diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 6973764..33941ec 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ jobs:
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
           fetch-tags: true
-      - uses: actions/setup-go@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
         with:
-          go-version: '1.21'
+          go-version: '1.23'
       - run: go version
       - run: go mod tidy
       - run: go generate ./...
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1a98199..5a51788 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -23,3 +23,5 @@ generate-stamp
 
 .envrc
 version.txt
+
+.vscode
diff --git a/cmd/pathctl/main.go b/cmd/pathctl/main.go
index 6ca8c15..0c25a39 100644
--- a/cmd/pathctl/main.go
+++ b/cmd/pathctl/main.go
@@ -7,19 +7,19 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 
+	"al.essio.dev/pkg/tools/dirlist"
 	"al.essio.dev/pkg/tools/internal/version"
-	"al.essio.dev/pkg/tools/pathlist"
 )
 
 const (
-	programme = "pathctl"
+	program = "pathctl"
 )
 
 var (
 	helpMode     bool
 	versionMode  bool
 	listMode     bool
-	noprefixMode bool
+	noPrefixMode bool
 	dropMode     bool
 )
 
@@ -27,55 +27,41 @@ var (
 	envVar string
 )
 
-var cmdHandlers map[string]func(d pathlist.List)
+var cmdHandlers map[string]func(d dirlist.List)
 
 func init() {
 	flag.BoolVar(&helpMode, "help", false, "display this help and exit.")
 	flag.BoolVar(&versionMode, "version", false, "output version information and exit.")
 	flag.BoolVar(&dropMode, "D", false, "drop the path before adding it again to the list.")
-	flag.BoolVar(&noprefixMode, "noprefix", false, "output the variable contents only.")
+	flag.BoolVar(&noPrefixMode, "noprefix", false, "output the variable contents only.")
 	flag.BoolVar(&listMode, "L", false, "use a newline character as path list separator.")
 	flag.StringVar(&envVar, "E", "PATH", "input environment variable.")
 	flag.Usage = usage
 	flag.CommandLine.SetOutput(os.Stderr)
 
-	cmdHandlers = func() map[string]func(pathlist.List) {
-		hAppend := func(d pathlist.List) {
-			if dropMode {
-				d.Drop(flag.Arg(1))
-			}
-			d.Append(flag.Arg(1))
-		}
-		hDrop := func(d pathlist.List) { d.Drop(flag.Arg(1)) }
-		hPrepend := func(d pathlist.List) {
-			if dropMode {
-				d.Drop(flag.Arg(1))
-			}
-			d.Prepend(flag.Arg(1))
-		}
-
-		return map[string]func(pathlist.List){
-			"append":  hAppend,
-			"drop":    hDrop,
-			"prepend": hPrepend,
+	cmdHandlers = func() map[string]func(dirlist.List) {
+		return map[string]func(dirlist.List){
+			"append":  cmdHandlerAppend,
+			"drop":    cmdHandlerDrop,
+			"prepend": cmdHandlerPrepend,
 
 			// aliases
-			"a": hAppend,
-			"d": hDrop,
-			"p": hPrepend,
+			"a": cmdHandlerAppend,
+			"d": cmdHandlerDrop,
+			"p": cmdHandlerPrepend,
 		}
 	}()
 }
 
 func main() {
 	log.SetFlags(0)
-	log.SetPrefix(fmt.Sprintf("%s: ", programme))
+	log.SetPrefix(fmt.Sprintf("%s: ", program))
 	log.SetOutput(os.Stderr)
 	flag.Parse()
 
 	handleHelpAndVersionModes()
 
-	dirs := pathlist.New()
+	dirs := dirlist.New()
 	dirs.LoadEnv(envVar)
 
 	if flag.NArg() < 1 {
@@ -91,11 +77,11 @@ func main() {
 	}
 }
 
-func printPathList(d pathlist.List) {
+func printPathList(d dirlist.List) {
 	var sb = strings.Builder{}
 	sb.Reset()
 
-	printPrefix := !noprefixMode
+	printPrefix := !noPrefixMode
 
 	switch {
 	case listMode:
@@ -138,7 +124,7 @@ Commands:
    prepend, p          prepend a path to the list.
 
 Options:
-`, programme)
+`, program)
 	_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, s)
 
 	flag.PrintDefaults()
@@ -152,3 +138,21 @@ element of the path list.
 If COMMAND is not provided, it prints the contents of the PATH
 environment variable.`)
 }
+
+func cmdHandlerAppend(d dirlist.List) {
+	if dropMode {
+		d.Drop(flag.Arg(1))
+	}
+	d.Append(flag.Arg(1))
+}
+
+func cmdHandlerDrop(d dirlist.List) {
+	d.Drop(flag.Arg(1))
+}
+
+func cmdHandlerPrepend(d dirlist.List) {
+	if dropMode {
+		d.Drop(flag.Arg(1))
+	}
+	d.Prepend(flag.Arg(1))
+}
diff --git a/pathlist/list.go b/dirlist/list.go
similarity index 68%
rename from pathlist/list.go
rename to dirlist/list.go
index 0a5eeb4..cb47469 100644
--- a/pathlist/list.go
+++ b/dirlist/list.go
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
-// Package pathlist implements functions to manipulate PATH-like
+// Package dirlist implements functions to manipulate PATH-like
 // environment variables.
-package pathlist
+package dirlist
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"slices"
@@ -19,9 +20,6 @@ type List interface {
 	// Contains returns true if the list contains the path.
 	Contains(string) bool
 
-	// Nil returns true if the list is emppty.
-	Nil() bool
-
 	// Load reads the list of directories from a string.
 	Load(string)
 
@@ -60,17 +58,13 @@ func New() List {
 }
 
 func (d *dirList) Contains(p string) bool {
-	return slices.Contains(d.lst, p)
+	return slices.Contains(d.lst, filepath.Clean(p))
 }
 
 func (d *dirList) Reset() {
 	d.init()
 }
 
-func (d *dirList) Nil() bool {
-	return d.lst == nil || len(d.lst) == 0
-}
-
 func (d *dirList) Load(s string) {
 	d.src = s
 	d.load()
@@ -80,26 +74,25 @@ func (d *dirList) LoadEnv(s string) {
 	d.Load(os.Getenv(s))
 }
 
-func (d *dirList) Slice() []string {
-	if d.Nil() {
-		return []string{}
+func (d *dirList) Slice() (dst []string) {
+	if len(d.lst) == 0 {
+		return
 	}
 
-	dst := make([]string, len(d.lst))
-	n := copy(dst, d.lst)
-	if n != len(d.lst) {
-		panic("couldn't copy the list")
+	dst = make([]string, len(d.lst))
+	if n := copy(dst, d.lst); n == len(d.lst) {
+		return dst
 	}
 
-	return dst
+	panic("couldn't copy the list")
 }
 
 func (d *dirList) String() string {
-	if !d.Nil() {
-		return strings.Join(d.lst, string(filepath.ListSeparator))
+	if len(d.lst) == 0 {
+		return ""
 	}
 
-	return ""
+	return strings.Join(d.lst, string(filepath.ListSeparator))
 }
 
 func (d *dirList) load() {
@@ -108,7 +101,7 @@ func (d *dirList) load() {
 
 func (d *dirList) Append(path string) {
 	p := filepath.Clean(path)
-	if d.Nil() {
+	if len(d.lst) == 0 {
 		d.lst = []string{p}
 		return
 	}
@@ -119,9 +112,10 @@ func (d *dirList) Append(path string) {
 }
 
 func (d *dirList) Drop(path string) {
-	if d.Nil() {
+	if len(d.lst) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
+
 	p := filepath.Clean(path)
 
 	if idx := slices.Index(d.lst, p); idx != -1 {
@@ -131,7 +125,7 @@ func (d *dirList) Drop(path string) {
 
 func (d *dirList) Prepend(path string) {
 	p := filepath.Clean(path)
-	if d.Nil() {
+	if len(d.lst) == 0 {
 		d.lst = []string{p}
 		return
 	}
@@ -147,12 +141,16 @@ func (d *dirList) init() {
 }
 
 func (d *dirList) cleanPathVar() []string {
-	if d.src == "" {
+	return cleanPathVar(d.src)
+}
+
+func cleanPathVar(src string) []string {
+	if src == "" {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	pthSlice := filepath.SplitList(d.src)
-	if pthSlice == nil {
+	pthSlice := filepath.SplitList(src)
+	if len(pthSlice) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
 
@@ -161,15 +159,20 @@ func (d *dirList) cleanPathVar() []string {
 
 func (d *dirList) clone(o *dirList) *dirList {
 	o.src = d.src
-	o.lst = make([]string, len(d.lst))
-	copy(o.lst, d.lst)
+
+	n := len(d.lst)
+	o.lst = make([]string, n)
+
+	if m := copy(o.lst, d.lst); n != m {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("copy: expected %d items, got %d", n, m))
+	}
 
 	return o
 }
 
-func removeDups[T comparable](col []T, applyFn func(T) (T, bool)) []T {
-	var uniq = make([]T, 0)
-	ks := make(map[T]interface{})
+func removeDups(col []string, applyFn func(string) (string, bool)) []string {
+	var uniq = make([]string, 0)
+	ks := make(map[string]interface{})
 
 	for _, el := range col {
 		vv, ok := applyFn(el)
@@ -177,6 +180,7 @@ func removeDups[T comparable](col []T, applyFn func(T) (T, bool)) []T {
 			continue
 		}
 
+		vv = filepath.Join(filepath.Split(vv))
 		if _, ok := ks[vv]; !ok {
 			uniq = append(uniq, vv)
 			ks[vv] = struct{}{}
@@ -187,10 +191,11 @@ func removeDups[T comparable](col []T, applyFn func(T) (T, bool)) []T {
 }
 
 var filterEmptyStrings = func(s string) (string, bool) {
-	clean := filepath.Clean(s)
-	if clean != "" {
-		return clean, true
+	if strings.TrimSpace(s) == "" {
+		return s, false
 	}
 
-	return clean, false
+	// It'd pointless to check filepath.Clean()'s return
+	// value's nil-ness as it would never be "".
+	return filepath.Clean(s), true
 }
diff --git a/dirlist/list_internal_test.go b/dirlist/list_internal_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..603d406
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dirlist/list_internal_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+package dirlist
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func Test_newDirList(t *testing.T) {
+	d := new(dirList)
+	d.Reset()
+	require.NotNil(t, d)
+	require.Equal(t, "", d.String())
+
+	d.Append("/sbin")
+	require.Equal(t, "/sbin", d.String())
+
+	d1 := new(dirList)
+	d1.Reset()
+	d1 = d.clone(d1)
+	d.Append("/var")
+	require.NotEqual(t, &d, &d1)
+	d1.Prepend("/usr/bin")
+	d1.Append("/usr/local/bin")
+	require.Equal(t, "/usr/bin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin", d1.String())
+}
+
+func Test_removeDups(t *testing.T) {
+	require.Equal(t,
+		[]string{"alpha", "bravo", "charlie", "."},
+		removeDups(
+			[]string{"alpha", "bravo", "charlie", "bravo", "   ", "."},
+			filterEmptyStrings,
+		),
+	)
+}
diff --git a/dirlist/list_test.go b/dirlist/list_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5bff6d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dirlist/list_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+package dirlist_test
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"al.essio.dev/pkg/tools/dirlist"
+)
+
+func TestList_Append(t *testing.T) {
+	d := dirlist.New()
+	require.Equal(t, "", d.String())
+	for _, p := range []string{"/var", "/var", "/bin", "/bin/", "/bin///"} {
+		d.Append(p)
+	}
+
+	require.Equal(t, "/var:/bin", d.String())
+	d.Prepend("/bin///")
+	require.Equal(t, "/var:/bin", d.String())
+}
+
+func TestList_Prepend(t *testing.T) {
+	d := dirlist.New()
+	dirs := []string{
+		"/var", "/var", "/bin", "/bin/",
+	}
+
+	for _, dir := range dirs {
+		d.Prepend(dir)
+	}
+
+	d.Prepend("/sbin")
+	d.Prepend("/var")
+	d.Prepend("/usr/local/bin")
+	d.Prepend("/opt/local/bin")
+	require.Equal(t, "/opt/local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/var", d.String())
+}
+
+func TestList_Drop(t *testing.T) {
+	d := dirlist.New()
+	d.Load("/opt/local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/var:/bin")
+	d.Drop("/opt/local/bin")
+	d.Drop("/opt/local/bin")
+	d.Drop("/opt/local/bin")
+	d.Drop("/usr/local/bin")
+	d.Drop("/var")
+	require.NotEqual(t, "", d.String())
+	d.Drop("/sbin")
+	d.Drop("/bin")
+	require.Equal(t, "", d.String())
+
+	require.NotPanics(t, func() { dirlist.New().Drop("") })
+
+	d1 := dirlist.New()
+	d1.Load(`/Library/Application Support:/Library/Application Support/`)
+	d1.Drop("/Library/Application Support")
+	require.False(t, d1.Contains("/Library/Application Support"))
+}
+
+func TestList_Reset(t *testing.T) {
+	d1 := dirlist.New()
+	d1.Reset()
+
+	d2 := dirlist.New()
+	d2.Load("/opt/local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/var:/bin")
+	d2.Reset()
+	require.Equal(t, 0, len(d2.Slice()))
+	require.Equal(t, "", d2.String())
+}
+
+func TestList_Contains(t *testing.T) {
+	d := dirlist.New()
+	d.Load("/opt/local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/var:/bin")
+	require.False(t, d.Contains("/ur/local/sbin"))
+	require.False(t, d.Contains("/ur/local////sbin/"))
+	require.True(t, d.Contains("/sbin"))
+	require.True(t, d.Contains("///sbin//"))
+}
+
+func TestList_LoadEnv(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		val  string
+		want string
+	}{
+		{"empty", "", ""},
+	}
+	for i, tt := range tests {
+		tt2 := tt
+		t.Run(tt2.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			envvar := fmt.Sprintf("%s_%d_VAR", t.Name(), i)
+			d := dirlist.New()
+			t.Setenv(envvar, tt.val)
+			d.LoadEnv(envvar)
+			require.Equal(t, tt2.want, d.String())
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestList_Slice(t *testing.T) {
+	d := dirlist.New()
+	require.Equal(t, 0, len(d.Slice()))
+	d.Load("/usr/bin:/bin")
+	require.Equal(t, []string{"/usr/bin", "/bin"}, d.Slice())
+}
+
+func TestList_String(t *testing.T) {
+	d := dirlist.New()
+	d.Load("/usr/bin:/bin")
+	require.Equal(t, "/usr/bin:/bin", d.String())
+}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 43622bb..225a191 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ module al.essio.dev/pkg/tools
 
 go 1.21
 
-require github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4
+require github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0
 
 require (
 	github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index fa4b6e6..60ce688 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
-github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4 h1:CcVxjf3Q8PM0mHUKJCdn+eZZtm5yQwehR5yeSVQQcUk=
-github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4/go.mod h1:sz/lmYIOXD/1dqDmKjjqLyZ2RngseejIcXlSw2iwfAo=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0 h1:HtqpIVDClZ4nwg75+f6Lvsy/wHu+3BoSGCbBAcpTsTg=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0/go.mod h1:r2ic/lqez/lEtzL7wO/rwa5dbSLXVDPFyf8C91i36aY=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405 h1:yhCVgyC4o1eVCa2tZl7eS0r+SDo693bJlVdllGtEeKM=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 h1:fxVm/GzAzEWqLHuvctI91KS9hhNmmWOoWu0XTYJS7CA=
diff --git a/internal/version/revision.txt b/internal/version/revision.txt
index e084248..4bfef03 100644
--- a/internal/version/revision.txt
+++ b/internal/version/revision.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-main-304c719
\ No newline at end of file
+main-325d644
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/internal/version/version.txt b/internal/version/version.txt
index 9bdb566..87ff52e 100644
--- a/internal/version/version.txt
+++ b/internal/version/version.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-v1.4.1
\ No newline at end of file
+v1.4.2
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pathlist/list_test.go b/pathlist/list_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index f2c8576..0000000
--- a/pathlist/list_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,77 +0,0 @@
-package pathlist
-
-import (
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
-)
-
-func Test_newDirList(t *testing.T) {
-	d := new(dirList)
-	d.Reset()
-	require.NotNil(t, d)
-	require.True(t, d.Nil())
-	require.Equal(t, "", d.String())
-
-	d.Append("/ciao")
-	require.Equal(t, "/ciao", d.String())
-
-	d1 := new(dirList)
-	d1.Reset()
-	d1 = d.clone(d1)
-	d.Append("/var")
-	require.NotEqual(t, &d, &d1)
-}
-
-func Test_DirList_Append(t *testing.T) {
-	d := New()
-	require.True(t, d.Nil())
-	for _, p := range []string{"/var", "/var", "/bin", "/bin/", "/bin///"} {
-		d.Append(p)
-	}
-
-	require.Equal(t, "/var:/bin", d.String())
-	d.Prepend("/bin///")
-	require.Equal(t, "/var:/bin", d.String())
-
-	// require.Equal(t, 2, d.Append("/var"), ("/usr/local/bin", "/opt/local/bin"))
-	// require.Equal(t, "/var:/bin:/usr/local/bin:/opt/local/bin", d.String())
-}
-
-func Test_DirList_Prepend(t *testing.T) {
-	d := New()
-	dirs := []string{
-		"/var", "/var", "/bin", "/bin/",
-	}
-
-	for _, dir := range dirs {
-		d.Prepend(dir)
-	}
-
-	d.Append("/bin/")
-
-	require.Equal(t, "/bin:/var", d.String())
-	d.Prepend("/sbin")
-	require.Equal(t, d.Slice(), []string{"/sbin", "/bin", "/var"})
-	require.Equal(t, d.String(), "/sbin:/bin:/var")
-	d.Prepend("/var")
-	d.Prepend("/usr/local/bin")
-	d.Prepend("/opt/local/bin")
-	require.Equal(t, d.String(), "/opt/local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/var")
-}
-
-func Test_DirList_Drop(t *testing.T) {
-	d := New()
-	d.Load("/opt/local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/var:/bin")
-	require.Equal(t, d.Slice(), []string{"/opt/local/bin", "/usr/local/bin", "/sbin", "/bin", "/var"})
-	d.Drop("/opt/local/bin")
-	d.Drop("/opt/local/bin")
-	d.Drop("/opt/local/bin")
-	d.Drop("/usr/local/bin")
-	d.Drop("/var")
-	require.False(t, d.Nil())
-	d.Drop("/sbin")
-	d.Drop("/bin")
-	require.Equal(t, "", d.String())
-	require.True(t, d.Nil())
-}