diff --git a/Makefile.in b/Makefile.in
index b4730a7952f..28969e4a526 100644
--- a/Makefile.in
+++ b/Makefile.in
@@ -625,10 +625,10 @@ config.stamp: $(S)configure $(S)Makefile.in $(S)src/snapshots.txt
 # new definitions), make sure definitions always precede their uses,
 # especially for the dependency lists of recipes.
 
+include $(CFG_SRC_DIR)mk/rt.mk
 include $(CFG_SRC_DIR)mk/target.mk
 include $(CFG_SRC_DIR)mk/host.mk
 include $(CFG_SRC_DIR)mk/stage0.mk
-include $(CFG_SRC_DIR)mk/rt.mk
 include $(CFG_SRC_DIR)mk/rustllvm.mk
 include $(CFG_SRC_DIR)mk/tools.mk
 include $(CFG_SRC_DIR)mk/docs.mk
diff --git a/mk/rt.mk b/mk/rt.mk
index a7f09e63ce0..d51b09b56da 100644
--- a/mk/rt.mk
+++ b/mk/rt.mk
@@ -87,7 +87,6 @@ RUNTIME_CXXS_$(1)_$(2) := \
               rt/sync/rust_thread.cpp \
               rt/rust_builtin.cpp \
               rt/rust_upcall.cpp \
-              rt/rust_uv.cpp \
               rt/miniz.cpp \
               rt/rust_android_dummy.cpp \
               rt/rust_test_helpers.cpp
@@ -101,8 +100,7 @@ RT_BUILD_DIR_$(1)_$(2) := $$(RT_OUTPUT_DIR_$(1))/stage$(2)
 
 RUNTIME_DEF_$(1)_$(2) := $$(RT_OUTPUT_DIR_$(1))/rustrt$$(CFG_DEF_SUFFIX_$(1))
 RUNTIME_INCS_$(1)_$(2) := -I $$(S)src/rt -I $$(S)src/rt/isaac -I $$(S)src/rt/uthash \
-                     -I $$(S)src/rt/arch/$$(HOST_$(1)) \
-                     -I $$(S)src/libuv/include
+                     -I $$(S)src/rt/arch/$$(HOST_$(1))
 RUNTIME_OBJS_$(1)_$(2) := $$(RUNTIME_CXXS_$(1)_$(2):rt/%.cpp=$$(RT_BUILD_DIR_$(1)_$(2))/%.o) \
                      $$(RUNTIME_CS_$(1)_$(2):rt/%.c=$$(RT_BUILD_DIR_$(1)_$(2))/%.o) \
                      $$(RUNTIME_S_$(1)_$(2):rt/%.S=$$(RT_BUILD_DIR_$(1)_$(2))/%.o)
@@ -131,10 +129,9 @@ $$(RT_BUILD_DIR_$(1)_$(2))/arch/$$(HOST_$(1))/libmorestack.a: $$(MORESTACK_OBJS_
 	$$(Q)$(AR_$(1)) rcs $$@ $$^
 
 $$(RT_BUILD_DIR_$(1)_$(2))/$(CFG_RUNTIME_$(1)): $$(RUNTIME_OBJS_$(1)_$(2)) $$(MKFILE_DEPS) \
-                        $$(RUNTIME_DEF_$(1)_$(2)) $$(LIBUV_LIB_$(1))
+                        $$(RUNTIME_DEF_$(1)_$(2))
 	@$$(call E, link: $$@)
 	$$(Q)$$(call CFG_LINK_CXX_$(1),$$@, $$(RUNTIME_OBJS_$(1)_$(2)) \
-	    $$(LIBUV_LIB_$(1)) \
 	    $$(CFG_LIBUV_LINK_FLAGS_$(1)),$$(RUNTIME_DEF_$(1)_$(2)),$$(CFG_RUNTIME_$(1)))
 
 # These could go in rt.mk or rustllvm.mk, they're needed for both.
@@ -234,6 +231,27 @@ $$(LIBUV_LIB_$(1)): $$(LIBUV_DEPS) $$(LIBUV_MAKEFILE_$(1))
 		V=$$(VERBOSE)
 endif
 
+# libuv support functionality (extra C/C++ that we need to use libuv)
+
+UV_SUPPORT_NAME_$(1) := $$(call CFG_STATIC_LIB_NAME_$(1),uv_support)
+UV_SUPPORT_DIR_$(1) := $$(RT_OUTPUT_DIR_$(1))/uv_support
+UV_SUPPORT_LIB_$(1) := $$(UV_SUPPORT_DIR_$(1))/$$(UV_SUPPORT_NAME_$(1))
+UV_SUPPORT_CS_$(1) := rt/rust_uv.cpp
+UV_SUPPORT_OBJS_$(1) := $$(UV_SUPPORT_CS_$(1):rt/%.cpp=$$(UV_SUPPORT_DIR_$(1))/%.o)
+
+$$(UV_SUPPORT_DIR_$(1))/%.o: rt/%.cpp
+	@$$(call E, compile: $$@)
+	@mkdir -p $$(@D)
+	$$(Q)$$(call CFG_COMPILE_CXX_$(1), $$@, \
+		-I $$(S)src/libuv/include \
+                 $$(RUNTIME_CFLAGS_$(1))) $$<
+
+$$(UV_SUPPORT_LIB_$(1)): $$(UV_SUPPORT_OBJS_$(1))
+	@$$(call E, link: $$@)
+	$$(Q)$$(AR_$(1)) rcs $$@ $$^
+
+# sundown markdown library (used by librustdoc)
+
 SUNDOWN_NAME_$(1) := $$(call CFG_STATIC_LIB_NAME_$(1),sundown)
 SUNDOWN_DIR_$(1) := $$(RT_OUTPUT_DIR_$(1))/sundown
 SUNDOWN_LIB_$(1) := $$(SUNDOWN_DIR_$(1))/$$(SUNDOWN_NAME_$(1))
diff --git a/mk/target.mk b/mk/target.mk
index ac95b2f5c66..f7d8ec83a5a 100644
--- a/mk/target.mk
+++ b/mk/target.mk
@@ -77,10 +77,15 @@ $$(TLIB$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/$(CFG_LIBRUSTUV_$(2)): \
 		$$(LIBRUSTUV_CRATE) $$(LIBRUSTUV_INPUTS) \
 	        $$(TLIB$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/$(CFG_STDLIB_$(2)) \
 		$$(TSREQ$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) \
+		$$(LIBUV_LIB_$(2)) \
+		$$(UV_SUPPORT_LIB_$(2)) \
 		| $$(TLIB$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/
 	@$$(call E, compile_and_link: $$@)
 	$$(call REMOVE_ALL_OLD_GLOB_MATCHES_EXCEPT,$$(dir $$@),$(LIBRUSTUV_GLOB_$(2)),$$(notdir $$@))
-	$$(STAGE$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) $$(WFLAGS_ST$(1)) --out-dir $$(@D) $$< && touch $$@
+	$$(STAGE$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) $$(WFLAGS_ST$(1)) \
+		-L $$(UV_SUPPORT_DIR_$(2)) \
+		-L $$(dir $$(LIBUV_LIB_$(2))) \
+		--out-dir $$(@D) $$< && touch $$@
 	$$(call LIST_ALL_OLD_GLOB_MATCHES_EXCEPT,$$(dir $$@),$(LIBRUSTUV_GLOB_$(2)),$$(notdir $$@))
 
 $$(TLIB$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/$(CFG_LIBSYNTAX_$(3)): \
@@ -117,13 +122,16 @@ $$(TLIB$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/$(CFG_LIBRUSTC_$(3)):		\
 	$$(STAGE$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) $$(WFLAGS_ST$(1)) --out-dir $$(@D) $$< && touch $$@
 	$$(call LIST_ALL_OLD_GLOB_MATCHES_EXCEPT,$$(dir $$@),$(LIBRUSTC_GLOB_$(2)),$$(notdir $$@))
 
+# NOTE: after the next snapshot remove these '-L' flags
 $$(TBIN$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/rustc$$(X_$(3)):			\
 		$$(DRIVER_CRATE)				\
 		$$(TSREQ$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) \
 		$$(TLIB$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/$(CFG_LIBRUSTC_$(3)) \
 		| $$(TBIN$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/
 	@$$(call E, compile_and_link: $$@)
-	$$(STAGE$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) --cfg rustc -o $$@ $$<
+	$$(STAGE$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) --cfg rustc -o $$@ $$< \
+		-L $$(UV_SUPPORT_DIR_$(2)) \
+		-L $$(dir $$(LIBUV_LIB_$(2)))
 ifdef CFG_ENABLE_PAX_FLAGS
 	@$$(call E, apply PaX flags: $$@)
 	@"$(CFG_PAXCTL)" -cm "$$@"
diff --git a/mk/tests.mk b/mk/tests.mk
index 02242897d35..eabb5f535e6 100644
--- a/mk/tests.mk
+++ b/mk/tests.mk
@@ -358,7 +358,9 @@ $(3)/stage$(1)/test/rustuvtest-$(2)$$(X_$(2)):			\
 		$$(LIBRUSTUV_CRATE) $$(LIBRUSTUV_INPUTS)	\
 		$$(STDTESTDEP_$(1)_$(2)_$(3))
 	@$$(call E, compile_and_link: $$@)
-	$$(STAGE$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) -o $$@ $$< --test
+	$$(STAGE$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) -o $$@ $$< --test \
+		-L $$(UV_SUPPORT_DIR_$(2)) \
+		-L $$(dir $$(LIBUV_LIB_$(2)))
 
 $(3)/stage$(1)/test/syntaxtest-$(2)$$(X_$(2)):			\
 		$$(LIBSYNTAX_CRATE) $$(LIBSYNTAX_INPUTS)	\
@@ -392,7 +394,8 @@ $(3)/stage$(1)/test/rustdoctest-$(2)$$(X_$(2)):					\
 		$$(TLIB$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/$$(CFG_LIBSYNTAX_$(2)) \
 		$$(TLIB$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3))/$$(CFG_LIBRUSTC_$(2))
 	@$$(call E, compile_and_link: $$@)
-	$$(STAGE$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) -o $$@ $$< --test
+	$$(STAGE$(1)_T_$(2)_H_$(3)) -o $$@ $$< --test \
+		-L $$(SUNDOWN_DIR_$(2))
 
 endef
 
diff --git a/src/librustc/lib/llvm.rs b/src/librustc/lib/llvm.rs
index 4eb8a0b8fa6..e152d009050 100644
--- a/src/librustc/lib/llvm.rs
+++ b/src/librustc/lib/llvm.rs
@@ -304,8 +304,7 @@ pub mod llvm {
     use super::debuginfo::*;
     use std::libc::{c_char, c_int, c_longlong, c_ushort, c_uint, c_ulonglong};
 
-    #[link_args = "-Lrustllvm -lrustllvm"]
-    #[link_name = "rustllvm"]
+    #[link_args = "-lrustllvm"]
     extern {
         /* Create and destroy contexts. */
         pub fn LLVMContextCreate() -> ContextRef;
diff --git a/src/librustuv/uvll.rs b/src/librustuv/uvll.rs
index f80178cfa4c..9e86ab11286 100644
--- a/src/librustuv/uvll.rs
+++ b/src/librustuv/uvll.rs
@@ -1003,6 +1003,8 @@ pub struct uv_err_data {
     err_msg: ~str,
 }
 
+// uv_support is the result of compiling rust_uv.cpp
+#[link_args = "-luv_support -luv"]
 extern {
 
     fn rust_uv_handle_size(type_: uintptr_t) -> size_t;
@@ -1172,3 +1174,13 @@ extern {
                             signum: c_int) -> c_int;
     fn rust_uv_signal_stop(handle: *uv_signal_t) -> c_int;
 }
+
+// libuv requires various system libraries to successfully link on some
+// platforms
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+#[link_args = "-lpthread"]
+extern {}
+
+#[cfg(target_os = "win32")]
+#[link_args = "-lWs2_32 -lpsapi -liphlpapi"]
+extern {}
diff --git a/src/rt/rustrt.def.in b/src/rt/rustrt.def.in
index 01b3c97aa1c..275966583d9 100644
--- a/src/rt/rustrt.def.in
+++ b/src/rt/rustrt.def.in
@@ -26,92 +26,6 @@ rust_win32_rand_gen
 rust_win32_rand_release
 upcall_rust_personality
 upcall_reset_stack_limit
-rust_uv_loop_new
-rust_uv_loop_delete
-rust_uv_walk
-rust_uv_loop_set_data
-rust_uv_run
-rust_uv_close
-rust_uv_async_send
-rust_uv_async_init
-rust_uv_timer_init
-rust_uv_timer_start
-rust_uv_timer_stop
-rust_uv_tcp_init
-rust_uv_buf_init
-rust_uv_strerror
-rust_uv_err_name
-rust_uv_ip4_addr
-rust_uv_ip4_name
-rust_uv_ip6_addr
-rust_uv_ip6_name
-rust_uv_tcp_connect
-rust_uv_tcp_bind
-rust_uv_tcp_connect6
-rust_uv_tcp_bind6
-rust_uv_tcp_getsockname
-rust_uv_tcp_nodelay
-rust_uv_tcp_keepalive
-rust_uv_tcp_simultaneous_accepts
-rust_uv_udp_init
-rust_uv_udp_bind
-rust_uv_udp_bind6
-rust_uv_udp_send
-rust_uv_udp_send6
-rust_uv_udp_recv_start
-rust_uv_udp_recv_stop
-rust_uv_get_udp_handle_from_send_req
-rust_uv_udp_getsockname
-rust_uv_udp_set_membership
-rust_uv_udp_set_multicast_loop
-rust_uv_udp_set_multicast_ttl
-rust_uv_udp_set_ttl
-rust_uv_udp_set_broadcast
-rust_uv_is_ipv4_sockaddr
-rust_uv_is_ipv6_sockaddr
-rust_uv_malloc_sockaddr_storage
-rust_uv_free_sockaddr_storage
-rust_uv_listen
-rust_uv_accept
-rust_uv_write
-rust_uv_read_start
-rust_uv_read_stop
-rust_uv_is_ipv4_addrinfo
-rust_uv_is_ipv6_addrinfo
-rust_uv_get_next_addrinfo
-rust_uv_addrinfo_as_sockaddr_in
-rust_uv_addrinfo_as_sockaddr_in6
-rust_uv_get_stream_handle_from_connect_req
-rust_uv_get_stream_handle_from_write_req
-rust_uv_get_loop_for_uv_handle
-rust_uv_get_data_for_uv_loop
-rust_uv_set_data_for_uv_loop
-rust_uv_get_data_for_uv_handle
-rust_uv_set_data_for_uv_handle
-rust_uv_get_data_for_req
-rust_uv_set_data_for_req
-rust_uv_get_base_from_buf
-rust_uv_get_len_from_buf
-rust_uv_getaddrinfo
-rust_uv_freeaddrinfo
-rust_uv_idle_init
-rust_uv_idle_start
-rust_uv_idle_stop
-rust_uv_fs_open
-rust_uv_fs_unlink
-rust_uv_fs_write
-rust_uv_fs_read
-rust_uv_fs_close
-rust_uv_get_result_from_fs_req
-rust_uv_get_ptr_from_fs_req
-rust_uv_get_loop_from_fs_req
-rust_uv_fs_stat
-rust_uv_fs_fstat
-rust_uv_fs_req_cleanup
-rust_uv_populate_uv_stat
-rust_uv_fs_mkdir
-rust_uv_fs_rmdir
-rust_uv_fs_readdir
 rust_dbg_lock_create
 rust_dbg_lock_destroy
 rust_dbg_lock_lock
@@ -128,9 +42,6 @@ rust_signal_little_lock
 rust_wait_little_lock
 tdefl_compress_mem_to_heap
 tinfl_decompress_mem_to_heap
-rust_uv_ip4_port
-rust_uv_ip6_port
-rust_uv_tcp_getpeername
 rust_raw_thread_start
 rust_raw_thread_join
 rust_raw_thread_delete
@@ -150,14 +61,6 @@ rust_dbg_extern_return_TwoU32s
 rust_dbg_extern_return_TwoU64s
 rust_dbg_extern_identity_double
 rust_dbg_extern_identity_u8
-rust_uv_handle_size
-rust_uv_req_size
-rust_uv_handle_type_max
-rust_uv_req_type_max
-rust_uv_ip4_addrp
-rust_uv_ip6_addrp
-rust_uv_free_ip4_addr
-rust_uv_free_ip6_addr
 rust_initialize_rt_tls_key
 rust_dbg_next_port
 rust_try
@@ -172,23 +75,5 @@ rust_get_global_args_ptr
 rust_take_global_args_lock
 rust_drop_global_args_lock
 rust_get_test_int
-rust_uv_get_loop_from_getaddrinfo_req
-rust_uv_spawn
-rust_uv_process_kill
-rust_set_stdio_container_flags
-rust_set_stdio_container_fd
-rust_set_stdio_container_stream
-rust_uv_process_pid
-rust_uv_pipe_init
-rust_uv_signal_init
-rust_uv_signal_start
-rust_uv_signal_stop
 rust_take_dlerror_lock
 rust_drop_dlerror_lock
-rust_uv_pipe_open
-rust_uv_pipe_bind
-rust_uv_pipe_connect
-rust_uv_tty_init
-rust_uv_tty_set_mode
-rust_uv_tty_get_winsize
-rust_uv_guess_handle