diff --git a/include/vcpkg/base/json.h b/include/vcpkg/base/json.h
index 7897667b59..ff5ac07351 100644
--- a/include/vcpkg/base/json.h
+++ b/include/vcpkg/base/json.h
@@ -327,10 +327,8 @@ namespace vcpkg::Json
         JsonStyle style;
     };
 
-    ExpectedT<ParsedJson, std::unique_ptr<ParseError>> parse_file(const ReadOnlyFilesystem&,
-                                                                  const Path&,
-                                                                  std::error_code& ec);
-    ExpectedT<ParsedJson, std::unique_ptr<ParseError>> parse(StringView text, StringView origin);
+    ExpectedL<ParsedJson> parse_file(const ReadOnlyFilesystem&, const Path&, std::error_code& ec);
+    ExpectedL<ParsedJson> parse(StringView text, StringView origin);
     ParsedJson parse_file(LineInfo li, const ReadOnlyFilesystem&, const Path&);
     ExpectedL<Json::Object> parse_object(StringView text, StringView origin);
 
diff --git a/include/vcpkg/base/message-data.inc.h b/include/vcpkg/base/message-data.inc.h
index bd08ee1e25..c9eb7b5910 100644
--- a/include/vcpkg/base/message-data.inc.h
+++ b/include/vcpkg/base/message-data.inc.h
@@ -1340,10 +1340,7 @@ DECLARE_MESSAGE(
     (),
     "",
     "Environment variable VCPKG_FORCE_SYSTEM_BINARIES must be set on arm, s390x, ppc64le and riscv platforms.")
-DECLARE_MESSAGE(FormattedParseMessageExpression,
-                (msg::value),
-                "Example of {value} is 'x64 & windows'",
-                "on expression: {value}")
+DECLARE_MESSAGE(FormattedParseMessageExpressionPrefix, (), "", "on expression:")
 DECLARE_MESSAGE(ForMoreHelp,
                 (),
                 "Printed before a suggestion for the user to run `vcpkg help <topic>`",
diff --git a/include/vcpkg/base/parse.h b/include/vcpkg/base/parse.h
index bbdd7097f3..0f46a14010 100644
--- a/include/vcpkg/base/parse.h
+++ b/include/vcpkg/base/parse.h
@@ -9,43 +9,8 @@
 
 #include <vcpkg/textrowcol.h>
 
-#include <memory>
 #include <string>
 
-namespace vcpkg
-{
-    struct ParseError
-    {
-        ParseError(std::string origin, int row, int column, int caret_col, std::string line, LocalizedString message)
-            : origin(std::move(origin))
-            , row(row)
-            , column(column)
-            , caret_col(caret_col)
-            , line(std::move(line))
-            , message(std::move(message))
-        {
-        }
-
-        const std::string origin;
-        const int row;
-        const int column;
-        const int caret_col;
-        const std::string line;
-        const LocalizedString message;
-
-        std::string to_string() const;
-    };
-
-    constexpr struct ParseErrorFormatter
-    {
-        LocalizedString operator()(const std::unique_ptr<ParseError>& up)
-        {
-            return LocalizedString::from_raw(up->to_string());
-        }
-    } parse_error_formatter;
-
-} // namespace vcpkg
-
 namespace vcpkg
 {
     struct SourceLoc
@@ -66,7 +31,7 @@ namespace vcpkg
 
     struct ParseMessages
     {
-        std::unique_ptr<ParseError> error;
+        Optional<LocalizedString> error;
         std::vector<ParseMessage> warnings;
 
         void exit_if_errors_or_warnings(StringView origin) const;
@@ -141,8 +106,8 @@ namespace vcpkg
         void add_warning(LocalizedString&& message);
         void add_warning(LocalizedString&& message, const SourceLoc& loc);
 
-        const ParseError* get_error() const { return m_messages.error.get(); }
-        std::unique_ptr<ParseError> extract_error() { return std::move(m_messages.error); }
+        const LocalizedString* get_error() const& { return m_messages.error.get(); }
+        LocalizedString* get_error() && { return m_messages.error.get(); }
 
         const ParseMessages& messages() const { return m_messages; }
         ParseMessages&& extract_messages() { return std::move(m_messages); }
diff --git a/src/vcpkg-fuzz/main.cpp b/src/vcpkg-fuzz/main.cpp
index be6373d53b..6e37224d28 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg-fuzz/main.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg-fuzz/main.cpp
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ namespace
         auto res = Json::parse(text, origin);
         if (!res)
         {
-            Checks::exit_with_message(VCPKG_LINE_INFO, res.error()->to_string());
+            Checks::msg_exit_with_message(VCPKG_LINE_INFO, res.error());
         }
 
         Checks::exit_success(VCPKG_LINE_INFO);
diff --git a/src/vcpkg-test/ci-baseline.cpp b/src/vcpkg-test/ci-baseline.cpp
index 337e7f95cb..85aca625a3 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg-test/ci-baseline.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg-test/ci-baseline.cpp
@@ -250,8 +250,7 @@ static void check_error(const std::string& input, const std::string& expected_er
     auto actual = parse_ci_baseline(input, "test", m);
     CHECK(actual.empty());
     CHECK(m.warnings.empty());
-    REQUIRE(m.error);
-    CHECK(m.error->to_string() == expected_error);
+    CHECK(m.error.value_or_exit(VCPKG_LINE_INFO) == LocalizedString::from_raw(expected_error));
 }
 
 TEST_CASE ("Parse Errors", "[ci-baseline]")
diff --git a/src/vcpkg-test/json.cpp b/src/vcpkg-test/json.cpp
index 044a14908e..5a0af93595 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg-test/json.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg-test/json.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include <vcpkg-test/util.h>
 
 #include <vcpkg/base/json.h>
+#include <vcpkg/base/messages.h>
 
 #include <iostream>
 
@@ -18,7 +19,7 @@ static auto u8_string_to_char_string(const char8_t (&literal)[Sz]) -> const char
 #define U8_STR(s) (u8"" s)
 #endif
 
-namespace Json = vcpkg::Json;
+using namespace vcpkg;
 using Json::Value;
 
 TEST_CASE ("JSON stringify weird strings", "[json]")
@@ -55,9 +56,9 @@ TEST_CASE ("JSON parse strings", "[json]")
     REQUIRE(res.get()->value.is_string());
     REQUIRE(res.get()->value.string(VCPKG_LINE_INFO) == "\xED\xA0\x80");
 
-    const auto make_json_string = [](vcpkg::StringView sv) { return '"' + sv.to_string() + '"'; };
-    const vcpkg::StringView radical = U8_STR("⎷");
-    const vcpkg::StringView grin = U8_STR("😁");
+    const auto make_json_string = [](StringView sv) { return '"' + sv.to_string() + '"'; };
+    const StringView radical = U8_STR("⎷");
+    const StringView grin = U8_STR("😁");
 
     res = Json::parse(R"("\uD83D\uDE01")", "test"); // paired surrogates for grin
     REQUIRE(res);
@@ -212,14 +213,14 @@ TEST_CASE ("JSON parse objects", "[json]")
 
 TEST_CASE ("JSON parse full file", "[json]")
 {
-    vcpkg::StringView json =
+    StringView json =
 #include "large-json-document.json.inc"
         ;
 
     auto res = Json::parse(json, "test");
     if (!res)
     {
-        std::cerr << res.error()->to_string() << '\n';
+        std::cerr << res.error() << '\n';
     }
     REQUIRE(res);
 }
@@ -228,20 +229,19 @@ TEST_CASE ("JSON track newlines", "[json]")
 {
     auto res = Json::parse("{\n,", "filename");
     REQUIRE(!res);
-    REQUIRE(res.error()->to_string() ==
-            R"(filename:2:1: error: Unexpected character; expected property name
+    REQUIRE(res.error() ==
+            LocalizedString::from_raw(R"(filename:2:1: error: Unexpected character; expected property name
   on expression: ,
-                 ^)");
+                 ^)"));
 }
 
 TEST_CASE ("JSON duplicated object keys", "[json]")
 {
     auto res = Json::parse("{\"name\": 1, \"name\": 2}", "filename");
     REQUIRE(!res);
-    REQUIRE(res.error()->to_string() ==
-            R"(filename:1:13: error: Duplicated key "name" in an object
+    REQUIRE(res.error() == LocalizedString::from_raw(R"(filename:1:13: error: Duplicated key "name" in an object
   on expression: {"name": 1, "name": 2}
-                             ^)");
+                             ^)"));
 }
 
 TEST_CASE ("JSON support unicode characters in errors", "[json]")
@@ -249,26 +249,23 @@ TEST_CASE ("JSON support unicode characters in errors", "[json]")
     // unicode characters w/ bytes >1
     auto res = Json::parse(R"json("Δx/Δt" "")json", "filename");
     REQUIRE(!res);
-    CHECK(res.error()->to_string() ==
-          R"(filename:1:9: error: Unexpected character; expected EOF
+    CHECK(res.error() == LocalizedString::from_raw(R"(filename:1:9: error: Unexpected character; expected EOF
   on expression: "Δx/Δt" ""
-                         ^)");
+                         ^)"));
 
     // full width unicode characters
     // note that the A is full width
     res = Json::parse(R"json("姐姐aＡ" "")json", "filename");
     REQUIRE(!res);
-    CHECK(res.error()->to_string() ==
-          R"(filename:1:8: error: Unexpected character; expected EOF
+    CHECK(res.error() == LocalizedString::from_raw(R"(filename:1:8: error: Unexpected character; expected EOF
   on expression: "姐姐aＡ" ""
-                           ^)");
+                           ^)"));
 
     // incorrect errors in the face of combining characters
     // (this test should be fixed once the underlying bug is fixed)
     res = Json::parse(R"json("é" "")json", "filename");
     REQUIRE(!res);
-    CHECK(res.error()->to_string() ==
-          R"(filename:1:6: error: Unexpected character; expected EOF
+    CHECK(res.error() == LocalizedString::from_raw(R"(filename:1:6: error: Unexpected character; expected EOF
   on expression: "é" ""
-                      ^)");
+                      ^)"));
 }
diff --git a/src/vcpkg-test/manifests.cpp b/src/vcpkg-test/manifests.cpp
index ce3a8a58d6..2bebac9bad 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg-test/manifests.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg-test/manifests.cpp
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ static Json::Object parse_json_object(StringView sv)
     {
         INFO("Error found while parsing JSON document:");
         INFO(sv.to_string());
-        FAIL(json.error()->to_string());
+        FAIL(json.error());
         return Json::Object{};
     }
 }
@@ -1179,13 +1179,13 @@ static bool license_is_parsable(StringView license)
 {
     ParseMessages messages;
     parse_spdx_license_expression(license, messages);
-    return messages.error == nullptr;
+    return !messages.error.has_value();
 }
 static bool license_is_strict(StringView license)
 {
     ParseMessages messages;
     parse_spdx_license_expression(license, messages);
-    return messages.error == nullptr && messages.warnings.empty();
+    return !messages.error.has_value() && messages.warnings.empty();
 }
 
 static std::string test_format_parse_warning(const ParseMessage& msg)
@@ -1242,32 +1242,32 @@ TEST_CASE ("license error messages", "[manifests][license]")
 {
     ParseMessages messages;
     parse_spdx_license_expression("", messages);
-    REQUIRE(messages.error);
-    CHECK(messages.error->to_string() == R"(<license string>:1:1: error: SPDX license expression was empty.
+    CHECK(messages.error.value_or_exit(VCPKG_LINE_INFO) ==
+          LocalizedString::from_raw(R"(<license string>:1:1: error: SPDX license expression was empty.
   on expression: 
-                 ^)");
+                 ^)"));
 
     parse_spdx_license_expression("MIT ()", messages);
-    REQUIRE(messages.error);
-    CHECK(messages.error->to_string() ==
-          R"(<license string>:1:5: error: Expected a compound or the end of the string, found a parenthesis.
+    CHECK(messages.error.value_or_exit(VCPKG_LINE_INFO) ==
+          LocalizedString::from_raw(
+              R"(<license string>:1:5: error: Expected a compound or the end of the string, found a parenthesis.
   on expression: MIT ()
-                     ^)");
+                     ^)"));
 
     parse_spdx_license_expression("MIT +", messages);
-    REQUIRE(messages.error);
     CHECK(
-        messages.error->to_string() ==
-        R"(<license string>:1:5: error: SPDX license expression contains an extra '+'. These are only allowed directly after a license identifier.
+        messages.error.value_or_exit(VCPKG_LINE_INFO) ==
+        LocalizedString::from_raw(
+            R"(<license string>:1:5: error: SPDX license expression contains an extra '+'. These are only allowed directly after a license identifier.
   on expression: MIT +
-                     ^)");
+                     ^)"));
 
     parse_spdx_license_expression("MIT AND", messages);
-    REQUIRE(messages.error);
-    CHECK(messages.error->to_string() ==
-          R"(<license string>:1:8: error: Expected a license name, found the end of the string.
+    CHECK(
+        messages.error.value_or_exit(VCPKG_LINE_INFO) ==
+        LocalizedString::from_raw(R"(<license string>:1:8: error: Expected a license name, found the end of the string.
   on expression: MIT AND
-                        ^)");
+                        ^)"));
 
     parse_spdx_license_expression("MIT AND unknownlicense", messages);
     CHECK(!messages.error);
diff --git a/src/vcpkg/base/json.cpp b/src/vcpkg/base/json.cpp
index 0d9518085e..2bcd4318b9 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg/base/json.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg/base/json.cpp
@@ -992,7 +992,7 @@ namespace vcpkg::Json
                 }
             }
 
-            static ExpectedT<ParsedJson, std::unique_ptr<ParseError>> parse(StringView json, StringView origin)
+            static ExpectedL<ParsedJson> parse(StringView json, StringView origin)
             {
                 StatsTimer t(g_json_parsing_stats);
 
@@ -1004,16 +1004,14 @@ namespace vcpkg::Json
                 if (!parser.at_eof())
                 {
                     parser.add_error(msg::format(msgUnexpectedEOFExpectedChar));
-                    return parser.extract_error();
                 }
-                else if (parser.get_error())
-                {
-                    return parser.extract_error();
-                }
-                else
+
+                if (const auto maybe_error = std::move(parser).get_error())
                 {
-                    return ParsedJson{std::move(val), parser.style()};
+                    return std::move(*maybe_error);
                 }
+
+                return ParsedJson{std::move(val), parser.style()};
             }
 
             JsonStyle style() const noexcept { return style_; }
@@ -1100,14 +1098,12 @@ namespace vcpkg::Json
         return true;
     }
 
-    ExpectedT<ParsedJson, std::unique_ptr<ParseError>> parse_file(const ReadOnlyFilesystem& fs,
-                                                                  const Path& json_file,
-                                                                  std::error_code& ec)
+    ExpectedL<ParsedJson> parse_file(const ReadOnlyFilesystem& fs, const Path& json_file, std::error_code& ec)
     {
         auto res = fs.read_contents(json_file, ec);
         if (ec)
         {
-            return std::unique_ptr<ParseError>();
+            return format_filesystem_call_error(ec, "read_contents", {json_file});
         }
 
         return parse(res, json_file);
@@ -1116,7 +1112,7 @@ namespace vcpkg::Json
     ParsedJson parse_file(vcpkg::LineInfo li, const ReadOnlyFilesystem& fs, const Path& json_file)
     {
         std::error_code ec;
-        auto ret = parse_file(fs, json_file, ec).map_error(parse_error_formatter);
+        auto ret = parse_file(fs, json_file, ec);
         if (ec)
         {
             Checks::msg_exit_with_error(li, format_filesystem_call_error(ec, "read_contents", {json_file}));
@@ -1124,26 +1120,19 @@ namespace vcpkg::Json
         return std::move(ret).value_or_exit(VCPKG_LINE_INFO);
     }
 
-    ExpectedT<ParsedJson, std::unique_ptr<ParseError>> parse(StringView json, StringView origin)
-    {
-        return Parser::parse(json, origin);
-    }
+    ExpectedL<ParsedJson> parse(StringView json, StringView origin) { return Parser::parse(json, origin); }
 
     ExpectedL<Json::Object> parse_object(StringView text, StringView origin)
     {
-        auto maybeValueIsh = parse(text, origin);
-        if (auto asValueIsh = maybeValueIsh.get())
-        {
-            auto& asValue = asValueIsh->value;
+        return parse(text, origin).then([&](ParsedJson&& mabeValueIsh) -> ExpectedL<Json::Object> {
+            auto& asValue = mabeValueIsh.value;
             if (asValue.is_object())
             {
                 return std::move(asValue).object(VCPKG_LINE_INFO);
             }
 
             return msg::format(msgJsonErrorMustBeAnObject, msg::path = origin);
-        }
-
-        return LocalizedString::from_raw(maybeValueIsh.error()->to_string());
+        });
     }
     // } auto parse()
 
diff --git a/src/vcpkg/base/parse.cpp b/src/vcpkg/base/parse.cpp
index bdadabf937..1c069789fe 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg/base/parse.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg/base/parse.cpp
@@ -22,53 +22,53 @@ namespace vcpkg
         }
     }
 
-    std::string ParseError::to_string() const
+    static void append_caret_line(LocalizedString& res, const SourceLoc& loc)
     {
-        auto decoder = Unicode::Utf8Decoder(line.data(), line.data() + line.size());
-        ParseMessage as_message;
-        as_message.location = SourceLoc{std::next(decoder, caret_col), decoder, row, column};
-        as_message.message = message;
-        return as_message.format(origin, MessageKind::Error).extract_data();
-    }
-
-    LocalizedString ParseMessage::format(StringView origin, MessageKind kind) const
-    {
-        LocalizedString res;
-        if (!origin.empty())
-        {
-            res.append_raw(fmt::format("{}:{}:{}: ", origin, location.row, location.column));
-        }
-
-        res.append_raw(kind == MessageKind::Warning ? WarningPrefix : ErrorPrefix);
-        res.append(message);
-        res.append_raw('\n');
-
-        auto line_end = Util::find_if(location.it, ParserBase::is_lineend);
+        auto line_end = Util::find_if(loc.it, ParserBase::is_lineend);
         StringView line = StringView{
-            location.start_of_line.pointer_to_current(),
+            loc.start_of_line.pointer_to_current(),
             line_end.pointer_to_current(),
         };
-        res.append_indent().append(msgFormattedParseMessageExpression, msg::value = line);
-        res.append_raw('\n');
 
-        auto caret_point = StringView{location.start_of_line.pointer_to_current(), location.it.pointer_to_current()};
-        auto formatted_caret_point = msg::format(msgFormattedParseMessageExpression, msg::value = caret_point);
+        LocalizedString line_prefix = msg::format(msgFormattedParseMessageExpressionPrefix);
+        size_t line_prefix_space = 1; // for the space after the prefix
+        for (char32_t ch : Unicode::Utf8Decoder(line_prefix))
+        {
+            line_prefix_space += 1 + Unicode::is_double_width_code_point(ch);
+        }
+
+        res.append_indent().append(line_prefix).append_raw(' ').append_raw(line).append_raw('\n');
 
         std::string caret_string;
-        caret_string.reserve(formatted_caret_point.data().size());
-        for (char32_t ch : Unicode::Utf8Decoder(formatted_caret_point))
+        caret_string.append(line_prefix_space, ' ');
+        // note *it is excluded because it is where the ^ goes
+        for (auto it = loc.start_of_line; it != loc.it; ++it)
         {
-            if (ch == '\t')
+            if (*it == '\t')
                 caret_string.push_back('\t');
-            else if (Unicode::is_double_width_code_point(ch))
-                caret_string.append("  ");
+            else if (Unicode::is_double_width_code_point(*it))
+                caret_string.append(2, ' ');
             else
                 caret_string.push_back(' ');
         }
+
         caret_string.push_back('^');
 
         res.append_indent().append_raw(caret_string);
+    }
+
+    LocalizedString ParseMessage::format(StringView origin, MessageKind kind) const
+    {
+        LocalizedString res;
+        if (!origin.empty())
+        {
+            res.append_raw(fmt::format("{}:{}:{}: ", origin, location.row, location.column));
+        }
 
+        res.append_raw(kind == MessageKind::Warning ? WarningPrefix : ErrorPrefix);
+        res.append(message);
+        res.append_raw('\n');
+        append_caret_line(res, location);
         return res;
     }
 
@@ -79,9 +79,9 @@ namespace vcpkg
             msg::println(warning.format(origin, MessageKind::Warning));
         }
 
-        if (error)
+        if (auto e = error.get())
         {
-            Checks::msg_exit_with_message(VCPKG_LINE_INFO, LocalizedString::from_raw(error->to_string()));
+            Checks::msg_exit_with_message(VCPKG_LINE_INFO, *e);
         }
 
         if (!warnings.empty())
@@ -186,19 +186,16 @@ namespace vcpkg
         // avoid cascading errors by only saving the first
         if (!m_messages.error)
         {
-            // find end of line
-            auto line_end = loc.it;
-            while (line_end != line_end.end() && *line_end != '\n' && *line_end != '\r')
+            auto& res = m_messages.error.emplace();
+            if (!m_origin.empty())
             {
-                ++line_end;
+                res.append_raw(fmt::format("{}:{}:{}: ", m_origin, loc.row, loc.column));
             }
-            m_messages.error = std::make_unique<ParseError>(
-                m_origin.to_string(),
-                loc.row,
-                loc.column,
-                static_cast<int>(std::distance(loc.start_of_line, loc.it)),
-                std::string(loc.start_of_line.pointer_to_current(), line_end.pointer_to_current()),
-                std::move(message));
+
+            res.append_raw(ErrorPrefix);
+            res.append(message);
+            res.append_raw('\n');
+            append_caret_line(res, loc);
         }
 
         // Avoid error loops by skipping to the end
diff --git a/src/vcpkg/binarycaching.cpp b/src/vcpkg/binarycaching.cpp
index b94f537381..4db24f84fe 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg/binarycaching.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg/binarycaching.cpp
@@ -2354,14 +2354,14 @@ ExpectedL<BinaryConfigParserState> vcpkg::parse_binary_provider_configs(const st
     default_parser.parse();
     if (auto err = default_parser.get_error())
     {
-        return LocalizedString::from_raw(err->message);
+        return *err;
     }
 
     BinaryConfigParser env_parser(env_string, "VCPKG_BINARY_SOURCES", &s);
     env_parser.parse();
     if (auto err = env_parser.get_error())
     {
-        return LocalizedString::from_raw(err->to_string());
+        return *err;
     }
 
     for (auto&& arg : args)
@@ -2370,7 +2370,7 @@ ExpectedL<BinaryConfigParserState> vcpkg::parse_binary_provider_configs(const st
         arg_parser.parse();
         if (auto err = arg_parser.get_error())
         {
-            return LocalizedString::from_raw(err->to_string());
+            return *err;
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/vcpkg/commands.format-manifest.cpp b/src/vcpkg/commands.format-manifest.cpp
index dff60d3535..cc0a65cae5 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg/commands.format-manifest.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg/commands.format-manifest.cpp
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ namespace
         auto parsed_json_opt = Json::parse(contents, manifest_path);
         if (!parsed_json_opt)
         {
-            msg::println(Color::error, LocalizedString::from_raw(parsed_json_opt.error()->to_string()));
+            msg::println(Color::error, parsed_json_opt.error());
             return nullopt;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/vcpkg/configuration.cpp b/src/vcpkg/configuration.cpp
index 342372888f..16e192eb03 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg/configuration.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg/configuration.cpp
@@ -883,7 +883,7 @@ namespace vcpkg
         auto conf = Json::parse(contents, origin);
         if (!conf)
         {
-            messageSink.println(Color::error, LocalizedString::from_raw(conf.error()->to_string()));
+            messageSink.println(Color::error, conf.error());
             return nullopt;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/vcpkg/platform-expression.cpp b/src/vcpkg/platform-expression.cpp
index 374b9f9f0a..8bb46ef614 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg/platform-expression.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg/platform-expression.cpp
@@ -645,7 +645,7 @@ namespace vcpkg::PlatformExpression
         ExpressionParser parser(expression, multiple_binary_operators);
         auto res = parser.parse();
 
-        if (auto p = parser.extract_error())
+        if (auto p = parser.get_error())
         {
             return LocalizedString::from_raw(p->to_string());
         }
diff --git a/src/vcpkg/registries.cpp b/src/vcpkg/registries.cpp
index 36e34520b1..9a3e901035 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg/registries.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg/registries.cpp
@@ -1371,7 +1371,7 @@ namespace
         auto maybe_value = Json::parse(contents, origin);
         if (!maybe_value)
         {
-            return LocalizedString::from_raw(maybe_value.error()->to_string());
+            return std::move(maybe_value).error();
         }
 
         auto& value = *maybe_value.get();
diff --git a/src/vcpkg/vcpkgcmdarguments.cpp b/src/vcpkg/vcpkgcmdarguments.cpp
index 9418046c1c..b7c1cf8558 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg/vcpkgcmdarguments.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg/vcpkgcmdarguments.cpp
@@ -635,10 +635,7 @@ namespace vcpkg
         auto maybe_vcpkg_recursive_data = get_environment_variable(RECURSIVE_DATA_ENV);
         if (auto vcpkg_recursive_data = maybe_vcpkg_recursive_data.get())
         {
-            auto rec_doc = Json::parse(*vcpkg_recursive_data, RECURSIVE_DATA_ENV)
-                               .map_error(parse_error_formatter)
-                               .value_or_exit(VCPKG_LINE_INFO)
-                               .value;
+            auto rec_doc = Json::parse(*vcpkg_recursive_data, RECURSIVE_DATA_ENV).value_or_exit(VCPKG_LINE_INFO).value;
             const auto& obj = rec_doc.object(VCPKG_LINE_INFO);
 
             if (auto entry = obj.get(VCPKG_ROOT_ARG_NAME))
diff --git a/src/vcpkg/vcpkgpaths.cpp b/src/vcpkg/vcpkgpaths.cpp
index 042ce572b6..fac3a21217 100644
--- a/src/vcpkg/vcpkgpaths.cpp
+++ b/src/vcpkg/vcpkgpaths.cpp
@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ namespace
         }
         else
         {
-            Debug::print("Failed to load lockfile:\n", maybe_lock_contents.error()->to_string());
+            Debug::print("Failed to load lockfile:\n", maybe_lock_contents.error());
             return ret;
         }
     }