diff --git a/internal/linker/index.js b/internal/linker/index.js
index ba7ce3278d..add731e3d6 100644
--- a/internal/linker/index.js
+++ b/internal/linker/index.js
@@ -111,27 +111,6 @@ function symlink(target, p) {
         }
     });
 }
-function resolveExternalWorkspacePath(workspace, startCwd, isExecroot, execroot, runfiles) {
-    return __awaiter(this, void 0, void 0, function* () {
-        if (isExecroot) {
-            return `${execroot}/external/${workspace}`;
-        }
-        if (!execroot) {
-            return path.resolve(`${startCwd}/../${workspace}`);
-        }
-        const fromManifest = runfiles.lookupDirectory(workspace);
-        if (fromManifest) {
-            return fromManifest;
-        }
-        else {
-            const maybe = path.resolve(`${execroot}/external/${workspace}`);
-            if (yield exists(maybe)) {
-                return maybe;
-            }
-            return path.resolve(`${startCwd}/../${workspace}`);
-        }
-    });
-}
 function exists(p) {
     return __awaiter(this, void 0, void 0, function* () {
         return ((yield gracefulLstat(p)) !== null);
@@ -289,11 +268,10 @@ function main(args, runfiles) {
         for (const packagePath of Object.keys(roots)) {
             const workspace = roots[packagePath];
             if (workspace) {
-                const workspacePath = yield resolveExternalWorkspacePath(workspace, startCwd, isExecroot, execroot, runfiles);
-                log_verbose(`resolved ${workspace} workspace path to ${workspacePath}`);
-                const workspaceNodeModules = `${workspacePath}/node_modules`;
+                const workspaceNodeModules = runfiles.lookupDirectory(`${workspace}/node_modules`);
+                log_verbose(`resolved ${workspace} workspace node modules path to ${workspaceNodeModules}`);
                 if (packagePath) {
-                    if (yield exists(workspaceNodeModules)) {
+                    if (workspaceNodeModules !== undefined) {
                         yield mkdirp(packagePath);
                         yield symlinkWithUnlink(workspaceNodeModules, `${packagePath}/node_modules`);
                         if (!isExecroot) {
@@ -309,7 +287,7 @@ function main(args, runfiles) {
                     }
                     else {
                         log_verbose(`no npm workspace node_modules folder under ${packagePath} to link to; creating node_modules directories in ${process.cwd()} for ${packagePath} 1p deps`);
-                        yield mkdirp('${packagePath}/node_modules');
+                        yield mkdirp(`${packagePath}/node_modules`);
                         if (!isExecroot) {
                             const runfilesPackagePath = `${startCwd}/${packagePath}`;
                             yield mkdirp(`${runfilesPackagePath}/node_modules`);
@@ -321,12 +299,12 @@ function main(args, runfiles) {
                     }
                 }
                 else {
-                    if (yield exists(workspaceNodeModules)) {
+                    if (workspaceNodeModules !== undefined) {
                         yield symlinkWithUnlink(workspaceNodeModules, `node_modules`);
                     }
                     else {
                         log_verbose(`no root npm workspace node_modules folder to link to; creating node_modules directory in ${process.cwd()}`);
-                        yield mkdirp('node_modules');
+                        yield mkdirp(`node_modules`);
                     }
                 }
             }
diff --git a/internal/linker/link_node_modules.ts b/internal/linker/link_node_modules.ts
index fe8cd95829..f26749b5ed 100644
--- a/internal/linker/link_node_modules.ts
+++ b/internal/linker/link_node_modules.ts
@@ -131,52 +131,6 @@ async function symlink(target: string, p: string): Promise<boolean> {
   }
 }
 
-/**
- * Resolve to the path to an external workspace
- */
-async function resolveExternalWorkspacePath(
-    workspace: string, startCwd: string, isExecroot: boolean, execroot: string|undefined,
-    runfiles: Runfiles) {
-  if (isExecroot) {
-    // Under execroot, the npm workspace will be under an external folder from the startCwd
-    // `execroot/my_wksp`. For example, `execroot/my_wksp/external/npm`. If there is no
-    // npm workspace, which will be the case if there are no third-party modules dependencies for
-    // this target, npmWorkspace the root to `execroot/my_wksp/node_modules`.
-    return `${execroot}/external/${workspace}`;
-  }
-
-  if (!execroot) {
-    // This can happen if we are inside a nodejs_image or a nodejs_binary is run manually.
-    // Resolve as if we are in runfiles in a sandbox.
-    return path.resolve(`${startCwd}/../${workspace}`)
-  }
-
-  // Under runfiles, the linker should symlink node_modules at `execroot/my_wksp`
-  // so that when there are no runfiles (default on Windows) and scripts run out of
-  // `execroot/my_wksp` they can resolve node_modules with standard node_module resolution
-
-  // If we got a runfilesManifest map, look through it for a resolution
-  // This will happen if we are running a binary that had some npm packages
-  // "statically linked" into its runfiles
-  const fromManifest = runfiles.lookupDirectory(workspace);
-  if (fromManifest) {
-    return fromManifest;
-  } else {
-    const maybe = path.resolve(`${execroot}/external/${workspace}`);
-    if (await exists(maybe)) {
-      // Under runfiles, when not in the sandbox we must symlink node_modules down at the execroot
-      // `execroot/my_wksp/external/npm/node_modules` since `runfiles/npm/node_modules` will be a
-      // directory and not a symlink back to the root node_modules where we expect
-      // to resolve from. This case is tested in internal/linker/test/local.
-      return maybe;
-    }
-    // However, when in the sandbox, `execroot/my_wksp/external/npm/node_modules` does not exist,
-    // so we must symlink into `runfiles/npm/node_modules`. This directory exists whether legacy
-    // external runfiles are on or off.
-    return path.resolve(`${startCwd}/../${workspace}`)
-  }
-}
-
 // TypeScript lib.es5.d.ts has a mistake: JSON.parse does accept Buffer.
 declare global {
   interface JSON {
@@ -435,13 +389,11 @@ export async function main(args: string[], runfiles: Runfiles) {
   for (const packagePath of Object.keys(roots)) {
     const workspace = roots[packagePath];
     if (workspace) {
-      const workspacePath =
-          await resolveExternalWorkspacePath(workspace, startCwd, isExecroot, execroot, runfiles);
-      log_verbose(`resolved ${workspace} workspace path to ${workspacePath}`);
-      const workspaceNodeModules = `${workspacePath}/node_modules`;
+      const workspaceNodeModules = runfiles.lookupDirectory(`${workspace}/node_modules`);
+      log_verbose(`resolved ${workspace} workspace node modules path to ${workspaceNodeModules}`);
       if (packagePath) {
         // sub-directory node_modules
-        if (await exists(workspaceNodeModules)) {
+        if (workspaceNodeModules !== undefined) {
           // in some cases packagePath may not exist in sandbox if there are no source deps
           // and only generated file deps. we create it so that we that we can link to
           // packagePath/node_modules since packagePathBin/node_modules is a symlink to
@@ -474,7 +426,7 @@ export async function main(args: string[], runfiles: Runfiles) {
           log_verbose(`no npm workspace node_modules folder under ${
               packagePath} to link to; creating node_modules directories in ${process.cwd()} for ${
               packagePath} 1p deps`);
-          await mkdirp('${packagePath}/node_modules');
+          await mkdirp(`${packagePath}/node_modules`);
           if (!isExecroot) {
             // Under runfiles, we symlink into the package in runfiles as well.
             // When inside the sandbox, the execroot location will not exist to symlink to.
@@ -488,8 +440,7 @@ export async function main(args: string[], runfiles: Runfiles) {
           await symlinkWithUnlink(`${packagePath}/node_modules`, `${packagePathBin}/node_modules`);
         }
       } else {
-        // root node_modules
-        if (await exists(workspaceNodeModules)) {
+        if (workspaceNodeModules !== undefined) {
           await symlinkWithUnlink(workspaceNodeModules, `node_modules`);
         } else {
           // Special case if there no target to symlink to for the root workspace, create a
@@ -497,7 +448,7 @@ export async function main(args: string[], runfiles: Runfiles) {
           log_verbose(
               `no root npm workspace node_modules folder to link to; creating node_modules directory in ${
                   process.cwd()}`);
-          await mkdirp('node_modules');
+          await mkdirp(`node_modules`);
         }
       }
     } else {