diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 6494bd5..74f6fbe 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -674,7 +674,9 @@ func generateInitfs(name string, path string, kernVer string, devinfo deviceinfo
 		"/dev", "/tmp", "/lib", "/boot", "/sysroot", "/etc",
 	}
 	for _, dir := range requiredDirs {
-		initfsArchive.Dirs[dir] = false
+		if err := initfsArchive.AddItem(dir, dir); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 	}
 
 	if files, err := getInitfsFiles(devinfo); err != nil {
diff --git a/pkgs/archive/archive.go b/pkgs/archive/archive.go
index 01fd848..bff2933 100644
--- a/pkgs/archive/archive.go
+++ b/pkgs/archive/archive.go
@@ -6,20 +6,23 @@ package archive
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"compress/flate"
-	"github.com/cavaliercoder/go-cpio"
-	"github.com/klauspost/pgzip"
-	"gitlab.com/postmarketOS/postmarketos-mkinitfs/pkgs/misc"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"syscall"
+
+	"github.com/cavaliercoder/go-cpio"
+	"github.com/klauspost/pgzip"
+	"gitlab.com/postmarketOS/postmarketos-mkinitfs/pkgs/misc"
 )
 
 type Archive struct {
-	Dirs       misc.StringSet
-	Files      misc.StringSet
+	items      archiveItems
 	cpioWriter *cpio.Writer
 	buf        *bytes.Buffer
 }
@@ -28,8 +31,6 @@ func New() (*Archive, error) {
 	buf := new(bytes.Buffer)
 	archive := &Archive{
 		cpioWriter: cpio.NewWriter(buf),
-		Files:      make(misc.StringSet),
-		Dirs:       make(misc.StringSet),
 		buf:        buf,
 	}
 
@@ -41,6 +42,60 @@ type archiveItem struct {
 	header     *cpio.Header
 }
 
+type archiveItems struct {
+	items []archiveItem
+	sync.RWMutex
+}
+
+// Adds the given item to the archiveItems, only if it doesn't already exist in
+// the list. The items are kept sorted in ascending order.
+func (a *archiveItems) Add(item archiveItem) {
+	a.Lock()
+	defer a.Unlock()
+
+	if len(a.items) < 1 {
+		// empty list
+		a.items = append(a.items, item)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// find existing item, or index of where new item should go
+	i := sort.Search(len(a.items), func(i int) bool {
+		return strings.Compare(item.header.Name, a.items[i].header.Name) <= 0
+	})
+
+	if i >= len(a.items) {
+		// doesn't exist in list, but would be at the very end
+		a.items = append(a.items, item)
+		return
+	}
+
+	if strings.Compare(a.items[i].header.Name, item.header.Name) == 0 {
+		// already in list
+		return
+	}
+
+	// grow list by 1, shift right at index, and insert new string at index
+	a.items = append(a.items, archiveItem{})
+	copy(a.items[i+1:], a.items[i:])
+	a.items[i] = item
+}
+
+// iterate through items and send each one over the returned channel
+func (a *archiveItems) IterItems() <-chan archiveItem {
+	ch := make(chan archiveItem)
+	go func() {
+		a.RLock()
+		defer a.RUnlock()
+
+		for _, item := range a.items {
+			ch <- item
+		}
+		close(ch)
+	}()
+	return ch
+}
+
 func (archive *Archive) Write(path string, mode os.FileMode) error {
 	if err := archive.writeCpio(); err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -78,6 +133,11 @@ func (archive *Archive) AddItem(source string, dest string) error {
 
 	sourceStat, err := os.Lstat(source)
 	if err != nil {
+		e, ok := err.(*os.PathError)
+		if e.Err == syscall.ENOENT && ok {
+			// doesn't exist in current filesystem, assume it's a new directory
+			return archive.addDir(dest)
+		}
 		return fmt.Errorf("AddItem: failed to get stat for %q: %w", source, err)
 	}
 
@@ -93,11 +153,6 @@ func (archive *Archive) addFile(source string, dest string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if archive.Files[source] {
-		// Already written to cpio
-		return nil
-	}
-
 	sourceStat, err := os.Lstat(source)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Print("addFile: failed to stat file: ", source)
@@ -114,21 +169,18 @@ func (archive *Archive) addFile(source string, dest string) error {
 		}
 
 		destFilename := strings.TrimPrefix(dest, "/")
-		hdr := &cpio.Header{
-			Name:     destFilename,
-			Linkname: target,
-			Mode:     0644 | cpio.ModeSymlink,
-			Size:     int64(len(target)),
-			// Checksum: 1,
-		}
-		if err := archive.cpioWriter.WriteHeader(hdr); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if _, err = archive.cpioWriter.Write([]byte(target)); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
 
-		archive.Files[source] = true
+		archive.items.Add(archiveItem{
+			sourcePath: source,
+			header: &cpio.Header{
+				Name:     destFilename,
+				Linkname: target,
+				Mode:     0644 | cpio.ModeSymlink,
+				Size:     int64(len(target)),
+				// Checksum: 1,
+			},
+		})
+
 		if filepath.Dir(target) == "." {
 			target = filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(source), target)
 		}
@@ -146,30 +198,17 @@ func (archive *Archive) addFile(source string, dest string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	// log.Printf("writing file: %q", file)
-
-	fd, err := os.Open(source)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	defer fd.Close()
-
 	destFilename := strings.TrimPrefix(dest, "/")
-	hdr := &cpio.Header{
-		Name: destFilename,
-		Mode: cpio.FileMode(sourceStat.Mode().Perm()),
-		Size: sourceStat.Size(),
-		// Checksum: 1,
-	}
-	if err := archive.cpioWriter.WriteHeader(hdr); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
 
-	if _, err = io.Copy(archive.cpioWriter, fd); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	archive.Files[source] = true
+	archive.items.Add(archiveItem{
+		sourcePath: source,
+		header: &cpio.Header{
+			Name: destFilename,
+			Mode: cpio.FileMode(sourceStat.Mode().Perm()),
+			Size: sourceStat.Size(),
+			// Checksum: 1,
+		},
+	})
 
 	return nil
 }
@@ -207,29 +246,48 @@ func (archive *Archive) writeCompressed(path string, mode os.FileMode) error {
 }
 
 func (archive *Archive) writeCpio() error {
-	// Write any dirs added explicitly
-	for dir := range archive.Dirs {
-		archive.addDir(dir)
+	// having a transient function for actually adding files to the archive
+	// allows the deferred fd.close to run after every copy and prevent having
+	// tons of open file handles until the copying is all done
+	copyToArchive := func(source string, header *cpio.Header) error {
+
+		if err := archive.cpioWriter.WriteHeader(header); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("archive.writeCpio: unable to write header: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		// don't copy actual dirs into the archive, writing the header is enough
+		if !header.Mode.IsDir() {
+			if header.Mode.IsRegular() {
+				fd, err := os.Open(source)
+				if err != nil {
+					return fmt.Errorf("archive.writeCpio: uname to open file %q, %w", source, err)
+				}
+				defer fd.Close()
+				if _, err := io.Copy(archive.cpioWriter, fd); err != nil {
+					return fmt.Errorf("archive.writeCpio: unable to write out archive: %w", err)
+				}
+			} else if header.Linkname != "" {
+				// the contents of a symlink is just need the link name
+				if _, err := archive.cpioWriter.Write([]byte(header.Linkname)); err != nil {
+					return fmt.Errorf("archive.writeCpio: unable to write out symlink: %w", err)
+				}
+			} else {
+				return fmt.Errorf("archive.writeCpio: unknown type for file: %s", source)
+			}
+		}
+
+		return nil
 	}
 
-	// Write files and any missing parent dirs
-	for file, imported := range archive.Files {
-		if imported {
-			continue
-		}
-		if err := archive.addFile(file, file); err != nil {
+	for i := range archive.items.IterItems() {
+		if err := copyToArchive(i.sourcePath, i.header); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
-
 	return nil
 }
 
 func (archive *Archive) addDir(dir string) error {
-	if archive.Dirs[dir] {
-		// Already imported
-		return nil
-	}
 	if dir == "/" {
 		dir = "."
 	}
@@ -237,19 +295,13 @@ func (archive *Archive) addDir(dir string) error {
 	subdirs := strings.Split(strings.TrimPrefix(dir, "/"), "/")
 	for i, subdir := range subdirs {
 		path := filepath.Join(strings.Join(subdirs[:i], "/"), subdir)
-		if archive.Dirs[path] {
-			// Subdir already imported
-			continue
-		}
-		err := archive.cpioWriter.WriteHeader(&cpio.Header{
-			Name: path,
-			Mode: cpio.ModeDir | 0755,
+		archive.items.Add(archiveItem{
+			sourcePath: path,
+			header: &cpio.Header{
+				Name: path,
+				Mode: cpio.ModeDir | 0755,
+			},
 		})
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		archive.Dirs[path] = true
-		// log.Print("wrote dir: ", path)
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/pkgs/archive/archive_test.go b/pkgs/archive/archive_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f44cd24
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/archive/archive_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+// Copyright 2022 Clayton Craft <clayton@craftyguy.net>
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
+
+package archive
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/cavaliercoder/go-cpio"
+)
+
+func TestArchiveItemsAdd(t *testing.T) {
+	subtests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		inItems  []archiveItem
+		inItem   archiveItem
+		expected []archiveItem
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "empty list",
+			inItems: []archiveItem{},
+			inItem: archiveItem{
+				sourcePath: "/foo/bar",
+				header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar"},
+			},
+			expected: []archiveItem{
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar"},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "already exists",
+			inItems: []archiveItem{
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/bazz/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/bazz/bar"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar"},
+				},
+			},
+			inItem: archiveItem{
+				sourcePath: "/foo",
+				header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo"},
+			},
+			expected: []archiveItem{
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/bazz/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/bazz/bar"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar"},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "add new",
+			inItems: []archiveItem{
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/bazz/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/bazz/bar"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar1",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar1"},
+				},
+			},
+			inItem: archiveItem{
+				sourcePath: "/foo/bar0",
+				header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar0"},
+			},
+			expected: []archiveItem{
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/bazz/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/bazz/bar"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar0",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar0"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar1",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar1"},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "add new at beginning",
+			inItems: []archiveItem{
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar"},
+				},
+			},
+			inItem: archiveItem{
+				sourcePath: "/bazz/bar",
+				header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/bazz/bar"},
+			},
+			expected: []archiveItem{
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/bazz/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/bazz/bar"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo/bar"},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "add new at end",
+			inItems: []archiveItem{
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/bazz/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/bazz/bar"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo"},
+				},
+			},
+			inItem: archiveItem{
+				sourcePath: "/zzz/bazz",
+				header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/zzz/bazz"},
+			},
+			expected: []archiveItem{
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/bazz/bar",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/bazz/bar"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/foo",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/foo"},
+				},
+				{
+					sourcePath: "/zzz/bazz",
+					header:     &cpio.Header{Name: "/zzz/bazz"},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, st := range subtests {
+		t.Run(st.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			a := archiveItems{items: st.inItems}
+			a.Add(st.inItem)
+			if !reflect.DeepEqual(st.expected, a.items) {
+				t.Fatal("expected:", st.expected, " got: ", a.items)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}