diff -r b174e721663e -r 6d0da97105d8 libidav/methods.c
--- a/libidav/methods.c	Sat Dec 27 22:47:56 2025 +0100
+++ b/libidav/methods.c	Thu Jan 08 18:06:04 2026 +0100
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@
          *    => the server handled our request and we can stop requesting
          */
         char *msdavexterror;
-        msdavexterror = cxMapGet(respheaders, cx_hash_key_str("x-msdavext_error"));
+        msdavexterror = cxMapGet(respheaders, "x-msdavext_error");
         int iishack =  depth == 1 &&
             msdavexterror && !strncmp(msdavexterror, "589831;", 7);
         
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@
         CxIterator i = cxListIterator(properties);
         cx_foreach(DavProperty*, p, i) {
             if(strcmp(p->ns->name, "DAV:")) {
-                cxMapPut(namespaces, cx_hash_key_str(p->ns->prefix), p->ns);
+                cxMapPut(namespaces, p->ns->prefix, p->ns);
             }
 
             // if the properties list contains the idav properties crypto-name
@@ -190,63 +190,47 @@
     if(add_crypto_name && add_crypto_key && DAV_CRYPTO(sn) && !nocrypt) {
         idav_ns.prefix = "idav";
         idav_ns.name = DAV_NS;
-        cxMapPut(namespaces, cx_hash_key_str("idav"), &idav_ns);
+        cxMapPut(namespaces, "idav", &idav_ns);
     }
     
-    s = cx_str("<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
     
     // write root element and namespaces
     cx_bprintf(buf, "<D:%s xmlns:D=\"DAV:\"", rootelm);
     
     CxMapIterator mapi = cxMapIteratorValues(namespaces);
     cx_foreach(DavNamespace*, ns, mapi) {
-        s = cx_str(" xmlns:");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-        s = cx_str(ns->prefix);
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-        s = cx_str("=\"");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-        s = cx_str(ns->name);
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-        s = cx_str("\"");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, " xmlns:");
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, ns->prefix);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "=\"");
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, ns->name);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "\"");
     }
-    s = cx_str(">\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, ">\n");
     
     // default properties
-    s = cx_str("<D:prop>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-    
-    s = cx_str("<D:creationdate />\n<D:getlastmodified />\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:prop>\n");
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:creationdate />\n<D:getlastmodified />\n");
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:getcontentlength />\n<D:getcontenttype />\n");
     
-    s = cx_str("<D:getcontentlength />\n<D:getcontenttype />\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-    
-    s = cx_str("<D:resourcetype />\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:resourcetype />\n");
     
     // crypto properties
     if(DAV_CRYPTO(sn) && !nocrypt) {
         if(add_crypto_name) {
             cxBufferPut(buf, '<');
             cxBufferPutString(buf, crypto_ns);
-            s = cx_str(":crypto-name />\n");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, ":crypto-name />\n");
         }
         if(add_crypto_key) {
             cxBufferPut(buf, '<');
             cxBufferPutString(buf, crypto_ns);
-            s = cx_str(":crypto-key />\n");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, ":crypto-key />\n");
         }
         if(add_crypto_hash) {
             cxBufferPut(buf, '<');
             cxBufferPutString(buf, crypto_ns);
-            s = cx_str(":crypto-hash />\n");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, ":crypto-hash />\n");
         }
     }
     
@@ -254,16 +238,11 @@
     if(properties) {
         CxIterator i = cxListIterator(properties);
         cx_foreach(DavProperty*, prop, i) {
-            s = cx_str("<");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(prop->ns->prefix);
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(":");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(prop->name);
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(" />\n");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, "<");
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, prop->ns->prefix);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, ":");
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, prop->name);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, " />\n");
         }
     }
     
@@ -278,33 +257,22 @@
     CxBuffer *buf = cxBufferCreate(cxDefaultAllocator, NULL, 512, CX_BUFFER_FREE_CONTENTS|CX_BUFFER_AUTO_EXTEND);
     cxstring s;
     
-    s = cx_str("<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
     
-    s = cx_str("<D:propfind xmlns:D=\"DAV:\" xmlns:i=\"");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);  
-    s = cx_str(DAV_NS);
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-    s = cx_str("\" >\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:propfind xmlns:D=\"DAV:\" xmlns:i=\"");
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, DAV_NS);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "\" >\n");
     
     // properties
-    s = cx_str("<D:prop>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-    s = cx_str("<D:resourcetype />\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-    s = cx_str("<i:crypto-key />\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-    s = cx_str("<i:crypto-name />\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-    s = cx_str("<i:crypto-hash />\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-    s = cx_str("</D:prop>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:prop>\n");
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:resourcetype />\n");
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<i:crypto-key />\n");
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<i:crypto-name />\n");
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<i:crypto-hash />\n");
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "</D:prop>\n");
     
     // end
-    s = cx_str("</D:propfind>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "</D:propfind>\n");
     
     return buf;
 }
@@ -836,7 +804,7 @@
             cx_foreach(DavProperty*, p, i) {
                 if (strcmp(p->ns->name, "DAV:")) {
                     snprintf(prefix, 8, "x%d", pfxnum++);
-                    cxMapPut(namespaces, cx_hash_key_str(p->ns->name), strdup(prefix));
+                    cxMapPut(namespaces, p->ns->name, strdup(prefix));
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -845,55 +813,41 @@
             cx_foreach(DavProperty*, p, i) {
                 if (strcmp(p->ns->name, "DAV:")) {
                     snprintf(prefix, 8, "x%d", pfxnum++);
-                    cxMapPut(namespaces, cx_hash_key_str(p->ns->name), strdup(prefix));
+                    cxMapPut(namespaces, p->ns->name, strdup(prefix));
                 }
             }
         }
     }
     
-    s = cx_str("<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
     
     // write root element and namespaces
-    s = cx_str("<D:propertyupdate xmlns:D=\"DAV:\"");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:propertyupdate xmlns:D=\"DAV:\"");
     CxMapIterator mapi = cxMapIterator(namespaces);
     cx_foreach(CxMapEntry*, entry, mapi) {
-        s = cx_str(" xmlns:");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-        s = cx_str(entry->value);
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-        s = cx_str("=\"");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-        s = cx_strn(entry->key->data, entry->key->len);
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-        s = cx_str("\"");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, " xmlns:");
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, cx_str(entry->value));
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "=\"");
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, cx_strn(entry->key->data, entry->key->len));
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "\"");
     }
-    s = cx_str(">\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, ">\n");
     
     if(data->set) {
-        s = cx_str("<D:set>\n<D:prop>\n");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:set>\n<D:prop>\n");
         CxIterator i = cxListIterator(data->set);
         cx_foreach(DavProperty*, property, i) {
-            char *prefix = cxMapGet(namespaces, cx_hash_key_str(property->ns->name));
+            char *prefix = cxMapGet(namespaces, property->ns->name);
             if(!prefix) {
                 prefix = "D";
             }
             
             // begin tag
-            s = cx_str("<");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(prefix);
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(":");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(property->name);
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(">");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, "<");
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, prefix);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, ":");
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, property->name);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, ">");
             
             // content
             DavXmlNode *content = property->value;
@@ -904,44 +858,30 @@
             }
             
             // end tag
-            s = cx_str("</");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(prefix);
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(":");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(property->name);
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(">\n");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, "</");
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, prefix);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, ":");
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, property->name);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, ">\n");
         }
-        s = cx_str("</D:prop>\n</D:set>\n");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "</D:prop>\n</D:set>\n");
     }
     if(data->remove) {
-        s = cx_str("<D:remove>\n<D:prop>\n");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:remove>\n<D:prop>\n");
         CxIterator i = cxListIterator(data->remove);
         cx_foreach(DavProperty*, property, i) {
-            char *prefix = cxMapGet(namespaces, cx_hash_key_str(property->ns->name));
+            char *prefix = cxMapGet(namespaces, property->ns->name);
             
-            s = cx_str("<");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(prefix);
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(":");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(property->name);
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
-            s = cx_str(" />\n");
-            cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, "<");
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, prefix);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, ":");
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, property->name);
+            cxBufferPutString(buf, " />\n");
         }
-        s = cx_str("</D:prop>\n</D:remove>\n");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "</D:prop>\n</D:remove>\n");
     }
     
-    s = cx_str("</D:propertyupdate>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "</D:propertyupdate>\n");
     
     // cleanup namespace map
     cxMapFree(namespaces);
@@ -953,41 +893,31 @@
     CxBuffer *buf = cxBufferCreate(cxDefaultAllocator, NULL, 512, CX_BUFFER_FREE_CONTENTS|CX_BUFFER_AUTO_EXTEND);
     cxstring s;
     
-    s = cx_str("<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
     
-    s = cx_str("<D:propertyupdate xmlns:D=\"DAV:\" xmlns:idav=\"" DAV_NS "\">\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:propertyupdate xmlns:D=\"DAV:\" xmlns:idav=\"" DAV_NS "\">\n");
     
-    s = cx_str("<D:set>\n<D:prop>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<D:set>\n<D:prop>\n");
     
     if(DAV_ENCRYPT_NAME(sn)) {
-        s = cx_str("<idav:crypto-name>");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "<idav:crypto-name>");
         char *crname = aes_encrypt(name, strlen(name), key);
         cxBufferPutString(buf, crname);
         free(crname);
-        s = cx_str("</idav:crypto-name>\n");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "</idav:crypto-name>\n");
     }
     
-    s = cx_str("<idav:crypto-key>");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<idav:crypto-key>");
     cxBufferPutString(buf, key->name);
-    s = cx_str("</idav:crypto-key>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "</idav:crypto-key>\n");
     
     if(hash) {
-        s = cx_str("<idav:crypto-hash>");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "<idav:crypto-hash>");
         cxBufferPutString(buf, hash);
-        s = cx_str("</idav:crypto-hash>\n");
-        cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+        cxBufferPutString(buf, "</idav:crypto-hash>\n");
     }
     
-    s = cx_str("</D:prop>\n</D:set>\n</D:propertyupdate>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "</D:prop>\n</D:set>\n</D:propertyupdate>\n");
     
     return buf;
 }
@@ -1148,7 +1078,7 @@
         free(ltheader);
     }
     //cxstring deststr = ucx_sprintf("Destination: %s", dest);
-    cxmutstr deststr = cx_strcat(2, cx_str("Destination: "), cx_str(dest));
+    cxmutstr deststr = cx_strcat(CX_NULLSTR, 2, cx_str("Destination: "), cx_str(dest));
     headers = curl_slist_append(headers, deststr.ptr);
     if(override) {
         headers = curl_slist_append(headers, "Overwrite: T");
@@ -1170,17 +1100,15 @@
     CxBuffer *buf = cxBufferCreate(cxDefaultAllocator, NULL, 512, CX_BUFFER_FREE_CONTENTS|CX_BUFFER_AUTO_EXTEND);
     cxstring s;
     
-    s = cx_str("<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>\n");
     
     s = cx_str("<D:lockinfo xmlns:D=\"DAV:\">\n"
           "<D:lockscope><D:exclusive/></D:lockscope>\n"
           "<D:locktype><D:write/></D:locktype>\n"
           "<D:owner><D:href>http://davutils.org/libidav/</D:href></D:owner>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, s);
     
-    s = cx_str("</D:lockinfo>\n");
-    cxBufferWrite(s.ptr, 1, s.length, buf);
+    cxBufferPutString(buf, "</D:lockinfo>\n");
     
     return buf;
 }