diff --git a/common/playlist.c b/common/playlist.c
index 6d03c030c2da7..1cfc7d68e93c9 100644
--- a/common/playlist.c
+++ b/common/playlist.c
@@ -31,7 +31,12 @@ struct playlist_entry *playlist_entry_new(const char *filename)
 {
     struct playlist_entry *e = talloc_zero(NULL, struct playlist_entry);
     char *local_filename = mp_file_url_to_filename(e, bstr0(filename));
-    e->filename = local_filename ? local_filename : talloc_strdup(e, filename);
+    e->filename = mp_normalize_path(e, local_filename ? local_filename : filename);
+    if (e->filename) {
+        talloc_free(local_filename);
+    } else {
+        e->filename = local_filename ? local_filename : talloc_strdup(e, filename);
+    }
     e->stream_flags = STREAM_ORIGIN_DIRECT;
     e->original_index = -1;
     return e;
@@ -304,20 +309,6 @@ struct playlist_entry *playlist_get_first_in_same_playlist(
     return entry;
 }
 
-void playlist_add_base_path(struct playlist *pl, bstr base_path)
-{
-    if (base_path.len == 0 || bstrcmp0(base_path, ".") == 0)
-        return;
-    for (int n = 0; n < pl->num_entries; n++) {
-        struct playlist_entry *e = pl->entries[n];
-        if (!mp_is_url(bstr0(e->filename))) {
-            char *new_file = mp_path_join_bstr(e, base_path, bstr0(e->filename));
-            talloc_free(e->filename);
-            e->filename = new_file;
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 void playlist_set_stream_flags(struct playlist *pl, int flags)
 {
     for (int n = 0; n < pl->num_entries; n++)
@@ -446,15 +437,8 @@ void playlist_set_current(struct playlist *pl)
         return;
 
     for (int i = 0; i < pl->num_entries; ++i) {
-        if (!pl->entries[i]->playlist_path)
-            continue;
-        char *path = pl->entries[i]->playlist_path;
-        if (path[0] != '.')
-            path = mp_path_join(NULL, pl->playlist_dir, mp_basename(pl->entries[i]->playlist_path));
-        bool same = !strcmp(pl->entries[i]->filename, path);
-        if (path != pl->entries[i]->playlist_path)
-            talloc_free(path);
-        if (same) {
+        if (pl->entries[i]->playlist_path &&
+            !strcmp(pl->entries[i]->filename, pl->entries[i]->playlist_path)) {
             pl->current = pl->entries[i];
             break;
         }
diff --git a/common/playlist.h b/common/playlist.h
index fe5410488e494..7edb782edc680 100644
--- a/common/playlist.h
+++ b/common/playlist.h
@@ -107,7 +107,6 @@ struct playlist_entry *playlist_get_first_in_next_playlist(struct playlist *pl,
                                                            int direction);
 struct playlist_entry *playlist_get_first_in_same_playlist(struct playlist_entry *entry,
                                                            char *current_playlist_path);
-void playlist_add_base_path(struct playlist *pl, bstr base_path);
 void playlist_set_stream_flags(struct playlist *pl, int flags);
 int64_t playlist_transfer_entries_to(struct playlist *pl, int dst_index,
                                      struct playlist *source_pl);
diff --git a/demux/demux_libarchive.c b/demux/demux_libarchive.c
index 61502c447ea92..9aff92ae8c728 100644
--- a/demux/demux_libarchive.c
+++ b/demux/demux_libarchive.c
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ static int open_file(struct demuxer *demuxer, enum demux_check check)
     struct playlist *pl = talloc_zero(demuxer, struct playlist);
     demuxer->playlist = pl;
 
-    char *prefix = mp_url_escape(NULL, mp_normalize_path(mpa, demuxer->stream->url), "~|%");
+    char *prefix = mp_url_escape(NULL, demuxer->stream->url, "~|%");
 
     char **files = NULL;
     int num_files = 0;
diff --git a/demux/demux_playlist.c b/demux/demux_playlist.c
index 926f5c5c77839..5076ef60dbae4 100644
--- a/demux/demux_playlist.c
+++ b/demux/demux_playlist.c
@@ -101,7 +101,6 @@ struct pl_parser {
     bool error;
     bool probing;
     bool force;
-    bool add_base;
     bool line_allocated;
     int autocreate_playlist;
     enum demux_check check_level;
@@ -219,9 +218,19 @@ static void pl_free_line(struct pl_parser *p, bstr line)
 
 static void pl_add(struct pl_parser *p, bstr entry)
 {
-    char *s = bstrto0(NULL, entry);
-    playlist_append_file(p->pl, s);
-    talloc_free(s);
+    char *path;
+    bstr proto = mp_split_proto(bstr0(p->s->url), NULL);
+    // Don't add base path to self-expanding protocols
+    if (!mp_is_url(entry) && bstrcasecmp0(proto, "memory") &&
+        bstrcasecmp0(proto, "lavf") && bstrcasecmp0(proto, "hex") &&
+        bstrcasecmp0(proto, "data") && bstrcasecmp0(proto, "fd")) {
+        path = mp_path_join_bstr(NULL, mp_dirname(p->s->url), entry);
+    } else {
+        path = bstrto0(NULL, entry);
+    }
+
+    playlist_append_file(p->pl, path);
+    talloc_free(path);
 }
 
 static bool pl_eof(struct pl_parser *p)
@@ -279,12 +288,10 @@ static int parse_m3u(struct pl_parser *p)
         } else if (bstr_startswith0(line_dup, "#EXT-X-")) {
             p->format = "hls";
         } else if (line_dup.len > 0 && !bstr_startswith0(line_dup, "#")) {
-            char *fn = bstrto0(NULL, line_dup);
-            struct playlist_entry *e = playlist_entry_new(fn);
-            talloc_free(fn);
+            pl_add(p, line);
+            struct playlist_entry *e = playlist_get_last(p->pl);
             e->title = talloc_steal(e, title);
             title = NULL;
-            playlist_insert_at(p->pl, e, NULL);
         }
         pl_free_line(p, line);
         line = pl_get_line(p);
@@ -419,21 +426,10 @@ static bool test_path(struct pl_parser *p, char *path, int autocreate)
     if (autocreate & AUTO_ANY)
         return true;
 
-    bstr bpath = bstr0(path);
-    bstr bstream_path = bstr0(p->real_stream->path);
-
-    // When opening a file from cwd, 'path' starts with "./" while stream->path
-    // matches what the user passed as arg. So it may or not not contain ./.
-    // Strip it from both to make the comparison work.
-    if (!mp_path_is_absolute(bstream_path)) {
-        bstr_eatstart0(&bpath, "./");
-        bstr_eatstart0(&bstream_path, "./");
-    }
-
-    if (!bstrcmp(bpath, bstream_path))
+    if (!strcmp(path, p->real_stream->path))
         return true;
 
-    bstr ext = bstr_get_ext(bpath);
+    bstr ext = bstr_get_ext(bstr0(path));
     if (autocreate & AUTO_VIDEO && str_in_list(ext, p->mp_opts->video_exts))
         return true;
     if (autocreate & AUTO_AUDIO && str_in_list(ext, p->mp_opts->audio_exts))
@@ -595,7 +591,6 @@ static int parse_dir(struct pl_parser *p)
 
     scan_dir(p, path, dir_stack, 0, autocreate);
 
-    p->add_base = false;
     ret = p->pl->num_entries > 0 ? 0 : -1;
 
 done:
@@ -662,7 +657,6 @@ static int open_file(struct demuxer *demuxer, enum demux_check check)
     p->log = demuxer->log;
     p->pl = talloc_zero(p, struct playlist);
     p->real_stream = demuxer->stream;
-    p->add_base = true;
 
     struct demux_opts *opts = mp_get_config_group(p, p->global, &demux_conf);
     p->codepage = opts->meta_cp;
@@ -696,16 +690,6 @@ static int open_file(struct demuxer *demuxer, enum demux_check check)
     p->s = demuxer->stream;
     p->utf16 = stream_skip_bom(p->s);
     bool ok = fmt->parse(p) >= 0 && !p->error;
-    if (p->add_base) {
-        bstr proto = mp_split_proto(bstr0(demuxer->filename), NULL);
-        // Don't add base path to self-expanding protocols
-        if (bstrcasecmp0(proto, "memory") && bstrcasecmp0(proto, "lavf") &&
-            bstrcasecmp0(proto, "hex") && bstrcasecmp0(proto, "data") &&
-            bstrcasecmp0(proto, "fd"))
-        {
-            playlist_add_base_path(p->pl, mp_dirname(demuxer->filename));
-        }
-    }
     playlist_set_stream_flags(p->pl, demuxer->stream_origin);
     demuxer->playlist = talloc_steal(demuxer, p->pl);
     demuxer->filetype = p->format ? p->format : fmt->name;
diff --git a/player/command.c b/player/command.c
index 5039aa8a8bab9..e17e0f56bb553 100644
--- a/player/command.c
+++ b/player/command.c
@@ -510,10 +510,7 @@ static int mp_property_path(void *ctx, struct m_property *prop,
     MPContext *mpctx = ctx;
     if (!mpctx->filename)
         return M_PROPERTY_UNAVAILABLE;
-    char *path = mp_normalize_path(NULL, mpctx->filename);
-    int r = m_property_strdup_ro(action, arg, path);
-    talloc_free(path);
-    return r;
+    return m_property_strdup_ro(action, arg, mpctx->filename);
 }
 
 static int mp_property_filename(void *ctx, struct m_property *prop,
@@ -559,12 +556,8 @@ static int mp_property_stream_open_filename(void *ctx, struct m_property *prop,
         return M_PROPERTY_OK;
     }
     case M_PROPERTY_GET_TYPE:
-    case M_PROPERTY_GET: {
-        char *path = mp_normalize_path(NULL, mpctx->stream_open_filename);
-        int r = m_property_strdup_ro(action, arg, path);
-        talloc_free(path);
-        return r;
-    }
+    case M_PROPERTY_GET:
+        return m_property_strdup_ro(action, arg, mpctx->stream_open_filename);
     }
     return M_PROPERTY_NOT_IMPLEMENTED;
 }
diff --git a/player/configfiles.c b/player/configfiles.c
index 0cdb3140802b5..b4a0cbe84718f 100644
--- a/player/configfiles.c
+++ b/player/configfiles.c
@@ -209,21 +209,13 @@ char *mp_get_playback_resume_dir(struct MPContext *mpctx)
 }
 
 static char *mp_get_playback_resume_config_filename(struct MPContext *mpctx,
-                                                    const char *fname)
+                                                    const char *path)
 {
     struct MPOpts *opts = mpctx->opts;
     char *res = NULL;
     void *tmp = talloc_new(NULL);
-    const char *path = NULL;
-    if (mp_is_url(bstr0(fname))) {
-        path = fname;
-    } else if (opts->ignore_path_in_watch_later_config) {
-        path = mp_basename(fname);
-    } else {
-        path = mp_normalize_path(tmp, fname);
-        if (!path)
-            goto exit;
-    }
+    if (opts->ignore_path_in_watch_later_config && !mp_is_url(bstr0(path)))
+        path = mp_basename(path);
     uint8_t md5[16];
     av_md5_sum(md5, path, strlen(path));
     char *conf = talloc_strdup(tmp, "");
@@ -234,8 +226,6 @@ static char *mp_get_playback_resume_config_filename(struct MPContext *mpctx,
     if (wl_dir && wl_dir[0])
         res = mp_path_join(NULL, wl_dir, conf);
     talloc_free(wl_dir);
-
-exit:
     talloc_free(tmp);
     return res;
 }
@@ -296,32 +286,29 @@ static void write_redirects_for_parent_dirs(struct MPContext *mpctx, char *path)
     // "/a/b/c.mkv" is the current entry, also create resume files for /a/b and
     // /a, so that "mpv --directory-mode=lazy /a" resumes playback from
     // /a/b/c.mkv even when b isn't the first directory in /a.
+    char* path_copy = talloc_strdup(NULL, path);
     bstr dir = mp_dirname(path);
     // There is no need to write a redirect entry for "/".
-    while (dir.len > 1 && dir.len < strlen(path)) {
-        path[dir.len] = '\0';
-        mp_path_strip_trailing_separator(path);
-        write_redirect(mpctx, path);
-        dir = mp_dirname(path);
+    while (dir.len > 1 && dir.len < strlen(path_copy)) {
+        path_copy[dir.len] = '\0';
+        mp_path_strip_trailing_separator(path_copy);
+        write_redirect(mpctx, path_copy);
+        dir = mp_dirname(path_copy);
     }
+    talloc_free(path_copy);
 }
 
 void mp_write_watch_later_conf(struct MPContext *mpctx)
 {
     struct playlist_entry *cur = mpctx->playing;
     char *conffile = NULL;
-    void *ctx = talloc_new(NULL);
 
     if (!cur)
         goto exit;
 
-    char *path = mp_normalize_path(ctx, cur->filename);
-    if (!path)
-        goto exit;
-
     struct demuxer *demux = mpctx->demuxer;
 
-    conffile = mp_get_playback_resume_config_filename(mpctx, path);
+    conffile = mp_get_playback_resume_config_filename(mpctx, cur->filename);
     if (!conffile)
         goto exit;
 
@@ -337,7 +324,7 @@ void mp_write_watch_later_conf(struct MPContext *mpctx)
         goto exit;
     }
 
-    write_filename(mpctx, file, path);
+    write_filename(mpctx, file, cur->filename);
 
     bool write_start = true;
     double pos = get_playback_time(mpctx);
@@ -374,34 +361,33 @@ void mp_write_watch_later_conf(struct MPContext *mpctx)
     }
     fclose(file);
 
-    if (mpctx->opts->position_check_mtime && !mp_is_url(bstr0(path)) &&
-        !copy_mtime(path, conffile))
+    if (mpctx->opts->position_check_mtime && !mp_is_url(bstr0(cur->filename)) &&
+        !copy_mtime(cur->filename, conffile))
     {
         MP_WARN(mpctx, "Can't copy mtime from %s to %s\n", cur->filename,
                 conffile);
     }
 
-    write_redirects_for_parent_dirs(mpctx, path);
+    write_redirects_for_parent_dirs(mpctx, cur->filename);
 
     // Also write redirect entries for a playlist that mpv expanded if the
     // current entry is a URL, this is mostly useful for playing multiple
     // archives of images, e.g. with mpv 1.zip 2.zip and quit-watch-later
     // on 2.zip, write redirect entries for 2.zip, not just for the archive://
     // URL.
-    if (cur->playlist_path && mp_is_url(bstr0(path))) {
-        char *playlist_path = mp_normalize_path(ctx, cur->playlist_path);
-        write_redirect(mpctx, playlist_path);
-        write_redirects_for_parent_dirs(mpctx, playlist_path);
+    if (cur->playlist_path && mp_is_url(bstr0(cur->filename))) {
+        write_redirect(mpctx, cur->playlist_path);
+        write_redirects_for_parent_dirs(mpctx, cur->playlist_path);
     }
 
 exit:
     talloc_free(conffile);
-    talloc_free(ctx);
 }
 
 void mp_delete_watch_later_conf(struct MPContext *mpctx, const char *file)
 {
-    char *path = mp_normalize_path(NULL, file ? file : mpctx->filename);
+    char *path = file ? mp_normalize_path(NULL, file)
+                      : talloc_strdup(NULL, mpctx->filename);
     if (!path)
         goto exit;
 
diff --git a/player/loadfile.c b/player/loadfile.c
index f9b653185b13d..f08079fb64e89 100644
--- a/player/loadfile.c
+++ b/player/loadfile.c
@@ -1578,7 +1578,7 @@ static void append_to_watch_history(struct MPContext *mpctx)
     list->keys[1] = "path";
     list->values[1] = (struct mpv_node) {
         .format = MPV_FORMAT_STRING,
-        .u.string = mp_normalize_path(ctx, mpctx->filename),
+        .u.string = mpctx->filename,
     };
     if (title) {
         list->keys[2] = "title";
diff --git a/player/lua/select.lua b/player/lua/select.lua
index 875a290658546..87b0f3024faf5 100644
--- a/player/lua/select.lua
+++ b/player/lua/select.lua
@@ -43,16 +43,13 @@ mp.add_key_binding(nil, "select-playlist", function ()
     local playlist = {}
     local default_item
     local show = mp.get_property_native("osd-playlist-entry")
-    local trailing_slash_pattern = mp.get_property("platform") == "windows"
-                                   and "[/\\]+$" or "/+$"
 
     for i, entry in ipairs(mp.get_property_native("playlist")) do
         playlist[i] = entry.title
         if not playlist[i] or show ~= "title" then
             playlist[i] = entry.filename
             if not playlist[i]:find("://") then
-                playlist[i] = select(2, utils.split_path(
-                    playlist[i]:gsub(trailing_slash_pattern, "")))
+                playlist[i] = select(2, utils.split_path(playlist[i]))
             end
         end
         if entry.title and show == "both" then