diff --git a/daemon/daemon-posix.cc b/daemon/daemon-posix.cc
index efef35d28..5d3fa99e3 100644
--- a/daemon/daemon-posix.cc
+++ b/daemon/daemon-posix.cc
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 
 #include "daemon.h"
 
+using namespace std::literals;
+
 /***
 ****
 ***/
@@ -33,9 +35,9 @@ static int signal_pipe[2];
 ****
 ***/
 
-static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, int code, char const* message)
+static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, int code, std::string_view message)
 {
-    tr_error_set(error, code, "%s (%d): %s", message, code, tr_strerror(code));
+    tr_error_set(error, code, tr_strvJoin(message, " ("sv, std::to_string(code), "): "sv, tr_strerror(code)));
 }
 
 /***
diff --git a/daemon/daemon-win32.cc b/daemon/daemon-win32.cc
index 037f02f06..dd11015e8 100644
--- a/daemon/daemon-win32.cc
+++ b/daemon/daemon-win32.cc
@@ -45,8 +45,10 @@ static HANDLE service_stop_thread = nullptr;
 
 static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, DWORD code, char const* message)
 {
-    char* const system_message = tr_win32_format_message(code);
-    tr_error_set(error, code, "%s (0x%08lx): %s", message, code, system_message);
+    auto* const system_message = tr_win32_format_message(code);
+    auto* const buf = tr_strdup_printf("%s (0x%08lx): %s", message, code, system_message);
+    tr_error_set(error, code, buf);
+    tr_free(buf);
     tr_free(system_message);
 }
 
diff --git a/gtk/Utils.cc b/gtk/Utils.cc
index 828436dee..adf9eee91 100644
--- a/gtk/Utils.cc
+++ b/gtk/Utils.cc
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ bool gtr_file_trash_or_remove(std::string const& filename, tr_error** error)
         catch (Glib::Error const& e)
         {
             g_message("Unable to trash file \"%s\": %s", filename.c_str(), e.what().c_str());
-            tr_error_set_literal(error, e.code(), e.what().c_str());
+            tr_error_set(error, e.code(), e.what().raw());
         }
     }
 
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ bool gtr_file_trash_or_remove(std::string const& filename, tr_error** error)
         {
             g_message("Unable to delete file \"%s\": %s", filename.c_str(), e.what().c_str());
             tr_error_clear(error);
-            tr_error_set_literal(error, e.code(), e.what().c_str());
+            tr_error_set(error, e.code(), e.what().raw());
             result = false;
         }
     }
diff --git a/libtransmission/crypto-utils.cc b/libtransmission/crypto-utils.cc
index 74a9fa0fd..c1fbdf1ca 100644
--- a/libtransmission/crypto-utils.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/crypto-utils.cc
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <array>
-#include <cstdarg>
 #include <cstring> /* memmove(), memset(), strlen() */
 #include <random> /* random_device, mt19937, uniform_int_distribution*/
 #include <string>
diff --git a/libtransmission/error.cc b/libtransmission/error.cc
index 123e61d35..eec8282d7 100644
--- a/libtransmission/error.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/error.cc
@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@
  *
  */
 
-#include <cstdarg>
-
 #include "transmission.h"
 
 #include "error.h"
@@ -15,30 +13,6 @@
 #include "tr-macros.h"
 #include "utils.h"
 
-tr_error* tr_error_new_literal(int code, char const* message)
-{
-    TR_ASSERT(message != nullptr);
-
-    auto* const error = tr_new(tr_error, 1);
-    error->code = code;
-    error->message = tr_strdup(message);
-
-    return error;
-}
-
-static tr_error* tr_error_new_valist(int code, char const* message_format, va_list args) TR_GNUC_PRINTF(2, 0);
-
-static tr_error* tr_error_new_valist(int code, char const* message_format, va_list args)
-{
-    TR_ASSERT(message_format != nullptr);
-
-    auto* const error = tr_new(tr_error, 1);
-    error->code = code;
-    error->message = tr_strdup_vprintf(message_format, args);
-
-    return error;
-}
-
 void tr_error_free(tr_error* error)
 {
     if (error == nullptr)
@@ -47,39 +21,18 @@ void tr_error_free(tr_error* error)
     }
 
     tr_free(error->message);
-    tr_free(error);
+    delete error;
 }
 
-void tr_error_set(tr_error** error, int code, char const* message_format, ...)
+void tr_error_set(tr_error** error, int code, std::string_view message)
 {
-    TR_ASSERT(message_format != nullptr);
-
     if (error == nullptr)
     {
         return;
     }
 
     TR_ASSERT(*error == nullptr);
-
-    va_list args;
-
-    va_start(args, message_format);
-    *error = tr_error_new_valist(code, message_format, args);
-    va_end(args);
-}
-
-void tr_error_set_literal(tr_error** error, int code, char const* message)
-{
-    TR_ASSERT(message != nullptr);
-
-    if (error == nullptr)
-    {
-        return;
-    }
-
-    TR_ASSERT(*error == nullptr);
-
-    *error = tr_error_new_literal(code, message);
+    *error = new tr_error{ code, tr_strvDup(message) };
 }
 
 void tr_error_propagate(tr_error** new_error, tr_error** old_error)
diff --git a/libtransmission/error.h b/libtransmission/error.h
index 93ecbe2e6..65bfa4542 100644
--- a/libtransmission/error.h
+++ b/libtransmission/error.h
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
+#include <string_view>
+
 #include "tr-macros.h"
 
 /**
@@ -24,16 +26,6 @@ struct tr_error
     char* message;
 };
 
-/**
- * @brief Create new error object using literal error message.
- *
- * @param[in] code    Error code (platform-specific).
- * @param[in] message Error message.
- *
- * @return Newly allocated error object on success, `nullptr` otherwise.
- */
-tr_error* tr_error_new_literal(int code, char const* message);
-
 /**
  * @brief Free memory used by error object.
  *
@@ -41,18 +33,6 @@ tr_error* tr_error_new_literal(int code, char const* message);
  */
 void tr_error_free(tr_error* error);
 
-/**
- * @brief Create and set new error object using `printf`-style formatting.
- *
- * If passed pointer to error object is `nullptr`, do nothing.
- *
- * @param[in,out] error          Pointer to error object to be set.
- * @param[in]     code           Error code (platform-specific).
- * @param[in]     message_format Error message format string.
- * @param[in]     ...            Format arguments.
- */
-void tr_error_set(tr_error** error, int code, char const* message_format, ...) TR_GNUC_PRINTF(3, 4);
-
 /**
  * @brief Create and set new error object using literal error message.
  *
@@ -62,7 +42,7 @@ void tr_error_set(tr_error** error, int code, char const* message_format, ...) T
  * @param[in]     code    Error code (platform-specific).
  * @param[in]     message Error message.
  */
-void tr_error_set_literal(tr_error** error, int code, char const* message);
+void tr_error_set(tr_error** error, int code, std::string_view message);
 
 /**
  * @brief Propagate existing error object upwards.
diff --git a/libtransmission/file-posix.cc b/libtransmission/file-posix.cc
index 7e58f100f..e5e6c7f4b 100644
--- a/libtransmission/file-posix.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/file-posix.cc
@@ -96,6 +96,8 @@
 #endif
 #endif
 
+using namespace std::literals;
+
 static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, int code)
 {
     if (error == nullptr)
@@ -103,7 +105,7 @@ static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, int code)
         return;
     }
 
-    tr_error_set_literal(error, code, tr_strerror(code));
+    tr_error_set(error, code, tr_strerror(code));
 }
 
 static void set_system_error_if_file_found(tr_error** error, int code)
@@ -175,7 +177,7 @@ static bool create_path_require_dir(char const* path, tr_error** error)
 
     if ((sb.st_mode & S_IFMT) != S_IFDIR)
     {
-        tr_error_set(error, ENOTDIR, _("File \"%s\" is in the way"), path);
+        tr_error_set(error, ENOTDIR, tr_strvJoin("File is in the way: "sv, path));
         return false;
     }
 
diff --git a/libtransmission/file-win32.cc b/libtransmission/file-win32.cc
index 5379822bb..cfab37770 100644
--- a/libtransmission/file-win32.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/file-win32.cc
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@
  */
 
 #include <algorithm>
-#include <ctype.h> /* isalpha() */
+#include <array>
 #include <cstring>
+#include <ctype.h> /* isalpha() */
 #include <string_view>
 
 #include <shlobj.h> /* SHCreateDirectoryEx() */
@@ -55,12 +56,14 @@ static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, DWORD code)
 
     if (message != nullptr)
     {
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, code, message);
+        tr_error_set(error, code, message);
         tr_free(message);
     }
     else
     {
-        tr_error_set(error, code, "Unknown error: 0x%08lx", code);
+        auto buf = std::array<char, 32>{};
+        tr_snprintf(std::data(buf), std::size(buf), "Unknown error: 0x%08lx", code);
+        tr_error_set(error, code, std::data(buf));
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/libtransmission/file.cc b/libtransmission/file.cc
index 16406141b..319643378 100644
--- a/libtransmission/file.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/file.cc
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
  */
 
 #include <algorithm>
+#include <cstdarg>
 #include <cstring> /* strlen() */
 
 #include "transmission.h"
@@ -15,6 +16,8 @@
 #include "tr-assert.h"
 #include "utils.h"
 
+using namespace std::literals;
+
 bool tr_sys_file_read_line(tr_sys_file_t handle, char* buffer, size_t buffer_size, tr_error** error)
 {
     TR_ASSERT(handle != TR_BAD_SYS_FILE);
@@ -114,7 +117,7 @@ bool tr_sys_file_write_fmt(tr_sys_file_t handle, char const* format, tr_error**
     }
     else
     {
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, 0, "Unable to format message.");
+        tr_error_set(error, 0, "Unable to format message."sv);
     }
 
     return ret;
diff --git a/libtransmission/log.cc b/libtransmission/log.cc
index 9a958e2a8..1aaabd3e0 100644
--- a/libtransmission/log.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/log.cc
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
  */
 
 #include <cerrno>
+#include <cstdarg>
 #include <cstdio>
 #include <mutex>
 
diff --git a/libtransmission/magnet-metainfo.cc b/libtransmission/magnet-metainfo.cc
index acf6f6970..b2b9d9a2c 100644
--- a/libtransmission/magnet-metainfo.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/magnet-metainfo.cc
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ bool tr_magnet_metainfo::parseMagnet(std::string_view magnet_link, tr_error** er
     auto const parsed = tr_urlParse(magnet_link);
     if (!parsed || parsed->scheme != "magnet"sv)
     {
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, TR_ERROR_EINVAL, "Error parsing URL");
+        tr_error_set(error, TR_ERROR_EINVAL, "Error parsing URL"sv);
         return false;
     }
 
diff --git a/libtransmission/metainfo.cc b/libtransmission/metainfo.cc
index a80a43a29..de45a831f 100644
--- a/libtransmission/metainfo.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/metainfo.cc
@@ -535,7 +535,7 @@ std::optional<tr_metainfo_parsed> tr_metainfoParse(tr_session const* session, tr
     char const* bad_tag = tr_metainfoParseImpl(session, &out.info, &out.pieces, &out.info_dict_length, meta_in);
     if (bad_tag != nullptr)
     {
-        tr_error_set(error, TR_ERROR_EINVAL, _("Error parsing metainfo: %s"), bad_tag);
+        tr_error_set(error, TR_ERROR_EINVAL, tr_strvJoin("Error parsing metainfo: "sv, bad_tag));
         tr_metainfoFree(&out.info);
         return {};
     }
diff --git a/libtransmission/subprocess-posix.cc b/libtransmission/subprocess-posix.cc
index 141e6051c..05cf112c5 100644
--- a/libtransmission/subprocess-posix.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/subprocess-posix.cc
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 #include "tr-macros.h"
 #include "utils.h"
 
+using namespace std::literals;
+
 static void handle_sigchld(int /*i*/)
 {
     int rc = 0;
@@ -37,21 +39,14 @@ static void handle_sigchld(int /*i*/)
     /* FIXME: Call old handler, if any */
 }
 
-static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, int code, char const* what)
+static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, int code, std::string_view what)
 {
     if (error == nullptr)
     {
         return;
     }
 
-    if (what == nullptr)
-    {
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, code, tr_strerror(code));
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        tr_error_set(error, code, "%s failed: %s", what, tr_strerror(code));
-    }
+    tr_error_set(error, code, tr_strvJoin(what, " failed "sv, tr_strerror(code)));
 }
 
 static bool tr_spawn_async_in_child(
diff --git a/libtransmission/subprocess-win32.cc b/libtransmission/subprocess-win32.cc
index 9a465ac15..1ed4d127a 100644
--- a/libtransmission/subprocess-win32.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/subprocess-win32.cc
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ enum tr_app_type
     TR_APP_TYPE_BATCH
 };
 
-static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, DWORD code, char const* what)
+static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, DWORD code, std::string_view what)
 {
     if (error == nullptr)
     {
@@ -44,14 +44,7 @@ static void set_system_error(tr_error** error, DWORD code, char const* what)
         message = tr_strdup_printf("Unknown error: 0x%08lx", code);
     }
 
-    if (what == nullptr)
-    {
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, code, message);
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        tr_error_set(error, code, "%s failed: %s", what, message);
-    }
+    tr_error_set(error, code, tr_strvJoin(what, " failed: "sv, message));
 
     tr_free(message);
 }
diff --git a/libtransmission/torrent-ctor.cc b/libtransmission/torrent-ctor.cc
index 66c490453..1c1b2aa53 100644
--- a/libtransmission/torrent-ctor.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/torrent-ctor.cc
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ bool tr_ctorSetMetainfoFromFile(tr_ctor* ctor, char const* filename, tr_error**
 {
     if (filename == nullptr)
     {
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, EINVAL, "no filename specified");
+        tr_error_set(error, EINVAL, "no filename specified"sv);
         return false;
     }
 
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ bool tr_ctorSaveContents(tr_ctor const* ctor, std::string_view filename, tr_erro
 
     if (std::empty(ctor->contents))
     {
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, EINVAL, "torrent ctor has no contents to save");
+        tr_error_set(error, EINVAL, "torrent ctor has no contents to save"sv);
         return false;
     }
 
diff --git a/libtransmission/torrent-metainfo.cc b/libtransmission/torrent-metainfo.cc
index aefdd94fa..f260652d4 100644
--- a/libtransmission/torrent-metainfo.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/torrent-metainfo.cc
@@ -637,7 +637,7 @@ bool tr_torrent_metainfo::parseBenc(std::string_view benc, tr_error** error)
     tr_variantFree(&top);
     if (!std::empty(errmsg))
     {
-        tr_error_set(error, TR_ERROR_EINVAL, "Error parsing metainfo: %" TR_PRIsv, TR_PRIsv_ARG(errmsg));
+        tr_error_set(error, TR_ERROR_EINVAL, tr_strvJoin("Error parsing metainfo: ", errmsg));
         return false;
     }
 
diff --git a/libtransmission/utils.cc b/libtransmission/utils.cc
index 9ae738d91..b69f4e19a 100644
--- a/libtransmission/utils.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/utils.cc
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ uint8_t* tr_loadFile(char const* path, size_t* size, tr_error** error)
     if (info.type != TR_SYS_PATH_IS_FILE)
     {
         tr_logAddError(err_fmt, path, _("Not a regular file"));
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, TR_ERROR_EISDIR, _("Not a regular file"));
+        tr_error_set(error, TR_ERROR_EISDIR, "Not a regular file"sv);
         return nullptr;
     }
 
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ bool tr_loadFile(std::vector<char>& setme, std::string_view path_sv, tr_error**
     if (info.type != TR_SYS_PATH_IS_FILE)
     {
         tr_logAddError(err_fmt, path_sz, _("Not a regular file"));
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, TR_ERROR_EISDIR, _("Not a regular file"));
+        tr_error_set(error, TR_ERROR_EISDIR, "Not a regular file"sv);
         return false;
     }
 
@@ -1251,7 +1251,7 @@ bool tr_moveFile(char const* oldpath, char const* newpath, tr_error** error)
 
     if (info.type != TR_SYS_PATH_IS_FILE)
     {
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, TR_ERROR_EINVAL, "Old path does not point to a file.");
+        tr_error_set(error, TR_ERROR_EINVAL, "Old path does not point to a file."sv);
         return false;
     }
 
diff --git a/libtransmission/variant.cc b/libtransmission/variant.cc
index c30cd68da..7478fb6f1 100644
--- a/libtransmission/variant.cc
+++ b/libtransmission/variant.cc
@@ -1243,7 +1243,7 @@ bool tr_variantFromBuf(tr_variant* setme, int opts, std::string_view buf, char c
 
     if (err)
     {
-        tr_error_set_literal(error, EILSEQ, "error parsing encoded data");
+        tr_error_set(error, EILSEQ, "error parsing encoded data"sv);
         return false;
     }
 
diff --git a/macosx/Torrent.mm b/macosx/Torrent.mm
index 984970c97..44094007f 100644
--- a/macosx/Torrent.mm
+++ b/macosx/Torrent.mm
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ bool trashDataFile(char const* filename, tr_error** error)
         NSError* localError;
         if (![Torrent trashFile:@(filename) error:&localError])
         {
-            tr_error_set_literal(error, localError.code, localError.description.UTF8String);
+            tr_error_set(error, localError.code, localError.description.UTF8String);
             return false;
         }
     }
diff --git a/tests/libtransmission/error-test.cc b/tests/libtransmission/error-test.cc
index 5066966ca..3933a7e64 100644
--- a/tests/libtransmission/error-test.cc
+++ b/tests/libtransmission/error-test.cc
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 
 #include "gtest/gtest.h"
 
+using namespace std::literals;
+
 TEST(Error, errorSet)
 {
     tr_error* err = nullptr;
@@ -18,14 +20,7 @@ TEST(Error, errorSet)
     tr_error_prefix(&err, "error: ");
     EXPECT_EQ(nullptr, err);
 
-    tr_error_set(&err, 1, "error: %s (%d)", "oops", 2);
-    EXPECT_NE(nullptr, err);
-    EXPECT_EQ(1, err->code);
-    EXPECT_STREQ("error: oops (2)", err->message);
-    tr_error_clear(&err);
-    EXPECT_EQ(nullptr, err);
-
-    tr_error_set_literal(&err, 2, "oops");
+    tr_error_set(&err, 2, "oops"sv);
     EXPECT_NE(nullptr, err);
     EXPECT_EQ(2, err->code);
     EXPECT_STREQ("oops", err->message);
@@ -44,7 +39,7 @@ TEST(Error, propagate)
     tr_error* err2 = nullptr;
     auto constexpr Code = int{ 1 };
 
-    tr_error_set_literal(&err, Code, "oops");
+    tr_error_set(&err, Code, "oops"sv);
     EXPECT_NE(nullptr, err);
     EXPECT_EQ(Code, err->code);
     EXPECT_STREQ("oops", err->message);