diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/cli/fix.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/cli/fix.rs
index c1eb6c3..c019754 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/cli/fix.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/cli/fix.rs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ use treehouse_format::ast::Branch;
 use crate::{
     parse::{self, parse_toml_with_diagnostics, parse_tree_with_diagnostics},
     state::{report_diagnostics, FileId, Source, Treehouse},
-    vfs::{self, Dir, Edit, VPath},
+    vfs::{self, Content, Dir, Edit, EditPath, VPath},
 };
 
 use super::{FixAllArgs, FixArgs};
@@ -138,17 +138,15 @@ pub fn fix_file_cli(fix_args: FixArgs, root: &dyn Dir) -> anyhow::Result<Edit> {
     let file = if &*fix_args.file == VPath::new("-") {
         std::io::read_to_string(std::io::stdin().lock()).context("cannot read file from stdin")?
     } else {
-        String::from_utf8(
-            root.content(&fix_args.file)
-                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("cannot read file to fix"))?,
-        )
-        .context("input file has invalid UTF-8")?
+        vfs::query::<Content>(root, &fix_args.file)
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("cannot read file to fix"))?
+            .string()?
     };
 
     let mut treehouse = Treehouse::new();
     let mut diagnostics = vec![];
     let file_id = treehouse.add_file(fix_args.file.clone(), Source::Other(file));
-    let edit_path = root.edit_path(&fix_args.file).ok_or_else(|| {
+    let edit_path = vfs::query::<EditPath>(root, &fix_args.file).ok_or_else(|| {
         anyhow!(
             "{} is not an editable file (perhaps it is not in a persistent path?)",
             fix_args.file
@@ -161,9 +159,10 @@ pub fn fix_file_cli(fix_args: FixArgs, root: &dyn Dir) -> anyhow::Result<Edit> {
                 // Try to write the backup first. If writing that fails, bail out without overwriting
                 // the source file.
                 if let Some(backup_path) = fix_args.backup {
-                    let backup_edit_path = root.edit_path(&backup_path).ok_or_else(|| {
-                        anyhow!("backup file {backup_path} is not an editable file")
-                    })?;
+                    let backup_edit_path =
+                        vfs::query::<EditPath>(root, &backup_path).ok_or_else(|| {
+                            anyhow!("backup file {backup_path} is not an editable file")
+                        })?;
                     Edit::Seq(vec![
                         Edit::Write(
                             backup_edit_path,
@@ -190,7 +189,7 @@ pub fn fix_all_cli(fix_all_args: FixAllArgs, dir: &dyn Dir) -> anyhow::Result<Ed
 
     fn fix_one(dir: &dyn Dir, path: &VPath) -> anyhow::Result<Edit> {
         if path.extension() == Some("tree") {
-            let Some(content) = dir.content(path) else {
+            let Some(content) = vfs::query::<Content>(dir, path).map(Content::bytes) else {
                 return Ok(Edit::NoOp);
             };
             let content = String::from_utf8(content).context("file is not valid UTF-8")?;
@@ -198,7 +197,7 @@ pub fn fix_all_cli(fix_all_args: FixAllArgs, dir: &dyn Dir) -> anyhow::Result<Ed
             let mut treehouse = Treehouse::new();
             let mut diagnostics = vec![];
             let file_id = treehouse.add_file(path.to_owned(), Source::Other(content));
-            let edit_path = dir.edit_path(path).context("path is not editable")?;
+            let edit_path = vfs::query::<EditPath>(dir, path).context("path is not editable")?;
 
             if let Ok(fixed) = fix_file(&mut treehouse, &mut diagnostics, file_id) {
                 if fixed != treehouse.source(file_id).input() {
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/cli/serve.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/cli/serve.rs
index 5a5b8ec..9db00fc 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/cli/serve.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/cli/serve.rs
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ struct VfsQuery {
 #[instrument(skip(state))]
 async fn get_static_file(path: &str, query: &VfsQuery, state: &Server) -> Option<Response> {
     let vpath = VPath::try_new(path).ok()?;
-    let content = state.target.content(vpath).await?;
+    let content = state.target.content(vpath).await.map(|c| c.bytes())?;
     let mut response = content.into_response();
 
     if let Some(content_type) = vpath.extension().and_then(get_content_type) {
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ async fn vfs_entry(
 
 async fn system_page(target: &AsyncDir, path: &VPath, status_code: StatusCode) -> Response {
     if let Some(content) = target.content(path).await {
-        (status_code, Html(content)).into_response()
+        (status_code, Html(content.bytes())).into_response()
     } else {
         (
             StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ async fn branch(RawQuery(named_id): RawQuery, State(state): State<Arc<Server>>)
                     .target
                     .content(tree_path)
                     .await
-                    .and_then(|s| String::from_utf8(s).ok())
+                    .and_then(|c| c.string().ok())
                 {
                     let branch_markup = input[branch.content.clone()].trim();
                     let mut per_page_metadata =
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/cli/wc.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/cli/wc.rs
index 27ad3a6..b210225 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/cli/wc.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/cli/wc.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ use treehouse_format::ast::{Branch, Roots};
 use crate::{
     parse::parse_tree_with_diagnostics,
     state::{report_diagnostics, Source, Treehouse},
-    vfs::{self, Dir, VPath},
+    vfs::{self, Content, Dir, VPath},
 };
 
 use super::WcArgs;
@@ -43,9 +43,8 @@ pub fn wc_cli(content_dir: &dyn Dir, mut wc_args: WcArgs) -> anyhow::Result<()>
     let mut total = 0;
 
     for path in &wc_args.paths {
-        if let Some(content) = content_dir
-            .content(path)
-            .and_then(|b| String::from_utf8(b).ok())
+        if let Some(content) =
+            vfs::query::<Content>(content_dir, path).and_then(|b| b.string().ok())
         {
             let file_id = treehouse.add_file(path.clone(), Source::Other(content.clone()));
             match parse_tree_with_diagnostics(file_id, &content) {
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/config.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/config.rs
index 885d6ec..46f5555 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/config.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/config.rs
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ use crate::{
         Syntax,
     },
     import_map::ImportRoot,
-    vfs::{self, Dir, DynDir, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf},
+    vfs::{self, Content, Dir, DynDir, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf},
 };
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Deserialize, Serialize)]
@@ -167,7 +167,9 @@ impl Config {
     }
 
     pub fn pic_size(&self, pics_dir: &dyn Dir, id: &str) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        self.pics.get(id).and_then(|path| pics_dir.image_size(path))
+        self.pics
+            .get(id)
+            .and_then(|path| vfs::query::<ImageSize>(pics_dir, path))
     }
 
     /// Loads all syntax definition files.
@@ -188,12 +190,9 @@ impl Config {
                     .file_stem()
                     .expect("syntax file name should have a stem due to the .json extension");
 
-                let result: Result<Syntax, _> = dir
-                    .content(path)
+                let result: Result<Syntax, _> = vfs::query::<Content>(&dir, path)
                     .ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("syntax .json is not a file"))
-                    .and_then(|b| {
-                        String::from_utf8(b).context("syntax .json contains invalid UTF-8")
-                    })
+                    .and_then(|b| b.string().context("syntax .json contains invalid UTF-8"))
                     .and_then(|s| {
                         let _span = info_span!("Config::load_syntaxes::parse").entered();
                         serde_json::from_str(&s).context("could not deserialize syntax file")
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/generate.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/generate.rs
index fc8d1c0..e250e8e 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/generate.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/generate.rs
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ use crate::{
     fun::seasons::Season,
     sources::Sources,
     vfs::{
-        self, Cd, ContentCache, Dir, DirEntry, DynDir, HtmlCanonicalize, MemDir, Overlay, ToDynDir,
-        VPath, VPathBuf,
+        self, Cd, Content, ContentCache, Dir, DynDir, Entries, HtmlCanonicalize, MemDir, Overlay,
+        ToDynDir, VPath, VPathBuf,
     },
 };
 
@@ -46,6 +46,36 @@ impl<'a> BaseTemplateData<'a> {
     }
 }
 
+fn create_handlebars(site: &str, static_: DynDir) -> Handlebars<'static> {
+    let mut handlebars = Handlebars::new();
+
+    handlebars_helper!(cat: |a: String, b: String| a + &b);
+
+    handlebars.register_helper("cat", Box::new(cat));
+    handlebars.register_helper("asset", Box::new(DirHelper::new(site, static_.clone())));
+    handlebars.register_helper(
+        "include_static",
+        Box::new(IncludeStaticHelper::new(static_)),
+    );
+
+    handlebars
+}
+
+#[instrument(skip(handlebars))]
+fn load_templates(handlebars: &mut Handlebars, dir: &dyn Dir) {
+    vfs::walk_dir_rec(dir, VPath::ROOT, &mut |path| {
+        if path.extension() == Some("hbs") {
+            if let Some(content) = vfs::query::<Content>(dir, path).and_then(|c| c.string().ok()) {
+                let _span = info_span!("register_template", ?path).entered();
+                if let Err(err) = handlebars.register_template_string(path.as_str(), content) {
+                    error!("in template: {err}");
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        ControlFlow::Continue(())
+    });
+}
+
 struct TreehouseDir {
     dirs: Arc<Dirs>,
     sources: Arc<Sources>,
@@ -67,41 +97,9 @@ impl TreehouseDir {
             dir_index,
         }
     }
-}
 
-fn create_handlebars(site: &str, static_: DynDir) -> Handlebars<'static> {
-    let mut handlebars = Handlebars::new();
-
-    handlebars_helper!(cat: |a: String, b: String| a + &b);
-
-    handlebars.register_helper("cat", Box::new(cat));
-    handlebars.register_helper("asset", Box::new(DirHelper::new(site, static_.clone())));
-    handlebars.register_helper(
-        "include_static",
-        Box::new(IncludeStaticHelper::new(static_)),
-    );
-
-    handlebars
-}
-
-#[instrument(skip(handlebars))]
-fn load_templates(handlebars: &mut Handlebars, dir: &dyn Dir) {
-    vfs::walk_dir_rec(dir, VPath::ROOT, &mut |path| {
-        if path.extension() == Some("hbs") {
-            if let Some(content) = dir.content(path).and_then(|b| String::from_utf8(b).ok()) {
-                let _span = info_span!("register_template", ?path).entered();
-                if let Err(err) = handlebars.register_template_string(path.as_str(), content) {
-                    error!("in template: {err}");
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        ControlFlow::Continue(())
-    });
-}
-
-impl Dir for TreehouseDir {
     #[instrument("TreehouseDir::dir", skip(self))]
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
+    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<VPathBuf> {
         // NOTE: This does not include simple templates, because that's not really needed right now.
 
         let mut index = &self.dir_index;
@@ -118,14 +116,12 @@ impl Dir for TreehouseDir {
         index
             .children
             .values()
-            .map(|child| DirEntry {
-                path: child.full_path.clone(),
-            })
+            .map(|child| child.full_path.clone())
             .collect()
     }
 
     #[instrument("TreehouseDir::content", skip(self))]
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Content> {
         let path = if path.is_root() {
             VPath::new_const("index")
         } else {
@@ -137,28 +133,34 @@ impl Dir for TreehouseDir {
             .files_by_tree_path
             .get(path)
             .map(|&file_id| {
-                tree::generate_or_error(&self.sources, &self.dirs, &self.handlebars, file_id).into()
+                Content::new(
+                    tree::generate_or_error(&self.sources, &self.dirs, &self.handlebars, file_id)
+                        .into(),
+                )
             })
             .or_else(|| {
                 if path.file_name().is_some_and(|s| !s.starts_with('_')) {
                     let template_name = path.with_extension("hbs");
                     if self.handlebars.has_template(template_name.as_str()) {
-                        return Some(
+                        return Some(Content::new(
                             simple_template::generate_or_error(
                                 &self.sources,
                                 &self.handlebars,
                                 template_name.as_str(),
                             )
                             .into(),
-                        );
+                        ));
                     }
                 }
                 None
             })
     }
+}
 
-    fn content_version(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        None
+impl Dir for TreehouseDir {
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut vfs::Query) {
+        query.provide(|| Entries(self.dir(path)));
+        query.try_provide(|| self.content(path));
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/generate/atom.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/generate/atom.rs
index 0b3d16c..9f0d9c5 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/generate/atom.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/generate/atom.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use crate::{
     sources::Sources,
     state::FileId,
     tree::SemaBranchId,
-    vfs::{Dir, DirEntry, VPath, VPathBuf},
+    vfs::{self, Content, Dir, Entries, VPath, VPathBuf},
 };
 
 use super::BaseTemplateData;
@@ -36,25 +36,21 @@ impl FeedDir {
             handlebars,
         }
     }
-}
 
-impl Dir for FeedDir {
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
+    fn entries(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<VPathBuf> {
         if path == VPath::ROOT {
             self.sources
                 .treehouse
                 .feeds_by_name
                 .keys()
-                .map(|name| DirEntry {
-                    path: VPathBuf::new(format!("{name}.atom")),
-                })
+                .map(|name| VPathBuf::new(format!("{name}.atom")))
                 .collect()
         } else {
             vec![]
         }
     }
 
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Content> {
         info!("{path}");
         if path.extension() == Some("atom") {
             let feed_name = path.with_extension("").to_string();
@@ -63,15 +59,21 @@ impl Dir for FeedDir {
                 .feeds_by_name
                 .get(&feed_name)
                 .map(|file_id| {
-                    generate_or_error(&self.sources, &self.dirs, &self.handlebars, *file_id).into()
+                    Content::new(
+                        generate_or_error(&self.sources, &self.dirs, &self.handlebars, *file_id)
+                            .into(),
+                    )
                 })
         } else {
             None
         }
     }
+}
 
-    fn content_version(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        None
+impl Dir for FeedDir {
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut vfs::Query) {
+        query.provide(|| Entries(self.entries(path)));
+        query.try_provide(|| self.content(path));
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/generate/include_static_helper.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/generate/include_static_helper.rs
index 8181b30..56aa860 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/generate/include_static_helper.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/generate/include_static_helper.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 use handlebars::{Context, Handlebars, Helper, HelperDef, RenderContext, RenderError, ScopedJson};
 use serde_json::Value;
 
-use crate::vfs::{DynDir, VPath};
+use crate::vfs::{self, Content, DynDir, VPath};
 
 pub struct IncludeStaticHelper {
     dir: DynDir,
@@ -23,13 +23,11 @@ impl HelperDef for IncludeStaticHelper {
     ) -> Result<ScopedJson<'reg, 'rc>, RenderError> {
         if let Some(path) = h.param(0).and_then(|v| v.value().as_str()) {
             let vpath = VPath::try_new(path).map_err(|e| RenderError::new(e.to_string()))?;
-            let url = String::from_utf8(
-                self.dir
-                    .content(vpath)
-                    .ok_or_else(|| RenderError::new("file does not exist"))?,
-            )
-            .map_err(|_| RenderError::new("included file does not contain UTF-8 text"))?;
-            Ok(ScopedJson::Derived(Value::String(url)))
+            let content = vfs::query::<Content>(&self.dir, vpath)
+                .ok_or_else(|| RenderError::new("file does not exist"))?
+                .string()
+                .map_err(|_| RenderError::new("included file does not contain UTF-8 text"))?;
+            Ok(ScopedJson::Derived(Value::String(content)))
         } else {
             Err(RenderError::new("missing path string"))
         }
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/html/djot.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/html/djot.rs
index 94bedd2..0f45673 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/html/djot.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/html/djot.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ use crate::dirs::Dirs;
 use crate::state::FileId;
 use crate::state::Treehouse;
 use crate::vfs;
+use crate::vfs::ImageSize;
 
 use super::highlight::highlight;
 
@@ -584,7 +585,9 @@ impl<'a> Writer<'a> {
                     write_attr(&url, out);
                     out.push('"');
 
-                    if let Some(image_size) = self.renderer.dirs.emoji.image_size(vpath) {
+                    if let Some(image_size) =
+                        vfs::query::<ImageSize>(&self.renderer.dirs.emoji, vpath)
+                    {
                         write!(
                             out,
                             r#" width="{}" height="{}""#,
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/sources.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/sources.rs
index a60faa5..56feac4 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/sources.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/sources.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ use crate::{
     parse::parse_tree_with_diagnostics,
     state::{report_diagnostics, Source, Treehouse},
     tree::SemaRoots,
-    vfs::{self, Cd, VPath, VPathBuf},
+    vfs::{self, Cd, Content, VPath, VPathBuf},
 };
 
 pub struct Sources {
@@ -27,10 +27,8 @@ impl Sources {
         let config = {
             let _span = info_span!("load_config").entered();
             let mut config: Config = toml_edit::de::from_str(
-                &dirs
-                    .root
-                    .content(VPath::new("treehouse.toml"))
-                    .map(String::from_utf8)
+                &vfs::query::<Content>(&dirs.root, VPath::new_const("treehouse.toml"))
+                    .map(Content::string)
                     .ok_or_else(|| anyhow!("config file does not exist"))??,
             )
             .context("failed to deserialize config")?;
@@ -88,9 +86,8 @@ fn load_trees(config: &Config, dirs: &Dirs) -> anyhow::Result<Treehouse> {
             .into_par_iter()
             .zip(&file_ids)
             .flat_map(|(path, &file_id)| {
-                dirs.content
-                    .content(&path)
-                    .and_then(|b| String::from_utf8(b).ok())
+                vfs::query::<Content>(&dirs.content, &path)
+                    .and_then(|c| c.string().ok())
                     .map(|input| {
                         let parse_result = parse_tree_with_diagnostics(file_id, &input);
                         (path, file_id, input, parse_result)
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/tree/mini_template.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/tree/mini_template.rs
index accea1b..aa2f66b 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/tree/mini_template.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/tree/mini_template.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ use crate::{
     dirs::Dirs,
     html::EscapeHtml,
     state::Treehouse,
-    vfs::{Dir, VPath},
+    vfs::{self, Content, VPath},
 };
 
 struct Lexer<'a> {
@@ -206,8 +206,8 @@ impl Renderer<'_> {
             "pic" => Ok(config.pic_url(&*dirs.pic, arguments)),
             "include_static" => VPath::try_new(arguments)
                 .ok()
-                .and_then(|vpath| dirs.static_.content(vpath))
-                .and_then(|content| String::from_utf8(content).ok())
+                .and_then(|vpath| vfs::query::<Content>(&dirs.static_, vpath))
+                .and_then(|c| c.string().ok())
                 .ok_or(InvalidTemplate),
             _ => Err(InvalidTemplate),
         }
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs.rs
index 4e2e538..d121274 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs.rs
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 //!
 //! In-memory directories can be composed using the following primitives:
 //!
-//! - [`EmptyEntry`] - has no metadata whatsoever.
 //! - [`BufferedFile`] - root path content is the provided byte vector.
 //! - [`MemDir`] - a [`Dir`] containing a single level of other [`Dir`]s inside.
 //!
@@ -44,8 +43,10 @@
 //! [`VPath`] also has an owned version, [`VPathBuf`].
 
 use std::{
+    any::TypeId,
     fmt::{self, Debug},
     ops::{ControlFlow, Deref},
+    string::FromUtf8Error,
     sync::Arc,
 };
 
@@ -55,7 +56,6 @@ mod cd;
 mod content_cache;
 mod content_version_cache;
 mod edit;
-mod empty;
 mod file;
 mod html_canonicalize;
 mod image_size_cache;
@@ -69,7 +69,6 @@ pub use cd::*;
 pub use content_cache::*;
 pub use content_version_cache::*;
 pub use edit::*;
-pub use empty::*;
 pub use file::*;
 pub use html_canonicalize::*;
 pub use image_size_cache::*;
@@ -78,50 +77,94 @@ pub use overlay::*;
 pub use path::*;
 pub use physical::*;
 
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord)]
-pub struct DirEntry {
-    pub path: VPathBuf,
-}
-
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord)]
-pub struct ImageSize {
-    pub width: u32,
-    pub height: u32,
-}
-
 pub trait Dir: Debug {
-    /// List all entries under the provided path.
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry>;
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query);
+}
 
-    /// Return the byte content of the entry at the given path.
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>>;
+pub trait Fork {}
 
-    /// Get a string signifying the current version of the provided path's content.
-    /// If the content changes, the version must also change.
-    ///
-    /// Returns None if there is no content or no version string is available.
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String>;
+pub fn query<'a, T>(dir: &'a (impl Dir + ?Sized), path: &VPath) -> Option<T>
+where
+    T: 'static + Fork,
+{
+    let mut slot = TaggedOption::<'a, tags::Value<T>>(None);
+    dir.query(path, Query::new(&mut slot));
+    slot.0
+}
 
-    /// Returns the size of the image at the given path, or `None` if the entry is not an image
-    /// (or its size cannot be known.)
-    fn image_size(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        None
+#[repr(transparent)]
+pub struct Query<'a> {
+    erased: dyn Erased<'a> + 'a,
+}
+
+impl<'a> Query<'a> {
+    fn new<'b>(erased: &'b mut (dyn Erased<'a> + 'a)) -> &'b mut Query<'a> {
+        unsafe { &mut *(erased as *mut dyn Erased<'a> as *mut Query<'a>) }
     }
 
-    /// Returns a path relative to `config.site` indicating where the file will be available
-    /// once served.
-    ///
-    /// May return `None` if the file is not served.
-    fn anchor(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        None
+    pub fn provide<T>(&mut self, f: impl FnOnce() -> T)
+    where
+        T: 'static + Fork,
+    {
+        if let Some(result @ TaggedOption(None)) = self.erased.downcast_mut::<tags::Value<T>>() {
+            result.0 = Some(f());
+        }
     }
 
-    /// If a file can be written persistently, returns an [`EditPath`] representing the file in
-    /// persistent storage.
-    ///
-    /// An edit path can then be made into an [`Edit`].
-    fn edit_path(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        None
+    pub fn try_provide<T>(&mut self, f: impl FnOnce() -> Option<T>)
+    where
+        T: 'static + Fork,
+    {
+        if let Some(result @ TaggedOption(None)) = self.erased.downcast_mut::<tags::Value<T>>() {
+            result.0 = f();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+mod tags {
+    use std::marker::PhantomData;
+
+    pub trait Type<'a>: Sized + 'static {
+        type Reified: 'a;
+    }
+
+    pub struct Value<T>(PhantomData<T>)
+    where
+        T: 'static;
+
+    impl<T> Type<'_> for Value<T>
+    where
+        T: 'static,
+    {
+        type Reified = T;
+    }
+}
+
+#[repr(transparent)]
+struct TaggedOption<'a, I: tags::Type<'a>>(Option<I::Reified>);
+
+#[expect(clippy::missing_safety_doc)]
+unsafe trait Erased<'a>: 'a {
+    fn tag_id(&self) -> TypeId;
+}
+
+unsafe impl<'a, I: tags::Type<'a>> Erased<'a> for TaggedOption<'a, I> {
+    fn tag_id(&self) -> TypeId {
+        TypeId::of::<I>()
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a> dyn Erased<'a> + 'a {
+    fn downcast_mut<I>(&mut self) -> Option<&mut TaggedOption<'a, I>>
+    where
+        I: tags::Type<'a>,
+    {
+        if self.tag_id() == TypeId::of::<I>() {
+            // SAFETY: Just checked whether we're pointing to an I.
+            Some(unsafe { &mut *(self as *mut Self).cast::<TaggedOption<'a, I>>() })
+        } else {
+            None
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -129,28 +172,8 @@ impl<T> Dir for &T
 where
     T: Dir,
 {
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        (**self).dir(path)
-    }
-
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        (**self).content(path)
-    }
-
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        (**self).content_version(path)
-    }
-
-    fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        (**self).image_size(path)
-    }
-
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        (**self).anchor(path)
-    }
-
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        (**self).edit_path(path)
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        (**self).query(path, query)
     }
 }
 
@@ -160,28 +183,8 @@ pub struct DynDir {
 }
 
 impl Dir for DynDir {
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        self.arc.dir(path)
-    }
-
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        self.arc.content(path)
-    }
-
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        self.arc.content_version(path)
-    }
-
-    fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        self.arc.image_size(path)
-    }
-
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        self.arc.anchor(path)
-    }
-
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        self.arc.edit_path(path)
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        self.arc.query(path, query);
     }
 }
 
@@ -229,21 +232,75 @@ where
     }
 }
 
+/// List of child entries under a directory.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord)]
+pub struct Entries(pub Vec<VPathBuf>);
+
+/// Byte content in an entry.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord)]
+pub struct Content {
+    bytes: Vec<u8>,
+}
+
+/// Abstract version of an entry.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord)]
+pub struct ContentVersion {
+    pub string: String,
+}
+
+/// Path relative to `config.site` indicating where the file will be available once served.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord)]
+pub struct Anchor {
+    pub path: VPathBuf,
+}
+
+/// Size of image entries.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord)]
+pub struct ImageSize {
+    pub width: u32,
+    pub height: u32,
+}
+
+impl Content {
+    pub fn new(bytes: Vec<u8>) -> Self {
+        Self { bytes }
+    }
+
+    pub fn bytes(self) -> Vec<u8> {
+        self.bytes
+    }
+
+    pub fn string(self) -> Result<String, FromUtf8Error> {
+        String::from_utf8(self.bytes())
+    }
+}
+
+impl Fork for Entries {}
+impl Fork for Content {}
+impl Fork for ContentVersion {}
+impl Fork for Anchor {}
+impl Fork for ImageSize {}
+impl Fork for EditPath {}
+
+pub fn entries(dir: &dyn Dir, path: &VPath) -> Vec<VPathBuf> {
+    query::<Entries>(dir, path).map(|e| e.0).unwrap_or_default()
+}
+
 pub fn walk_dir_rec(dir: &dyn Dir, path: &VPath, f: &mut dyn FnMut(&VPath) -> ControlFlow<(), ()>) {
-    for entry in dir.dir(path) {
-        match f(&entry.path) {
+    for entry in entries(dir, path) {
+        match f(&entry) {
             ControlFlow::Continue(_) => (),
             ControlFlow::Break(_) => return,
         }
-        walk_dir_rec(dir, &entry.path, f);
+        walk_dir_rec(dir, &entry, f);
     }
 }
 
 pub fn url(site: &str, dir: &dyn Dir, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-    let anchor = dir.anchor(path)?;
-    if let Some(version) = dir.content_version(path) {
-        Some(format!("{}/{anchor}?v={version}", site))
+    let anchor = query::<Anchor>(dir, path)?;
+    if let Some(version) = query::<ContentVersion>(dir, path) {
+        Some(format!("{}/{}?v={}", site, anchor.path, version.string))
     } else {
-        Some(format!("{}/{anchor}", site))
+        Some(format!("{}/{}", site, anchor.path))
     }
 }
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/anchored.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/anchored.rs
index 6af0fe4..7bf6bf3 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/anchored.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/anchored.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use std::fmt;
 
-use super::{Dir, DirEntry, EditPath, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use super::{Anchor, Dir, Query, VPath, VPathBuf};
 
 pub struct Anchored<T> {
     inner: T,
@@ -17,28 +17,12 @@ impl<T> Dir for Anchored<T>
 where
     T: Dir,
 {
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        self.inner.dir(path)
-    }
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        query.provide(|| Anchor {
+            path: self.at.join(path),
+        });
 
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        self.inner.content(path)
-    }
-
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        self.inner.content_version(path)
-    }
-
-    fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        self.inner.image_size(path)
-    }
-
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        Some(self.at.join(path))
-    }
-
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        self.inner.edit_path(path)
+        self.inner.query(path, query);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/asynch.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/asynch.rs
index acad193..faaf61b 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/asynch.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/asynch.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use super::{Dir, DynDir, VPath};
+use super::{query, Content, DynDir, VPath};
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct AsyncDir {
@@ -10,13 +10,13 @@ impl AsyncDir {
         Self { inner }
     }
 
-    pub async fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+    pub async fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Content> {
         let this = self.clone();
         let path = path.to_owned();
         // NOTE: Performance impact of spawning a blocking task may be a bit high in case
         // we add caching.
         // Measure throughput here.
-        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || this.inner.content(&path))
+        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || query::<Content>(&this.inner, &path))
             .await
             .unwrap()
     }
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/cd.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/cd.rs
index baa61aa..bb55e82 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/cd.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/cd.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use std::fmt;
 
-use super::{Dir, DirEntry, EditPath, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use super::{entries, Dir, Entries, Query, VPath, VPathBuf};
 
 pub struct Cd<T> {
     parent: T,
@@ -13,42 +13,34 @@ impl<T> Cd<T> {
     }
 }
 
+impl<T> Cd<T>
+where
+    T: Dir,
+{
+    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<VPathBuf> {
+        entries(&self.parent, &self.path.join(path))
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|entry| {
+                entry
+                    .strip_prefix(&self.path)
+                    .expect("all entries must be anchored within `self.path`")
+                    .to_owned()
+            })
+            .collect()
+    }
+}
+
 impl<T> Dir for Cd<T>
 where
     T: Dir,
 {
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        self.parent
-            .dir(&self.path.join(path))
-            .into_iter()
-            .map(|entry| DirEntry {
-                path: entry
-                    .path
-                    .strip_prefix(&self.path)
-                    .expect("all entries must be anchored within `self.path`")
-                    .to_owned(),
-            })
-            .collect()
-    }
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        // The only query that meaningfully needs to return something else is `dir`, which must
+        // be modified to strip prefixes off of the parent's returned paths.
+        query.provide(|| Entries(self.dir(path)));
 
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        self.parent.content_version(&self.path.join(path))
-    }
-
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        self.parent.content(&self.path.join(path))
-    }
-
-    fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        self.parent.image_size(&self.path.join(path))
-    }
-
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        self.parent.anchor(&self.path.join(path))
-    }
-
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        self.parent.edit_path(&self.path.join(path))
+        // Other queries can run unmodified, only passing them the right path.
+        self.parent.query(&self.path.join(path), query);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/content_cache.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/content_cache.rs
index 03fd41e..3858985 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/content_cache.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/content_cache.rs
@@ -7,11 +7,11 @@ use dashmap::DashMap;
 use rayon::iter::{IntoParallelRefIterator, ParallelIterator};
 use tracing::{info_span, instrument};
 
-use super::{walk_dir_rec, Dir, DirEntry, EditPath, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use super::{query, walk_dir_rec, Content, Dir, Query, VPath, VPathBuf};
 
 pub struct ContentCache<T> {
     inner: T,
-    cache: DashMap<VPathBuf, Vec<u8>>,
+    cache: DashMap<VPathBuf, Content>,
 }
 
 impl<T> ContentCache<T> {
@@ -39,41 +39,32 @@ where
     }
 }
 
-impl<T> Dir for ContentCache<T>
+impl<T> ContentCache<T>
 where
     T: Dir,
 {
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        self.inner.dir(path)
-    }
-
     #[instrument(name = "ContentCache::content", skip(self))]
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Content> {
         self.cache.get(path).map(|x| x.clone()).or_else(|| {
             let _span = info_span!("cache_miss").entered();
 
-            let content = self.inner.content(path);
+            let content = query::<Content>(&self.inner, path);
             if let Some(content) = &content {
                 self.cache.insert(path.to_owned(), content.clone());
             }
             content
         })
     }
+}
 
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        self.inner.content_version(path)
-    }
+impl<T> Dir for ContentCache<T>
+where
+    T: Dir,
+{
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        query.try_provide(|| self.content(path));
 
-    fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        self.inner.image_size(path)
-    }
-
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        self.inner.anchor(path)
-    }
-
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        self.inner.edit_path(path)
+        self.inner.query(path, query);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/content_version_cache.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/content_version_cache.rs
index 0dfaae5..f953e2a 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/content_version_cache.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/content_version_cache.rs
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@ use std::fmt::{self, Debug};
 use dashmap::DashMap;
 use tracing::{info_span, instrument};
 
-use super::{Dir, DirEntry, EditPath, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use super::{query, Content, ContentVersion, Dir, Query, VPath, VPathBuf};
 
 pub struct Blake3ContentVersionCache<T> {
     inner: T,
-    cache: DashMap<VPathBuf, String>,
+    cache: DashMap<VPathBuf, ContentVersion>,
 }
 
 impl<T> Blake3ContentVersionCache<T> {
@@ -19,26 +19,20 @@ impl<T> Blake3ContentVersionCache<T> {
     }
 }
 
-impl<T> Dir for Blake3ContentVersionCache<T>
+impl<T> Blake3ContentVersionCache<T>
 where
     T: Dir,
 {
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        self.inner.dir(path)
-    }
-
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        self.inner.content(path)
-    }
-
     #[instrument(name = "Blake3ContentVersionCache::content_version", skip(self))]
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
+    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ContentVersion> {
         self.cache.get(path).map(|x| x.clone()).or_else(|| {
             let _span = info_span!("cache_miss").entered();
 
-            let version = self.inner.content(path).map(|content| {
-                let hash = blake3::hash(&content).to_hex();
-                format!("b3-{}", &hash[0..8])
+            let version = query::<Content>(&self.inner, path).map(|content| {
+                let hash = blake3::hash(&content.bytes()).to_hex();
+                ContentVersion {
+                    string: format!("b3-{}", &hash[0..8]),
+                }
             });
             if let Some(version) = &version {
                 self.cache.insert(path.to_owned(), version.clone());
@@ -46,17 +40,16 @@ where
             version
         })
     }
+}
 
-    fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        self.inner.image_size(path)
-    }
+impl<T> Dir for Blake3ContentVersionCache<T>
+where
+    T: Dir,
+{
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        query.try_provide(|| self.content_version(path));
 
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        self.inner.anchor(path)
-    }
-
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        self.inner.edit_path(path)
+        self.inner.query(path, query);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/empty.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/empty.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index aa15d7e..0000000
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/empty.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,18 +0,0 @@
-use super::{Dir, DirEntry, VPath};
-
-#[derive(Debug)]
-pub struct EmptyEntry;
-
-impl Dir for EmptyEntry {
-    fn dir(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        vec![]
-    }
-
-    fn content_version(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        None
-    }
-
-    fn content(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        None
-    }
-}
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/file.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/file.rs
index cb033cb..19fa3cd 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/file.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/file.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use std::fmt;
 
-use super::{DirEntry, Dir, VPath};
+use super::{Content, Dir, Query, VPath};
 
 pub struct BufferedFile {
     pub content: Vec<u8>,
@@ -13,20 +13,9 @@ impl BufferedFile {
 }
 
 impl Dir for BufferedFile {
-    fn dir(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        vec![]
-    }
-
-    fn content_version(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        // TODO: StaticFile should _probably_ calculate a content_version.
-        None
-    }
-
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
         if path == VPath::ROOT {
-            Some(self.content.clone())
-        } else {
-            None
+            query.provide(|| Content::new(self.content.clone()));
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/html_canonicalize.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/html_canonicalize.rs
index 109bfe6..fb3ee54 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/html_canonicalize.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/html_canonicalize.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use core::fmt;
 
-use super::{Dir, DirEntry, EditPath, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use super::{Dir, Query, VPath};
 
 pub struct HtmlCanonicalize<T> {
     inner: T,
@@ -16,33 +16,13 @@ impl<T> Dir for HtmlCanonicalize<T>
 where
     T: Dir,
 {
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        self.inner.dir(path)
-    }
-
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
         let mut path = path.to_owned();
         if path.extension() == Some("html") {
             path.set_extension("");
         }
 
-        self.inner.content(&path)
-    }
-
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        self.inner.content_version(path)
-    }
-
-    fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        self.inner.image_size(path)
-    }
-
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        self.inner.anchor(path)
-    }
-
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        self.inner.edit_path(path)
+        self.inner.query(&path, query);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/image_size_cache.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/image_size_cache.rs
index 2f33264..48bb5f7 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/image_size_cache.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/image_size_cache.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ use tracing::{info_span, instrument, warn};
 
 use crate::config;
 
-use super::{Dir, DirEntry, EditPath, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use super::{query, Content, Dir, ImageSize, Query, VPath, VPathBuf};
 
 pub struct ImageSizeCache<T> {
     inner: T,
@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ where
 {
     fn compute_image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> anyhow::Result<Option<ImageSize>> {
         if path.extension().is_some_and(config::is_image_file) {
-            if let Some(content) = self.content(path) {
-                let reader = image::ImageReader::new(Cursor::new(content))
+            if let Some(content) = query::<Content>(&self.inner, path) {
+                let reader = image::ImageReader::new(Cursor::new(content.bytes()))
                     .with_guessed_format()
                     .context("cannot guess image format")?;
                 let (width, height) = reader.into_dimensions()?;
@@ -39,23 +39,6 @@ where
 
         Ok(None)
     }
-}
-
-impl<T> Dir for ImageSizeCache<T>
-where
-    T: Dir,
-{
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        self.inner.dir(path)
-    }
-
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        self.inner.content(path)
-    }
-
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        self.inner.content_version(path)
-    }
 
     #[instrument("ImageSizeCache::image_size", skip(self))]
     fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
@@ -73,13 +56,16 @@ where
             image_size
         })
     }
+}
 
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        self.inner.anchor(path)
-    }
+impl<T> Dir for ImageSizeCache<T>
+where
+    T: Dir,
+{
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        query.try_provide(|| self.image_size(path));
 
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        self.inner.edit_path(path)
+        self.inner.query(path, query);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/mem_dir.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/mem_dir.rs
index a799749..eab7b3f 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/mem_dir.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/mem_dir.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use std::{collections::HashMap, fmt};
 
-use super::{Dir, DirEntry, DynDir, EditPath, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use super::{entries, Dir, DynDir, Entries, Query, VPath, VPathBuf};
 
 pub struct MemDir {
     mount_points: HashMap<String, DynDir>,
@@ -55,6 +55,23 @@ impl MemDir {
 
         Resolved::None
     }
+
+    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<VPathBuf> {
+        match self.resolve(path) {
+            Resolved::Root => self.mount_points.keys().map(VPathBuf::new).collect(),
+
+            Resolved::MountPoint {
+                fs,
+                fs_path,
+                subpath,
+            } => entries(fs, subpath)
+                .into_iter()
+                .map(|path| fs_path.join(&path))
+                .collect(),
+
+            Resolved::None => vec![],
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 impl Default for MemDir {
@@ -64,82 +81,16 @@ impl Default for MemDir {
 }
 
 impl Dir for MemDir {
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        match self.resolve(path) {
-            Resolved::Root => self
-                .mount_points
-                .keys()
-                .map(|name| DirEntry {
-                    path: VPathBuf::new(name),
-                })
-                .collect(),
-            Resolved::MountPoint {
-                fs,
-                fs_path,
-                subpath,
-            } => fs
-                .dir(subpath)
-                .into_iter()
-                .map(|entry| DirEntry {
-                    path: fs_path.join(&entry.path),
-                })
-                .collect(),
-            Resolved::None => vec![],
-        }
-    }
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        query.provide(|| Entries(self.dir(path)));
 
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
         match self.resolve(path) {
+            Resolved::Root | Resolved::None => (),
             Resolved::MountPoint {
                 fs,
                 fs_path: _,
                 subpath,
-            } => fs.content_version(subpath),
-            Resolved::Root | Resolved::None => None,
-        }
-    }
-
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        match self.resolve(path) {
-            Resolved::MountPoint {
-                fs,
-                fs_path: _,
-                subpath,
-            } => fs.content(subpath),
-            Resolved::Root | Resolved::None => None,
-        }
-    }
-
-    fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        match self.resolve(path) {
-            Resolved::MountPoint {
-                fs,
-                fs_path: _,
-                subpath,
-            } => fs.image_size(subpath),
-            Resolved::Root | Resolved::None => None,
-        }
-    }
-
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        match self.resolve(path) {
-            Resolved::MountPoint {
-                fs,
-                fs_path: _,
-                subpath,
-            } => fs.anchor(subpath),
-            Resolved::Root | Resolved::None => None,
-        }
-    }
-
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        match self.resolve(path) {
-            Resolved::MountPoint {
-                fs,
-                fs_path: _,
-                subpath,
-            } => fs.edit_path(subpath),
-            Resolved::Root | Resolved::None => None,
+            } => fs.query(subpath, query),
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/overlay.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/overlay.rs
index 33d6b55..13907ed 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/overlay.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/overlay.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ use std::fmt;
 
 use tracing::instrument;
 
-use super::{Dir, DirEntry, DynDir, EditPath, ImageSize, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use super::{entries, Dir, DynDir, Entries, Query, VPath, VPathBuf};
 
 pub struct Overlay {
     base: DynDir,
@@ -13,44 +13,23 @@ impl Overlay {
     pub fn new(base: DynDir, overlay: DynDir) -> Self {
         Self { base, overlay }
     }
-}
 
-impl Dir for Overlay {
     #[instrument("Overlay::dir", skip(self))]
-    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
-        let mut dir = self.base.dir(path);
-        dir.append(&mut self.overlay.dir(path));
+    fn dir(&self, path: &VPath) -> Vec<VPathBuf> {
+        let mut dir = entries(&self.base, path);
+        dir.append(&mut entries(&self.overlay, path));
         dir.sort();
         dir.dedup();
         dir
     }
+}
 
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-        self.overlay
-            .content(path)
-            .or_else(|| self.base.content(path))
-    }
+impl Dir for Overlay {
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        query.provide(|| Entries(self.dir(path)));
 
-    fn content_version(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        self.overlay
-            .content_version(path)
-            .or_else(|| self.base.content_version(path))
-    }
-
-    fn image_size(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<ImageSize> {
-        self.overlay
-            .image_size(path)
-            .or_else(|| self.base.image_size(path))
-    }
-
-    fn anchor(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<VPathBuf> {
-        self.overlay.anchor(path).or_else(|| self.base.anchor(path))
-    }
-
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        self.overlay
-            .edit_path(path)
-            .or_else(|| self.base.edit_path(path))
+        self.overlay.query(path, query);
+        self.base.query(path, query);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/physical.rs b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/physical.rs
index d4af780..4835f47 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/physical.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/src/vfs/physical.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use tracing::{error, instrument};
 
-use super::{Dir, DirEntry, EditPath, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use super::{Content, Dir, EditPath, Entries, Query, VPath, VPathBuf};
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct PhysicalDir {
@@ -13,11 +13,8 @@ impl PhysicalDir {
     pub fn new(root: PathBuf) -> Self {
         Self { root }
     }
-}
 
-impl Dir for PhysicalDir {
-    #[instrument("PhysicalDir::dir", skip(self))]
-    fn dir(&self, vpath: &VPath) -> Vec<DirEntry> {
+    fn entries(&self, vpath: &VPath) -> Vec<VPathBuf> {
         let physical = self.root.join(physical_path(vpath));
         if !physical.is_dir() {
             return vec![];
@@ -47,7 +44,7 @@ impl Dir for PhysicalDir {
                                     error!("{self:?} error with vpath for {path_str:?}: {err:?}");
                                 })
                                 .ok()?;
-                            Some(DirEntry { path: vpath_buf })
+                            Some(vpath_buf)
                         })
                 })
                 .collect(),
@@ -60,21 +57,26 @@ impl Dir for PhysicalDir {
         }
     }
 
-    fn content_version(&self, _path: &VPath) -> Option<String> {
-        None
-    }
-
     #[instrument("PhysicalDir::content", skip(self))]
-    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
+    fn content(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<Content> {
         std::fs::read(self.root.join(physical_path(path)))
             .inspect_err(|err| error!("{self:?} cannot read file at vpath {path:?}: {err:?}",))
             .ok()
+            .map(Content::new)
     }
 
-    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> Option<EditPath> {
-        Some(EditPath {
+    fn edit_path(&self, path: &VPath) -> EditPath {
+        EditPath {
             path: self.root.join(physical_path(path)),
-        })
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl Dir for PhysicalDir {
+    fn query(&self, path: &VPath, query: &mut Query) {
+        query.provide(|| Entries(self.entries(path)));
+        query.try_provide(|| self.content(path));
+        query.provide(|| self.edit_path(path));
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs.rs b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs.rs
index 9a35d7d..ba500b3 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 mod cd;
-mod empty;
 mod file;
 mod mount_points;
 mod physical;
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/cd.rs b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/cd.rs
index eb45e9c..cad2583 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/cd.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/cd.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-use treehouse::vfs::{BufferedFile, Cd, Dir, DirEntry, MemDir, ToDynDir, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use treehouse::vfs::{
+    entries, query, BufferedFile, Cd, Content, MemDir, ToDynDir, VPath, VPathBuf,
+};
 
 const HEWWO: &[u8] = b"hewwo :3";
 const FWOOFEE: &[u8] = b"fwoofee -w-";
@@ -27,20 +29,14 @@ fn dir1() {
     let outer = vfs();
     let inner = Cd::new(outer, VPathBuf::new("inner"));
 
-    let mut dir = inner.dir(VPath::ROOT);
+    let mut dir = entries(&inner, VPath::ROOT);
     dir.sort();
     assert_eq!(
         dir,
         vec![
-            DirEntry {
-                path: VPathBuf::new("file1.txt"),
-            },
-            DirEntry {
-                path: VPathBuf::new("file2.txt"),
-            },
-            DirEntry {
-                path: VPathBuf::new("innermost"),
-            }
+            VPathBuf::new("file1.txt"),
+            VPathBuf::new("file2.txt"),
+            VPathBuf::new("innermost"),
         ]
     );
 }
@@ -50,25 +46,9 @@ fn dir2() {
     let outer = vfs();
     let innermost = Cd::new(&outer, VPathBuf::new("inner/innermost"));
 
-    let mut dir = innermost.dir(VPath::ROOT);
+    let mut dir = entries(&innermost, VPath::ROOT);
     dir.sort();
-    assert_eq!(
-        dir,
-        vec![DirEntry {
-            path: VPathBuf::new("file3.txt"),
-        },]
-    );
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn content_version() {
-    let outer = vfs();
-    let inner = Cd::new(&outer, VPathBuf::new("inner"));
-
-    assert_eq!(
-        inner.content_version(VPath::new("test1.txt")),
-        outer.content_version(VPath::new("inner/test1.txt"))
-    );
+    assert_eq!(dir, vec![VPathBuf::new("file3.txt")]);
 }
 
 #[test]
@@ -77,7 +57,7 @@ fn content() {
     let inner = Cd::new(&outer, VPathBuf::new("inner"));
 
     assert_eq!(
-        inner.content(VPath::new("test1.txt")),
-        outer.content(VPath::new("inner/test1.txt"))
+        query::<Content>(&inner, VPath::new("test1.txt")).map(Content::bytes),
+        query::<Content>(&outer, VPath::new("inner/test1.txt")).map(Content::bytes)
     );
 }
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/empty.rs b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/empty.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index d3e6a70..0000000
--- a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/empty.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-use treehouse::vfs::{Dir, EmptyEntry, VPath};
-
-#[test]
-fn dir() {
-    assert!(EmptyEntry.dir(VPath::ROOT).is_empty());
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn content_version() {
-    assert!(EmptyEntry.content_version(VPath::ROOT).is_none());
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn content() {
-    assert!(EmptyEntry.content(VPath::ROOT).is_none());
-}
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/file.rs b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/file.rs
index b0f5429..077b51a 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/file.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/file.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use treehouse::vfs::{BufferedFile, Dir, VPath};
+use treehouse::vfs::{entries, query, BufferedFile, Content, VPath};
 
 fn vfs() -> BufferedFile {
     BufferedFile::new(b"hewwo :3".to_vec())
@@ -7,23 +7,16 @@ fn vfs() -> BufferedFile {
 #[test]
 fn dir() {
     let vfs = vfs();
-    assert!(vfs.dir(VPath::ROOT).is_empty());
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn content_version() {
-    let vfs = vfs();
-    assert!(
-        vfs.content_version(VPath::ROOT).is_none(),
-        "content_version is not implemented for BufferedFile for now"
-    );
+    assert!(entries(&vfs, VPath::ROOT).is_empty());
 }
 
 #[test]
 fn content() {
     let vfs = vfs();
     assert_eq!(
-        vfs.content(VPath::ROOT).as_deref(),
+        query::<Content>(&vfs, VPath::ROOT)
+            .map(|c| c.bytes())
+            .as_deref(),
         Some(b"hewwo :3".as_slice()),
     );
 }
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/mount_points.rs b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/mount_points.rs
index 22a1a59..f08b956 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/mount_points.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/mount_points.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-use treehouse::vfs::{BufferedFile, Dir, DirEntry, MemDir, ToDynDir, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use treehouse::vfs::{
+    entries, query, BufferedFile, Content, Dir, MemDir, ToDynDir, VPath, VPathBuf,
+};
 
 const HEWWO: &[u8] = b"hewwo :3";
 const FWOOFEE: &[u8] = b"fwoofee -w-";
@@ -23,52 +25,22 @@ fn vfs() -> MemDir {
 fn dir() {
     let vfs = vfs();
 
-    let mut dir = vfs.dir(VPath::new(""));
+    let mut dir = entries(&vfs, VPath::ROOT);
     dir.sort();
     assert_eq!(
         dir,
         vec![
-            DirEntry {
-                path: VPathBuf::new("file1.txt"),
-            },
-            DirEntry {
-                path: VPathBuf::new("file2.txt"),
-            },
-            DirEntry {
-                path: VPathBuf::new("inner"),
-            }
+            VPathBuf::new("file1.txt"),
+            VPathBuf::new("file2.txt"),
+            VPathBuf::new("inner"),
         ]
     );
 
-    assert!(vfs.dir(VPath::new("file1.txt")).is_empty());
-    assert!(vfs.dir(VPath::new("file2.txt")).is_empty());
+    assert!(entries(&vfs, VPath::new("file1.txt")).is_empty());
+    assert!(entries(&vfs, VPath::new("file2.txt")).is_empty());
     assert_eq!(
-        vfs.dir(VPath::new("inner")),
-        vec![DirEntry {
-            path: VPathBuf::new("inner/file3.txt")
-        }]
-    );
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn content_version() {
-    let vfs = vfs();
-
-    let file1 = BufferedFile::new(HEWWO.to_vec());
-    let file2 = BufferedFile::new(FWOOFEE.to_vec());
-    let file3 = BufferedFile::new(BOOP.to_vec());
-
-    assert_eq!(
-        vfs.content_version(VPath::new("file1.txt")),
-        file1.content_version(VPath::ROOT)
-    );
-    assert_eq!(
-        vfs.content_version(VPath::new("file2.txt")),
-        file2.content_version(VPath::ROOT)
-    );
-    assert_eq!(
-        vfs.content_version(VPath::new("inner/file3.txt")),
-        file3.content_version(VPath::ROOT)
+        entries(&vfs, VPath::new("inner")),
+        vec![VPathBuf::new("inner/file3.txt")]
     );
 }
 
@@ -76,13 +48,22 @@ fn content_version() {
 fn content() {
     let vfs = vfs();
 
-    assert_eq!(vfs.content(VPath::new("file1.txt")).as_deref(), Some(HEWWO));
     assert_eq!(
-        vfs.content(VPath::new("file2.txt")).as_deref(),
+        query::<Content>(&vfs, VPath::new("file1.txt"))
+            .map(Content::bytes)
+            .as_deref(),
+        Some(HEWWO)
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        query::<Content>(&vfs, VPath::new("file2.txt"))
+            .map(Content::bytes)
+            .as_deref(),
         Some(FWOOFEE)
     );
     assert_eq!(
-        vfs.content(VPath::new("inner/file3.txt")).as_deref(),
+        query::<Content>(&vfs, VPath::new("inner/file3.txt"))
+            .map(Content::bytes)
+            .as_deref(),
         Some(BOOP)
     );
 }
diff --git a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/physical.rs b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/physical.rs
index 0eb6a10..ead0d98 100644
--- a/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/physical.rs
+++ b/crates/treehouse/tests/it/vfs/physical.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use std::path::Path;
 
-use treehouse::vfs::{DirEntry, PhysicalDir, Dir, VPath, VPathBuf};
+use treehouse::vfs::{entries, query, Content, PhysicalDir, VPath, VPathBuf};
 
 fn vfs() -> PhysicalDir {
     let root = Path::new("tests/it/vfs_physical").to_path_buf();
@@ -10,28 +10,13 @@ fn vfs() -> PhysicalDir {
 #[test]
 fn dir() {
     let vfs = vfs();
-    let dir = vfs.dir(VPath::ROOT);
-    assert_eq!(
-        &dir[..],
-        &[DirEntry {
-            path: VPathBuf::new("test.txt"),
-        }]
-    );
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn content_version() {
-    let vfs = vfs();
-    let content_version = vfs.content_version(VPath::new("test.txt"));
-    assert_eq!(
-        content_version, None,
-        "content_version remains unimplemented for now"
-    );
+    let dir = entries(&vfs, VPath::ROOT);
+    assert_eq!(&dir[..], &[VPathBuf::new("test.txt")]);
 }
 
 #[test]
 fn content() {
     let vfs = vfs();
-    let content = vfs.content(VPath::new("test.txt"));
+    let content = query::<Content>(&vfs, VPath::new("test.txt")).map(Content::bytes);
     assert_eq!(content.as_deref(), Some(b"hewwo :3\n".as_slice()));
 }