diff --git a/Taskfile.dist.yml b/Taskfile.dist.yml
index 6904afddf5..f930c978f2 100644
--- a/Taskfile.dist.yml
+++ b/Taskfile.dist.yml
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ tasks:
       Mamba. Many tasks are automatically run inside this environment.
       The environment is located at "{{.DEV_ENV_DIR}}" and can also be activated with micromamba to
       benefit from the executables and LSP tools.
-    cmds: [{task: '_create-env', vars: {prefix: '{{.DEV_ENV_DIR}}'}}]
+    cmds: [{task: '_create-env', vars: {prefix: '{{.PWD}}/{{.DEV_ENV_DIR}}'}}]
 
   create-test-env:
     desc: Create a local test environment with as a copy of the dev environment.
diff --git a/libmamba/include/mamba/core/channel.hpp b/libmamba/include/mamba/core/channel.hpp
index 85aa09bf99..c92b538f31 100644
--- a/libmamba/include/mamba/core/channel.hpp
+++ b/libmamba/include/mamba/core/channel.hpp
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@
 #ifndef MAMBA_CORE_CHANNEL_HPP
 #define MAMBA_CORE_CHANNEL_HPP
 
-#include <map>
 #include <string>
 #include <string_view>
+#include <unordered_map>
 #include <utility>
 
 #include "mamba/specs/conda_url.hpp"
@@ -26,27 +26,43 @@ namespace mamba
     namespace specs
     {
         class ChannelSpec;
+        class AuthenticationDataBase;
     }
 
-    std::vector<std::string> get_known_platforms();
-
     // Note: Channels can only be created using ChannelContext.
     class Channel
     {
     public:
 
-        Channel(const Channel&) = delete;
-        Channel& operator=(const Channel&) = delete;
-        Channel(Channel&&) noexcept = default;
-        Channel& operator=(Channel&&) noexcept = default;
+        struct ResolveParams
+        {
+            using platform_list = util::flat_set<std::string>;
+            using channel_list = std::vector<Channel>;
+            using channel_map = std::map<std::string, Channel>;
+            using multichannel_map = std::unordered_map<std::string, channel_list>;
+
+            const platform_list& platforms;
+            const specs::CondaURL& channel_alias;
+            const channel_map& custom_channels;
+            const specs::AuthenticationDataBase& auth_db;
+
+            // TODO add CWD and home
+        };
+
+        using platform_list = util::flat_set<std::string>;
 
-        ~Channel();
+        [[nodiscard]] static auto resolve(specs::ChannelSpec spec, ResolveParams params) -> Channel;
 
-        const std::string& location() const;
-        const std::string& name() const;
-        const std::string& canonical_name() const;
-        const util::flat_set<std::string>& platforms() const;
-        const specs::CondaURL& url() const;
+        Channel(specs::CondaURL url, std::string display_name, util::flat_set<std::string> platforms = {});
+
+        [[nodiscard]] auto url() const -> const specs::CondaURL&;
+        void set_url(specs::CondaURL url);
+
+        [[nodiscard]] auto platforms() const -> const platform_list&;
+        void set_platforms(platform_list platforms);
+
+        [[nodiscard]] auto display_name() const -> const std::string&;
+        void set_display_name(std::string display_name);
 
         std::string base_url() const;
         std::string platform_url(std::string_view platform, bool with_credential = true) const;
@@ -57,38 +73,33 @@ namespace mamba
 
     private:
 
-        Channel(
-            specs::CondaURL url,
-            std::string location,
-            std::string name,
-            std::string canonical_name,
-            util::flat_set<std::string> platforms = {}
-        );
-
         specs::CondaURL m_url;
-        std::string m_location;
-        std::string m_name;
-        std::string m_canonical_name;
+        std::string m_display_name;
         util::flat_set<std::string> m_platforms;
-
-        // Note: as long as Channel is not a regular value-type and we want each
-        // instance only possible to create through ChannelContext, we need
-        // to have Channel's constructor only available to ChannelContext,
-        // therefore enabling it's use through this `friend` statement.
-        // However, all this should be removed as soon as Channel is changed to
-        // be a regular value-type (regular as in the regular concept).
-        friend class ChannelContext;
     };
 
-    using ChannelCache = std::map<std::string, Channel>;
+    /** Tuple-like equality of all observable members */
+    auto operator==(const Channel& a, const Channel& b) -> bool;
+    auto operator!=(const Channel& a, const Channel& b) -> bool;
+}
+
+template <>
+struct std::hash<mamba::Channel>
+{
+    auto operator()(const mamba::Channel& c) const -> std::size_t;
+};
+
+
+namespace mamba
+{
 
     class ChannelContext
     {
     public:
 
-        using channel_list = std::vector<std::string>;
         using channel_map = std::map<std::string, Channel>;
-        using multichannel_map = std::map<std::string, std::vector<std::string>>;
+        using channel_list = std::vector<Channel>;
+        using multichannel_map = std::unordered_map<std::string, channel_list>;
 
         ChannelContext(Context& context);
         ~ChannelContext();
@@ -99,7 +110,7 @@ namespace mamba
         ChannelContext& operator=(ChannelContext&&) = delete;
 
         const Channel& make_channel(const std::string& value);
-        std::vector<const Channel*> get_channels(const std::vector<std::string>& channel_names);
+        auto get_channels(const std::vector<std::string>& channel_names) -> channel_list;
 
         const specs::CondaURL& get_channel_alias() const;
         const channel_map& get_custom_channels() const;
@@ -112,6 +123,8 @@ namespace mamba
 
     private:
 
+        using ChannelCache = std::map<std::string, Channel>;
+
         Context& m_context;
         ChannelCache m_channel_cache;
         specs::CondaURL m_channel_alias;
@@ -119,22 +132,6 @@ namespace mamba
         multichannel_map m_custom_multichannels;
 
         void init_custom_channels();
-
-        Channel make_simple_channel(
-            const specs::CondaURL& channel_alias,
-            const std::string& channel_url,
-            const std::string& channel_name,
-            const std::string& channel_canonical_name
-        );
-
-        Channel from_any_path(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec);
-        Channel from_package_path(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec);
-        Channel from_path(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec);
-        Channel from_any_url(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec);
-        Channel from_package_url(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec);
-        Channel from_url(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec);
-        Channel from_name(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec);
-        Channel from_value(const std::string& value);
     };
 
 }  // namespace mamba
diff --git a/libmamba/include/mamba/specs/channel_spec.hpp b/libmamba/include/mamba/specs/channel_spec.hpp
index a9ab747d03..f73ed5913c 100644
--- a/libmamba/include/mamba/specs/channel_spec.hpp
+++ b/libmamba/include/mamba/specs/channel_spec.hpp
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #ifndef MAMBA_SPECS_CHANNEL_SPEC_HPP
 #define MAMBA_SPECS_CHANNEL_SPEC_HPP
 
+#include <array>
 #include <string>
 #include <string_view>
 
@@ -63,10 +64,22 @@ namespace mamba::specs
              * Example "conda-forge", "locals", "my-channel/my-label".
              */
             Name,
+            /**
+             * An unknown channel source.
+             *
+             * It is currently unclear why it is needed.
+             */
+            Unknown,
         };
 
-        static constexpr std::string_view default_name = "defaults";
         static constexpr std::string_view platform_separators = "|,;";
+        static constexpr std::string_view unknown_channel = "<unknown>";
+        static constexpr std::array<std::string_view, 4> invalid_channels_lower = {
+            "<unknown>",
+            "none:///<unknown>",
+            "none",
+            ":///<unknown>",
+        };
 
         using dynamic_platform_set = util::flat_set<std::string>;
 
@@ -87,9 +100,9 @@ namespace mamba::specs
 
     private:
 
-        std::string m_location = std::string(default_name);
+        std::string m_location = std::string(unknown_channel);
         dynamic_platform_set m_platform_filters = {};
-        Type m_type = {};
+        Type m_type = Type::Unknown;
     };
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/libmamba/include/mamba/util/string.hpp b/libmamba/include/mamba/util/string.hpp
index 7ebf41950b..1abefa71dc 100644
--- a/libmamba/include/mamba/util/string.hpp
+++ b/libmamba/include/mamba/util/string.hpp
@@ -12,9 +12,11 @@
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <cstring>
 #include <iomanip>
+#include <optional>
 #include <sstream>
 #include <string>
 #include <string_view>
+#include <tuple>
 #include <type_traits>
 #include <utility>
 #include <vector>
@@ -192,6 +194,16 @@ namespace mamba::util
     template <typename UnaryFunc>
     std::array<std::wstring_view, 3> strip_if_parts(std::wstring_view input, UnaryFunc should_strip);
 
+    [[nodiscard]] auto split_once(std::string_view str, char sep)
+        -> std::tuple<std::string_view, std::optional<std::string_view>>;
+    [[nodiscard]] auto split_once(std::string_view str, std::string_view sep)
+        -> std::tuple<std::string_view, std::optional<std::string_view>>;
+
+    [[nodiscard]] auto rsplit_once(std::string_view str, char sep)
+        -> std::tuple<std::optional<std::string_view>, std::string_view>;
+    [[nodiscard]] auto rsplit_once(std::string_view str, std::string_view sep)
+        -> std::tuple<std::optional<std::string_view>, std::string_view>;
+
     std::vector<std::string>
     split(std::string_view input, std::string_view sep, std::size_t max_split = SIZE_MAX);
     std::vector<std::wstring>
@@ -202,6 +214,18 @@ namespace mamba::util
     std::vector<std::wstring>
     rsplit(std::wstring_view input, std::wstring_view sep, std::size_t max_split = SIZE_MAX);
 
+    /**
+     * Concatenate string while removing the suffix of the first that may be prefix of second.
+     *
+     * Comparison are done as if comparing elements in a split given by @p sep.
+     * For instance "private/channel" and "channel/label/foo" with separator "/"
+     * would return "private/channel/label/foo", but "private/chan" and "channel/label/foo"
+     * would return the "private/chan/channel/label/foo".
+     */
+    std::string concat_dedup_splits(std::string_view str1, std::string_view str2, char sep);
+    std::string
+    concat_dedup_splits(std::string_view str1, std::string_view str2, std::string_view sep);
+
     void replace_all(std::string& data, std::string_view search, std::string_view replace);
     void replace_all(std::wstring& data, std::wstring_view search, std::wstring_view replace);
 
@@ -643,14 +667,6 @@ namespace mamba::util
         return hex_string(buffer, buffer.size());
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Return the common parts of two strings by blocks located between the given sep,
-     * and considering that these common parts would be located at the end of str1 (search from
-     * left to right).
-     * str1 is considered smaller than (or equal to) str2.
-     * cf. Channels use case.
-     */
-    std::string get_common_parts(std::string_view str1, std::string_view str2, std::string_view sep);
 }
 
 #endif
diff --git a/libmamba/include/mamba/util/tuple_hash.hpp b/libmamba/include/mamba/util/tuple_hash.hpp
index bde581004a..872d9f23d1 100644
--- a/libmamba/include/mamba/util/tuple_hash.hpp
+++ b/libmamba/include/mamba/util/tuple_hash.hpp
@@ -9,26 +9,41 @@
 
 #include <functional>
 #include <tuple>
+#include <type_traits>
 
 namespace mamba::util
 {
-    constexpr void hash_combine(std::size_t& seed, std::size_t other)
+    constexpr auto hash_combine(std::size_t seed, std::size_t other) -> std::size_t
     {
         const auto boost_magic_num = 0x9e3779b9;
         seed ^= other + boost_magic_num + (seed << 6) + (seed >> 2);
+        return seed;
     }
 
     template <class T, typename Hasher = std::hash<T>>
-    constexpr void hash_combine_val(std::size_t& seed, const T& val, const Hasher& hasher = {})
+    constexpr auto hash_combine_val(std::size_t seed, const T& val, const Hasher& hasher = {})
+        -> std::size_t
     {
-        hash_combine(seed, hasher(val));
+        return hash_combine(seed, hasher(val));
+    }
+
+    template <typename Iter, typename Hasher = std::hash<std::decay_t<decltype(*std::declval<Iter>())>>>
+    auto hash_combine_val_range(std::size_t seed, Iter first, Iter last, const Hasher& hasher = {})
+        -> std::size_t
+    {
+        for (; first != last; ++first)
+        {
+            seed = hash_combine_val(seed, hasher(*first));
+        }
+        return seed;
     }
 
     template <typename... T>
     constexpr auto hash_vals(const T&... vals) -> std::size_t
     {
         std::size_t seed = 0;
-        (hash_combine_val(seed, vals), ...);
+        auto combine = [&seed](const auto& val) { seed = hash_combine_val(seed, val); };
+        (combine(vals), ...);
         return seed;
     }
 
@@ -46,5 +61,11 @@ namespace mamba::util
             return hash_tuple(t);
         }
     };
+
+    template <typename Range>
+    constexpr auto hash_range(const Range& rng) -> std::size_t
+    {
+        return hash_combine_val_range(0, rng.begin(), rng.end());
+    }
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/libmamba/src/api/channel_loader.cpp b/libmamba/src/api/channel_loader.cpp
index 2027ed6993..a2ec0ad8da 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/api/channel_loader.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/api/channel_loader.cpp
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ namespace mamba
 
         std::vector<std::pair<int, int>> priorities;
         int max_prio = static_cast<int>(channel_urls.size());
-        std::string prev_channel_name;
+        auto prev_channel_url = specs::CondaURL();
 
         Console::instance().init_progress_bar_manager(ProgressBarMode::multi);
 
@@ -65,11 +65,11 @@ namespace mamba
 
         for (auto channel : pool.channel_context().get_channels(channel_urls))
         {
-            for (auto& [platform, url] : channel->platform_urls(true))
+            for (auto& [platform, url] : channel.platform_urls(true))
             {
                 auto sdires = MSubdirData::create(
                     pool.channel_context(),
-                    *channel,
+                    channel,
                     platform,
                     url,
                     package_caches,
@@ -89,10 +89,10 @@ namespace mamba
                 else
                 {
                     // Consider 'flexible' and 'strict' the same way
-                    if (channel->canonical_name() != prev_channel_name)
+                    if (channel.url() != prev_channel_url)
                     {
                         max_prio--;
-                        prev_channel_name = channel->canonical_name();
+                        prev_channel_url = channel.url();
                     }
                     priorities.push_back(std::make_pair(max_prio, 0));
                 }
diff --git a/libmamba/src/api/configuration.cpp b/libmamba/src/api/configuration.cpp
index 17d0f18fa3..0485eac820 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/api/configuration.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/api/configuration.cpp
@@ -879,6 +879,43 @@ namespace mamba
             return paths;
         }
 
+        void custom_channels_hook(std::map<std::string, std::string>& custom_channels)
+        {
+            // Hard coded Anaconda channels names.
+            // This will not redefine them if the user has already defined these keys.
+            custom_channels.emplace("pkgs/main", "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main");
+            custom_channels.emplace("pkgs/r", "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r");
+            custom_channels.emplace("pkgs/pro", "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/pro");
+            if (util::on_win)
+            {
+                custom_channels.emplace("pkgs/msys2", "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/msys2");
+            }
+        }
+
+        void custom_multichannels_hook(
+            const Context& context,
+            std::map<std::string, std::vector<std::string>>& custom_multichannels
+        )
+        {
+            custom_multichannels.emplace("defaults", context.default_channels);
+
+            auto local_channels = std::vector<std::string>();
+            local_channels.reserve(3);
+            for (auto p : {
+                     context.prefix_params.target_prefix / "conda-bld",
+                     context.prefix_params.root_prefix / "conda-bld",
+                     env::home_directory() / "conda-bld",
+                 })
+            {
+                if (fs::exists(p))
+                {
+                    local_channels.push_back(std::move(p));
+                }
+            }
+
+            custom_multichannels.emplace("local", std::move(local_channels));
+        }
+
         void pkgs_dirs_hook(std::vector<fs::u8path>& dirs)
         {
             for (auto& d : dirs)
@@ -999,7 +1036,14 @@ namespace mamba
                 out << YAML::BeginSeq;
                 for (std::size_t n = 0; n < value.size(); ++n)
                 {
-                    print_node(out, value[n], source[n], show_source);
+                    if (source.IsSequence() && (source.size() == value.size()))
+                    {
+                        print_node(out, value[n], source[n], show_source);
+                    }
+                    else
+                    {
+                        print_node(out, value[n], source, show_source);
+                    }
                 }
                 out << YAML::EndSeq;
             }
@@ -1264,14 +1308,28 @@ namespace mamba
                    .set_rc_configurable()
                    .set_env_var_names()
                    .description("Custom channels")
-                   .long_description("A dictionary with name: url to use for custom channels."));
+                   .long_description(  //
+                       "A dictionary with name: url to use for custom channels.\n"
+                       "If not defined, the Conda special names "
+                       R"("pkgs/main", "pkgs/r", "pkgs/pro", and "pkgs/msys2" (Windows only) )"
+                       "will be added."
+                   )
+                   .set_post_merge_hook(detail::custom_channels_hook));
 
         insert(Configurable("custom_multichannels", &m_context.custom_multichannels)
                    .group("Channels")
                    .set_rc_configurable()
                    .description("Custom multichannels")
-                   .long_description(
-                       "A dictionary with name: list of names/urls to use for custom multichannels."
+                   .long_description(  //
+                       "A dictionary where keys are multi channels names, and values are a list "
+                       "of correspinding names / urls / file paths to use.\n"
+                       R"(If not defined, the Conda special mutli channels "defaults" is added )"
+                       R"(with values from the "default_channels" option, and "local" is added )"
+                       R"(with "~/conda-bld" and target and root prefix "conda-bld" subfolders/)"
+                   )
+                   .needs({ "default_channels", "target_prefix", "root_prefix" })
+                   .set_post_merge_hook<std::map<std::string, std::vector<std::string>>>(
+                       [this](auto& val) { detail::custom_multichannels_hook(m_context, val); }
                    ));
 
         insert(Configurable("override_channels_enabled", &m_context.override_channels_enabled)
diff --git a/libmamba/src/api/info.cpp b/libmamba/src/api/info.cpp
index b17297c3c8..ccefd62a20 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/api/info.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/api/info.cpp
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ namespace mamba
             std::vector<std::string> channel_urls;
             for (auto channel : channel_context.get_channels(channels))
             {
-                for (auto url : channel->urls(true))
+                for (auto url : channel.urls(true))
                 {
                     channel_urls.push_back(url);
                 }
diff --git a/libmamba/src/api/list.cpp b/libmamba/src/api/list.cpp
index 9076a863e7..6afa7f04c5 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/api/list.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/api/list.cpp
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ namespace mamba
                         obj["base_url"] = channel.base_url();
                         obj["build_number"] = pkg_info.build_number;
                         obj["build_string"] = pkg_info.build_string;
-                        obj["channel"] = channel.canonical_name();
+                        obj["channel"] = channel.display_name();
                         obj["dist_name"] = pkg_info.str();
                         obj["name"] = pkg_info.name;
                         obj["platform"] = pkg_info.subdir;
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ namespace mamba
                     else
                     {
                         const Channel& channel = channel_context.make_channel(package.second.url);
-                        formatted_pkgs.channel = channel.canonical_name();
+                        formatted_pkgs.channel = channel.display_name();
                     }
                     packages.push_back(formatted_pkgs);
                 }
diff --git a/libmamba/src/core/channel.cpp b/libmamba/src/core/channel.cpp
index f4bcd45c06..83397b2289 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/core/channel.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/core/channel.cpp
@@ -5,91 +5,62 @@
 // The full license is in the file LICENSE, distributed with this software.
 
 #include <cassert>
-#include <set>
+#include <tuple>
+#include <unordered_set>
 #include <utility>
 
 #include "mamba/core/channel.hpp"
 #include "mamba/core/context.hpp"
-#include "mamba/core/environment.hpp"
-#include "mamba/core/package_cache.hpp"
-#include "mamba/core/validate.hpp"
 #include "mamba/specs/channel_spec.hpp"
 #include "mamba/specs/conda_url.hpp"
 #include "mamba/util/path_manip.hpp"
 #include "mamba/util/string.hpp"
+#include "mamba/util/tuple_hash.hpp"
 #include "mamba/util/url.hpp"
 #include "mamba/util/url_manip.hpp"
 
 
 namespace mamba
 {
-    namespace
-    {
-        const std::map<std::string, std::string> DEFAULT_CUSTOM_CHANNELS = {
-            { "pkgs/pro", "https://repo.anaconda.com" }
-        };
-        const char UNKNOWN_CHANNEL[] = "<unknown>";
-
-        const std::set<std::string> INVALID_CHANNELS = { "<unknown>",
-                                                         "None:///<unknown>",
-                                                         "None",
-                                                         "",
-                                                         ":///<unknown>" };
-
-        const char LOCAL_CHANNELS_NAME[] = "local";
-        const char DEFAULT_CHANNELS_NAME[] = "defaults";
-    }
-
-    std::vector<std::string> get_known_platforms()
-    {
-        auto plats = specs::known_platform_names();
-        return { plats.begin(), plats.end() };
-    }
-
     /**************************
      * Channel implementation *
      **************************/
 
-    Channel::Channel(
-        specs::CondaURL url,
-        std::string location,
-        std::string name,
-        std::string canonical_name,
-        util::flat_set<std::string> platforms
-    )
+    Channel::Channel(specs::CondaURL url, std::string display_name, util::flat_set<std::string> platforms)
         : m_url(std::move(url))
-        , m_location(std::move(location))
-        , m_name(std::move(name))
-        , m_canonical_name(std::move(canonical_name))
+        , m_display_name(std::move(display_name))
         , m_platforms(std::move(platforms))
     {
     }
 
-    Channel::~Channel() = default;
-
-    const specs::CondaURL& Channel::url() const
+    auto Channel::url() const -> const specs::CondaURL&
     {
         return m_url;
     }
 
-    const std::string& Channel::location() const
+    void Channel::set_url(specs::CondaURL url)
     {
-        return m_location;
+        m_url = std::move(url);
     }
 
-    const std::string& Channel::name() const
+    auto Channel::platforms() const -> const platform_list&
     {
-        return m_name;
+        return m_platforms;
     }
 
-    const util::flat_set<std::string>& Channel::platforms() const
+    void Channel::set_platforms(platform_list platforms)
     {
-        return m_platforms;
+        m_platforms = std::move(platforms);
+    }
+
+    auto Channel::display_name() const -> const std::string&
+    {
+        return m_display_name;
     }
 
-    const std::string& Channel::canonical_name() const
+    void Channel::set_display_name(std::string display_name)
     {
-        return m_canonical_name;
+        m_display_name = std::move(display_name);
     }
 
     std::string Channel::base_url() const
@@ -143,78 +114,41 @@ namespace mamba
         return (url() / platform).str(cred);
     }
 
-    /*********************************
-     * ChannelContext implementation *
-     *********************************/
-
-    Channel ChannelContext::make_simple_channel(
-        const specs::CondaURL& channel_alias,
-        const std::string& channel_url,
-        const std::string& channel_name,
-        const std::string& channel_canonical_name
-    )
+    namespace
     {
-        if (!util::url_has_scheme(channel_url))
+        auto attrs(const Channel& chan)
         {
-            const auto& alias = get_channel_alias();
-            auto url = alias;
-            auto name = std::string(util::strip(channel_name.empty() ? channel_url : channel_name, '/')
-            );
-            url.append_path(channel_url);
-            return Channel(
-                /* url= */ std::move(url),
-                /*  location= */ alias.pretty_str(specs::CondaURL::StripScheme::yes, '/', specs::CondaURL::Credentials::Remove),
-                /*  name= */ std::move(name),
-                /*  canonical_name= */ channel_canonical_name
-            );
+            return std::tie(chan.url(), chan.platforms(), chan.display_name());
         }
+    }
 
-        auto url = specs::CondaURL::parse(channel_url);
-        std::string location = url.pretty_str(
-            specs::CondaURL::StripScheme::yes,
-            '/',
-            specs::CondaURL::Credentials::Remove
-        );
-        std::string name(channel_name);
+    /** Tuple-like equality of all observable members */
+    auto operator==(const Channel& a, const Channel& b) -> bool
+    {
+        return attrs(a) == attrs(b);
+    }
 
-        if (channel_name.empty())
-        {
-            auto ca_location = channel_alias.pretty_str(
-                specs::CondaURL::StripScheme::yes,
-                '/',
-                specs::CondaURL::Credentials::Remove
-            );
+    auto operator!=(const Channel& a, const Channel& b) -> bool
+    {
+        return !(a == b);
+    }
+}
 
-            if (util::starts_with(location, ca_location))
-            {
-                name = std::string(util::strip(util::remove_prefix(location, ca_location), '/'));
-                location = std::move(ca_location);
-            }
-            else if (url.scheme() == "file")
-            {
-                const auto pos = location.rfind('/');
-                name = location.substr(pos + 1);
-                location = location.substr(0, pos);
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                location = url.authority(specs::CondaURL::Credentials::Remove);
-                name = url.path_without_token();
-            }
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            url.append_path(channel_name);
-        }
+auto
+std::hash<mamba::Channel>::operator()(const mamba::Channel& chan) const -> std::size_t
+{
+    return mamba::util::hash_combine(
+        mamba::util::hash_vals(chan.url(), chan.display_name()),
+        mamba::util::hash_range(chan.platforms())
+    );
+}
 
-        name = util::strip(name.empty() ? channel_url : name, '/');
-        return Channel(
-            /* url = */ std::move(url),
-            /* location= */ std::move(location),
-            /* name= */ std::move(name),
-            /* canonical_name= */ channel_canonical_name
-        );
-    }
+namespace mamba
+{
+
+    /*********************************
+     * ChannelContext implementation *
+     *********************************/
 
     namespace
     {
@@ -281,264 +215,158 @@ namespace mamba
             }
         }
 
-        auto rsplit_once(std::string_view str, char sep)
+        auto
+        make_platforms(util::flat_set<std::string> filters, const util::flat_set<std::string>& defaults)
         {
-            auto [head, tail] = util::rstrip_if_parts(str, [sep](char c) { return c != sep; });
-            if (head.empty())
-            {
-                return std::array{ head, tail };
-            }
-            return std::array{ head.substr(0, head.size() - 1), tail };
+            return filters.empty() ? defaults : filters;
         }
 
-        auto
-        make_platforms(util::flat_set<std::string> filters, const std::vector<std::string>& defaults)
+        auto resolve_path_name(const specs::CondaURL& uri, Channel::ResolveParams params)
+            -> std::string
         {
-            if (filters.empty())
+            for (const auto& [display_name, chan] : params.custom_channels)
             {
-                for (const auto& plat : defaults)
+                if (url_match(chan.url(), uri))
                 {
-                    filters.insert(plat);
+                    return std::string(display_name);
                 }
             }
-            return filters;
-        };
-    }
-
-    Channel ChannelContext::from_any_path(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec)
-    {
-        auto uri = specs::CondaURL::parse(util::path_or_url_to_url(spec.location()));
 
-        auto path = uri.pretty_path();
-        auto [parent, current] = rsplit_once(path, '/');
-        for (const auto& [canonical_name, chan] : get_custom_channels())
-        {
-            if (url_match(chan.url(), uri))
+            if (const auto& ca = params.channel_alias; url_match(ca, uri))
             {
-                return Channel(
-                    /* url= */ std::move(uri),
-                    /* location= */ chan.url().pretty_str(specs::CondaURL::StripScheme::yes),
-                    /* name= */ std::string(util::rstrip(parent, '/')),
-                    /* canonical_name= */ std::string(canonical_name)
-                );
+                return std::string(util::strip(util::remove_prefix(uri.path(), ca.path()), '/'));
             }
+
+            return uri.pretty_str();
         }
 
-        if (const auto& ca = get_channel_alias(); url_match(ca, uri))
+        auto resolve_path(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec, Channel::ResolveParams params) -> Channel
         {
-            auto name = util::strip(util::remove_prefix(uri.path(), ca.path()), '/');
-            return Channel(
-                /* url= */ std::move(uri),
-                /*  location= */ ca.pretty_str(specs::CondaURL::StripScheme::yes),
-                /*  name= */ std::string(name),
-                /*  canonical_name= */ std::string(name)
-            );
-        }
+            auto uri = specs::CondaURL::parse(util::path_or_url_to_url(spec.location()));
+            auto display_name = resolve_path_name(uri, params);
+            auto platforms = Channel::ResolveParams::platform_list{};
+            if (spec.type() == specs::ChannelSpec::Type::Path)
+            {
+                platforms = make_platforms(spec.clear_platform_filters(), params.platforms);
+            }
 
-        auto canonical_name = uri.pretty_str();
-        return Channel(
-            /* url= */ std::move(uri),
-            /* location= */ std::string(util::rstrip(parent, '/')),
-            /* name= */ std::string(util::rstrip(current, '/')),
-            /* canonical_name= */ std::move(canonical_name)
-        );
-    }
+            return Channel(std::move(uri), std::move(display_name), std::move(platforms));
+        }
 
-    Channel ChannelContext::from_package_path(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec)
-    {
-        assert(spec.type() == specs::ChannelSpec::Type::PackagePath);
-        return from_any_path(std::move(spec));
-    }
+        auto resolve_url_name(const specs::CondaURL& url, Channel::ResolveParams params) -> std::string
+        {
+            using StripScheme = typename specs::CondaURL::StripScheme;
+            using Credentials = typename specs::CondaURL::Credentials;
 
-    Channel ChannelContext::from_path(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec)
-    {
-        assert(spec.type() == specs::ChannelSpec::Type::Path);
-        auto platforms = make_platforms(spec.clear_platform_filters(), m_context.platforms());
-        auto chan = from_any_path(std::move(spec));
-        chan.m_platforms = std::move(platforms);
-        return chan;
-    }
+            std::string url_str = url.pretty_str(StripScheme::yes, '/', Credentials::Remove);
 
-    Channel ChannelContext::from_any_url(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec)
-    {
-        assert(util::url_has_scheme(spec.location()));
-        auto url = specs::CondaURL::parse(spec.location());
-        assert(url.scheme() != "file");
+            for (const auto& [display_name, chan] : params.custom_channels)
+            {
+                if (url_match(chan.url(), url))
+                {
+                    return std::string(display_name);
+                }
+            }
 
-        using StripScheme = typename specs::CondaURL::StripScheme;
-        using Credentials = typename specs::CondaURL::Credentials;
+            if (const auto& ca = params.channel_alias; url_match(ca, url))
+            {
+                auto ca_str = ca.pretty_str(StripScheme::yes, '/', Credentials::Remove);
+                return std::string(util::strip(util::remove_prefix(url_str, ca_str), '/'));
+            }
 
-        std::string default_location = url.pretty_str(StripScheme::yes, '/', Credentials::Remove);
+            return url.pretty_str(StripScheme::no, '/', Credentials::Remove);
+        }
 
-        for (const auto& [canonical_name, chan] : get_custom_channels())
+        auto resolve_url(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec, Channel::ResolveParams params) -> Channel
         {
-            if (url_match(chan.url(), url))
+            assert(util::url_has_scheme(spec.location()));
+            assert(util::url_get_scheme(spec.location()) != "file");
+
+            auto url = specs::CondaURL::parse(spec.location());
+            auto display_name = resolve_url_name(url, params);
+            set_fallback_credential_from_db(url, params.auth_db);
+            auto platforms = Channel::ResolveParams::platform_list{};
+            if (spec.type() == specs::ChannelSpec::Type::URL)
             {
-                std::string location = chan.location();
-                // TODO cannot change all the locations at once since they are used in from_name
-                // std::string location = chan.url().pretty_str(StripScheme::yes, '/',
-                // Credentials::Remove);
-                std::string name = std::string(
-                    util::strip(util::remove_prefix(default_location, location), '/')
-                );
-                return Channel(
-                    /* url= */ std::move(url),
-                    /* location= */ std::move(location),
-                    /* name= */ std::move(name),
-                    /* canonical_name= */ std::string(canonical_name)
-                );
+                platforms = make_platforms(spec.clear_platform_filters(), params.platforms);
             }
-        }
 
-        if (const auto& ca = get_channel_alias(); url_match(ca, url))
-        {
-            auto location = ca.pretty_str(StripScheme::yes, '/', Credentials::Remove);
-            // Overridding url scheme since chan_url could have been defaulted
-            auto name = std::string(util::strip(util::remove_prefix(default_location, location), '/'));
-            return Channel(
-                /*..url= */ std::move(url),
-                /* location= */ std::move(location),
-                /* name= */ name,
-                /* canonical_name= */ name
-            );
+            return Channel(std::move(url), std::move(display_name), std::move(platforms));
         }
 
-        auto name = std::string(util::strip(url.path_without_token(), '/'));
-        auto location = url.authority(Credentials::Remove);
-        auto canonical_name = url.pretty_str(StripScheme::no, '/', Credentials::Remove);
-        return Channel(
-            /* url= */ std::move(url),
-            /* location= */ std::move(location),
-            /* name= */ std::move(name),
-            /* canonical_name= */ std::move(canonical_name)
-        );
-    }
-
-    Channel ChannelContext::from_package_url(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec)
-    {
-        auto chan = from_any_url(std ::move(spec));
-        set_fallback_credential_from_db(chan.m_url, m_context.authentication_info());
-        return chan;
-    }
-
-    Channel ChannelContext::from_url(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec)
-    {
-        auto platforms = make_platforms(spec.clear_platform_filters(), m_context.platforms());
-        auto chan = from_any_url(std::move(spec));
-        chan.m_platforms = std::move(platforms);
-        set_fallback_credential_from_db(chan.m_url, m_context.authentication_info());
-        return chan;
-    }
-
-    Channel ChannelContext::from_name(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec)
-    {
-        std::string name = spec.clear_location();
-        const auto& custom_channels = get_custom_channels();
-        const auto it_end = custom_channels.end();
-        auto it = custom_channels.find(name);
+        auto resolve_name(specs::ChannelSpec&& spec, Channel::ResolveParams params) -> Channel
         {
-            std::string considered_name = name;
-            while (it == it_end)
+            std::string name = spec.clear_location();
+            const auto it_end = params.custom_channels.end();
+            auto it = it_end;
             {
-                if (const auto pos = considered_name.rfind("/"); pos != std::string::npos)
-                {
-                    considered_name = considered_name.substr(0, pos);
-                    it = custom_channels.find(considered_name);
-                }
-                else
+                auto considered_name = std::optional<std::string_view>(name);
+                while ((it == it_end))
                 {
-                    break;
+                    if (!considered_name.has_value())
+                    {
+                        break;
+                    }
+                    it = params.custom_channels.find(std::string(considered_name.value()));
+                    considered_name = std::get<0>(util::rsplit_once(considered_name.value(), '/'));
                 }
             }
-        }
 
-        if (it != it_end)
-        {
-            auto url = it->second.url();
-            // we can have a channel like
-            // testchannel: https://server.com/private/testchannel
-            // where `name == private/testchannel` and we need to join the remaining label part
-            // of the channel (e.g. -c testchannel/mylabel/xyz)
-            // needs to result in `name = private/testchannel/mylabel/xyz`
-            std::string combined_name = it->second.name();
-            if (combined_name != name)
+            if (it != it_end)
             {
-                // Find common string between `name` and `combined_name`
-                auto common_str = util::get_common_parts(combined_name, name, "/");
-                // Combine names properly
-                if (common_str.empty())
-                {
-                    url.append_path(name);
-                    combined_name += "/" + name;
-                }
-                else
-                {
-                    // NOTE We assume that the `common_str`, if not empty, is necessarily at the
-                    // beginning of `name` and at the end of `combined_name` (I don't know about
-                    // other use cases for now)
-                    combined_name += name.substr(common_str.size());
-                    url.append_path(name.substr(common_str.size()));
-                }
+                auto url = it->second.url();
+                // we can have a channel like
+                // testchannel: https://server.com/private/testchannel
+                // where `name == private/testchannel` and we need to join the remaining label part
+                // of the channel (e.g. -c testchannel/mylabel/xyz)
+                // needs to result in `name = private/testchannel/mylabel/xyz`
+                std::string combined_name = util::concat_dedup_splits(
+                    util::rstrip(url.path(), '/'),
+                    util::lstrip(name, '/'),
+                    '/'
+                );
+                url.set_path(combined_name);
+
+                set_fallback_credential_from_db(url, params.auth_db);
+                return Channel(
+                    /* url= */ std::move(url),
+                    /* display_name= */ std::move(name),
+                    /* platforms= */ make_platforms(spec.clear_platform_filters(), params.platforms)
+                );
             }
 
-            set_fallback_credential_from_db(url, m_context.authentication_info());
+            auto url = params.channel_alias;
+            url.append_path(name);
+            set_fallback_credential_from_db(url, params.auth_db);
             return Channel(
                 /* url= */ std::move(url),
-                /* location= */ it->second.location(),
-                /* name= */ std::move(combined_name),
-                /* canonical_name= */ std::move(name),
-                /* platforms= */ make_platforms(spec.clear_platform_filters(), m_context.platforms())
+                /* display_name= */ name,
+                /* platforms= */ make_platforms(spec.clear_platform_filters(), params.platforms)
             );
         }
-
-        const auto& alias = get_channel_alias();
-        auto url = alias;
-        url.append_path(name);
-        set_fallback_credential_from_db(url, m_context.authentication_info());
-        return Channel(
-            /* url= */ std::move(url),
-            /* location= */ alias.pretty_str(specs::CondaURL::StripScheme::yes, '/', specs::CondaURL::Credentials::Remove),
-            /* name= */ name,
-            /* canonical_name= */ name,
-            /* platforms= */ make_platforms(spec.clear_platform_filters(), m_context.platforms())
-        );
     }
 
-    Channel ChannelContext::from_value(const std::string& in_value)
+    auto Channel::resolve(specs::ChannelSpec spec, ResolveParams params) -> Channel
     {
-        if (INVALID_CHANNELS.count(in_value) > 0)
-        {
-            return Channel(
-                /* url= */ specs::CondaURL{},
-                /* location= */ "",
-                /* name= */ UNKNOWN_CHANNEL,
-                /* canonical_name= */ UNKNOWN_CHANNEL
-            );
-        }
-
-        auto spec = specs::ChannelSpec::parse(in_value);
-
         switch (spec.type())
         {
             case specs::ChannelSpec::Type::PackagePath:
-            {
-                return from_package_path(std::move(spec));
-            }
             case specs::ChannelSpec::Type::Path:
             {
-                return from_path(std::move(spec));
+                return resolve_path(std::move(spec), params);
             }
             case specs::ChannelSpec::Type::PackageURL:
-            {
-                return from_package_url(std::move(spec));
-            }
             case specs::ChannelSpec::Type::URL:
             {
-                return from_url(std::move(spec));
+                return resolve_url(std::move(spec), params);
             }
             case specs::ChannelSpec::Type::Name:
             {
-                return from_name(std::move(spec));
+                return resolve_name(std::move(spec), params);
+            }
+            case specs::ChannelSpec::Type::Unknown:
+            {
+                return Channel(specs::CondaURL{}, spec.clear_location());
             }
         }
         throw std::invalid_argument("Invalid ChannelSpec::Type");
@@ -551,45 +379,53 @@ namespace mamba
             return it->second;
         }
 
-        auto [it, inserted] = m_channel_cache.emplace(value, from_value(value));
+        auto spec = specs::ChannelSpec::parse(value);
+        const auto platforms = [](const auto& plats) {
+            return Channel::ResolveParams::platform_list(plats.cbegin(), plats.cend());
+        }(m_context.platforms());
+        auto params = Channel::ResolveParams{
+            /* .platforms */ platforms,
+            /* .channel_alias */ m_channel_alias,
+            /* .custom_channels */ m_custom_channels,
+            /* .auth_db */ m_context.authentication_info(),
+        };
+
+        auto [it, inserted] = m_channel_cache.emplace(value, Channel::resolve(std::move(spec), params));
         assert(inserted);
         return it->second;
     }
 
-    std::vector<const Channel*>
-    ChannelContext::get_channels(const std::vector<std::string>& channel_names)
+    auto ChannelContext::get_channels(const std::vector<std::string>& channel_names) -> channel_list
     {
-        std::set<const Channel*> added;
-        std::vector<const Channel*> result;
+        auto added = std::unordered_set<Channel>();
+        auto result = channel_list();
         for (auto name : channel_names)
         {
-            std::string platform_spec;
-            auto platform_spec_ind = name.find("[");
-            if (platform_spec_ind != std::string::npos)
-            {
-                platform_spec = name.substr(platform_spec_ind);
-                name = name.substr(0, platform_spec_ind);
-            }
+            auto spec = specs::ChannelSpec::parse(name);
 
-            auto add_channel = [&](const std::string& lname)
-            {
-                auto* channel = &make_channel(lname + platform_spec);
-                if (added.insert(channel).second)
-                {
-                    result.push_back(channel);
-                }
-            };
-            auto multi_iter = get_custom_multichannels().find(name);
-            if (multi_iter != get_custom_multichannels().end())
+            const auto& multi_chan = get_custom_multichannels();
+            if (auto iter = multi_chan.find(spec.location()); iter != multi_chan.end())
             {
-                for (const auto& n : multi_iter->second)
+                for (const auto& chan : iter->second)
                 {
-                    add_channel(n);
+                    auto channel = chan;
+                    if (!spec.platform_filters().empty())
+                    {
+                        channel.set_platforms(spec.platform_filters());
+                    }
+                    if (added.insert(channel).second)
+                    {
+                        result.push_back(std::move(channel));
+                    }
                 }
             }
             else
             {
-                add_channel(name);
+                auto channel = make_channel(name);
+                if (added.insert(channel).second)
+                {
+                    result.push_back(std::move(channel));
+                }
             }
         }
         return result;
@@ -621,89 +457,22 @@ namespace mamba
 
     void ChannelContext::init_custom_channels()
     {
-        /******************
-         * MULTI CHANNELS *
-         ******************/
-
-        // Default channels
-        auto& default_channels = m_context.default_channels;
-        std::vector<std::string> default_names(default_channels.size());
-        auto default_name_iter = default_names.begin();
-        for (auto& url : default_channels)
-        {
-            auto channel = make_simple_channel(m_channel_alias, url, "", DEFAULT_CHANNELS_NAME);
-            std::string name = channel.name();
-            auto res = m_custom_channels.emplace(std::move(name), std::move(channel));
-            *default_name_iter++ = res.first->first;
-        }
-        m_custom_multichannels.emplace(DEFAULT_CHANNELS_NAME, std::move(default_names));
-
-        // Local channels
-        std::vector<std::string> local_channels = { m_context.prefix_params.target_prefix
-                                                        / "conda-bld",
-                                                    m_context.prefix_params.root_prefix / "conda-bld",
-                                                    env::home_directory() / "conda-bld" };
-
-        bool at_least_one_local_dir = false;
-        std::vector<std::string> local_names;
-        local_names.reserve(local_channels.size());
-        for (const auto& p : local_channels)
-        {
-            if (fs::is_directory(p))
-            {
-                at_least_one_local_dir = true;
-                std::string url = util::path_or_url_to_url(p);
-                auto channel = make_simple_channel(m_channel_alias, url, "", LOCAL_CHANNELS_NAME);
-                std::string name = channel.name();
-                auto res = m_custom_channels.emplace(std::move(name), std::move(channel));
-                local_names.push_back(res.first->first);
-            }
-        }
-
-        // Throw if `-c local` is given but none of the specified `local_channels` are found
-        if (!at_least_one_local_dir
-            && std::find(m_context.channels.begin(), m_context.channels.end(), LOCAL_CHANNELS_NAME)
-                   != m_context.channels.end())
+        for (const auto& [name, location] : m_context.custom_channels)
         {
-            throw std::runtime_error(
-                "No 'conda-bld' directory found in target prefix, root prefix or home directories!"
-            );
-        }
-
-        m_custom_multichannels.emplace(LOCAL_CHANNELS_NAME, std::move(local_names));
-
-        const auto& context_custom_channels = m_context.custom_channels;
-        for (const auto& [name, location] : context_custom_channels)
-        {
-            auto channel = from_value(location);
-            channel.m_canonical_name = name;
+            auto channel = make_channel(location);
+            channel.set_display_name(name);
             m_custom_channels.emplace(name, std::move(channel));
         }
 
         for (const auto& [multi_name, location_list] : m_context.custom_multichannels)
         {
-            std::vector<std::string> names = {};
-            names.reserve(location_list.size());
+            auto channels = channel_list();
+            channels.reserve(location_list.size());
             for (auto& location : location_list)
             {
-                auto channel = from_value(location);
-                // No cannonical name give to mulit_channels
-                names.push_back(location);
+                channels.push_back(make_channel(location));
             }
-            m_custom_multichannels.emplace(multi_name, std::move(names));
-        }
-
-        /*******************
-         * SIMPLE CHANNELS *
-         *******************/
-
-        // Default local channel
-        for (auto& ch : DEFAULT_CUSTOM_CHANNELS)
-        {
-            m_custom_channels.emplace(
-                ch.first,
-                make_simple_channel(m_channel_alias, ch.second, ch.first, ch.first)
-            );
+            m_custom_multichannels.emplace(multi_name, std::move(channels));
         }
     }
 }  // namespace mamba
diff --git a/libmamba/src/core/match_spec.cpp b/libmamba/src/core/match_spec.cpp
index f13ff67fbb..d62368c4c6 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/core/match_spec.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/core/match_spec.cpp
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include "mamba/core/output.hpp"
 #include "mamba/core/util.hpp"
 #include "mamba/specs/archive.hpp"
+#include "mamba/specs/platform.hpp"
 #include "mamba/util/string.hpp"
 #include "mamba/util/url_manip.hpp"
 
@@ -101,7 +102,7 @@ namespace mamba
                 version = dist[1];
                 build_string = dist[2];
 
-                channel = parsed_channel.canonical_name();
+                channel = parsed_channel.display_name();
                 // TODO how to handle this with multiple platforms?
                 if (const auto& plats = parsed_channel.platforms(); !plats.empty())
                 {
@@ -188,6 +189,12 @@ namespace mamba
             throw std::runtime_error("Parsing of channel / namespace / subdir failed.");
         }
 
+        auto get_known_platforms = []() -> std::vector<std::string>
+        {
+            auto plats = specs::known_platform_names();
+            return { plats.begin(), plats.end() };
+        };
+
         std::string cleaned_url;
         std::string platform;
         util::split_platform(
diff --git a/libmamba/src/core/pool.cpp b/libmamba/src/core/pool.cpp
index c3b485bcf4..84c5f95c7b 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/core/pool.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/core/pool.cpp
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ namespace mamba
             }
 
             auto& custom_multichannels = channel_context.context().custom_multichannels;
-            auto x = custom_multichannels.find(needle.name());
+            auto x = custom_multichannels.find(needle.display_name());
             if (x != custom_multichannels.end())
             {
                 for (auto el : (x->second))
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ namespace mamba
         ) -> solv::DependencyId
         {
             // Poor man's ms repr to match waht the user provided
-            std::string const repr = fmt::format("{}::{}", ms.channel, ms.conda_build_form());
+            const std::string repr = fmt::format("{}::{}", ms.channel, ms.conda_build_form());
 
             // Already added, return that id
             if (const auto maybe_id = pool.find_string(repr))
@@ -218,25 +218,22 @@ namespace mamba
             }
 
             // conda_build_form does **NOT** contain the channel info
-            solv::DependencyId const match = pool_conda_matchspec(
+            const solv::DependencyId match = pool_conda_matchspec(
                 pool.raw(),
                 ms.conda_build_form().c_str()
             );
 
-            auto multi_channels = channel_context.get_custom_multichannels();
-            std::vector<const Channel*> channels;
-            auto multi_channels_it = multi_channels.find(ms.channel);
-            if (multi_channels_it != multi_channels.end())
+            const auto& multi_chan = channel_context.get_custom_multichannels();
+            auto channels = std::vector<Channel>();
+            if (auto iter = multi_chan.find(ms.channel); iter != multi_chan.end())
             {
-                for (auto& c : multi_channels_it->second)
-                {
-                    channels.push_back(&channel_context.make_channel(c));
-                }
+                channels.insert(channels.end(), iter->second.cbegin(), iter->second.cend());
             }
             else
             {
-                channels.push_back(&channel_context.make_channel(ms.channel));
+                channels.push_back(channel_context.make_channel(ms.channel));
             }
+
             solv::ObjQueue selected_pkgs = {};
             pool.for_each_whatprovides(
                 match,
@@ -247,9 +244,9 @@ namespace mamba
                     auto repo = solv::ObjRepoView(*s.raw()->repo);
                     // TODO make_channel should disapear avoiding conflict here
                     auto const url = std::string(repo.url());
-                    for (auto& c : channels)
+                    for (auto const& c : channels)
                     {
-                        if (channel_match(channel_context, channel_context.make_channel(url), *c))
+                        if (channel_match(channel_context, channel_context.make_channel(url), c))
                         {
                             if (subdir_match(url, ms.spec))
                             {
@@ -260,7 +257,7 @@ namespace mamba
                 }
             );
 
-            solv::StringId const repr_id = pool.add_string(repr);
+            const solv::StringId repr_id = pool.add_string(repr);
             // FRAGILE This get deleted when calling ``pool_createwhatprovides`` so care
             // must be taken to do it before
             // TODO investigate namespace providers
diff --git a/libmamba/src/core/solver.cpp b/libmamba/src/core/solver.cpp
index c40ea36033..05a19ff45b 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/core/solver.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/core/solver.cpp
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ namespace mamba
 
         MatchSpec modified_spec(ms);
         const Channel& chan = m_pool.channel_context().make_channel(std::string(solvable->channel()));
-        modified_spec.channel = chan.canonical_name();
+        modified_spec.channel = chan.display_name();
 
         modified_spec.version = solvable->version();
         modified_spec.build_string = solvable->build_string();
diff --git a/libmamba/src/core/subdirdata.cpp b/libmamba/src/core/subdirdata.cpp
index 5aef9e1f79..95ea1d19cb 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/core/subdirdata.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/core/subdirdata.cpp
@@ -547,7 +547,7 @@ namespace mamba
         , m_expired_cache_path("")
         , m_writable_pkgs_dir(caches.first_writable_path())
         , m_repodata_url(util::concat(url, "/", repodata_fn))
-        , m_name(util::join_url(channel.canonical_name(), platform))
+        , m_name(util::join_url(channel.display_name(), platform))
         , m_json_fn(cache_fn_url(m_repodata_url))
         , m_solv_fn(m_json_fn.substr(0, m_json_fn.size() - 4) + "solv")
         , m_is_noarch(platform == "noarch")
diff --git a/libmamba/src/core/transaction.cpp b/libmamba/src/core/transaction.cpp
index 6bbc69849f..b8c71e1e37 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/core/transaction.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/core/transaction.cpp
@@ -1232,7 +1232,7 @@ namespace mamba
                 else
                 {
                     const Channel& chan = m_pool.channel_context().make_channel(str);
-                    chan_name = chan.canonical_name();
+                    chan_name = chan.display_name();
                 }
             }
             else
diff --git a/libmamba/src/specs/channel_spec.cpp b/libmamba/src/specs/channel_spec.cpp
index c9539dfc25..93f2c0179a 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/specs/channel_spec.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/specs/channel_spec.cpp
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@
 //
 // The full license is in the file LICENSE, distributed with this software.
 
+#include <algorithm>
 #include <optional>
+#include <stdexcept>
 #include <string>
 #include <string_view>
 #include <tuple>
@@ -108,14 +110,24 @@ namespace mamba::specs
             out = util::rstrip(out, '/');
             return out;
         }
+
+        auto is_unknown_channel(std::string_view str) -> bool
+        {
+            auto it = std::find(
+                ChannelSpec::invalid_channels_lower.cbegin(),
+                ChannelSpec::invalid_channels_lower.cend(),
+                util::to_lower(str)
+            );
+            return str.empty() || (it != ChannelSpec::invalid_channels_lower.cend());
+        }
     }
 
     auto ChannelSpec::parse(std::string_view str) -> ChannelSpec
     {
         str = util::strip(str);
-        if (str.empty())
+        if (is_unknown_channel(str))
         {
-            return {};
+            return { std::string(unknown_channel), {}, Type::Unknown };
         }
 
         auto [location, filters] = split_location_platform(str);
@@ -148,9 +160,17 @@ namespace mamba::specs
         , m_platform_filters(std::move(filters))
         , m_type(type)
     {
+        if (m_type == Type::Unknown)
+        {
+            m_location = unknown_channel;
+            m_platform_filters = {};
+        }
         if (m_location.empty())
         {
-            m_location = std::string(default_name);
+            throw std::invalid_argument(  //
+                "Cannot channel with empty location, "
+                "use unknown type instead."
+            );
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/libmamba/src/util/string.cpp b/libmamba/src/util/string.cpp
index 661de95ee3..e36f9bcd9a 100644
--- a/libmamba/src/util/string.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/src/util/string.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 //
 // The full license is in the file LICENSE, distributed with this software.
 
+#include <cassert>
 #include <cctype>
 #include <cwchar>
 #include <cwctype>
@@ -556,6 +557,65 @@ namespace mamba::util
         return strip_parts_impl(input, chars);
     }
 
+    /********************************************
+     *  Implementation of split_once functions  *
+     ********************************************/
+
+    namespace
+    {
+        template <typename Char, typename CharOrStrView>
+        auto split_once_impl(std::basic_string_view<Char> str, CharOrStrView sep)
+            -> std::tuple<std::string_view, std::optional<std::string_view>>
+        {
+            static constexpr auto npos = std::basic_string_view<Char>::npos;
+            if (const auto pos = str.find(sep); pos != npos)
+            {
+                return { str.substr(0, pos), str.substr(pos + detail::length(sep)) };
+            }
+            return { str, std::nullopt };
+        }
+    }
+
+    auto split_once(std::string_view str, char sep)
+        -> std::tuple<std::string_view, std::optional<std::string_view>>
+    {
+        return split_once_impl(str, sep);
+    }
+
+    auto split_once(std::string_view str, std::string_view sep)
+        -> std::tuple<std::string_view, std::optional<std::string_view>>
+    {
+        return split_once_impl(str, sep);
+    }
+
+    namespace
+    {
+        template <typename Char, typename CharOrStrView>
+        auto rsplit_once_impl(std::basic_string_view<Char> str, CharOrStrView sep)
+            -> std::tuple<std::optional<std::string_view>, std::string_view>
+        {
+            static constexpr auto npos = std::basic_string_view<Char>::npos;
+            if (const auto pos = str.rfind(sep); pos != npos)
+            {
+                return { str.substr(0, pos), str.substr(pos + detail::length(sep)) };
+            }
+            return { std::nullopt, str };
+        }
+    }
+
+    auto rsplit_once(std::string_view str, char sep)
+        -> std::tuple<std::optional<std::string_view>, std::string_view>
+    {
+        return rsplit_once_impl(str, sep);
+    }
+
+    auto rsplit_once(std::string_view str, std::string_view sep)
+        -> std::tuple<std::optional<std::string_view>, std::string_view>
+    {
+        return rsplit_once_impl(str, sep);
+    }
+
+
     /***************************************
      *  Implementation of split functions  *
      ***************************************/
@@ -675,6 +735,106 @@ namespace mamba::util
         return rsplit<decltype(input)::value_type>(input, sep, max_split);
     }
 
+    /*************************************
+     *  Implementation of ending_splits  *
+     *************************************/
+
+    namespace
+    {
+        template <typename Char, typename CharOrStrView>
+        auto starts_with_split(
+            std::basic_string_view<Char> str,
+            std::basic_string_view<Char> prefix,
+            CharOrStrView sep
+        ) -> bool
+        {
+            auto end = prefix.size();
+            const auto sep_size = detail::length(sep);
+            const auto str_size = str.size();
+            return
+                // The substring is found
+                starts_with(str, prefix)
+                && (
+                    // Either it ends at the end
+                    (end == str_size)
+                    // Or it is found before a separator
+                    || ((end <= str_size) && ends_with(str.substr(0, end + sep_size), sep))
+                );
+        }
+
+        template <typename Char, typename CharOrStrView>
+        auto remove_suffix_splits(
+            std::basic_string_view<Char> str1,
+            std::basic_string_view<Char> str2,
+            CharOrStrView sep
+        ) -> std::basic_string_view<Char>
+        {
+            static constexpr auto npos = std::basic_string_view<Char>::npos;
+
+            assert(!str1.empty());
+            assert(!str2.empty());
+            const auto sep_size = detail::length(sep);
+            assert(sep_size > 0);
+
+            auto get_common_candidate = [&](auto split)
+            { return str1.substr((split == npos) ? 0 : split + sep_size); };
+
+            auto split1 = str1.rfind(sep);
+
+            // In the case we did not find a match, we try a bigger common part
+            while (!starts_with_split(str2, get_common_candidate(split1), sep))
+            {
+                if ((split1 == npos) || (split1 < sep_size))
+                {
+                    // No further possibility to find a match, nothing to remove
+                    return str1;
+                }
+                // Add the next split element
+                split1 = str1.rfind(sep, split1 - sep_size);
+            }
+
+            return str1.substr(0, (split1 == npos) ? 0 : split1);
+        }
+
+        template <typename Char, typename CharOrStrView>
+        auto concat_dedup_splits_impl(
+            std::basic_string_view<Char> str1,
+            std::basic_string_view<Char> str2,
+            CharOrStrView sep
+        ) -> std::basic_string<Char>
+        {
+            if (str1.empty())
+            {
+                return std::string(str2);
+            }
+            if (str2.empty())
+            {
+                return std::string(str1);
+            }
+            if (detail::length(sep) < 1)
+            {
+                throw std::invalid_argument("Cannot split on empty separator");
+            }
+            auto str1_no_suffix = remove_suffix_splits(str1, str2, sep);
+            if (str1_no_suffix.empty())
+            {
+                return concat(str1_no_suffix, str2);
+            }
+            return concat(str1_no_suffix, sep, str2);
+        }
+    }
+
+    std::string concat_dedup_splits(std::string_view str1, std::string_view str2, char sep)
+    {
+        return concat_dedup_splits_impl(str1, str2, sep);
+    }
+
+    std::string
+    concat_dedup_splits(std::string_view str1, std::string_view str2, std::string_view sep)
+    {
+        return concat_dedup_splits_impl(str1, str2, sep);
+    }
+
     /*****************************************
      *  Implementation of replace functions  *
      *****************************************/
@@ -735,47 +895,4 @@ namespace mamba::util
         }
 
     }
-
-    /********************************************************
-     *  Implementation of Channels use case util function   *
-     *******************************************************/
-
-    std::string get_common_parts(std::string_view str1, std::string_view str2, std::string_view sep)
-    {
-        std::string common_str{ str1 };
-        while ((str2.find(common_str) == std::string::npos))
-        {
-            if (common_str.find(sep) != std::string::npos)
-            {
-                common_str = common_str.substr(common_str.find(sep) + 1);
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                return "";
-            }
-        }
-
-        // Case of non empty common_str
-        // Check that subparts of common_str are not substrings of elements between the sep
-        auto vec1 = split(common_str, sep);
-        auto vec2 = split(str2, sep);
-        std::vector<std::string> res_vec;
-        for (std::size_t idx = 0; idx < vec1.size(); ++idx)
-        {
-            auto it = std::find(vec2.begin(), vec2.end(), vec1.at(idx));
-            if (it != vec2.end())
-            {
-                res_vec.emplace_back(vec1.at(idx));
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                if (idx != 0)
-                {
-                    return join(sep, res_vec);
-                }
-            }
-        }
-
-        return join(sep, res_vec);
-    }
 }
diff --git a/libmamba/tests/src/core/test_channel.cpp b/libmamba/tests/src/core/test_channel.cpp
index 775394a93f..df85b4e443 100644
--- a/libmamba/tests/src/core/test_channel.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/tests/src/core/test_channel.cpp
@@ -38,7 +38,16 @@ namespace mamba
         {
             // ChannelContext builds its custom channels with
             // make_simple_channel
-            ChannelContext channel_context{ mambatests::context() };
+            auto& ctx = mambatests::context();
+
+            // Hard coded Anaconda channels names set in configuration after refactor
+            // Should be moved to test_config
+            // FIXME: this has side effect on all tests
+            ctx.custom_channels.emplace("pkgs/main", "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main");
+            ctx.custom_channels.emplace("pkgs/r", "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r");
+            ctx.custom_channels.emplace("pkgs/pro", "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/pro");
+
+            ChannelContext channel_context{ ctx };
             const auto& ch = channel_context.get_channel_alias();
             CHECK_EQ(ch.str(), "https://conda.anaconda.org/");
 
@@ -47,17 +56,17 @@ namespace mamba
             auto it = custom.find("pkgs/main");
             REQUIRE_NE(it, custom.end());
             CHECK_EQ(it->second.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main"));
-            CHECK_EQ(it->second.canonical_name(), "defaults");
+            CHECK_EQ(it->second.display_name(), "pkgs/main");
 
             it = custom.find("pkgs/pro");
             REQUIRE_NE(it, custom.end());
             CHECK_EQ(it->second.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/pro"));
-            CHECK_EQ(it->second.canonical_name(), "pkgs/pro");
+            CHECK_EQ(it->second.display_name(), "pkgs/pro");
 
             it = custom.find("pkgs/r");
             REQUIRE_NE(it, custom.end());
             CHECK_EQ(it->second.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r"));
-            CHECK_EQ(it->second.canonical_name(), "defaults");
+            CHECK_EQ(it->second.display_name(), "pkgs/r");
         }
 
         TEST_CASE("channel_alias")
@@ -77,12 +86,12 @@ namespace mamba
             auto it = custom.find("pkgs/main");
             REQUIRE_NE(it, custom.end());
             CHECK_EQ(it->second.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main"));
-            CHECK_EQ(it->second.canonical_name(), "defaults");
+            CHECK_EQ(it->second.display_name(), "pkgs/main");
 
             std::string value = "conda-forge";
             const Channel& c = channel_context.make_channel(value);
             CHECK_EQ(c.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://mydomain.com/channels/conda-forge"));
-            CHECK_EQ(c.canonical_name(), "conda-forge");
+            CHECK_EQ(c.display_name(), "conda-forge");
             CHECK_EQ(c.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform, "noarch" }));
 
             ctx.channel_alias = "https://conda.anaconda.org";
@@ -126,7 +135,7 @@ namespace mamba
                 std::string value = "test_channel";
                 const Channel& c = channel_context.make_channel(value);
                 CHECK_EQ(c.url(), CondaURL::parse("file:///tmp/test_channel"));
-                CHECK_EQ(c.canonical_name(), "test_channel");
+                CHECK_EQ(c.display_name(), "test_channel");
                 CHECK_EQ(c.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform, "noarch" }));
                 const UrlSet exp_urls({
                     std::string("file:///tmp/test_channel/") + platform,
@@ -139,7 +148,7 @@ namespace mamba
                 std::string value = "some_channel";
                 const Channel& c = channel_context.make_channel(value);
                 CHECK_EQ(c.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://conda.mydomain.xyz/some_channel"));
-                CHECK_EQ(c.canonical_name(), "some_channel");
+                CHECK_EQ(c.display_name(), "some_channel");
                 CHECK_EQ(c.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform, "noarch" }));
                 const UrlSet exp_urls({
                     std::string("https://conda.mydomain.xyz/some_channel/") + platform,
@@ -173,14 +182,14 @@ namespace mamba
             auto x = channel_context.get_channels({ "xtest" });
 
             CHECK_EQ(x.size(), 3);
-            auto* c1 = x[0];
+            auto c1 = x[0];
 
             const UrlSet exp_urls({
                 std::string("https://mydomain.com/conda-forge/") + platform,
                 "https://mydomain.com/conda-forge/noarch",
             });
 
-            CHECK_EQ(c1->urls(), exp_urls);
+            CHECK_EQ(c1.urls(), exp_urls);
 
             const UrlSet exp_urlsy3({
                 std::string("https://otherdomain.com/snakepit/") + platform,
@@ -188,9 +197,9 @@ namespace mamba
             });
 
             auto y = channel_context.get_channels({ "ytest" });
-            auto* y3 = y[2];
+            auto y3 = y[2];
 
-            CHECK_EQ(y3->urls(), exp_urlsy3);
+            CHECK_EQ(y3.urls(), exp_urlsy3);
 
             ctx.channel_alias = "https://conda.anaconda.org";
             ctx.custom_multichannels.clear();
@@ -217,30 +226,30 @@ namespace mamba
             auto x = channel_context.get_channels({ "everything" });
 
             CHECK_EQ(x.size(), 3);
-            auto* c1 = x[0];
-            auto* c2 = x[1];
-            auto* c3 = x[2];
+            auto c1 = x[0];
+            auto c2 = x[1];
+            auto c3 = x[2];
 
             const UrlSet exp_urls({
                 std::string("https://condaforge.org/channels/conda-forge/") + platform,
                 "https://condaforge.org/channels/conda-forge/noarch",
             });
 
-            CHECK_EQ(c1->urls(), exp_urls);
+            CHECK_EQ(c1.urls(), exp_urls);
 
             const UrlSet exp_urls2({
                 std::string("https://mydomain.com/bioconda/") + platform,
                 "https://mydomain.com/bioconda/noarch",
             });
 
-            CHECK_EQ(c2->urls(), exp_urls2);
+            CHECK_EQ(c2.urls(), exp_urls2);
 
             const UrlSet exp_urls3({
                 std::string("https://mydomain.xyz/xyzchannel/xyz/") + platform,
                 "https://mydomain.xyz/xyzchannel/xyz/noarch",
             });
 
-            CHECK_EQ(c3->urls(), exp_urls3);
+            CHECK_EQ(c3.urls(), exp_urls3);
 
             ctx.channel_alias = "https://conda.anaconda.org";
             ctx.custom_multichannels.clear();
@@ -250,26 +259,31 @@ namespace mamba
         TEST_CASE("default_channels")
         {
             auto& ctx = mambatests::context();
+            // Hard coded Anaconda multi channel names set in configuration after refactor
+            // Should be moved to test_config
+            // FIXME: this has side effect on all tests
+            ctx.custom_multichannels["defaults"] = ctx.default_channels;
+
             ChannelContext channel_context{ ctx };
 
             auto x = channel_context.get_channels({ "defaults" });
 #if !defined(_WIN32)
-            const Channel* c1 = x[0];
-            const Channel* c2 = x[1];
+            const Channel c1 = x[0];
+            const Channel c2 = x[1];
 
-            CHECK_EQ(c1->url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main"));
+            CHECK_EQ(c1.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main"));
             const UrlSet exp_urls({
                 std::string("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main/") + platform,
                 "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main/noarch",
             });
-            CHECK_EQ(c1->urls(), exp_urls);
+            CHECK_EQ(c1.urls(), exp_urls);
 
-            CHECK_EQ(c2->url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r"));
+            CHECK_EQ(c2.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r"));
             const UrlSet exp_urls2({
                 std::string("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r/") + platform,
                 "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r/noarch",
             });
-            CHECK_EQ(c2->urls(), exp_urls2);
+            CHECK_EQ(c2.urls(), exp_urls2);
 
 #endif
             ctx.custom_channels.clear();
@@ -282,25 +296,28 @@ namespace mamba
                 "https://mamba.com/test/channel",
                 "https://mamba.com/stable/channel",
             };
+            // Hard coded Anaconda multi channel names set by configuration after refactor
+            // FIXME: this has side effect on all tests
+            ctx.custom_multichannels["defaults"] = ctx.default_channels;
             ChannelContext channel_context{ ctx };
 
             auto x = channel_context.get_channels({ "defaults" });
-            const Channel* c1 = x[0];
-            const Channel* c2 = x[1];
+            const Channel c1 = x[0];
+            const Channel c2 = x[1];
 
-            CHECK_EQ(c1->url(), CondaURL::parse("https://mamba.com/test/channel"));
+            CHECK_EQ(c1.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://mamba.com/test/channel"));
             const UrlSet exp_urls({
                 std::string("https://mamba.com/test/channel/") + platform,
                 "https://mamba.com/test/channel/noarch",
             });
-            CHECK_EQ(c1->urls(), exp_urls);
+            CHECK_EQ(c1.urls(), exp_urls);
 
-            CHECK_EQ(c2->url(), CondaURL::parse("https://mamba.com/stable/channel"));
+            CHECK_EQ(c2.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://mamba.com/stable/channel"));
             const UrlSet exp_urls2({
                 std::string("https://mamba.com/stable/channel/") + platform,
                 "https://mamba.com/stable/channel/noarch",
             });
-            CHECK_EQ(c2->urls(), exp_urls2);
+            CHECK_EQ(c2.urls(), exp_urls2);
 
             ctx.custom_channels.clear();
         }
@@ -309,30 +326,20 @@ namespace mamba
         {
             auto& ctx = mambatests::context();
 
-            // Create conda-bld directory to enable testing
-            auto conda_bld_dir = env::home_directory() / "conda-bld";
-            bool to_be_removed = fs::create_directories(conda_bld_dir);
-
+            // Hard coded Anaconda multi channel names set in configuration after refactor
+            // Should be moved to test_config
+            // FIXME: this has side effect on all tests
+            ctx.custom_multichannels["local"] = std::vector<std::string>{
+                ctx.prefix_params.target_prefix / "conda-bld",
+                ctx.prefix_params.root_prefix / "conda-bld",
+                env::home_directory() / "conda-bld",
+            };
             ChannelContext channel_context{ ctx };
 
-            const auto& custom = channel_context.get_custom_channels();
-
-            CHECK_EQ(custom.size(), 4);
-
-            auto it = custom.find("conda-bld");
-            REQUIRE_NE(it, custom.end());
-            CHECK_EQ(it->second.url(), CondaURL::parse(util::path_to_url(conda_bld_dir.string())));
-            CHECK_EQ(it->second.canonical_name(), "local");
+            CHECK_EQ(channel_context.get_custom_multichannels().at("local").size(), 3);
 
             auto local_channels = channel_context.get_channels({ "local" });
-            CHECK_EQ(local_channels.size(), 1);
-
-            // Cleaning
-            ctx.custom_channels.clear();
-            if (to_be_removed)
-            {
-                fs::remove_all(conda_bld_dir);
-            }
+            CHECK_EQ(local_channels.size(), 3);
         }
 
         TEST_CASE("custom_channels_with_labels")
@@ -348,7 +355,7 @@ namespace mamba
                 std::string value = "test_channel";
                 const Channel& c = channel_context.make_channel(value);
                 CHECK_EQ(c.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://server.com/private/channels/test_channel"));
-                CHECK_EQ(c.canonical_name(), "test_channel");
+                CHECK_EQ(c.display_name(), "test_channel");
                 CHECK_EQ(c.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform, "noarch" }));
                 const UrlSet exp_urls({
                     std::string("https://server.com/private/channels/test_channel/") + platform,
@@ -364,7 +371,7 @@ namespace mamba
                     c.url(),
                     CondaURL::parse("https://server.com/private/channels/test_channel/mylabel/xyz")
                 );
-                CHECK_EQ(c.canonical_name(), "test_channel/mylabel/xyz");
+                CHECK_EQ(c.display_name(), "test_channel/mylabel/xyz");
                 CHECK_EQ(c.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform, "noarch" }));
                 const UrlSet exp_urls({
                     std::string("https://server.com/private/channels/test_channel/mylabel/xyz/")
@@ -382,7 +389,7 @@ namespace mamba
                     c.url(),
                     CondaURL::parse("https://server.com/random/channels/random/test_channel/pkg")
                 );
-                CHECK_EQ(c.canonical_name(), "random/test_channel/pkg");
+                CHECK_EQ(c.display_name(), "random/test_channel/pkg");
                 CHECK_EQ(c.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform, "noarch" }));
                 const UrlSet exp_urls({
                     std::string("https://server.com/random/channels/random/test_channel/pkg/")
@@ -405,7 +412,7 @@ namespace mamba
             ChannelContext channel_context{ mambatests::context() };
             const Channel& c = channel_context.make_channel(value);
             CHECK_EQ(c.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.mamba.pm/conda-forge"));
-            CHECK_EQ(c.canonical_name(), "https://repo.mamba.pm/conda-forge");
+            CHECK_EQ(c.display_name(), "https://repo.mamba.pm/conda-forge");
             CHECK_EQ(c.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform, "noarch" }));
         }
 
@@ -415,32 +422,32 @@ namespace mamba
             ChannelContext channel_context{ mambatests::context() };
             const Channel& c = channel_context.make_channel(value);
             CHECK_EQ(c.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://conda.anaconda.org/conda-forge"));
-            CHECK_EQ(c.canonical_name(), "conda-forge");
+            CHECK_EQ(c.display_name(), "conda-forge");
             CHECK_EQ(c.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform, "noarch" }));
 
             std::string value2 = "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main[" + platform + "]";
             const Channel& c2 = channel_context.make_channel(value2);
             CHECK_EQ(c2.url(), CondaURL::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main"));
-            CHECK_EQ(c2.canonical_name(), "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main");
+            CHECK_EQ(c2.display_name(), "https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main");
             CHECK_EQ(c2.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform }));
 
             std::string value3 = "https://conda.anaconda.org/conda-forge[" + platform + "]";
             const Channel& c3 = channel_context.make_channel(value3);
             CHECK_EQ(c3.url(), c.url());
-            CHECK_EQ(c3.canonical_name(), c.canonical_name());
+            CHECK_EQ(c3.display_name(), c.display_name());
             CHECK_EQ(c3.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform }));
 
             std::string value4 = "/home/mamba/test/channel_b";
             const Channel& c4 = channel_context.make_channel(value4);
             CHECK_EQ(c4.url(), CondaURL::parse(util::path_to_url(value4)));
-            CHECK_EQ(c4.canonical_name(), c4.url().pretty_str());
+            CHECK_EQ(c4.display_name(), c4.url().pretty_str());
             CHECK_EQ(c4.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform, "noarch" }));
 
             std::string path5 = "/home/mamba/test/channel_b";
             std::string value5 = util::concat(path5, '[', platform, ']');
             const Channel& c5 = channel_context.make_channel(value5);
             CHECK_EQ(c5.url(), CondaURL::parse(util::path_to_url(path5)));
-            CHECK_EQ(c5.canonical_name(), c5.url().pretty_str());
+            CHECK_EQ(c5.display_name(), c5.url().pretty_str());
             CHECK_EQ(c5.platforms(), PlatformSet({ platform }));
 
             std::string value6a = "http://localhost:8000/conda-forge[noarch]";
diff --git a/libmamba/tests/src/core/test_satisfiability_error.cpp b/libmamba/tests/src/core/test_satisfiability_error.cpp
index 4d3864d05b..602e79c77f 100644
--- a/libmamba/tests/src/core/test_satisfiability_error.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/tests/src/core/test_satisfiability_error.cpp
@@ -330,12 +330,12 @@ namespace
     auto load_channels(MPool& pool, MultiPackageCache& cache, std::vector<std::string>&& channels)
     {
         auto sub_dirs = std::vector<MSubdirData>();
-        for (const auto* chan : pool.channel_context().get_channels(channels))
+        for (const auto& chan : pool.channel_context().get_channels(channels))
         {
-            for (auto& [platform, url] : chan->platform_urls(true))
+            for (auto& [platform, url] : chan.platform_urls(true))
             {
                 auto sub_dir = expected_value_or_throw(
-                    MSubdirData::create(pool.channel_context(), *chan, platform, url, cache)
+                    MSubdirData::create(pool.channel_context(), chan, platform, url, cache)
                 );
                 sub_dirs.push_back(std::move(sub_dir));
             }
diff --git a/libmamba/tests/src/doctest-printer/optional.hpp b/libmamba/tests/src/doctest-printer/optional.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4c70a2f844
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libmamba/tests/src/doctest-printer/optional.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2023, QuantStack and Mamba Contributors
+//
+// Distributed under the terms of the BSD 3-Clause License.
+//
+// The full license is in the file LICENSE, distributed with this software.
+
+#include <optional>
+
+#include <doctest/doctest.h>
+#include <fmt/format.h>
+
+namespace doctest
+{
+    template <typename T>
+    struct StringMaker<std::optional<T>>
+    {
+        static auto convert(const std::optional<T>& value) -> String
+        {
+            if (value.has_value())
+            {
+                return { fmt::format("Some({})", value.value()).c_str() };
+            }
+            return "None";
+        }
+    };
+}
diff --git a/libmamba/tests/src/specs/test_channel_spec.cpp b/libmamba/tests/src/specs/test_channel_spec.cpp
index 144fb23274..3fe6a26e25 100644
--- a/libmamba/tests/src/specs/test_channel_spec.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/tests/src/specs/test_channel_spec.cpp
@@ -6,22 +6,50 @@
 
 #include <doctest/doctest.h>
 
-#include "mamba/fs/filesystem.hpp"
 #include "mamba/specs/channel_spec.hpp"
 #include "mamba/util/build.hpp"
-#include "mamba/util/path_manip.hpp"
-#include "mamba/util/string.hpp"
 
 using namespace mamba;
 using namespace mamba::specs;
 
 TEST_SUITE("specs::channel_spec")
 {
+    TEST_CASE("Constructor")
+    {
+        SUBCASE("Default")
+        {
+            const auto spec = ChannelSpec();
+            CHECK_EQ(spec.type(), ChannelSpec::Type::Unknown);
+            CHECK_EQ(spec.location(), "<unknown>");
+            CHECK(spec.platform_filters().empty());
+        }
+
+        SUBCASE("Unknown")
+        {
+            const auto spec = ChannelSpec("hello", { "linux-78" }, ChannelSpec::Type::Unknown);
+            CHECK_EQ(spec.type(), ChannelSpec::Type::Unknown);
+            CHECK_EQ(spec.location(), "<unknown>");
+            CHECK(spec.platform_filters().empty());
+        }
+    }
+
     TEST_CASE("Parsing")
     {
         using Type = typename ChannelSpec::Type;
         using PlatformSet = typename util::flat_set<std::string>;
 
+        SUBCASE("Invalid channels")
+        {
+            for (std::string_view str : { "", "<unknown>", ":///<unknown>", "none" })
+            {
+                CAPTURE(str);
+                const auto spec = ChannelSpec::parse(str);
+                CHECK_EQ(spec.type(), Type::Unknown);
+                CHECK_EQ(spec.location(), "<unknown>");
+                CHECK_EQ(spec.platform_filters(), PlatformSet{});
+            }
+        }
+
         SUBCASE("https://repo.anaconda.com/conda-forge")
         {
             const auto spec = ChannelSpec::parse("https://repo.anaconda.com/conda-forge");
diff --git a/libmamba/tests/src/util/test_string.cpp b/libmamba/tests/src/util/test_string.cpp
index 59aa18d2b7..d9661d34dd 100644
--- a/libmamba/tests/src/util/test_string.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/tests/src/util/test_string.cpp
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 //
 // The full license is in the file LICENSE, distributed with this software.
 
-#include <cstddef>
 #include <string>
 #include <string_view>
 #include <vector>
@@ -14,7 +13,12 @@
 #include "mamba/fs/filesystem.hpp"
 #include "mamba/util/string.hpp"
 
-namespace mamba::util
+#include "doctest-printer/array.hpp"
+#include "doctest-printer/optional.hpp"
+
+using namespace mamba::util;
+
+namespace
 {
     TEST_SUITE("util::string")
     {
@@ -364,6 +368,40 @@ namespace mamba::util
             }
         }
 
+        TEST_CASE("split_once")
+        {
+            using Out = std::tuple<std::string_view, std::optional<std::string_view>>;
+
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("", '/'), Out{ "", std::nullopt });
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("/", '/'), Out{ "", "" });
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("hello/world", '/'), Out{ "hello", "world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("hello/my/world", '/'), Out{ "hello", "my/world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("/hello/world", '/'), Out{ "", "hello/world" });
+
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("", "/"), Out{ "", std::nullopt });
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("hello/world", "/"), Out{ "hello", "world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("hello//world", "//"), Out{ "hello", "world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("hello/my//world", "/"), Out{ "hello", "my//world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(split_once("hello/my//world", "//"), Out{ "hello/my", "world" });
+        }
+
+        TEST_CASE("rsplit_once")
+        {
+            using Out = std::tuple<std::optional<std::string_view>, std::string_view>;
+
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("", '/'), Out{ std::nullopt, "" });
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("/", '/'), Out{ "", "" });
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("hello/world", '/'), Out{ "hello", "world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("hello/my/world", '/'), Out{ "hello/my", "world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("hello/world/", '/'), Out{ "hello/world", "" });
+
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("", "/"), Out{ std::nullopt, "" });
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("hello/world", "/"), Out{ "hello", "world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("hello//world", "//"), Out{ "hello", "world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("hello//my/world", "/"), Out{ "hello//my", "world" });
+            CHECK_EQ(rsplit_once("hello//my/world", "//"), Out{ "hello", "my/world" });
+        }
+
         TEST_CASE("split")
         {
             std::string a = "hello.again.it's.me.mario";
@@ -406,7 +444,7 @@ namespace mamba::util
                 CHECK_EQ(joined, "a-bc-d");
             }
             {
-                std::vector<fs::u8path> to_join = { "/a", "bc", "d" };
+                std::vector<mamba::fs::u8path> to_join = { "/a", "bc", "d" };
                 auto joined = join("/", to_join);
                 static_assert(std::is_same<decltype(joined), decltype(to_join)::value_type>::value);
                 CHECK_EQ(joined, "/a/bc/d");
@@ -464,37 +502,71 @@ namespace mamba::util
             CHECK_EQ(concat("aa", std::string("bb"), std::string_view("cc"), 'd'), "aabbccd");
         }
 
-        TEST_CASE("get_common_parts")
-        {
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("", "", "/"), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("", "test", "/"), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test", "test", "/"), "test");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test/chan", "test/chan", "/"), "test/chan");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("st/ch", "test/chan", "/"), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("st/chan", "test/chan", "/"), "chan");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("st/chan/abc", "test/chan/abc", "/"), "chan/abc");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test/ch", "test/chan", "/"), "test");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test/an/abc", "test/chan/abc", "/"), "abc");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test/chan/label", "label/abcd/xyz", "/"), "label");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test/chan/label", "chan/label/abcd", "/"), "chan/label");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test/chan/label", "abcd/chan/label", "/"), "chan/label");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test", "abcd", "/"), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test", "abcd/xyz", "/"), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test/xyz", "abcd/xyz", "/"), "xyz");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test/xyz", "abcd/gef", "/"), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("abcd/test", "abcd/xyz", "/"), "");
-
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("", "", "."), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("", "test", "."), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test", "test", "."), "test");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test.chan", "test.chan", "."), "test.chan");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test.chan.label", "chan.label.abcd", "."), "chan.label");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test/chan/label", "chan/label/abcd", "."), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("st/ch", "test/chan", "."), "");
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("st.ch", "test.chan", "."), "");
-
-            CHECK_EQ(get_common_parts("test..chan", "test..chan", ".."), "test..chan");
+        TEST_CASE("concat_dedup_splits")
+        {
+            for (std::string_view sep : { "/", "//", "/////", "./", "./." })
+            {
+                CAPTURE(sep);
+
+                CHECK_EQ(concat_dedup_splits("", "", sep), "");
+
+                CHECK_EQ(
+                    concat_dedup_splits(fmt::format("test{}chan", sep), "", sep),
+                    fmt::format("test{}chan", sep)
+                );
+                CHECK_EQ(
+                    concat_dedup_splits("", fmt::format("test{}chan", sep), sep),
+                    fmt::format("test{}chan", sep)
+                );
+                CHECK_EQ(
+                    concat_dedup_splits("test", fmt::format("test{}chan", sep), sep),
+                    fmt::format("test{}chan", sep)
+                );
+                CHECK_EQ(concat_dedup_splits("test", "chan", sep), fmt::format("test{}chan", sep));
+                CHECK_EQ(
+                    concat_dedup_splits(fmt::format("test{}chan", sep), "chan", sep),
+                    fmt::format("test{}chan", sep)
+                );
+                CHECK_EQ(
+                    concat_dedup_splits(fmt::format("test{}chan", sep), fmt::format("chan{}foo", sep), sep),
+                    fmt::format("test{}chan{}foo", sep, sep)
+                );
+                CHECK_EQ(
+                    concat_dedup_splits(
+                        fmt::format("test{}chan-foo", sep),
+                        fmt::format("foo{}bar", sep),
+                        sep
+                    ),
+                    fmt::format("test{}chan-foo{}foo{}bar", sep, sep, sep, sep)
+                );
+                CHECK_EQ(
+                    concat_dedup_splits(
+                        fmt::format("ab{}test{}chan", sep, sep),
+                        fmt::format("chan{}foo{}ab", sep, sep),
+                        sep
+                    ),
+                    fmt::format("ab{}test{}chan{}foo{}ab", sep, sep, sep, sep)
+                );
+                CHECK_EQ(
+                    concat_dedup_splits(
+                        fmt::format("{}test{}chan", sep, sep),
+                        fmt::format("chan{}foo{}", sep, sep),
+                        sep
+                    ),
+                    fmt::format("{}test{}chan{}foo{}", sep, sep, sep, sep)
+                );
+                CHECK_EQ(
+                    concat_dedup_splits(
+                        fmt::format("test{}chan", sep),
+                        fmt::format("chan{}test", sep),
+                        sep
+                    ),
+                    fmt::format("test{}chan{}test", sep, sep)
+                );
+            }
+
+            CHECK_EQ(concat_dedup_splits("test/chan", "chan/foo", "//"), "test/chan//chan/foo");
+            CHECK_EQ(concat_dedup_splits("test/chan", "chan/foo", '/'), "test/chan/foo");
         }
     }
-
 }  // namespace mamba
diff --git a/libmamba/tests/src/util/test_tuple_hash.cpp b/libmamba/tests/src/util/test_tuple_hash.cpp
index d871151825..677b9696d4 100644
--- a/libmamba/tests/src/util/test_tuple_hash.cpp
+++ b/libmamba/tests/src/util/test_tuple_hash.cpp
@@ -28,4 +28,26 @@ TEST_SUITE("util::tuple_hash")
         const auto t3 = std::tuple{ std::string("hello"), 33 };
         CHECK_NE(hash_tuple(t1), hash_tuple(t3));
     }
+
+    TEST_CASE("hash_combine_val_range")
+    {
+        const auto hello = std::string("hello");
+        // Hash colision are hard to predict, but this is so trivial it is likely a bug if it fails.
+        CHECK_NE(hash_combine_val_range(0, hello.cbegin(), hello.cend()), 0);
+        CHECK_NE(hash_combine_val_range(0, hello.crbegin(), hello.crend()), 0);
+        CHECK_NE(
+            hash_combine_val_range(0, hello.cbegin(), hello.cend()),
+            hash_combine_val_range(0, hello.crbegin(), hello.crend())
+        );
+    }
+
+    TEST_CASE("hash_range")
+    {
+        const auto hello = std::string("hello");
+        const auto world = std::string("world");
+        // Hash colision are hard to predict, but this is so trivial it is likely a bug if it fails.
+        CHECK_NE(hash_range(hello), 0);
+        CHECK_NE(hash_range(world), 0);
+        CHECK_NE(hash_range(hello), hash_range(world));
+    }
 }
diff --git a/libmambapy/src/libmambapy/bindings/legacy.cpp b/libmambapy/src/libmambapy/bindings/legacy.cpp
index 43b4ec8b6b..60a7fb8f09 100644
--- a/libmambapy/src/libmambapy/bindings/legacy.cpp
+++ b/libmambapy/src/libmambapy/bindings/legacy.cpp
@@ -1154,10 +1154,8 @@ bind_submodule_impl(pybind11::module_ m)
                 );
             }
         ))
-        .def_property_readonly("location", &Channel::location)
-        .def_property_readonly("name", &Channel::name)
         .def_property_readonly("platforms", &Channel::platforms)
-        .def_property_readonly("canonical_name", &Channel::canonical_name)
+        .def_property_readonly("canonical_name", &Channel::display_name)
         .def("urls", &Channel::urls, py::arg("with_credentials") = true)
         .def("platform_urls", &Channel::platform_urls, py::arg("with_credentials") = true)
         .def("platform_url", &Channel::platform_url, py::arg("platform"), py::arg("with_credentials") = true)
@@ -1165,7 +1163,7 @@ bind_submodule_impl(pybind11::module_ m)
             "__repr__",
             [](const Channel& c)
             {
-                auto s = c.name();
+                auto s = c.display_name();
                 s += "[";
                 bool first = true;
                 for (const auto& platform : c.platforms())
diff --git a/micromamba/src/env.cpp b/micromamba/src/env.cpp
index 89ff39210c..9703d9488d 100644
--- a/micromamba/src/env.cpp
+++ b/micromamba/src/env.cpp
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ set_env_command(CLI::App* com, Configuration& config)
                         dependencies << "- ";
                         if (channel_subdir)
                         {
-                            dependencies << channel.canonical_name() << "/" << v.subdir << "::";
+                            dependencies << channel.display_name() << "/" << v.subdir << "::";
                         }
                         dependencies << v.name << "=" << v.version;
                         if (!no_build)
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ set_env_command(CLI::App* com, Configuration& config)
                         dependencies << "\n";
                     }
 
-                    channels.insert(channel.canonical_name());
+                    channels.insert(channel.display_name());
                 }
 
                 for (const auto& c : channels)
diff --git a/micromamba/tests/test_config.py b/micromamba/tests/test_config.py
index 32a2bcdf1f..2c0f8d9e67 100644
--- a/micromamba/tests/test_config.py
+++ b/micromamba/tests/test_config.py
@@ -226,10 +226,8 @@ def test_list_with_sources(self, rc_file, source_flag):
     def test_list_map_with_sources(self, rc_file, source_flag):
         home_folder = os.path.expanduser("~")
         src = f"  # '{str(rc_file).replace(home_folder, '~')}'"
-        assert (
-            config("list", "--no-env", "--rc-file", rc_file, source_flag).splitlines()
-            == f"custom_channels:\n  key1: value1{src}\n".splitlines()
-        )
+        out = config("list", "--no-env", "--rc-file", rc_file, source_flag)
+        assert f"key1: value1{src}" in out
 
     @pytest.mark.parametrize("desc_flag", ["--descriptions", "-d"])
     @pytest.mark.parametrize("rc_file_args", ({"channels": ["channel1", "channel2"]},))
@@ -850,6 +848,7 @@ def test_envsubst_windows_problem(self, monkeypatch, rc_file):
             out["channel_alias"]
             == "https://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com/t/kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk/get"
         )
-        assert out["custom_channels"] == {
-            "yyyyyyyyyyyy": "https://uuuuuuuuu:pppppppppppppppppppp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com"
-        }
+        assert (
+            out["custom_channels"]["yyyyyyyyyyyy"]
+            == "https://uuuuuuuuu:pppppppppppppppppppp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com"
+        )