diff --git a/CMake/FindLZ4.cmake b/CMake/FindLZ4.cmake
index f4b9df3386639952a4fdd6d32c34c4cce66a6660..1775e6db18b66c5d6072c9a36a73239e51f1c324 100644
--- a/CMake/FindLZ4.cmake
+++ b/CMake/FindLZ4.cmake
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ set(LZ4_LIBRARIES ${LZ4_LIBRARY} )
 set(LZ4_INCLUDE_DIRS ${LZ4_INCLUDE_DIR} )
 
 include(FindPackageHandleStandardArgs)
-find_package_handle_standard_args(lz4 DEFAULT_MSG LZ4_LIBRARY LZ4_INCLUDE_DIR)
+find_package_handle_standard_args(LZ4 DEFAULT_MSG LZ4_LIBRARY LZ4_INCLUDE_DIR)
 
 mark_as_advanced(
     LZ4_LIBRARY
diff --git a/CMake/FindSnappy.cmake b/CMake/FindSnappy.cmake
index 6ff0ecd434f972b2e3bdce9afd19a91c3c000810..f48b29291119ce34399e2791caec4821f10861bd 100644
--- a/CMake/FindSnappy.cmake
+++ b/CMake/FindSnappy.cmake
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ set(Snappy_INCLUDE_DIRS ${Snappy_INCLUDE_DIR})
 
 
 include(FindPackageHandleStandardArgs)
-find_package_handle_standard_args(snappy DEFAULT_MSG Snappy_LIBRARY Snappy_INCLUDE_DIR)
+find_package_handle_standard_args(Snappy DEFAULT_MSG Snappy_LIBRARY Snappy_INCLUDE_DIR)
 
 mark_as_advanced(
         Snappy_LIBRARY
diff --git a/CMake/FindZStd.cmake b/CMake/FindZStd.cmake
index dc6612b69e61b7bb4120d1f484dc793ff5aaec45..cc76a3bd58fec372e149f812453eb5293fe6ad06 100644
--- a/CMake/FindZStd.cmake
+++ b/CMake/FindZStd.cmake
@@ -1,29 +1,29 @@
 #
 # - Try to find Facebook zstd library
 # This will define
-# ZSTD_FOUND
-# ZSTD_INCLUDE_DIR
-# ZSTD_LIBRARIES
+# ZStd_FOUND
+# ZStd_INCLUDE_DIR
+# ZStd_LIBRARIES
 #
 
-find_path(ZSTD_INCLUDE_DIR
-        NAMES zstd.h
-)
+find_path(ZStd_INCLUDE_DIR
+    NAMES zstd.h
+    )
 
-find_library(ZSTD_LIBRARY
-        NAMES zstd
-)
+find_library(ZStd_LIBRARY
+    NAMES zstd
+    )
 
-set(ZSTD_LIBRARIES ${ZSTD_LIBRARY})
-set(ZSTD_INCLUDE_DIRS ${ZSTD_INCLUDE_DIR})
+set(ZStd_LIBRARIES ${ZStd_LIBRARY})
+set(ZStd_INCLUDE_DIRS ${ZStd_INCLUDE_DIR})
 
 include(FindPackageHandleStandardArgs)
 
-find_package_handle_standard_args(ZSTD
-    DEFAULT_MSG  ZSTD_LIBRARY ZSTD_INCLUDE_DIR
-)
+find_package_handle_standard_args(ZStd
+    DEFAULT_MSG ZStd_LIBRARY ZStd_INCLUDE_DIR
+    )
 
 mark_as_advanced(
-    ZSTD_LIBRARY
-    ZSTD_INCLUDE_DIR
+    ZStd_LIBRARY
+    ZStd_INCLUDE_DIR
 )
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 2f3a2a1904891c7b0db0b2cf55fb67151822efa9..398a9b7b4df47fa4c33611d5ac5c784a9a8a5123 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -7,21 +7,21 @@ project(
 
 enable_testing()
 
-if(NOT CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCC)
+if (NOT CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCC)
     message(FATAL_ERROR "The choosen C compiler is not gcc and is not supported")
-endif()
-if(NOT CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX)
+endif ()
+if (NOT CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX)
     message(FATAL_ERROR "The choosen C++ compiler is not g++ and is not supported")
-endif()
+endif ()
 
-set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
 
 SET(CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH_USE_LINK_PATH TRUE)
 
 if (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
     set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE Release
-            CACHE STRING "Choose the type of build: Debug Release Memcheck" FORCE)
+        CACHE STRING "Choose the type of build: Debug Release Memcheck" FORCE)
 ENDIF (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
 message(STATUS "[gekkofs] Build type: ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}")
 
@@ -39,20 +39,20 @@ mark_as_advanced(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_MAINTAINER)
 
 # Project version
 set(GIT_VERSION_FOUND FALSE)
-if(EXISTS ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git)
+if (EXISTS ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git)
     find_package(Git)
-    if(Git_FOUND)
+    if (Git_FOUND)
         execute_process(COMMAND /bin/bash -c "${GIT_EXECUTABLE} describe --tags --match='v*.*.*' --long --dirty"
-                        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
-                        RESULT_VARIABLE GIT_RET
-                        OUTPUT_VARIABLE GIT_VERSION
-                        ERROR_VARIABLE GIT_ERR
-                        OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
-                        )
-        if("${GIT_RET}" STREQUAL "0")
+            WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
+            RESULT_VARIABLE GIT_RET
+            OUTPUT_VARIABLE GIT_VERSION
+            ERROR_VARIABLE GIT_ERR
+            OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+            )
+        if ("${GIT_RET}" STREQUAL "0")
             string(REGEX MATCH
-                   "^v([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)-([0-9]+)-(.*)$"
-                   DROP ${GIT_VERSION})
+                "^v([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)-([0-9]+)-(.*)$"
+                DROP ${GIT_VERSION})
             set(PROJECT_VERSION_MAJOR ${CMAKE_MATCH_1})
             set(PROJECT_VERSION_MINOR ${CMAKE_MATCH_2})
             set(PROJECT_VERSION_PATCH ${CMAKE_MATCH_3})
@@ -60,11 +60,11 @@ if(EXISTS ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git)
             set(GKFS_COMMIT_HASH ${CMAKE_MATCH_5})
             set(PROJECT_VERSION "${PROJECT_VERSION_MAJOR}.${PROJECT_VERSION_MINOR}.${PROJECT_VERSION_PATCH}-snapshot+${GKFS_COMMIT_GAP}-${GKFS_COMMIT_HASH}")
             set(GIT_VERSION_FOUND TRUE)
-        else()
+        else ()
             message(WARNING "Failed to run `git describe`: [${GIT_RET}] '${GIT_ERR}'")
-        endif()
-    endif()
-endif()
+        endif ()
+    endif ()
+endif ()
 message(STATUS "[gekkofs] Project version: ${PROJECT_VERSION}")
 set(GKFS_VERSION_MAJOR ${PROJECT_VERSION_MAJOR})
 set(GKFS_VERSION_MINOR ${PROJECT_VERSION_MINOR})
@@ -90,10 +90,9 @@ find_package(Abt REQUIRED)
 find_package(Margo REQUIRED)
 find_package(Syscall_intercept REQUIRED)
 
-# boost dependencies, system is required for filesystem
+# boost dependencies
 find_package(Boost 1.53 REQUIRED
     COMPONENTS
-    filesystem
     program_options
     )
 
@@ -105,9 +104,9 @@ option(CREATE_CHECK_PARENTS "Check parent directory existance before creating ch
 message(STATUS "[gekkofs] Create checks parents: ${CREATE_CHECK_PARENTS}")
 
 option(SYMLINK_SUPPORT "Compile with support for symlinks" ON)
-if(SYMLINK_SUPPORT)
+if (SYMLINK_SUPPORT)
     add_definitions(-DHAS_SYMLINKS)
-endif()
+endif ()
 message(STATUS "[gekkofs] Symlink support: ${SYMLINK_SUPPORT}")
 
 set(MAX_INTERNAL_FDS 256 CACHE STRING "Number of file descriptors reserved for internal use")
@@ -115,18 +114,18 @@ add_definitions(-DMAX_INTERNAL_FDS=${MAX_INTERNAL_FDS})
 message(STATUS "[gekkofs] File descriptors reserved for internal use: ${MAX_INTERNAL_FDS}")
 
 execute_process(COMMAND getconf OPEN_MAX
-                OUTPUT_VARIABLE GETCONF_MAX_FDS
-                OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
-                ERROR_QUIET)
-if(NOT GETCONF_MAX_FDS)
+    OUTPUT_VARIABLE GETCONF_MAX_FDS
+    OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+    ERROR_QUIET)
+if (NOT GETCONF_MAX_FDS)
     set(GETCONF_MAX_FDS=512)
-endif()
+endif ()
 add_definitions(-DMAX_OPEN_FDS=${GETCONF_MAX_FDS})
 
 option(ENABLE_CLIENT_LOG "Enable logging messages" ON)
-if(ENABLE_CLIENT_LOG)
+if (ENABLE_CLIENT_LOG)
     add_definitions(-DGKFS_ENABLE_LOGGING)
-endif()
+endif ()
 message(STATUS "[gekkofs] Client logging output: ${ENABLE_CLIENT_LOG}")
 
 option(GKFS_ENABLE_FORWARDING "Enable forwarding mode" OFF)
@@ -152,37 +151,37 @@ target_link_libraries(RocksDB
     ${Snappy_LIBRARIES}
     ${ZLIB_LIBRARIES}
     ${BZIP2_LIBRARIES}
-    ${ZSTD_LIBRARIES}
+    ${ZStd_LIBRARIES}
     ${LZ4_LIBRARIES}
-)
+    )
 
-if(${JeMalloc_FOUND})
+if (${JeMalloc_FOUND})
     target_link_libraries(RocksDB
         INTERFACE
         ${JEMALLOC_LIBRARIES}
-    )
-endif()
+        )
+endif ()
 # we cannot use target_include_directories with CMake < 3.11
 set_target_properties(RocksDB
     PROPERTIES
     INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ${ROCKSDB_INCLUDE_DIRS}
-)
+    )
 
 add_library(spdlog INTERFACE)
 # we cannot use target_include_directories with CMake < 3.11
 set_target_properties(spdlog
     PROPERTIES
     INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/external"
-)
+    )
 
 add_subdirectory(external/fmt)
 set_property(TARGET fmt PROPERTY POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON)
 
-if(ENABLE_CLIENT_LOG)
+if (ENABLE_CLIENT_LOG)
     option(HERMES_LOGGING "" ON)
     option(HERMES_LOGGING_FMT_USE_BUNDLED "" OFF)
     option(HERMES_LOGGING_FMT_HEADER_ONLY "" OFF)
-endif()
+endif ()
 
 option(HERMES_MARGO_COMPATIBLE_RPCS "" ON)
 add_subdirectory(external/hermes)
@@ -197,18 +196,6 @@ include_directories(
 )
 
 include(GNUInstallDirs)
-include(CheckSymbolExists)
-
-check_cxx_source_compiles("
-    #include <fcntl.h>
-    #include <sys/stat.h>
-
-    int main() {
-        struct statx buf;
-        statx(AT_FDCWD, \"/foo\", AT_EMPTY_PATH, STATX_BASIC_STATS, &buf);
-        return 0;
-    }
-" GLIBC_HAS_STATX)
 
 # Global components
 add_subdirectory(src/global)
@@ -222,20 +209,35 @@ option(GKFS_BUILD_TESTS "Build GekkoFS self tests" OFF)
 include(CMakeDependentOption)
 cmake_dependent_option(GKFS_INSTALL_TESTS "Install GekkoFS self tests" OFF "GKFS_BUILD_TESTS" OFF)
 
-if(GKFS_BUILD_TESTS)
+if (GKFS_BUILD_TESTS)
+    # check symbols exists doesn't work for statx. This is a workaround
+    check_cxx_source_compiles("
+        #include <fcntl.h>
+        #include <sys/stat.h>
+
+        int main() {
+            struct statx buf;
+            statx(AT_FDCWD, \"/foo\", AT_EMPTY_PATH, STATX_BASIC_STATS, &buf);
+            return 0;
+        }
+        " GLIBC_HAS_STATX)
+    # STATX_TYPE must be set for c++17 for statx() to be found for tests
+    if (GLIBC_HAS_STATX)
+        add_definitions(-DSTATX_TYPE=1)
+    endif ()
     message(STATUS "[gekkofs] Preparing tests...")
     set(GKFS_TESTS_INTERFACE "lo" CACHE STRING "Network interface to use when running tests (default: lo)")
     message(STATUS "[gekkofs] Network interface for tests: ${GKFS_TESTS_INTERFACE}")
 
     message(STATUS "[gekkofs] Check for forwarding tests...")
-    if(ENABLE_FORWARDING)
+    if (ENABLE_FORWARDING)
         set(GKFS_TESTS_FORWARDING "ON" CACHE STRING "Enable I/O forwarding tests (default: OFF)")
-    else()
+    else ()
         set(GKFS_TESTS_FORWARDING "OFF" CACHE STRING "Enable I/O forwarding tests (default: OFF)")
-    endif()
+    endif ()
     message(STATUS "[gekkofs] Forwarding tests: ${GKFS_TESTS_FORWARDING}")
 
     add_subdirectory(tests)
-else()
+else ()
     unset(GKFS_TESTS_INTERFACE CACHE)
-endif()
+endif ()
diff --git a/include/client/env.hpp b/include/client/env.hpp
index 4034dff51187efeac0a0bda68803f3d4c6f4a9cf..5252a93f58450e2d448a7e3b37b6c0a590301464 100644
--- a/include/client/env.hpp
+++ b/include/client/env.hpp
@@ -19,8 +19,7 @@
 #define ADD_PREFIX(str) CLIENT_ENV_PREFIX str
 
 /* Environment variables for the GekkoFS client */
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace env {
+namespace gkfs::env {
 
 static constexpr auto LOG = ADD_PREFIX("LOG");
 
@@ -37,8 +36,7 @@ static constexpr auto HOSTS_FILE = ADD_PREFIX("HOSTS_FILE");
 static constexpr auto FORWARDING_MAP_FILE = ADD_PREFIX("FORWARDING_MAP_FILE");
 #endif
 
-} // namespace env
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::env
 
 #undef ADD_PREFIX
 
diff --git a/include/client/gkfs_functions.hpp b/include/client/gkfs_functions.hpp
index f7ffa87d7ee767be6234f6be9bc8257dc93b5b3e..e88cfd627b8dd3e98e29cdcdb4aff7236d84dc56 100644
--- a/include/client/gkfs_functions.hpp
+++ b/include/client/gkfs_functions.hpp
@@ -22,8 +22,7 @@ struct statvfs;
 struct linux_dirent;
 struct linux_dirent64;
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace syscall {
+namespace gkfs::syscall {
 
 int
 gkfs_open(const std::string& path, mode_t mode, int flags);
@@ -134,7 +133,6 @@ gkfs_getdents64(unsigned int fd, struct linux_dirent64* dirp,
 int
 gkfs_rmdir(const std::string& path);
 
-} // namespace syscall
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::syscall
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_GKFS_FUNCTIONS_HPP
diff --git a/include/client/intercept.hpp b/include/client/intercept.hpp
index 4565a8ccf4851a8f2154dc3230d827502d343aef..e3fe1d94d00a1f520a70d86b998832a958495d53 100644
--- a/include/client/intercept.hpp
+++ b/include/client/intercept.hpp
@@ -14,8 +14,7 @@
 #ifndef GEKKOFS_INTERCEPT_HPP
 #define GEKKOFS_INTERCEPT_HPP
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace preload {
+namespace gkfs::preload {
 
 int
 internal_hook_guard_wrapper(long syscall_number, long arg0, long arg1,
@@ -35,7 +34,6 @@ start_interception();
 void
 stop_interception();
 
-} // namespace preload
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::preload
 
 #endif
diff --git a/include/client/logging.hpp b/include/client/logging.hpp
index 174d9db84d5c34092358a7ec7a854fabbbc948d8..2225f08d1e0a30e2f562b22e06c46449914f56fa 100644
--- a/include/client/logging.hpp
+++ b/include/client/logging.hpp
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@
 #include <libsyscall_intercept_hook_point.h>
 
 #include <type_traits>
-#include <boost/optional.hpp>
 #include <client/make_array.hpp>
 #include <client/syscalls.hpp>
+#include <optional>
 #include <fmt/format.h>
 #include <fmt/ostream.h>
 #include <date/tz.h>
@@ -29,8 +29,7 @@
 #include <bitset>
 #endif
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace log {
+namespace gkfs::log {
 
 enum class log_level : short {
     print_syscalls = 1 << 0,
@@ -375,7 +374,7 @@ struct logger {
 
     void
     log_syscall(syscall::info info, const long syscall_number,
-                const long args[6], boost::optional<long> result = boost::none);
+                const long args[6], std::optional<long> result = {});
 
     static std::shared_ptr<logger>&
     global_logger() {
@@ -437,8 +436,7 @@ static_buffer::grow(std::size_t size) {
     abort();
 }
 
-} // namespace log
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::log
 
 #define LOG(XXX, ...) LOG_##XXX(__VA_ARGS__)
 
diff --git a/include/client/make_array.hpp b/include/client/make_array.hpp
index 5a596b69ecfca35e1e6d0e39736b908ea3e489dd..2d1618c6009519475fe7824dcf6b39ca729db874 100644
--- a/include/client/make_array.hpp
+++ b/include/client/make_array.hpp
@@ -14,8 +14,9 @@
 #ifndef LIBGKFS_UTILS_MAKE_ARRAY_HPP
 #define LIBGKFS_UTILS_MAKE_ARRAY_HPP
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace util {
+#include <array>
+
+namespace gkfs::util {
 
 template <typename... T>
 constexpr auto
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@ make_array(T&&... values) -> std::array<
             sizeof...(T)>{std::forward<T>(values)...};
 }
 
-} // namespace util
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::util
 
 #endif // LIBGKFS_UTILS_MAKE_ARRAY_HPP
diff --git a/include/client/open_dir.hpp b/include/client/open_dir.hpp
index c782cb72f5f179e5d3d8744cd704a68e5bac5144..1988f13541a7f9c15a7187ee97d85c68d13f649e 100644
--- a/include/client/open_dir.hpp
+++ b/include/client/open_dir.hpp
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@
 
 #include <client/open_file_map.hpp>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace filemap {
+namespace gkfs::filemap {
 
 class DirEntry {
 private:
@@ -56,7 +55,6 @@ public:
     size();
 };
 
-} // namespace filemap
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::filemap
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_OPEN_DIR_HPP
diff --git a/include/client/open_file_map.hpp b/include/client/open_file_map.hpp
index b9623c414f79c261d170f9e118c7541d2efe5190..a35a05ff8a0536c707cf1d76ec2ce66b6a45c0a8 100644
--- a/include/client/open_file_map.hpp
+++ b/include/client/open_file_map.hpp
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@
 #include <memory>
 #include <atomic>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace filemap {
+namespace gkfs::filemap {
 
 /* Forward declaration */
 class OpenDir;
@@ -139,7 +138,6 @@ public:
     get_fd_idx();
 };
 
-} // namespace filemap
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::filemap
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_OPEN_FILE_MAP_HPP
diff --git a/include/client/path.hpp b/include/client/path.hpp
index 47e161e650a840f30b29302bb3f5747802d6527a..6b6cf851c7e271d7cbde823d7b3f752de26490a1 100644
--- a/include/client/path.hpp
+++ b/include/client/path.hpp
@@ -14,8 +14,7 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace path {
+namespace gkfs::path {
 
 unsigned int
 match_components(const std::string& path, unsigned int& path_components,
@@ -43,5 +42,4 @@ init_cwd();
 void
 set_cwd(const std::string& path, bool internal);
 
-} // namespace path
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::path
diff --git a/include/client/preload.hpp b/include/client/preload.hpp
index 5d1a89892ad53e0e65d5e445f43a420427b65d97..2c6f01caa8b98a50e97527428846d896ab135c51 100644
--- a/include/client/preload.hpp
+++ b/include/client/preload.hpp
@@ -19,12 +19,10 @@
 #define EUNKNOWN (-1)
 
 #define CTX gkfs::preload::PreloadContext::getInstance()
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace preload {
+namespace gkfs::preload {
 void
 init_ld_env_if_needed();
-} // namespace preload
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::preload
 
 void
 init_preload() __attribute__((constructor));
diff --git a/include/client/preload_util.hpp b/include/client/preload_util.hpp
index 0636878d4315671998b1eb23f27f875f87e24454..f42fcd979c2301cea3eed9beb890c8e41413b6c3 100644
--- a/include/client/preload_util.hpp
+++ b/include/client/preload_util.hpp
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@
 #include <map>
 #include <type_traits>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace metadata {
+namespace gkfs::metadata {
 
 struct MetadentryUpdateFlags {
     bool atime = false;
@@ -39,8 +38,7 @@ struct MetadentryUpdateFlags {
     bool path = false;
 };
 
-} // namespace metadata
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::metadata
 
 // Hermes instance
 namespace hermes {
@@ -50,8 +48,7 @@ class async_engine;
 extern std::unique_ptr<hermes::async_engine> ld_network_service;
 
 // function definitions
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace util {
+namespace gkfs::util {
 template <typename E>
 constexpr typename std::underlying_type<E>::type
 to_underlying(E e) {
@@ -77,7 +74,6 @@ read_hosts_file();
 void
 connect_to_hosts(const std::vector<std::pair<std::string, std::string>>& hosts);
 
-} // namespace util
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::util
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_PRELOAD_UTIL_HPP
diff --git a/include/client/rpc/forward_data.hpp b/include/client/rpc/forward_data.hpp
index 005ea00d4b31dfde4d08f4219f6f97f01fade847..a150044f40b0532526735dd47d421abc752dd8d3 100644
--- a/include/client/rpc/forward_data.hpp
+++ b/include/client/rpc/forward_data.hpp
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@
 #ifndef GEKKOFS_CLIENT_FORWARD_DATA_HPP
 #define GEKKOFS_CLIENT_FORWARD_DATA_HPP
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace rpc {
+namespace gkfs::rpc {
 
 struct ChunkStat {
     unsigned long chunk_size;
@@ -42,7 +41,6 @@ forward_truncate(const std::string& path, size_t current_size, size_t new_size);
 std::pair<int, ChunkStat>
 forward_get_chunk_stat();
 
-} // namespace rpc
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::rpc
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_CLIENT_FORWARD_DATA_HPP
diff --git a/include/client/rpc/forward_management.hpp b/include/client/rpc/forward_management.hpp
index 539f55cb8041131778b48785426fb8c4f8591fc2..48956f518375b5e558a28b65f4bd3dc45ef2fdfc 100644
--- a/include/client/rpc/forward_management.hpp
+++ b/include/client/rpc/forward_management.hpp
@@ -15,13 +15,11 @@
 #ifndef GEKKOFS_CLIENT_FORWARD_MNGMNT_HPP
 #define GEKKOFS_CLIENT_FORWARD_MNGMNT_HPP
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace rpc {
+namespace gkfs::rpc {
 
 bool
 forward_get_fs_config();
 
-} // namespace rpc
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::rpc
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_CLIENT_FORWARD_MNGMNT_HPP
diff --git a/include/client/syscalls/args.hpp b/include/client/syscalls/args.hpp
index c706addd4d33b4b3942ac65240803f0f4153fe93..e2829626ca2ffefd4aa49dea68c1c40acefd4905 100644
--- a/include/client/syscalls/args.hpp
+++ b/include/client/syscalls/args.hpp
@@ -18,12 +18,14 @@
 #define GKFS_SYSCALLS_ARGS_HPP
 
 #include <fcntl.h>
-#include <signal.h>
+#include <csignal>
+#include <cassert>
 #include <sys/mman.h>
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
 #include <syscall.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
+#include <optional>
 
 #include <type_traits>
 #include <fmt/format.h>
@@ -78,7 +80,7 @@ static constexpr auto generic       = type::generic;
 struct printable_arg {
     const char* const name;
     const long value;
-    boost::optional<long> size;
+    std::optional<long> size;
 };
 
 
diff --git a/include/config.hpp b/include/config.hpp
index 98928b75dd9c1b91b40d0512f09acb74f680891a..33fbe3f8cfa47e6930d7ad09f009a4597ba03927 100644
--- a/include/config.hpp
+++ b/include/config.hpp
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@
 #define CLIENT_ENV_PREFIX "LIBGKFS_"
 #define DAEMON_ENV_PREFIX "GKFS_"
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace config {
+namespace gkfs::config {
 
 constexpr auto hostfile_path = "./gkfs_hosts.txt";
 constexpr auto forwarding_file_path = "./gkfs_forwarding.map";
@@ -70,7 +69,6 @@ namespace rocksdb {
 constexpr auto use_write_ahead_log = false;
 } // namespace rocksdb
 
-} // namespace config
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::config
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_CONFIG_HPP
diff --git a/include/daemon/backend/metadata/db.hpp b/include/daemon/backend/metadata/db.hpp
index e899068d9cf1203959d3f42161fc1fd9dacba10c..c234f87a468935363097c225f7fe39ff98653d14 100644
--- a/include/daemon/backend/metadata/db.hpp
+++ b/include/daemon/backend/metadata/db.hpp
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@
 
 namespace rdb = rocksdb;
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace metadata {
+namespace gkfs::metadata {
 
 class MetadataDB {
 private:
@@ -68,7 +67,6 @@ public:
     iterate_all();
 };
 
-} // namespace metadata
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::metadata
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_METADATA_DB_HPP
diff --git a/include/daemon/handler/rpc_util.hpp b/include/daemon/handler/rpc_util.hpp
index 52fb1b60cb5d5ff8c0b7af836912523caad712de..ebfbbb92dfe4096b3a167a4accae6084dcc18d0e 100644
--- a/include/daemon/handler/rpc_util.hpp
+++ b/include/daemon/handler/rpc_util.hpp
@@ -22,8 +22,7 @@ extern "C" {
 
 #include <string>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace rpc {
+namespace gkfs::rpc {
 
 template <typename InputType, typename OutputType>
 inline hg_return_t
@@ -96,8 +95,7 @@ cleanup_respond(hg_handle_t* handle, OutputType* output) {
     return ret;
 }
 
-} // namespace rpc
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::rpc
 
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_DAEMON_RPC_UTIL_HPP
diff --git a/include/daemon/ops/data.hpp b/include/daemon/ops/data.hpp
index 86831ea1689b00b6c21edde203fa2fd85adc3a83..808b807e4920b8c50fe786101a487f34fe72da10 100644
--- a/include/daemon/ops/data.hpp
+++ b/include/daemon/ops/data.hpp
@@ -25,8 +25,7 @@ extern "C" {
 #include <margo.h>
 }
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace data {
+namespace gkfs::data {
 
 class ChunkOpException : public std::runtime_error {
 public:
@@ -221,7 +220,6 @@ public:
     wait_for_tasks_and_push_back(const bulk_args& args);
 };
 
-} // namespace data
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::data
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_DAEMON_DATA_HPP
diff --git a/include/global/chunk_calc_util.hpp b/include/global/chunk_calc_util.hpp
index 4e0ccb8db7dc09f7372b0e6ba59434b82f843f2a..bbe14622e3a6893d56b7dbd567018208fa92f3c9 100644
--- a/include/global/chunk_calc_util.hpp
+++ b/include/global/chunk_calc_util.hpp
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@
 
 #include <cassert>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace util {
+namespace gkfs::util {
 
 /**
  * Compute the base2 logarithm for 64 bit integers
@@ -123,7 +122,6 @@ chnk_count_for_offset(const off64_t offset, const size_t count,
                                  (chnk_start >> log2(chnk_size)) + 1);
 }
 
-} // namespace util
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::util
 
 #endif
diff --git a/include/global/global_defs.hpp b/include/global/global_defs.hpp
index 9635120c1a6f0df4b2ee45a9d3dd26b5eb28de35..d759af877d312b2bc2c889519c240b54f8fd532d 100644
--- a/include/global/global_defs.hpp
+++ b/include/global/global_defs.hpp
@@ -14,11 +14,9 @@
 #ifndef GEKKOFS_GLOBAL_DEFS_HPP
 #define GEKKOFS_GLOBAL_DEFS_HPP
 
-namespace gkfs {
-
 // These constexpr set the RPC's identity and which handler the receiver end
 // should use
-namespace rpc {
+namespace gkfs::rpc {
 
 using chnk_id_t = unsigned long;
 
@@ -49,8 +47,6 @@ constexpr auto ofi_tcp = "ofi+tcp";
 constexpr auto ofi_verbs = "ofi+verbs";
 constexpr auto na_sm = "na+sm";
 } // namespace protocol
-} // namespace rpc
-
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::rpc
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_GLOBAL_DEFS_HPP
diff --git a/include/global/log_util.hpp b/include/global/log_util.hpp
index bf6bd727d51642ac5433c191e9115bbc9e826fb3..fe2cd89bb37b655bd7ea8ee4f87603b8fffd0f3e 100644
--- a/include/global/log_util.hpp
+++ b/include/global/log_util.hpp
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@
 
 #include <spdlog/spdlog.h>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace log {
+namespace gkfs::log {
 
 spdlog::level::level_enum
 get_level(std::string level_str);
@@ -28,7 +27,6 @@ get_level(unsigned long level);
 void
 setup(const std::vector<std::string>& loggers, spdlog::level::level_enum level,
       const std::string& path);
-} // namespace log
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::log
 
 #endif
diff --git a/include/global/metadata.hpp b/include/global/metadata.hpp
index 5a6b3d328d0fc8d567ff6c14615de1b078845ac4..5a141088329b30d42a3b87f226ea59fe6cde5c68 100644
--- a/include/global/metadata.hpp
+++ b/include/global/metadata.hpp
@@ -21,22 +21,21 @@
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <string>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace metadata {
+namespace gkfs::metadata {
 
 constexpr mode_t LINK_MODE = ((S_IRWXU | S_IRWXG | S_IRWXO) | S_IFLNK);
 
 class Metadata {
 private:
-    time_t atime_; // access time. gets updated on file access unless mounted
-                   // with noatime
-    time_t mtime_; // modify time. gets updated when file content is modified.
-    time_t ctime_; // change time. gets updated when the file attributes are
-                   // changed AND when file content is modified.
-    mode_t mode_;
-    nlink_t link_count_; // number of names for this inode (hardlinks)
-    size_t size_;        // size_ in bytes, might be computed instead of stored
-    blkcnt_t blocks_;    // allocated file system blocks_
+    time_t atime_{}; // access time. gets updated on file access unless mounted
+                     // with noatime
+    time_t mtime_{}; // modify time. gets updated when file content is modified.
+    time_t ctime_{}; // change time. gets updated when the file attributes are
+                     // changed AND when file content is modified.
+    mode_t mode_{};
+    nlink_t link_count_{}; // number of names for this inode (hardlinks)
+    size_t size_{};     // size_ in bytes, might be computed instead of stored
+    blkcnt_t blocks_{}; // allocated file system blocks_
 #ifdef HAS_SYMLINKS
     std::string target_path_; // For links this is the path of the target file
 #endif
@@ -122,8 +121,7 @@ public:
 #endif
 };
 
-} // namespace metadata
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::metadata
 
 
 #endif // FS_METADATA_H
diff --git a/include/global/path_util.hpp b/include/global/path_util.hpp
index 02e9fe29c91865223a2b309fcc14278b69a85643..d88e06e6bdb8c525a0ed4b3a68aea333ad21f17f 100644
--- a/include/global/path_util.hpp
+++ b/include/global/path_util.hpp
@@ -17,8 +17,7 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace path {
+namespace gkfs::path {
 
 constexpr unsigned int max_length = 4096; // 4k chars
 
@@ -46,7 +45,6 @@ dirname(const std::string& path);
 std::vector<std::string>
 split_path(const std::string& path);
 
-} // namespace path
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::path
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_PATH_UTIL_HPP
diff --git a/include/global/rpc/distributor.hpp b/include/global/rpc/distributor.hpp
index 8f8d915937be1038488e692f68bc4150ed731786..b3f9a926d48d414fb90750011c77b83b8f38f521 100644
--- a/include/global/rpc/distributor.hpp
+++ b/include/global/rpc/distributor.hpp
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <numeric>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace rpc {
+namespace gkfs::rpc {
 
 using chunkid_t = unsigned int;
 using host_t = unsigned int;
@@ -109,7 +108,6 @@ public:
     locate_directory_metadata(const std::string& path) const override;
 };
 
-} // namespace rpc
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::rpc
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_RPC_LOCATOR_HPP
diff --git a/include/global/rpc/rpc_util.hpp b/include/global/rpc/rpc_util.hpp
index 139a1418f9cee1d847feaa6f3a85cdf2e47c6a9d..3699e7bc1aec4194c0c898c95bf867571a2831a4 100644
--- a/include/global/rpc/rpc_util.hpp
+++ b/include/global/rpc/rpc_util.hpp
@@ -22,8 +22,7 @@ extern "C" {
 
 #include <string>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace rpc {
+namespace gkfs::rpc {
 
 hg_bool_t
 bool_to_merc_bool(bool state);
@@ -34,7 +33,6 @@ get_my_hostname(bool short_hostname = false);
 std::string
 get_host_by_name(const std::string& hostname);
 
-} // namespace rpc
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::rpc
 
 #endif // GEKKOFS_GLOBAL_RPC_UTILS_HPP
diff --git a/src/client/gkfs_functions.cpp b/src/client/gkfs_functions.cpp
index 2684df4b7248ae214c3ace8a37edd894aa95285a..b8450ca969f6bce071e300e629246f961f181f4f 100644
--- a/src/client/gkfs_functions.cpp
+++ b/src/client/gkfs_functions.cpp
@@ -94,8 +94,7 @@ check_parent_dir(const std::string& path) {
 }
 } // namespace
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace syscall {
+namespace gkfs::syscall {
 
 /**
  * gkfs wrapper for open() system calls
@@ -734,7 +733,7 @@ gkfs_pread(std::shared_ptr<gkfs::filemap::OpenFile> file, char* buf,
 
     // Zeroing buffer before read is only relevant for sparse files. Otherwise
     // sparse regions contain invalid data.
-    if(gkfs::config::io::zero_buffer_before_read) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::io::zero_buffer_before_read) {
         memset(buf, 0, sizeof(char) * count);
     }
     auto ret = gkfs::rpc::forward_read(file->path(), buf, offset, count);
@@ -1146,5 +1145,4 @@ gkfs_readlink(const std::string& path, char* buf, int bufsize) {
 
 #endif
 
-} // namespace syscall
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::syscall
diff --git a/src/client/hooks.cpp b/src/client/hooks.cpp
index 1e845cd44bcddc2766c94ab78cfdca54bfa8361e..0dec98e7427a0847d7c8f1cf060ec20e6f529ed8 100644
--- a/src/client/hooks.cpp
+++ b/src/client/hooks.cpp
@@ -40,8 +40,7 @@ with_errno(int ret) {
 
 } // namespace
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace hook {
+namespace gkfs::hook {
 
 int
 hook_openat(int dirfd, const char* cpath, int flags, mode_t mode) {
@@ -891,5 +890,4 @@ hook_fsync(unsigned int fd) {
     return syscall_no_intercept(SYS_fsync, fd);
 }
 
-} // namespace hook
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::hook
diff --git a/src/client/intercept.cpp b/src/client/intercept.cpp
index 1954350c752e8b05bb3d83fa4a1d6df42653228a..c7f1934c2a1cb9866311b526aff4f2fd4e2d0ff2 100644
--- a/src/client/intercept.cpp
+++ b/src/client/intercept.cpp
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 #include <client/hooks.hpp>
 #include <client/logging.hpp>
 
-#include <boost/optional.hpp>
+#include <optional>
 #include <fmt/format.h>
 
 #include <cerrno>
@@ -802,8 +802,7 @@ hook_clone_at_parent(unsigned long flags, void* child_stack, int* ptid,
 
 } // namespace
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace preload {
+namespace gkfs::preload {
 
 int
 internal_hook_guard_wrapper(long syscall_number, long arg0, long arg1,
@@ -911,5 +910,4 @@ stop_interception() {
     intercept_hook_point_clone_parent = nullptr;
 }
 
-} // namespace preload
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::preload
diff --git a/src/client/logging.cpp b/src/client/logging.cpp
index 9f1e099aaaed621669534ab19c937e90b2fe828c..613f4e18c8e7270f8692fb37017aaca02263cbbd 100644
--- a/src/client/logging.cpp
+++ b/src/client/logging.cpp
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ logger::~logger() {
 
 void
 logger::log_syscall(syscall::info info, const long syscall_number,
-                    const long args[6], boost::optional<long> result) {
+                    const long args[6], std::optional<long> result) {
 
 
     const bool log_syscall_entry = !!(log::syscall_at_entry & log_mask_);
diff --git a/src/client/preload.cpp b/src/client/preload.cpp
index b0985d9ba6587991a953c839d1982a16f2c41b39..812c54c562fe9aae52265253d0db99a5d78d8494 100644
--- a/src/client/preload.cpp
+++ b/src/client/preload.cpp
@@ -221,16 +221,14 @@ log_prog_name() {
 
 } // namespace
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace preload {
+namespace gkfs::preload {
 
 void
 init_ld_env_if_needed() {
     pthread_once(&init_env_thread, init_ld_environment_);
 }
 
-} // namespace preload
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::preload
 
 /**
  * Called initially ONCE when preload library is used with the LD_PRELOAD
diff --git a/src/client/preload_context.cpp b/src/client/preload_context.cpp
index 29094beaae8782b39d850ff50fb9188a9559b1af..fbba7683e2ca14e7924608487d9619e77fff55af 100644
--- a/src/client/preload_context.cpp
+++ b/src/client/preload_context.cpp
@@ -30,8 +30,7 @@ extern "C" {
 #include <syscall.h>
 }
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace preload {
+namespace gkfs::preload {
 
 decltype(PreloadContext::MIN_INTERNAL_FD) constexpr PreloadContext::
         MIN_INTERNAL_FD;
@@ -410,5 +409,4 @@ PreloadContext::unprotect_user_fds() {
     internal_fds_must_relocate_ = true;
 }
 
-} // namespace preload
-} // namespace gkfs
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace gkfs::preload
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/client/preload_util.cpp b/src/client/preload_util.cpp
index f827a7780f83b8822c4270a19b3bb40189246a20..c88a10c9575713b07cdf4b2ad1754387d18958e5 100644
--- a/src/client/preload_util.cpp
+++ b/src/client/preload_util.cpp
@@ -163,8 +163,7 @@ load_hostfile(const std::string& path) {
 
 } // namespace
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace util {
+namespace gkfs::util {
 
 /**
  * Retrieve metadata from daemon
@@ -399,5 +398,4 @@ connect_to_hosts(const vector<pair<string, string>>& hosts) {
     CTX->hosts(addrs);
 }
 
-} // namespace util
-} // namespace gkfs
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace gkfs::util
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/client/rpc/forward_data.cpp b/src/client/rpc/forward_data.cpp
index 6d87b31db66b49deaf912033afd90b914b94bf6a..2961673eaec1c4d21059005bc201856d781dc665 100644
--- a/src/client/rpc/forward_data.cpp
+++ b/src/client/rpc/forward_data.cpp
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@
 
 using namespace std;
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace rpc {
+namespace gkfs::rpc {
 
 /*
  * This file includes all metadata RPC calls.
@@ -535,5 +534,4 @@ forward_get_chunk_stat() {
         return make_pair(0, ChunkStat{chunk_size, chunk_total, chunk_free});
 }
 
-} // namespace rpc
-} // namespace gkfs
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace gkfs::rpc
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/client/rpc/forward_management.cpp b/src/client/rpc/forward_management.cpp
index 843999526f2e94efc4f5e3df352fa40d9e9c3128..d666e8795509186d040c46ac307148b07df5bd14 100644
--- a/src/client/rpc/forward_management.cpp
+++ b/src/client/rpc/forward_management.cpp
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@
 #include <client/preload_util.hpp>
 #include <client/rpc/rpc_types.hpp>
 
-#include <boost/token_functions.hpp>
-
 namespace gkfs {
 namespace rpc {
 
diff --git a/src/daemon/CMakeLists.txt b/src/daemon/CMakeLists.txt
index 793ced82fa92f74fbe2309a809464662490d2473..35730d4d2739e25212e942563004c28492600095 100644
--- a/src/daemon/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/daemon/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@ set(DAEMON_LINK_LIBRARIES
     # others
     Boost::boost
     Boost::program_options
-    Boost::filesystem
     Threads::Threads
     )
 set(DAEMON_INCLUDE_DIRS
diff --git a/src/daemon/backend/data/CMakeLists.txt b/src/daemon/backend/data/CMakeLists.txt
index 9535714be84359270aadad00d4b833bf89380c5d..8a9356d4081c0a87ade664015cb68cc29b173d88 100644
--- a/src/daemon/backend/data/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/daemon/backend/data/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@ target_sources(storage
 target_link_libraries(storage
     PRIVATE
     spdlog
-    Boost::filesystem
+    # open issue for std::filesystem https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/cmake/-/issues/17834
+    stdc++fs
     -ldl
     )
 
diff --git a/src/daemon/backend/data/chunk_storage.cpp b/src/daemon/backend/data/chunk_storage.cpp
index b6b6aa190d742d3624e6d23f6ba486b0820ae90a..a343a132a739f7cbbe80e824cec8a458e77312b6 100644
--- a/src/daemon/backend/data/chunk_storage.cpp
+++ b/src/daemon/backend/data/chunk_storage.cpp
@@ -18,18 +18,17 @@
 
 #include <cerrno>
 
-#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
+#include <filesystem>
 #include <spdlog/spdlog.h>
 
 extern "C" {
 #include <sys/statfs.h>
 }
 
-namespace bfs = boost::filesystem;
+namespace fs = std::filesystem;
 using namespace std;
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace data {
+namespace gkfs::data {
 
 // private functions
 
@@ -108,10 +107,10 @@ ChunkStorage::destroy_chunk_space(const string& file_path) const {
     auto chunk_dir = absolute(get_chunks_dir(file_path));
     try {
         // Note: remove_all does not throw an error when path doesn't exist.
-        auto n = bfs::remove_all(chunk_dir);
+        auto n = fs::remove_all(chunk_dir);
         log_->debug("{}() Removed '{}' files from '{}'", __func__, n,
                     chunk_dir);
-    } catch(const bfs::filesystem_error& e) {
+    } catch(const fs::filesystem_error& e) {
         auto err_str = fmt::format(
                 "{}() Failed to remove chunk directory. Path: '{}', Error: '{}'",
                 __func__, chunk_dir, e.what());
@@ -268,9 +267,9 @@ ChunkStorage::trim_chunk_space(const string& file_path,
                                gkfs::rpc::chnk_id_t chunk_start) {
 
     auto chunk_dir = absolute(get_chunks_dir(file_path));
-    const bfs::directory_iterator end;
+    const fs::directory_iterator end;
     auto err_flag = false;
-    for(bfs::directory_iterator chunk_file(chunk_dir); chunk_file != end;
+    for(fs::directory_iterator chunk_file(chunk_dir); chunk_file != end;
         ++chunk_file) {
         auto chunk_path = chunk_file->path();
         auto chunk_id = std::stoul(chunk_path.filename().c_str());
@@ -340,5 +339,4 @@ ChunkStorage::chunk_stat() const {
     return {chunksize_, bytes_total / chunksize_, bytes_free / chunksize_};
 }
 
-} // namespace data
-} // namespace gkfs
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace gkfs::data
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/daemon/backend/data/data_module.cpp b/src/daemon/backend/data/data_module.cpp
index 781af08f58367c2650c5f9dc491012ff865ff2ed..d19157da1585d20a2a33d3be74cea5af864ee2ae 100644
--- a/src/daemon/backend/data/data_module.cpp
+++ b/src/daemon/backend/data/data_module.cpp
@@ -13,8 +13,7 @@
 
 #include <daemon/backend/data/data_module.hpp>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace data {
+namespace gkfs::data {
 
 const std::shared_ptr<spdlog::logger>&
 DataModule::log() const {
@@ -26,5 +25,4 @@ DataModule::log(const std::shared_ptr<spdlog::logger>& log) {
     DataModule::log_ = log;
 }
 
-} // namespace data
-} // namespace gkfs
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace gkfs::data
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/daemon/backend/metadata/db.cpp b/src/daemon/backend/metadata/db.cpp
index f9f61d0d83a25883461a1b03433446aba7b87371..ba985bfcb18d0f957843abdd55523fcd1496c1f6 100644
--- a/src/daemon/backend/metadata/db.cpp
+++ b/src/daemon/backend/metadata/db.cpp
@@ -22,8 +22,7 @@ extern "C" {
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 }
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace metadata {
+namespace gkfs::metadata {
 
 
 MetadataDB::MetadataDB(const std::string& path) : path(path) {
@@ -35,7 +34,7 @@ MetadataDB::MetadataDB(const std::string& path) : path(path) {
     options.merge_operator.reset(new MetadataMergeOperator);
     MetadataDB::optimize_rocksdb_options(options);
     write_opts.disableWAL = !(gkfs::config::rocksdb::use_write_ahead_log);
-    rdb::DB* rdb_ptr;
+    rdb::DB* rdb_ptr = nullptr;
     auto s = rocksdb::DB::Open(options, path, &rdb_ptr);
     if(!s.ok()) {
         throw std::runtime_error("Failed to open RocksDB: " + s.ToString());
@@ -204,5 +203,4 @@ MetadataDB::optimize_rocksdb_options(rdb::Options& options) {
     options.max_successive_merges = 128;
 }
 
-} // namespace metadata
-} // namespace gkfs
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace gkfs::metadata
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/daemon/classes/fs_data.cpp b/src/daemon/classes/fs_data.cpp
index cf117f0636265fdfd968954afe7223520470346b..23bc4863abb421ba21487c9a3e8bdea7bda4de24 100644
--- a/src/daemon/classes/fs_data.cpp
+++ b/src/daemon/classes/fs_data.cpp
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@
 
 #include <spdlog/spdlog.h>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace daemon {
+namespace gkfs::daemon {
 
 // getter/setter
 
@@ -175,5 +174,4 @@ FsData::blocks_state(bool blocks_state) {
     FsData::blocks_state_ = blocks_state;
 }
 
-} // namespace daemon
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::daemon
diff --git a/src/daemon/classes/rpc_data.cpp b/src/daemon/classes/rpc_data.cpp
index 0d0d494f06023e01c12c868541aa497a0903867e..71251caa4c87251b4102d3added1abb1ddabf453 100644
--- a/src/daemon/classes/rpc_data.cpp
+++ b/src/daemon/classes/rpc_data.cpp
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@
 
 using namespace std;
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace daemon {
+namespace gkfs::daemon {
 
 // Getter/Setter
 
@@ -61,5 +60,4 @@ RPCData::self_addr_str(const std::string& addr_str) {
     self_addr_str_ = addr_str;
 }
 
-} // namespace daemon
-} // namespace gkfs
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace gkfs::daemon
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/daemon/daemon.cpp b/src/daemon/daemon.cpp
index 98f2faf67040ffba9effe1047426cfe09c12a285..31c065f5ec4ef24fe2ce5911ef0212656dcd0027 100644
--- a/src/daemon/daemon.cpp
+++ b/src/daemon/daemon.cpp
@@ -29,10 +29,9 @@
 #include <daemon/scheduler/agios.hpp>
 #endif
 
-#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
 #include <boost/program_options.hpp>
-#include <boost/tokenizer.hpp>
 
+#include <filesystem>
 #include <iostream>
 #include <fstream>
 #include <csignal>
@@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ extern "C" {
 
 using namespace std;
 namespace po = boost::program_options;
-namespace bfs = boost::filesystem;
+namespace fs = std::filesystem;
 
 static condition_variable shutdown_please;
 static mutex mtx;
@@ -206,7 +205,7 @@ init_environment() {
     std::string chunk_storage_path = GKFS_DATA->rootdir() + "/data/chunks"s;
     GKFS_DATA->spdlogger()->debug("{}() Initializing storage backend: '{}'",
                                   __func__, chunk_storage_path);
-    bfs::create_directories(chunk_storage_path);
+    fs::create_directories(chunk_storage_path);
     try {
         GKFS_DATA->storage(std::make_shared<gkfs::data::ChunkStorage>(
                 chunk_storage_path, gkfs::config::rpc::chunksize));
@@ -287,8 +286,8 @@ agios_initialize() {
 void
 destroy_enviroment() {
     GKFS_DATA->spdlogger()->debug("{}() Removing mount directory", __func__);
-    boost::system::error_code ecode;
-    bfs::remove_all(GKFS_DATA->mountdir(), ecode);
+    std::error_code ecode;
+    fs::remove_all(GKFS_DATA->mountdir(), ecode);
     GKFS_DATA->spdlogger()->debug("{}() Freeing I/O executions streams",
                                   __func__);
     for(unsigned int i = 0; i < RPC_DATA->io_streams().size(); i++) {
@@ -300,7 +299,7 @@ destroy_enviroment() {
         GKFS_DATA->spdlogger()->debug("{}() Removing hosts file", __func__);
         try {
             gkfs::util::destroy_hosts_file();
-        } catch(const bfs::filesystem_error& e) {
+        } catch(const fs::filesystem_error& e) {
             GKFS_DATA->spdlogger()->debug("{}() hosts file not found",
                                           __func__);
         }
@@ -413,36 +412,35 @@ parse_input(const po::variables_map& vm) {
     auto mountdir = vm["mountdir"].as<string>();
     // Create mountdir. We use this dir to get some information on the
     // underlying fs with statfs in gkfs_statfs
-    bfs::create_directories(mountdir);
-    GKFS_DATA->mountdir(bfs::canonical(mountdir).native());
+    fs::create_directories(mountdir);
+    GKFS_DATA->mountdir(fs::canonical(mountdir).native());
 
     assert(vm.count("rootdir"));
     auto rootdir = vm["rootdir"].as<string>();
 
 #ifdef GKFS_ENABLE_FORWARDING
     // In forwarding mode, the backend is shared
-    auto rootdir_path = bfs::path(rootdir);
+    auto rootdir_path = fs::path(rootdir);
 #else
-    auto rootdir_path = bfs::path(rootdir) / fmt::format_int(getpid()).str();
+    auto rootdir_path = fs::path(rootdir) / fmt::format_int(getpid()).str();
 #endif
 
     GKFS_DATA->spdlogger()->debug("{}() Root directory: '{}'", __func__,
                                   rootdir_path.native());
-    bfs::create_directories(rootdir_path);
+    fs::create_directories(rootdir_path);
     GKFS_DATA->rootdir(rootdir_path.native());
 
     if(vm.count("metadir")) {
         auto metadir = vm["metadir"].as<string>();
 
 #ifdef GKFS_ENABLE_FORWARDING
-        auto metadir_path =
-                bfs::path(metadir) / fmt::format_int(getpid()).str();
+        auto metadir_path = fs::path(metadir) / fmt::format_int(getpid()).str();
 #else
-        auto metadir_path = bfs::path(metadir);
+        auto metadir_path = fs::path(metadir);
 #endif
 
-        bfs::create_directories(metadir_path);
-        GKFS_DATA->metadir(bfs::canonical(metadir_path).native());
+        fs::create_directories(metadir_path);
+        GKFS_DATA->metadir(fs::canonical(metadir_path).native());
 
         GKFS_DATA->spdlogger()->debug("{}() Meta directory: '{}'", __func__,
                                       metadir_path.native());
@@ -451,10 +449,9 @@ parse_input(const po::variables_map& vm) {
         auto metadir = vm["rootdir"].as<string>();
 
 #ifdef GKFS_ENABLE_FORWARDING
-        auto metadir_path =
-                bfs::path(metadir) / fmt::format_int(getpid()).str();
-        bfs::create_directories(metadir_path);
-        GKFS_DATA->metadir(bfs::canonical(metadir_path).native());
+        auto metadir_path = fs::path(metadir) / fmt::format_int(getpid()).str();
+        fs::create_directories(metadir_path);
+        GKFS_DATA->metadir(fs::canonical(metadir_path).native());
 #else
         GKFS_DATA->metadir(GKFS_DATA->rootdir());
 #endif
diff --git a/src/daemon/util.cpp b/src/daemon/util.cpp
index 2f3edd9198420c82fdba746e31fad9dab6968a9c..4e6fede35b597c5b851054b329546d521a93e5e1 100644
--- a/src/daemon/util.cpp
+++ b/src/daemon/util.cpp
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@
 
 using namespace std;
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace util {
+namespace gkfs::util {
 
 void
 populate_hosts_file() {
@@ -49,5 +48,4 @@ destroy_hosts_file() {
     std::remove(GKFS_DATA->hosts_file().c_str());
 }
 
-} // namespace util
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::util
diff --git a/src/global/metadata.cpp b/src/global/metadata.cpp
index 83808eedac47e60f9a20d0f142d5e4afa4507010..cea52ad4df5405ec5bb97e77ea70d8867771639e 100644
--- a/src/global/metadata.cpp
+++ b/src/global/metadata.cpp
@@ -24,8 +24,7 @@ extern "C" {
 #include <ctime>
 #include <cassert>
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace metadata {
+namespace gkfs::metadata {
 
 static const char MSP = '|'; // metadata separator
 
@@ -67,32 +66,33 @@ Metadata::Metadata(const std::string& binary_str) {
     ptr += read;
 
     // The order is important. don't change.
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_atime) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_atime) {
         assert(*ptr == MSP);
         atime_ = static_cast<time_t>(std::stol(++ptr, &read));
         assert(read > 0);
         ptr += read;
     }
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_mtime) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_mtime) {
         assert(*ptr == MSP);
         mtime_ = static_cast<time_t>(std::stol(++ptr, &read));
         assert(read > 0);
         ptr += read;
     }
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_ctime) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_ctime) {
         assert(*ptr == MSP);
         ctime_ = static_cast<time_t>(std::stol(++ptr, &read));
         assert(read > 0);
         ptr += read;
     }
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_link_cnt) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_link_cnt) {
         assert(*ptr == MSP);
         link_count_ = static_cast<nlink_t>(std::stoul(++ptr, &read));
         assert(read > 0);
         ptr += read;
     }
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_blocks) { // last one will not encounter a
-                                             // delimiter anymore
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_blocks) { // last one will not
+                                                       // encounter a
+                                                       // delimiter anymore
         assert(*ptr == MSP);
         blocks_ = static_cast<blkcnt_t>(std::stoul(++ptr, &read));
         assert(read > 0);
@@ -119,23 +119,23 @@ Metadata::serialize() const {
     s += fmt::format_int(mode_).c_str(); // add mandatory mode
     s += MSP;
     s += fmt::format_int(size_).c_str(); // add mandatory size
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_atime) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_atime) {
         s += MSP;
         s += fmt::format_int(atime_).c_str();
     }
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_mtime) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_mtime) {
         s += MSP;
         s += fmt::format_int(mtime_).c_str();
     }
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_ctime) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_ctime) {
         s += MSP;
         s += fmt::format_int(ctime_).c_str();
     }
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_link_cnt) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_link_cnt) {
         s += MSP;
         s += fmt::format_int(link_count_).c_str();
     }
-    if(gkfs::config::metadata::use_blocks) {
+    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::use_blocks) {
         s += MSP;
         s += fmt::format_int(blocks_).c_str();
     }
@@ -265,5 +265,4 @@ Metadata::is_link() const {
 
 #endif
 
-} // namespace metadata
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::metadata
diff --git a/src/global/path_util.cpp b/src/global/path_util.cpp
index 78529363d24eb9ac49a2646139bf5a081ee8553e..e43b023f08ac3970e504ed0c87712aa5cdcf86cc 100644
--- a/src/global/path_util.cpp
+++ b/src/global/path_util.cpp
@@ -19,8 +19,7 @@
 
 using namespace std;
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace path {
+namespace gkfs::path {
 
 bool
 is_relative(const string& path) {
@@ -156,5 +155,4 @@ dirname(const string& path) {
     return path.substr(0, parent_path_size);
 }
 
-} // namespace path
-} // namespace gkfs
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace gkfs::path
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/global/rpc/distributor.cpp b/src/global/rpc/distributor.cpp
index 27772cfc0ea70da3d9628465c81e2315ced294c9..70ded66c924275fcb75be8389e11b1e2de757120 100644
--- a/src/global/rpc/distributor.cpp
+++ b/src/global/rpc/distributor.cpp
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@
 
 using namespace std;
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace rpc {
+namespace gkfs::rpc {
 
 SimpleHashDistributor::SimpleHashDistributor(host_t localhost,
                                              unsigned int hosts_size)
@@ -95,5 +94,4 @@ std::vector<host_t>
 ForwarderDistributor::locate_directory_metadata(const std::string& path) const {
     return all_hosts_;
 }
-} // namespace rpc
-} // namespace gkfs
+} // namespace gkfs::rpc
diff --git a/src/global/rpc/rpc_util.cpp b/src/global/rpc/rpc_util.cpp
index 68353c47d9067cd9f7bc537f9d79109d3000386a..0591fd6acff69f078793aa8689a962fc3b85dc8f 100644
--- a/src/global/rpc/rpc_util.cpp
+++ b/src/global/rpc/rpc_util.cpp
@@ -24,8 +24,7 @@ extern "C" {
 
 using namespace std;
 
-namespace gkfs {
-namespace rpc {
+namespace gkfs::rpc {
 
 /**
  * converts std bool to mercury bool
@@ -90,5 +89,4 @@ get_host_by_name(const string& hostname) {
     return addr_str;
 }
 
-} // namespace rpc
-} // namespace gkfs
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace gkfs::rpc
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/integration/harness/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/integration/harness/CMakeLists.txt
index f2f55409d8e279e46f22642527e2822344607963..dd0c4201d3232cdd61d1a3dc6544953cec07073c 100644
--- a/tests/integration/harness/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/integration/harness/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -83,7 +83,9 @@ target_link_libraries(gkfs.io
     CLI11::CLI11
     nlohmann_json::nlohmann_json
     fmt::fmt
-)
+    # open issue for std::filesystem https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/cmake/-/issues/17834
+    stdc++fs
+    )
 
 if(GKFS_INSTALL_TESTS)
     install(TARGETS gkfs.io
diff --git a/tests/integration/harness/gkfs.io/reflection.hpp b/tests/integration/harness/gkfs.io/reflection.hpp
index 91431afc749e522afa46dbd8eb8a7eea57c0c531..1375a801054eb7e38e2843857607261a4e9d8c30 100644
--- a/tests/integration/harness/gkfs.io/reflection.hpp
+++ b/tests/integration/harness/gkfs.io/reflection.hpp
@@ -16,18 +16,18 @@
 
 #include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
 #include <fmt/format.h>
-#include <dirent.h> // required by DIR*
-
 #include <boost/preprocessor.hpp>
 
+extern "C" {
+#include <dirent.h> // required by DIR*
+}
 
 namespace refl {
 namespace detail {
 
-template<typename Class, typename T>
+template <typename Class, typename T>
 struct property_impl {
-    constexpr property_impl(T Class::*aMember, 
-                            const char* aType, 
+    constexpr property_impl(T Class::*aMember, const char* aType,
                             const char* aName) : 
         member{aMember}, 
         type{aType}, 
diff --git a/tests/integration/harness/gkfs.io/serialize.hpp b/tests/integration/harness/gkfs.io/serialize.hpp
index df1a7b1dbad952a5a86aa3ea332fe591ebd0a507..7ee43c4b65154bcedeb86087784fc3c7f4198c10 100644
--- a/tests/integration/harness/gkfs.io/serialize.hpp
+++ b/tests/integration/harness/gkfs.io/serialize.hpp
@@ -15,13 +15,18 @@
 #define GKFS_IO_SERIALIZE_HPP
 
 #include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
+#include <reflection.hpp>
+
+extern "C" {
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+}
 
 template <typename T>
-nlohmann::json 
+nlohmann::json
 serialize(const T& object) {
 
-    using json = nlohmann::json; 
-    
+    using json = nlohmann::json;
+
     json j;
 
     constexpr auto n = std::tuple_size<decltype(T::properties)>::value;