diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yaml b/.github/workflows/test.yaml
index c323e329..6de62974 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yaml
@@ -37,9 +37,8 @@ jobs:
       #fail-fast: false
 
     steps:
-      # Do not shallow fetch, will fail when building bindata/
-      # The path can't be absolute, so we need to move it to the
-      # expected location later.
+      # Do not shallow fetch. The path can't be absolute, so we need to move it
+      # to the expected location later.
       - name: Clone mgmt
         uses: actions/checkout@v2
         with:
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index f9e1c7ad..f029e68e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -16,12 +16,12 @@
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
 SHELL = /usr/bin/env bash
-.PHONY: all art cleanart version program lang path deps run race bindata generate build build-debug crossbuild clean test gofmt yamlfmt format docs
+.PHONY: all art cleanart version program lang path deps run race generate build build-debug crossbuild clean test gofmt yamlfmt format docs
 .PHONY: rpmbuild mkdirs rpm srpm spec tar upload upload-sources upload-srpms upload-rpms upload-releases copr tag
 .PHONY: mkosi mkosi_fedora-30 mkosi_fedora-29 mkosi_centos-7 mkosi_debian-10 mkosi_ubuntu-bionic mkosi_archlinux
 .PHONY: release releases_path release_fedora-30 release_fedora-29 release_centos-7 release_debian-10 release_ubuntu-bionic release_archlinux
 .PHONY: funcgen
-.SILENT: clean bindata
+.SILENT: clean
 
 # a large amount of output from this `find`, can cause `make` to be much slower!
 GO_FILES := $(shell find * -name '*.go' -not -path 'old/*' -not -path 'tmp/*')
@@ -137,10 +137,6 @@ run: ## run mgmt
 race:
 	find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name '*.go' -not -name '*_test.go' | xargs go run -race -ldflags "-X main.program=$(PROGRAM) -X main.version=$(SVERSION)"
 
-# generate go files from non-go source
-bindata: ## generate go files from non-go sources
-	$(MAKE) --quiet -C lang/funcs
-
 generate:
 	go generate
 
@@ -167,7 +163,7 @@ build-debug: $(PROGRAM)
 # extract os and arch from target pattern
 GOOS=$(firstword $(subst -, ,$*))
 GOARCH=$(lastword $(subst -, ,$*))
-build/mgmt-%: $(GO_FILES) $(MCL_FILES) | bindata lang funcgen
+build/mgmt-%: $(GO_FILES) $(MCL_FILES) | lang funcgen
 	@echo "Building: $(PROGRAM), os/arch: $*, version: $(SVERSION)..."
 	@time env GOOS=${GOOS} GOARCH=${GOARCH} go build -ldflags=$(PKGNAME)="-X main.program=$(PROGRAM) -X main.version=$(SVERSION) ${LDFLAGS}" -o $@ $(BUILD_FLAGS)
 
diff --git a/lang/ast/structs.go b/lang/ast/structs.go
index eadcff11..b0ca510e 100644
--- a/lang/ast/structs.go
+++ b/lang/ast/structs.go
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/engine"
 	engineUtil "github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/engine/util"
 	"github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/funcs"
-	"github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/funcs/bindata"
+	"github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/funcs/core"
 	"github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/funcs/structs"
 	"github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/inputs"
 	"github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/interfaces"
@@ -3057,7 +3057,7 @@ func (obj *StmtProg) importScope(info *interfaces.ImportData, scope *interfaces.
 // importSystemScope takes the name of a built-in system scope (eg: "fmt") and
 // returns the scope struct for that built-in. This function is slightly less
 // trivial than expected, because the scope is built from both native mcl code
-// and golang code as well. The native mcl code is compiled in as bindata.
+// and golang code as well. The native mcl code is compiled in with "embed".
 // TODO: can we memoize?
 func (obj *StmtProg) importSystemScope(name string) (*interfaces.Scope, error) {
 	// this basically loop through the registeredFuncs and includes
@@ -3096,7 +3096,10 @@ func (obj *StmtProg) importSystemScope(name string) (*interfaces.Scope, error) {
 	// to the remote machines as well, and we want to load off of it...
 
 	// now add any compiled-in mcl code
-	paths := bindata.AssetNames()
+	paths, err := core.AssetNames()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, errwrap.Wrapf(err, "can't read asset names")
+	}
 	// results are not sorted by default (ascertained by reading the code!)
 	sort.Strings(paths)
 	newScope := interfaces.EmptyScope()
@@ -3113,7 +3116,7 @@ func (obj *StmtProg) importSystemScope(name string) (*interfaces.Scope, error) {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		b, err := bindata.Asset(p)
+		b, err := core.Asset(p)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, errwrap.Wrapf(err, "can't read asset: `%s`", p)
 		}
diff --git a/lang/funcs/Makefile b/lang/funcs/Makefile
deleted file mode 100644
index 8a0de2dc..00000000
--- a/lang/funcs/Makefile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-# Mgmt
-# Copyright (C) 2013-2022+ James Shubin and the project contributors
-# Written by James Shubin <james@shubin.ca> and the project contributors
-#
-# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-# (at your option) any later version.
-#
-# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-# GNU General Public License for more details.
-#
-# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-# along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-# The bindata target generates go files from any source defined below. To use
-# the files, import the generated "bindata" package and use:
-# `bytes, err := bindata.Asset("FILEPATH")`
-# where FILEPATH is the path of the original input file relative to `bindata/`.
-# To get a list of files stored in this "bindata" package, you can use:
-# `paths := bindata.AssetNames()` and `paths, err := bindata.AssetDir(name)`
-# to get a list of files with a directory prefix.
-
-.PHONY: build clean
-default: build
-
-MCL_FILES := $(shell find * -name '*.mcl' -not -path 'old/*' -not -path 'tmp/*')
-GENERATED = bindata/bindata.go
-
-build: $(GENERATED)
-
-# add more input files as dependencies at the end here...
-$(GENERATED): $(MCL_FILES)
-	@echo "Generating: native mcl..."
-	@# go-bindata --pkg bindata -o <OUTPUT> <INPUT>
-	go-bindata --pkg bindata -o ./$@ $^
-	@# gofmt the output file
-	gofmt -s -w $@
-	@ROOT=$$(dirname "$${BASH_SOURCE}")/../.. && $$ROOT/misc/header.sh '$@'
-
-clean:
-	@# remove generated bindata/bindata.go
-	@ROOT=$$(dirname "$${BASH_SOURCE}")/../.. && rm -f $(GENERATED)
diff --git a/lang/funcs/bindata.mcl b/lang/funcs/bindata.mcl
deleted file mode 100644
index 5c597b88..00000000
--- a/lang/funcs/bindata.mcl
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-# You can add *.mcl files alongside the *.go files into the core/ directory.
-# They will get compiled into the binary when it is built.
diff --git a/lang/funcs/bindata/.gitignore b/lang/funcs/bindata/.gitignore
deleted file mode 100644
index b8836fcf..00000000
--- a/lang/funcs/bindata/.gitignore
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-# this file gets generated here
-bindata.go
diff --git a/lang/funcs/bindata/doc.go b/lang/funcs/bindata/doc.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 9de1bf23..00000000
--- a/lang/funcs/bindata/doc.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-// Mgmt
-// Copyright (C) 2013-2022+ James Shubin and the project contributors
-// Written by James Shubin <james@shubin.ca> and the project contributors
-//
-// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-// Package bindata stores core mcl code that is built-in at compile time.
-package bindata
diff --git a/lang/funcs/core/core.go b/lang/funcs/core/core.go
index 0d059403..ecfa85b0 100644
--- a/lang/funcs/core/core.go
+++ b/lang/funcs/core/core.go
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
 package core
 
 import (
+	"embed"
+	"io/fs"
+
 	// import so the funcs register
 	_ "github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/funcs/core/convert"
 	_ "github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/funcs/core/datetime"
@@ -34,3 +37,34 @@ import (
 	_ "github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/funcs/core/sys"
 	_ "github.com/purpleidea/mgmt/lang/funcs/core/world"
 )
+
+// TODO: Instead of doing this one-level embed, we could give each package an
+// API that it calls to "register" the private embed.FS that it wants to share.
+
+//go:embed */*.mcl
+var mcl embed.FS
+
+// AssetNames returns a flattened list of embedded .mcl file paths.
+func AssetNames() ([]string, error) {
+	fileSystem := mcl
+	paths := []string{}
+	err := fs.WalkDir(fileSystem, ".", func(path string, d fs.DirEntry, err error) error {
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if d.IsDir() { // skip the dirs
+			return nil
+		}
+		paths = append(paths, path)
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return paths, nil
+}
+
+// Asset returns the contents of an embedded .mcl file.
+func Asset(name string) ([]byte, error) {
+	return mcl.ReadFile(name)
+}
diff --git a/lang/funcs/funcs.go b/lang/funcs/funcs.go
index 60cef143..b4ed143d 100644
--- a/lang/funcs/funcs.go
+++ b/lang/funcs/funcs.go
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ const (
 	// NOTE: the template library will panic if it is one of: .-#
 	ReplaceChar = "_"
 
-	// CoreDir is the directory prefix where core bindata mcl code is added.
+	// CoreDir is the directory prefix where core mcl code is embedded.
 	CoreDir = "core/"
 )
 
diff --git a/misc/make-deps.sh b/misc/make-deps.sh
index 1583e2e8..48542a44 100755
--- a/misc/make-deps.sh
+++ b/misc/make-deps.sh
@@ -150,7 +150,6 @@ go get golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goyacc			# formerly `go tool yacc`
 go get golang.org/x/tools/cmd/stringer			# for automatic stringer-ing
 go get golang.org/x/lint/golint				# for `golint`-ing
 go get golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports		# for fmt
-go get github.com/kevinburke/go-bindata/go-bindata	# for compiling in non golang files
 go get github.com/dvyukov/go-fuzz/go-fuzz		# for fuzzing the mcl lang bits
 if in_ci; then
 	go get -u gopkg.in/alecthomas/gometalinter.v1 && \
diff --git a/test/test-golint.sh b/test/test-golint.sh
index a7d4e22d..21b479ff 100755
--- a/test/test-golint.sh
+++ b/test/test-golint.sh
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ if [ "$COMMITS" != "" ] && [ "$COMMITS" -gt "1" ]; then
 fi
 
 # find all go files, exluding temporary directories and generated files
-LINT=$(find * -maxdepth 9 -iname '*.go' -not -path 'old/*' -not -path 'tmp/*' -not -path 'bindata/*' -not -path 'lang/parser/y.go' -not -path 'lang/parser/lexer.nn.go' -not -path 'lang/interpolate/parse.generated.go' -not -path 'lang/types/kind_stringer.go' -not -path 'vendor/*' -exec golint {} \;)	# current golint output
+LINT=$(find * -maxdepth 9 -iname '*.go' -not -path 'old/*' -not -path 'tmp/*' -not -path 'lang/parser/y.go' -not -path 'lang/parser/lexer.nn.go' -not -path 'lang/interpolate/parse.generated.go' -not -path 'lang/types/kind_stringer.go' -not -path 'vendor/*' -exec golint {} \;)	# current golint output
 
 COUNT=`echo -e "$LINT" | wc -l`	# number of golint problems in current branch
 [ "$LINT" = "" ] && echo PASS && exit	# everything is "perfect"
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ while read -r line; do
 done <<< "$NUMSTAT1"	# three < is the secret to putting a variable into read
 
 git checkout "$PREVIOUS" &>/dev/null	# previous commit
-LINT1=$(find * -maxdepth 9 -iname '*.go' -not -path 'old/*' -not -path 'tmp/*' -not -path 'bindata/*' -not -path 'lang/parser/y.go' -not -path 'lang/parser/lexer.nn.go' -not -path 'vendor/*' -exec golint {} \;)
+LINT1=$(find * -maxdepth 9 -iname '*.go' -not -path 'old/*' -not -path 'tmp/*' -not -path 'lang/parser/y.go' -not -path 'lang/parser/lexer.nn.go' -not -path 'vendor/*' -exec golint {} \;)
 COUNT1=`echo -e "$LINT1" | wc -l`	# number of golint problems in older branch
 
 # clean up
diff --git a/test/test-gometalinter.sh b/test/test-gometalinter.sh
index 4f8dfb67..f15dd3c9 100755
--- a/test/test-gometalinter.sh
+++ b/test/test-gometalinter.sh
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ gml="$gml --enable=misspell"
 # TODO: at least until https://github.com/alecthomas/gometalinter/issues/270
 gml="$gml --exclude=lang/parser/lexer.nn.go"
 gml="$gml --exclude=lang/parser/y.go"
-gml="$gml --exclude=bindata/bindata.go"
 gml="$gml --exclude=lang/types/kind_stringer.go"
 gml="$gml --exclude=lang/interpolate/parse.generated.go"
 
diff --git a/test/test-govet.sh b/test/test-govet.sh
index ce92235c..bc7da063 100755
--- a/test/test-govet.sh
+++ b/test/test-govet.sh
@@ -60,10 +60,6 @@ function naked-error() {
 
 # catch errors that start with a capital
 function lowercase-errors() {
-	if [[ $1 == *"/bindata.go" ]]; then	# ends with bindata.go ?
-		return 0	# skip those generated files
-	fi
-
 	if grep -E 'errors\.New\(\"[A-Z]' "$1"; then
 		return 1
 	fi
@@ -101,10 +97,6 @@ function consistent-imports() {
 }
 
 function reflowed-comments() {
-	if [[ $1 == *"/bindata.go" ]]; then	# ends with bindata.go ?
-		return 0	# skip those generated files
-	fi
-
 	if [ "$1" = './lang/funcs/core/generated_funcs.go' ]; then
 		return 0
 	fi