
-    pkg = pkg || (await rpj(`${path}/package.json`))
+    if (!pkg) {
+      const { content } = await pkgJson.normalize(path)
+      pkg = content
+    }
     const { scripts = {} } = pkg
 
     if (event === 'restart' && !scripts.restart) {
@@ -126,8 +127,8 @@ class RunScript extends BaseCommand {
   }
 
   async list (args, path) {
-    path = path || this.npm.localPrefix
-    const { scripts, name, _id } = await rpj(`${path}/package.json`)
+    /* eslint-disable-next-line max-len */
+    const { content: { scripts, name, _id } } = await pkgJson.normalize(path || this.npm.localPrefix)
     const pkgid = _id || name
 
     if (!scripts) {
@@ -197,7 +198,7 @@ class RunScript extends BaseCommand {
     await this.setWorkspaces()
 
     for (const workspacePath of this.workspacePaths) {
-      const pkg = await rpj(`${workspacePath}/package.json`)
+      const { content: pkg } = await pkgJson.normalize(workspacePath)
       const runResult = await this.run(args, {
         path: workspacePath,
         pkg,
@@ -236,7 +237,7 @@ class RunScript extends BaseCommand {
     if (this.npm.config.get('json')) {
       const res = {}
       for (const workspacePath of this.workspacePaths) {
-        const { scripts, name } = await rpj(`${workspacePath}/package.json`)
+        const { content: { scripts, name } } = await pkgJson.normalize(workspacePath)
         res[name] = { ...scripts }
       }
       this.npm.output(JSON.stringify(res, null, 2))
@@ -245,7 +246,7 @@ class RunScript extends BaseCommand {
 
     if (this.npm.config.get('parseable')) {
       for (const workspacePath of this.workspacePaths) {
-        const { scripts, name } = await rpj(`${workspacePath}/package.json`)
+        const { content: { scripts, name } } = await pkgJson.normalize(workspacePath)
         for (const [script, cmd] of Object.entries(scripts || {})) {
           this.npm.output(`${name}:${script}:${cmd}`)
         }
diff --git a/lib/commands/uninstall.js b/lib/commands/uninstall.js
index e5373119ec757..c862c0c461054 100644
--- a/lib/commands/uninstall.js
+++ b/lib/commands/uninstall.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 const { resolve } = require('path')
-const rpj = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 
 const reifyFinish = require('../utils/reify-finish.js')
 const completion = require('../utils/completion/installed-shallow.js')
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ class Uninstall extends ArboristWorkspaceCmd {
         throw new Error('Must provide a package name to remove')
       } else {
         try {
-          const pkg = await rpj(resolve(this.npm.localPrefix, 'package.json'))
+          const { content: pkg } = await pkgJson.normalize(this.npm.localPrefix)
           args.push(pkg.name)
         } catch (er) {
           if (er.code !== 'ENOENT' && er.code !== 'ENOTDIR') {
diff --git a/lib/commands/unpublish.js b/lib/commands/unpublish.js
index f1bcded192e5a..0df1ce0cc74f9 100644
--- a/lib/commands/unpublish.js
+++ b/lib/commands/unpublish.js
@@ -2,9 +2,7 @@ const libaccess = require('libnpmaccess')
 const libunpub = require('libnpmpublish').unpublish
 const npa = require('npm-package-arg')
 const npmFetch = require('npm-registry-fetch')
-const path = require('path')
-const util = require('util')
-const readJson = util.promisify(require('read-package-json'))
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 
 const { flatten } = require('../utils/config/index.js')
 const getIdentity = require('../utils/get-identity.js')
@@ -96,8 +94,8 @@ class Unpublish extends BaseCommand {
     let manifest
     let manifestErr
     try {
-      const pkgJson = path.join(this.npm.localPrefix, 'package.json')
-      manifest = await readJson(pkgJson)
+      const { content } = await pkgJson.prepare(this.npm.localPrefix)
+      manifest = content
     } catch (err) {
       manifestErr = err
     }
diff --git a/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js b/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js
index 10b33d5f83a08..e6c1ba3f72e5b 100644
--- a/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js
+++ b/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 const { distance } = require('fastest-levenshtein')
-const readJson = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const { commands } = require('./cmd-list.js')
 
 const didYouMean = async (npm, path, scmd) => {
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ const didYouMean = async (npm, path, scmd) => {
   // We would already be suggesting this in `npm x` so omit them here
   const runScripts = ['stop', 'start', 'test', 'restart']
   try {
-    const { bin, scripts } = await readJson(`${path}/package.json`)
+    const { content: { scripts, bin } } = await pkgJson.normalize(path)
     best = best.concat(
       Object.keys(scripts || {})
         .filter(cmd => distance(scmd, cmd) < scmd.length * 0.4 && !runScripts.includes(cmd))
diff --git a/lib/workspaces/get-workspaces.js b/lib/workspaces/get-workspaces.js
index 7065533596000..59efb0e9f01be 100644
--- a/lib/workspaces/get-workspaces.js
+++ b/lib/workspaces/get-workspaces.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 const { resolve, relative } = require('path')
 const mapWorkspaces = require('@npmcli/map-workspaces')
 const { minimatch } = require('minimatch')
-const rpj = require('read-package-json-fast')
+const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 
 // minimatch wants forward slashes only for glob patterns
 const globify = pattern => pattern.split('\\').join('/')
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ const globify = pattern => pattern.split('\\').join('/')
 // Returns an Map of paths to workspaces indexed by workspace name
 // { foo => '/path/to/foo' }
 const getWorkspaces = async (filters, { path, includeWorkspaceRoot, relativeFrom }) => {
-  // TODO we need a better error to be bubbled up here if this rpj call fails
-  const pkg = await rpj(resolve(path, 'package.json'))
+  // TODO we need a better error to be bubbled up here if this call fails
+  const { content: pkg } = await pkgJson.normalize(path)
   const workspaces = await mapWorkspaces({ cwd: path, pkg })
   let res = new Map()
   if (includeWorkspaceRoot) {
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 47354477e0381..b9382d1d6d1dc 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -63,8 +63,6 @@
         "proc-log",
         "qrcode-terminal",
         "read",
-        "read-package-json",
-        "read-package-json-fast",
         "semver",
         "ssri",
         "tar",
@@ -138,8 +136,6 @@
         "proc-log": "^3.0.0",
         "qrcode-terminal": "^0.12.0",
         "read": "^2.1.0",
-        "read-package-json": "^6.0.3",
-        "read-package-json-fast": "^3.0.2",
         "semver": "^7.5.1",
         "ssri": "^10.0.4",
         "tar": "^6.1.14",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 148a2a3b9e56a..768572a8d8b5c 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -107,8 +107,6 @@
     "proc-log": "^3.0.0",
     "qrcode-terminal": "^0.12.0",
     "read": "^2.1.0",
-    "read-package-json": "^6.0.3",
-    "read-package-json-fast": "^3.0.2",
     "semver": "^7.5.1",
     "ssri": "^10.0.4",
     "tar": "^6.1.14",
@@ -175,8 +173,6 @@
     "proc-log",
     "qrcode-terminal",
     "read",
-    "read-package-json",
-    "read-package-json-fast",
     "semver",
     "ssri",
     "tar",
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/explore.js b/test/lib/commands/explore.js
index 786a34a8e2988..6988dca90fbfb 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/explore.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/explore.js
@@ -3,18 +3,20 @@ const mockNpm = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 const { cleanCwd } = require('../../fixtures/clean-snapshot')
 
 const mockExplore = async (t, exec, {
-  RPJ_ERROR = null,
+  PJ_ERROR = null,
   RUN_SCRIPT_ERROR = null,
   RUN_SCRIPT_EXIT_CODE = 0,
   RUN_SCRIPT_SIGNAL = null,
 } = {}) => {
-  let RPJ_CALLED = ''
-  const mockRPJ = async path => {
-    if (RPJ_ERROR) {
-      throw RPJ_ERROR
-    }
-    RPJ_CALLED = cleanCwd(path)
-    return { some: 'package' }
+  let PJ_CALLED = ''
+  const mockPJ = {
+    normalize: async path => {
+      if (PJ_ERROR) {
+        throw PJ_ERROR
+      }
+      PJ_CALLED = cleanCwd(path)
+      return { content: { some: 'package' } }
+    },
   }
 
   let RUN_SCRIPT_EXEC = null
@@ -41,7 +43,7 @@ const mockExplore = async (t, exec, {
 
   const mock = await mockNpm(t, {
     mocks: {
-      'read-package-json-fast': mockRPJ,
+      '@npmcli/package-json': mockPJ,
       '@npmcli/run-script': mockRunScript,
     },
     config: {
@@ -53,7 +55,7 @@ const mockExplore = async (t, exec, {
 
   return {
     ...mock,
-    RPJ_CALLED,
+    PJ_CALLED,
     RUN_SCRIPT_EXEC,
     output: cleanCwd(mock.joinedOutput()).trim(),
   }
@@ -62,11 +64,11 @@ const mockExplore = async (t, exec, {
 t.test('basic interactive', async t => {
   const {
     output,
-    RPJ_CALLED,
+    PJ_CALLED,
     RUN_SCRIPT_EXEC,
   } = await mockExplore(t, ['pkg'])
 
-  t.match(RPJ_CALLED, /\/pkg\/package.json$/)
+  t.ok(PJ_CALLED.endsWith('/pkg'))
   t.strictSame(RUN_SCRIPT_EXEC, 'shell-command')
   t.match(output, /Exploring \{CWD\}\/[\w-_/]+\nType 'exit' or \^D when finished/)
 })
@@ -75,11 +77,11 @@ t.test('interactive tracks exit code', async t => {
   t.test('code', async t => {
     const {
       output,
-      RPJ_CALLED,
+      PJ_CALLED,
       RUN_SCRIPT_EXEC,
     } = await mockExplore(t, ['pkg'], { RUN_SCRIPT_EXIT_CODE: 99 })
 
-    t.match(RPJ_CALLED, /\/pkg\/package.json$/)
+    t.ok(PJ_CALLED.endsWith('/pkg'))
     t.strictSame(RUN_SCRIPT_EXEC, 'shell-command')
     t.match(output, /Exploring \{CWD\}\/[\w-_/]+\nType 'exit' or \^D when finished/)
 
@@ -123,11 +125,11 @@ t.test('interactive tracks exit code', async t => {
 t.test('basic non-interactive', async t => {
   const {
     output,
-    RPJ_CALLED,
+    PJ_CALLED,
     RUN_SCRIPT_EXEC,
   } = await mockExplore(t, ['pkg', 'ls'])
 
-  t.match(RPJ_CALLED, /\/pkg\/package.json$/)
+  t.ok(PJ_CALLED.endsWith('/pkg'))
   t.strictSame(RUN_SCRIPT_EXEC, 'ls')
 
   t.strictSame(output, '')
@@ -164,10 +166,10 @@ t.test('usage if no pkg provided', async t => {
 })
 
 t.test('pkg not installed', async t => {
-  const RPJ_ERROR = new Error('plurple')
+  const PJ_ERROR = new Error('plurple')
 
   await t.rejects(
-    mockExplore(t, ['pkg', 'ls'], { RPJ_ERROR }),
+    mockExplore(t, ['pkg', 'ls'], { PJ_ERROR }),
     { message: 'plurple' }
   )
 })
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/init.js b/test/lib/commands/init.js
index 00caf90d0ec9b..cb708303f405a 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/init.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/init.js
@@ -6,13 +6,12 @@ const { cleanTime } = require('../../fixtures/clean-snapshot')
 
 t.cleanSnapshot = cleanTime
 
-const mockNpm = async (t, { noLog, libnpmexec, initPackageJson, packageJson, ...opts } = {}) => {
+const mockNpm = async (t, { noLog, libnpmexec, initPackageJson, ...opts } = {}) => {
   const res = await _mockNpm(t, {
     ...opts,
     mocks: {
       ...(libnpmexec ? { libnpmexec } : {}),
       ...(initPackageJson ? { 'init-package-json': initPackageJson } : {}),
-      ...(packageJson ? { '@npmcli/package-json': packageJson } : {}),
     },
     globals: {
       // init-package-json prints directly to console.log
@@ -313,14 +312,7 @@ t.test('workspaces', async t => {
   await t.test('fail parsing top-level package.json to set workspace', async t => {
     const { npm } = await mockNpm(t, {
       prefixDir: {
-        'package.json': JSON.stringify({
-          name: 'top-level',
-        }),
-      },
-      packageJson: {
-        async load () {
-          throw new Error('ERR')
-        },
+        'package.json': 'not json[',
       },
       config: { workspace: 'a', yes: true },
       noLog: true,
@@ -328,8 +320,7 @@ t.test('workspaces', async t => {
 
     await t.rejects(
       npm.exec('init', []),
-      /ERR/,
-      'should exit with error'
+      { code: 'EJSONPARSE' }
     )
   })
 
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/uninstall.js b/test/lib/commands/uninstall.js
index 59a517d144d38..ae116d44c208b 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/uninstall.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/uninstall.js
@@ -188,19 +188,15 @@ t.test('no args global but no package.json', async t => {
   )
 })
 
-t.test('unknown error reading from localPrefix package.json', async t => {
+t.test('non ENOENT error reading from localPrefix package.json', async t => {
   const { uninstall } = await mockNpm(t, {
     config: { global: true },
-    mocks: {
-      'read-package-json-fast': async () => {
-        throw new Error('ERR')
-      },
-    },
+    prefixDir: { 'package.json': 'not[json]' },
   })
 
   await t.rejects(
     uninstall([]),
-    /ERR/,
-    'should throw unknown error'
+    { code: 'EJSONPARSE' },
+    'should throw non ENOENT error'
   )
 })
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/unpublish.js b/test/lib/commands/unpublish.js
index 96c06bf3ffee6..da317fbde8611 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/unpublish.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/unpublish.js
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ t.test('no args --force error reading package.json', async t => {
 
   await t.rejects(
     npm.exec('unpublish', []),
-    /Failed to parse json/,
+    /Invalid package.json/,
     'should throw error from reading package.json'
   )
 })