diff --git a/cargo-dist-schema/src/lib.rs b/cargo-dist-schema/src/lib.rs
index c1df5c1e7..c4354c212 100644
--- a/cargo-dist-schema/src/lib.rs
+++ b/cargo-dist-schema/src/lib.rs
@@ -116,6 +116,12 @@ pub struct AssetInfo {
     pub name: String,
     /// the system it was built on
     pub system: SystemId,
+    /// rust-style target triples the Asset natively supports
+    ///
+    /// * length 0: not a meaningful question, maybe some static file
+    /// * length 1: typical of binaries
+    /// * length 2+: some kind of universal binary
+    pub target_triples: Vec<String>,
     /// the linkage of this Asset
     pub linkage: Option<Linkage>,
 }
@@ -590,14 +596,6 @@ impl Hosting {
 /// Information about dynamic libraries used by a binary
 #[derive(Clone, Default, Debug, Deserialize, Serialize, JsonSchema)]
 pub struct Linkage {
-    /// The filename of the binary
-    #[serde(default)]
-    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub binary: Option<String>,
-    /// The target triple for which the binary was built
-    #[serde(default)]
-    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub target: Option<String>,
     /// Libraries included with the operating system
     #[serde(default)]
     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "SortedSet::is_empty")]
@@ -634,8 +632,6 @@ impl Linkage {
     /// merge another linkage into this one
     pub fn extend(&mut self, val: &Linkage) {
         let Linkage {
-            binary: _,
-            target: _,
             system,
             homebrew,
             public_unmanaged,
diff --git a/cargo-dist/src/build/mod.rs b/cargo-dist/src/build/mod.rs
index 08b6d22f0..ccd0fb1f9 100644
--- a/cargo-dist/src/build/mod.rs
+++ b/cargo-dist/src/build/mod.rs
@@ -197,6 +197,7 @@ impl BuildExpectations {
                 name: bin.name.clone(),
                 system: dist.system_id.clone(),
                 linkage: Some(linkage),
+                target_triples: vec![target.clone()],
             },
         );
         Ok(())
diff --git a/cargo-dist/src/lib.rs b/cargo-dist/src/lib.rs
index c07e80340..ad5a60ce5 100644
--- a/cargo-dist/src/lib.rs
+++ b/cargo-dist/src/lib.rs
@@ -85,10 +85,6 @@ pub fn do_build(cfg: &Config) -> Result<DistManifest> {
         }
     }
 
-    // Compute linkage data now that we've done all builds
-    // TODO(#848): delete this line to remove the old linkage system
-    linkage::add_linkage_to_manifest(cfg, &dist, &mut manifest)?;
-
     // Next the global steps
     for step in &dist.global_build_steps {
         if dist.local_builds_are_lies {
diff --git a/cargo-dist/src/linkage.rs b/cargo-dist/src/linkage.rs
index a6ddcc668..989a6b91d 100644
--- a/cargo-dist/src/linkage.rs
+++ b/cargo-dist/src/linkage.rs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ use std::{
 use axoasset::SourceFile;
 use axoprocess::Cmd;
 use camino::Utf8PathBuf;
-use cargo_dist_schema::{DistManifest, Library, Linkage};
+use cargo_dist_schema::{AssetInfo, DistManifest, Library, Linkage};
 use comfy_table::{presets::UTF8_FULL, Table};
 use goblin::Object;
 use mach_object::{LoadCommand, OFile};
@@ -28,56 +28,41 @@ pub struct LinkageArgs {
 
 /// Determinage dynamic linkage of built artifacts (impl of `cargo dist linkage`)
 pub fn do_linkage(cfg: &Config, args: &LinkageArgs) -> Result<()> {
-    let (dist, _manifest) = gather_work(cfg)?;
-
-    let reports: Vec<Linkage> = if let Some(target) = args.from_json.clone() {
+    let manifest = if let Some(target) = args.from_json.clone() {
         let file = SourceFile::load_local(target)?;
         file.deserialize_json()?
     } else {
-        fetch_linkage(cfg.targets.clone(), dist.artifacts, dist.dist_dir)?
+        let (dist, mut manifest) = gather_work(cfg)?;
+        compute_linkage_assuming_local_build(&dist, &mut manifest, cfg)?;
+        manifest
     };
 
     if args.print_output {
-        for report in &reports {
-            eprintln!("{}", report_linkage(report));
-        }
+        eprintln!("{}", LinkageDisplay(&manifest));
     }
     if args.print_json {
-        let j = serde_json::to_string(&reports).unwrap();
-        println!("{}", j);
+        let string = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&manifest).unwrap();
+        println!("{string}");
     }
-
     Ok(())
 }
 
-/// Compute the linkage of local builds and add them to the DistManifest
-pub fn add_linkage_to_manifest(
-    cfg: &Config,
+/// Assuming someone just ran `cargo dist build` on the current machine,
+/// compute the linkage by checking binaries in the temp to-be-zipped dirs.
+fn compute_linkage_assuming_local_build(
     dist: &DistGraph,
     manifest: &mut DistManifest,
-) -> Result<()> {
-    let linkage = fetch_linkage(
-        cfg.targets.clone(),
-        dist.artifacts.clone(),
-        dist.dist_dir.clone(),
-    )?;
-
-    manifest.linkage.extend(linkage);
-    Ok(())
-}
-
-fn fetch_linkage(
-    targets: Vec<String>,
-    artifacts: Vec<Artifact>,
-    dist_dir: Utf8PathBuf,
-) -> DistResult<Vec<Linkage>> {
-    let mut reports = vec![];
+    cfg: &Config,
+) -> DistResult<()> {
+    let targets = &cfg.targets;
+    let artifacts = &dist.artifacts;
+    let dist_dir = &dist.dist_dir;
 
     for target in targets {
         let artifacts: Vec<Artifact> = artifacts
             .clone()
             .into_iter()
-            .filter(|r| r.target_triples.contains(&target))
+            .filter(|r| r.target_triples.contains(target))
             .collect();
 
         if artifacts.is_empty() {
@@ -88,22 +73,55 @@ fn fetch_linkage(
         for artifact in artifacts {
             let path = Utf8PathBuf::from(&dist_dir).join(format!("{}-{target}", artifact.id));
 
-            for (_, binary) in artifact.required_binaries {
-                let bin_path = path.join(binary);
+            for (bin_idx, binary_relpath) in artifact.required_binaries {
+                let bin = dist.binary(bin_idx);
+                let bin_path = path.join(binary_relpath);
                 if !bin_path.exists() {
                     eprintln!("Binary {bin_path} missing; skipping check");
                 } else {
-                    reports.push(determine_linkage(&bin_path, &target)?);
+                    let linkage = determine_linkage(&bin_path, target)?;
+                    manifest.assets.insert(
+                        bin.id.clone(),
+                        AssetInfo {
+                            id: bin.id.clone(),
+                            name: bin.name.clone(),
+                            system: dist.system_id.clone(),
+                            linkage: Some(linkage),
+                            target_triples: vec![target.clone()],
+                        },
+                    );
                 }
             }
         }
     }
 
-    Ok(reports)
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Formatter for a DistManifest that prints the linkage human-readably
+pub struct LinkageDisplay<'a>(pub &'a DistManifest);
+
+impl std::fmt::Display for LinkageDisplay<'_> {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        for asset in self.0.assets.values() {
+            let Some(linkage) = &asset.linkage else {
+                continue;
+            };
+            let name = &asset.name;
+            let targets = asset.target_triples.join(", ");
+            write!(f, "{name}")?;
+            if !targets.is_empty() {
+                write!(f, " ({targets})")?;
+            }
+            writeln!(f, "\n")?;
+            format_linkage_table(f, linkage)?;
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }
 
 /// Formatted human-readable output
-pub fn report_linkage(linkage: &Linkage) -> String {
+fn format_linkage_table(f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>, linkage: &Linkage) -> std::fmt::Result {
     let mut table = Table::new();
     table
         .load_preset(UTF8_FULL)
@@ -163,14 +181,7 @@ pub fn report_linkage(linkage: &Linkage) -> String {
                 .join("\n")
                 .as_str(),
         ]);
-
-    use std::fmt::Write;
-    let mut output = String::new();
-    if let (Some(bin), Some(target)) = (&linkage.binary, &linkage.target) {
-        writeln!(&mut output, "{} ({}):\n", bin, target).unwrap();
-    }
-    write!(&mut output, "{table}").unwrap();
-    output
+    write!(f, "{table}")
 }
 
 /// Create a homebrew library for the given path
@@ -379,8 +390,6 @@ pub fn determine_linkage(path: &Utf8PathBuf, target: &str) -> DistResult<Linkage
     };
 
     let mut linkage = Linkage {
-        binary: Some(path.file_name().unwrap().to_owned()),
-        target: Some(target.to_owned()),
         system: Default::default(),
         homebrew: Default::default(),
         public_unmanaged: Default::default(),
diff --git a/cargo-dist/src/main.rs b/cargo-dist/src/main.rs
index 3b044e27a..6d6ccc7cb 100644
--- a/cargo-dist/src/main.rs
+++ b/cargo-dist/src/main.rs
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ use std::io::Write;
 use axoasset::LocalAsset;
 use camino::Utf8PathBuf;
 // Import everything from the lib version of ourselves
-use cargo_dist::*;
+use cargo_dist::{linkage::LinkageDisplay, *};
 use cargo_dist_schema::{AssetKind, DistManifest};
 use clap::Parser;
 use cli::{
@@ -183,11 +183,7 @@ fn print_json(out: &mut Term, report: &DistManifest) -> Result<(), std::io::Erro
 }
 
 fn print_human_linkage(out: &mut Term, report: &DistManifest) -> Result<(), std::io::Error> {
-    for linkage in &report.linkage {
-        writeln!(out, "{}", linkage::report_linkage(linkage))?;
-    }
-
-    Ok(())
+    writeln!(out, "{}", LinkageDisplay(report))
 }
 
 fn cmd_build(cli: &Cli, args: &BuildArgs) -> Result<(), miette::Report> {
diff --git a/cargo-dist/tests/snapshots/axolotlsay_basic_lies.snap b/cargo-dist/tests/snapshots/axolotlsay_basic_lies.snap
index f2b30dba1..4d45f628f 100644
--- a/cargo-dist/tests/snapshots/axolotlsay_basic_lies.snap
+++ b/cargo-dist/tests/snapshots/axolotlsay_basic_lies.snap
@@ -2407,6 +2407,9 @@ maybeInstall(true).then(run);
       "id": "axolotlsay-aarch64-apple-darwin-axolotlsay",
       "name": "axolotlsay",
       "system": "lies:",
+      "target_triples": [
+        "aarch64-apple-darwin"
+      ],
       "linkage": {
         "other": [
           {
@@ -2419,6 +2422,9 @@ maybeInstall(true).then(run);
       "id": "axolotlsay-x86_64-apple-darwin-axolotlsay",
       "name": "axolotlsay",
       "system": "lies:",
+      "target_triples": [
+        "x86_64-apple-darwin"
+      ],
       "linkage": {
         "other": [
           {
@@ -2431,6 +2437,9 @@ maybeInstall(true).then(run);
       "id": "axolotlsay-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc-axolotlsay",
       "name": "axolotlsay",
       "system": "lies:",
+      "target_triples": [
+        "x86_64-pc-windows-msvc"
+      ],
       "linkage": {
         "other": [
           {
@@ -2443,6 +2452,9 @@ maybeInstall(true).then(run);
       "id": "axolotlsay-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu-axolotlsay",
       "name": "axolotlsay",
       "system": "lies:",
+      "target_triples": [
+        "x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu"
+      ],
       "linkage": {
         "other": [
           {