diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 81ffbe8379..d5bfdb214c 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ add_glob_target(
   TOUCH_STRATEGY PER_DIR)
 
 add_custom_target(lintcommit
-  COMMAND $<TARGET_FILE:nvim_bin> -u NONE -l ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/scripts/lintcommit.lua main)
+  COMMAND $<TARGET_FILE:nvim_bin> --clean -l ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/scripts/lintcommit.lua main)
 add_dependencies(lintcommit nvim_bin)
 
 add_custom_target(lint)
diff --git a/runtime/doc/lua.txt b/runtime/doc/lua.txt
index aa76f55662..a390d74e09 100644
--- a/runtime/doc/lua.txt
+++ b/runtime/doc/lua.txt
@@ -3895,7 +3895,7 @@ conforming to the https://semver.org spec. Plugins, and plugin managers, can
 use this to check available tools and dependencies on the current system.
 
 Example: >lua
-    local v = vim.version.parse(vim.fn.system({'tmux', '-V'}), {strict=false})
+    local v = vim.version.parse(vim.system({'tmux', '-V'}):wait().stdout, {strict=false})
     if vim.version.gt(v, {3, 2, 0}) then
       -- ...
     end
diff --git a/runtime/example_init.lua b/runtime/example_init.lua
index f598ae84bd..45e17f9b6b 100644
--- a/runtime/example_init.lua
+++ b/runtime/example_init.lua
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd('TextYankPost', {
 vim.api.nvim_create_user_command('GitBlameLine', function()
   local line_number = vim.fn.line('.') -- Get the current line number. See `:h line()`
   local filename = vim.api.nvim_buf_get_name(0)
-  print(vim.fn.system({ 'git', 'blame', '-L', line_number .. ',+1', filename }))
+  print(vim.system({ 'git', 'blame', '-L', line_number .. ',+1', filename }):wait().stdout)
 end, { desc = 'Print the git blame for the current line' })
 
 -- [[ Add optional packages ]]
diff --git a/runtime/lua/vim/health/health.lua b/runtime/lua/vim/health/health.lua
index a640a6a548..5eaa1911e4 100644
--- a/runtime/lua/vim/health/health.lua
+++ b/runtime/lua/vim/health/health.lua
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
 local M = {}
 local health = require('vim.health')
 
-local shell_error = function()
-  return vim.v.shell_error ~= 0
+---Run a system command and return ok and its stdout and stderr combined.
+---@param cmd string[]
+---@return boolean
+---@return string
+local function system(cmd)
+  local result = vim.system(cmd, { text = true }):wait()
+  return result.code == 0, vim.trim(('%s\n%s'):format(result.stdout, result.stderr))
 end
 
 local suggest_faq = 'https://github.com/neovim/neovim/blob/master/BUILD.md#building'
@@ -168,10 +173,10 @@ local function check_performance()
   end
 
   -- check for slow shell invocation
-  local slow_cmd_time = 1.5
-  local start_time = vim.fn.reltime()
-  vim.fn.system('echo')
-  local elapsed_time = vim.fn.reltimefloat(vim.fn.reltime(start_time))
+  local slow_cmd_time = 1.5e9
+  local start_time = vim.uv.hrtime()
+  system({ 'echo' })
+  local elapsed_time = vim.uv.hrtime() - start_time
   if elapsed_time > slow_cmd_time then
     health.warn(
       'Slow shell invocation (took ' .. vim.fn.printf('%.2f', elapsed_time) .. ' seconds).'
@@ -252,17 +257,17 @@ local function check_tmux()
 
   ---@param option string
   local get_tmux_option = function(option)
-    local cmd = 'tmux show-option -qvg ' .. option -- try global scope
-    local out = vim.fn.system(vim.fn.split(cmd))
+    local cmd = { 'tmux', 'show-option', '-qvg', option } -- try global scope
+    local ok, out = system(cmd)
     local val = vim.fn.substitute(out, [[\v(\s|\r|\n)]], '', 'g')
-    if shell_error() then
+    if not ok then
       health.error('command failed: ' .. cmd .. '\n' .. out)
       return 'error'
     elseif val == '' then
-      cmd = 'tmux show-option -qvgs ' .. option -- try session scope
-      out = vim.fn.system(vim.fn.split(cmd))
+      cmd = { 'tmux', 'show-option', '-qvgs', option } -- try session scope
+      ok, out = system(cmd)
       val = vim.fn.substitute(out, [[\v(\s|\r|\n)]], '', 'g')
-      if shell_error() then
+      if not ok then
         health.error('command failed: ' .. cmd .. '\n' .. out)
         return 'error'
       end
@@ -301,16 +306,16 @@ local function check_tmux()
 
   -- check default-terminal and $TERM
   health.info('$TERM: ' .. vim.env.TERM)
-  local cmd = 'tmux show-option -qvg default-terminal'
-  local out = vim.fn.system(vim.fn.split(cmd))
+  local cmd = { 'tmux', 'show-option', '-qvg', 'default-terminal' }
+  local ok, out = system(cmd)
   local tmux_default_term = vim.fn.substitute(out, [[\v(\s|\r|\n)]], '', 'g')
   if tmux_default_term == '' then
-    cmd = 'tmux show-option -qvgs default-terminal'
-    out = vim.fn.system(vim.fn.split(cmd))
+    cmd = { 'tmux', 'show-option', '-qvgs', 'default-terminal' }
+    ok, out = system(cmd)
     tmux_default_term = vim.fn.substitute(out, [[\v(\s|\r|\n)]], '', 'g')
   end
 
-  if shell_error() then
+  if not ok then
     health.error('command failed: ' .. cmd .. '\n' .. out)
   elseif tmux_default_term ~= vim.env.TERM then
     health.info('default-terminal: ' .. tmux_default_term)
@@ -329,7 +334,7 @@ local function check_tmux()
   end
 
   -- check for RGB capabilities
-  local info = vim.fn.system({ 'tmux', 'show-messages', '-T' })
+  local _, info = system({ 'tmux', 'show-messages', '-T' })
   local has_setrgbb = vim.fn.stridx(info, ' setrgbb: (string)') ~= -1
   local has_setrgbf = vim.fn.stridx(info, ' setrgbf: (string)') ~= -1
   if not has_setrgbb or not has_setrgbf then
@@ -349,13 +354,13 @@ local function check_terminal()
   end
 
   health.start('terminal')
-  local cmd = 'infocmp -L'
-  local out = vim.fn.system(vim.fn.split(cmd))
+  local cmd = { 'infocmp', '-L' }
+  local ok, out = system(cmd)
   local kbs_entry = vim.fn.matchstr(out, 'key_backspace=[^,[:space:]]*')
   local kdch1_entry = vim.fn.matchstr(out, 'key_dc=[^,[:space:]]*')
 
   if
-    shell_error()
+    not ok
     and (
       vim.fn.has('win32') == 0
       or vim.fn.matchstr(
diff --git a/runtime/lua/vim/provider/health.lua b/runtime/lua/vim/provider/health.lua
index e4b5206fa4..3300b9121e 100644
--- a/runtime/lua/vim/provider/health.lua
+++ b/runtime/lua/vim/provider/health.lua
@@ -4,8 +4,13 @@ local iswin = vim.fn.has('win32') == 1
 local M = {}
 
 local function cmd_ok(cmd)
-  local out = vim.fn.system(cmd)
-  return vim.v.shell_error == 0, out
+  local result = vim.system(cmd, { text = true }):wait()
+  return result.code == 0, result.stdout
+end
+
+local function cli_version(cmd)
+  local ok, out = cmd_ok(cmd)
+  return ok, vim.version.parse(out, { strict = false })
 end
 
 -- Attempts to construct a shell command from an args list.
@@ -127,14 +132,14 @@ local function clipboard()
     os.getenv('TMUX')
     and vim.fn.executable('tmux') == 1
     and vim.fn.executable('pbpaste') == 1
-    and not cmd_ok('pbpaste')
+    and not cmd_ok({ 'pbpaste' })
   then
-    local tmux_version = string.match(vim.fn.system('tmux -V'), '%d+%.%d+')
+    local _, tmux_version = cli_version({ 'tmux', '-V' })
     local advice = {
       'Install tmux 2.6+.  https://superuser.com/q/231130',
       'or use tmux with reattach-to-user-namespace.  https://superuser.com/a/413233',
     }
-    health.error('pbcopy does not work with tmux version: ' .. tmux_version, advice)
+    health.error('pbcopy does not work with tmux version: ' .. tostring(tmux_version), advice)
   end
 
   local clipboard_tool = vim.fn['provider#clipboard#Executable']() ---@type string
@@ -178,9 +183,8 @@ local function node()
     return
   end
 
-  -- local node_v = vim.fn.split(system({'node', '-v'}), "\n")[1] or ''
-  local ok, node_v = cmd_ok({ 'node', '-v' })
-  health.info('Node.js: ' .. node_v)
+  local ok, node_v = cli_version({ 'node', '-v' })
+  health.info('Node.js: ' .. tostring(node_v))
   if not ok or vim.version.lt(node_v, '6.0.0') then
     health.warn('Nvim node.js host does not support Node ' .. node_v)
     -- Skip further checks, they are nonsense if nodejs is too old.
@@ -213,13 +217,14 @@ local function node()
   end
 
   local latest_npm_cmd = (
-    iswin and 'cmd /c ' .. manager .. ' info neovim --json' or manager .. ' info neovim --json'
+    iswin and { 'cmd', '/c', manager, 'info', 'neovim', '--json' }
+    or { manager, 'info', 'neovim', '--json' }
   )
   local latest_npm
-  ok, latest_npm = cmd_ok(vim.split(latest_npm_cmd, ' '))
+  ok, latest_npm = cmd_ok(latest_npm_cmd)
   if not ok or latest_npm:find('^%s$') then
     health.error(
-      'Failed to run: ' .. latest_npm_cmd,
+      'Failed to run: ' .. shellify(latest_npm_cmd),
       { "Make sure you're connected to the internet.", 'Are you behind a firewall or proxy?' }
     )
     return
@@ -237,8 +242,8 @@ local function node()
   ok, current_npm = cmd_ok(current_npm_cmd)
   if not ok then
     health.error(
-      'Failed to run: ' .. table.concat(current_npm_cmd, ' '),
-      { 'Report this issue with the output of: ', table.concat(current_npm_cmd, ' ') }
+      'Failed to run: ' .. shellify(current_npm_cmd),
+      { 'Report this issue with the output of: ', shellify(current_npm_cmd) }
     )
     return
   end
@@ -298,7 +303,7 @@ local function perl()
   ok, latest_cpan = cmd_ok(latest_cpan_cmd)
   if not ok or latest_cpan:find('^%s*$') then
     health.error(
-      'Failed to run: ' .. table.concat(latest_cpan_cmd, ' '),
+      'Failed to run: ' .. shellify(latest_cpan_cmd),
       { "Make sure you're connected to the internet.", 'Are you behind a firewall or proxy?' }
     )
     return
@@ -329,8 +334,8 @@ local function perl()
   ok, current_cpan = cmd_ok(current_cpan_cmd)
   if not ok then
     health.error(
-      'Failed to run: ' .. table.concat(current_cpan_cmd, ' '),
-      { 'Report this issue with the output of: ', table.concat(current_cpan_cmd, ' ') }
+      'Failed to run: ' .. shellify(current_cpan_cmd),
+      { 'Report this issue with the output of: ', shellify(current_cpan_cmd) }
     )
     return
   end
@@ -426,12 +431,15 @@ end
 --- @param url string
 local function download(url)
   local has_curl = vim.fn.executable('curl') == 1
-  if has_curl and vim.fn.system({ 'curl', '-V' }):find('Protocols:.*https') then
-    local out, rc = system({ 'curl', '-sL', url }, { stderr = true, ignore_error = true })
-    if rc ~= 0 then
-      return 'curl error with ' .. url .. ': ' .. rc
-    else
-      return out
+  if has_curl then
+    local ok, out = cmd_ok({ 'curl', '-V' })
+    if ok and out:find('Protocols:.*https') then
+      local content, rc = system({ 'curl', '-sL', url }, { stderr = true, ignore_error = true })
+      if rc ~= 0 then
+        return 'curl error with ' .. url .. ': ' .. rc
+      else
+        return content
+      end
     end
   elseif vim.fn.executable('python') == 1 then
     local script = ([[
@@ -872,7 +880,8 @@ local function ruby()
     )
     return
   end
-  health.info('Ruby: ' .. system({ 'ruby', '-v' }))
+  local _, ruby_v = cli_version({ 'ruby', '-v' })
+  health.info('Ruby: ' .. tostring(ruby_v))
 
   local host, _ = vim.provider.ruby.detect()
   if (not host) or host:find('^%s*$') then
@@ -887,11 +896,14 @@ local function ruby()
   end
   health.info('Host: ' .. host)
 
-  local latest_gem_cmd = (iswin and 'cmd /c gem list -ra "^^neovim$"' or 'gem list -ra ^neovim$')
-  local ok, latest_gem = cmd_ok(vim.split(latest_gem_cmd, ' '))
+  local latest_gem_cmd = (
+    iswin and { 'cmd', '/c', 'gem', 'list', '-ra', '"^^neovim$"' }
+    or { 'gem', 'list', '-ra', '^neovim$' }
+  )
+  local ok, latest_gem = cmd_ok(latest_gem_cmd)
   if not ok or latest_gem:find('^%s*$') then
     health.error(
-      'Failed to run: ' .. latest_gem_cmd,
+      'Failed to run: ' .. shellify(latest_gem_cmd),
       { "Make sure you're connected to the internet.", 'Are you behind a firewall or proxy?' }
     )
     return
@@ -904,8 +916,8 @@ local function ruby()
   ok, current_gem = cmd_ok(current_gem_cmd)
   if not ok then
     health.error(
-      'Failed to run: ' .. table.concat(current_gem_cmd, ' '),
-      { 'Report this issue with the output of: ', table.concat(current_gem_cmd, ' ') }
+      'Failed to run: ' .. shellify(current_gem_cmd),
+      { 'Report this issue with the output of: ', shellify(current_gem_cmd) }
     )
     return
   end
diff --git a/runtime/lua/vim/provider/perl.lua b/runtime/lua/vim/provider/perl.lua
index da4af0a2a7..5118f11b0b 100644
--- a/runtime/lua/vim/provider/perl.lua
+++ b/runtime/lua/vim/provider/perl.lua
@@ -25,14 +25,12 @@ function M.detect()
   end
 
   -- if perl is available, make sure we have 5.22+
-  vim.fn.system({ prog, '-e', 'use v5.22' })
-  if vim.v.shell_error ~= 0 then
+  if vim.system({ prog, '-e', 'use v5.22' }):wait().code ~= 0 then
     return nil, 'Perl version is too old, 5.22+ required'
   end
 
   -- if perl is available, make sure the required module is available
-  vim.fn.system({ prog, '-W', '-MNeovim::Ext', '-e', '' })
-  if vim.v.shell_error ~= 0 then
+  if vim.system({ prog, '-W', '-MNeovim::Ext', '-e', '' }):wait().code ~= 0 then
     return nil, '"Neovim::Ext" cpan module is not installed'
   end
   return prog, nil
diff --git a/runtime/lua/vim/provider/ruby.lua b/runtime/lua/vim/provider/ruby.lua
index 3ad86001f3..299db64b44 100644
--- a/runtime/lua/vim/provider/ruby.lua
+++ b/runtime/lua/vim/provider/ruby.lua
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ function M.detect()
       prog = ''
     else
       -- neovim-ruby-host could be an rbenv shim for another Ruby version.
-      vim.fn.system(p)
-      prog = vim.v.shell_error ~= 0 and '' or p
+      local result = vim.system({ p }):wait()
+      prog = result.code ~= 0 and '' or p
     end
   end
   local err = prog == '' and 'missing ruby or ruby-host' or ''
diff --git a/runtime/lua/vim/version.lua b/runtime/lua/vim/version.lua
index cb09183f8f..a904255490 100644
--- a/runtime/lua/vim/version.lua
+++ b/runtime/lua/vim/version.lua
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 --- Example:
 ---
 --- ```lua
---- local v = vim.version.parse(vim.fn.system({'tmux', '-V'}), {strict=false})
+--- local v = vim.version.parse(vim.system({'tmux', '-V'}):wait().stdout, {strict=false})
 --- if vim.version.gt(v, {3, 2, 0}) then
 ---   -- ...
 --- end
diff --git a/scripts/lintcommit.lua b/scripts/lintcommit.lua
index 7cb57de901..b8f0a09026 100644
--- a/scripts/lintcommit.lua
+++ b/scripts/lintcommit.lua
@@ -27,8 +27,9 @@ local function run(cmd, or_die)
   if _trace then
     p('run: ' .. vim.inspect(cmd))
   end
-  local rv = vim.trim(vim.fn.system(cmd)) or ''
-  if vim.v.shell_error ~= 0 then
+  local res = vim.system(cmd):wait()
+  local rv = vim.trim(res.stdout)
+  if res.code ~= 0 then
     if or_die then
       p(rv)
       os.exit(1)