diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 7a4b466a6..4feb0411f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@
     "glob": "^7.1.1",
     "graceful-fs": "^4.1.3",
     "inquirer": "^3.0.6",
-    "istextorbinary": "^2.5.1",
     "joi": "^14.3.1",
     "lodash": "^4.17.5",
     "metro": "^0.53.1",
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/__tests__/editTemplate.test.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/__tests__/editTemplate.test.js
index f664d2557..f59c52abc 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/__tests__/editTemplate.test.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/__tests__/editTemplate.test.js
@@ -16,20 +16,28 @@ const FIXTURE_DIR = path.resolve(
 const PLACEHOLDER_NAME = 'PlaceholderName';
 const PROJECT_NAME = 'ProjectName';
 
-function createTestEnv() {
+async function createTestEnv() {
   const TEST_DIR = `rncli-should-edit-template-${Date.now()}`;
   const tmpDir = os.tmpdir();
   const testPath = path.resolve(tmpDir, TEST_DIR);
 
   fs.mkdirSync(testPath);
-  copyFiles(FIXTURE_DIR, testPath);
+  await copyFiles(FIXTURE_DIR, testPath);
 
   return testPath;
 }
 
-test('should edit template', () => {
-  const testPath = createTestEnv();
+let testPath;
+
+beforeEach(async () => {
+  testPath = await createTestEnv();
+});
 
+afterEach(() => {
+  fs.removeSync(testPath);
+});
+
+test('should edit template', () => {
   jest.spyOn(process, 'cwd').mockImplementation(() => testPath);
 
   changePlaceholderInTemplate(PROJECT_NAME, PLACEHOLDER_NAME);
@@ -74,6 +82,4 @@ test('should edit template', () => {
   expect(
     snapshotDiff(fixtureTree, transformedTree, {contextLines: 1}),
   ).toMatchSnapshot();
-
-  fs.removeSync(testPath);
 });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/__tests__/template.test.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/__tests__/template.test.js
index 3c5542202..3af48b748 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/__tests__/template.test.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/__tests__/template.test.js
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ test('getTemplateConfig', () => {
   );
 });
 
-test('copyTemplate', () => {
+test('copyTemplate', async () => {
   const TEMPLATE_DIR = 'some/dir';
   const CWD = '.';
 
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ test('copyTemplate', () => {
   jest.spyOn(copyFiles, 'default').mockImplementationOnce(() => {});
   jest.spyOn(process, 'cwd').mockImplementationOnce(() => CWD);
 
-  copyTemplate(TEMPLATE_NAME, TEMPLATE_DIR, TEMPLATE_SOURCE_DIR);
+  await copyTemplate(TEMPLATE_NAME, TEMPLATE_DIR, TEMPLATE_SOURCE_DIR);
 
   expect(path.resolve).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
     TEMPLATE_SOURCE_DIR,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/editTemplate.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/editTemplate.js
index 10c0e9df3..a72ca07f3 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/editTemplate.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/editTemplate.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 // @flow
-import fs from 'fs-extra';
+import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 import walk from '../../tools/walk';
 import {logger} from '@react-native-community/cli-tools';
@@ -10,16 +10,17 @@ function replaceNameInUTF8File(
   templateName: string,
 ) {
   logger.debug(`Replacing in ${filePath}`);
-
-  const content = fs
-    .readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8')
+  const fileContent = fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
+  const replacedFileContent = fileContent
     .replace(new RegExp(templateName, 'g'), projectName)
     .replace(
       new RegExp(templateName.toLowerCase(), 'g'),
       projectName.toLowerCase(),
     );
 
-  fs.writeFileSync(filePath, content, 'utf8');
+  if (fileContent !== replacedFileContent) {
+    fs.writeFileSync(filePath, replacedFileContent, 'utf8');
+  }
 }
 
 function renameFile(filePath: string, oldName: string, newName: string) {
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ function renameFile(filePath: string, oldName: string, newName: string) {
 
   logger.debug(`Renaming ${filePath} -> file:${newFileName}`);
 
-  fs.moveSync(filePath, newFileName);
+  fs.renameSync(filePath, newFileName);
 }
 
 function shouldRenameFile(filePath: string, nameToReplace: string) {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/init.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/init.js
index 80fe8079d..c3b306b71 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/init.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/init.js
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ async function createFromExternalTemplate(
 
     name = adjustNameIfUrl(name, templateSourceDir);
     const templateConfig = getTemplateConfig(name, templateSourceDir);
-    copyTemplate(name, templateConfig.templateDir, templateSourceDir);
+    await copyTemplate(name, templateConfig.templateDir, templateSourceDir);
 
     loader.succeed();
     loader.start('Preparing template');
@@ -121,7 +121,11 @@ async function createFromReactNativeTemplate(
     loader.start('Copying template');
 
     const templateConfig = getTemplateConfig(TEMPLATE_NAME, templateSourceDir);
-    copyTemplate(TEMPLATE_NAME, templateConfig.templateDir, templateSourceDir);
+    await copyTemplate(
+      TEMPLATE_NAME,
+      templateConfig.templateDir,
+      templateSourceDir,
+    );
 
     loader.succeed();
     loader.start('Processing template');
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/template.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/template.js
index b797b647e..8e2f9dede 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/template.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/template.js
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ export function getTemplateConfig(
   return require(configFilePath);
 }
 
-export function copyTemplate(
+export async function copyTemplate(
   templateName: string,
   templateDir: string,
   templateSourceDir: string,
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ export function copyTemplate(
 
   logger.debug(`Copying template from ${templatePath}`);
 
-  copyFiles(templatePath, process.cwd());
+  await copyFiles(templatePath, process.cwd());
 }
 
 export function executePostInitScript(
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/tools/copyAndReplace.js b/packages/cli/src/tools/copyAndReplace.js
index 09deb7ad9..1feb0e6f2 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/tools/copyAndReplace.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/tools/copyAndReplace.js
@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@
  */
 
 import fs from 'fs';
-import {isBinarySync} from 'istextorbinary';
+import path from 'path';
+
+// Binary files, don't process these (avoid decoding as utf8)
+const binaryExtensions = ['.png', '.jar', '.keystore'];
 
 /**
  * Copy a file to given destination, replacing parts of its contents.
@@ -36,7 +39,8 @@ function copyAndReplace(
     return;
   }
 
-  if (isBinarySync(srcPath)) {
+  const extension = path.extname(srcPath);
+  if (binaryExtensions.indexOf(extension) !== -1) {
     // Binary file
     let shouldOverwrite = 'overwrite';
     if (contentChangedCallback) {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/tools/copyFiles.js b/packages/cli/src/tools/copyFiles.js
index c94581f78..795f6862c 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/tools/copyFiles.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/tools/copyFiles.js
@@ -7,22 +7,75 @@
  * @flow
  */
 
+import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
-import copyAndReplace from './copyAndReplace';
 import walk from './walk';
 
 /**
  * Copy files (binary included) recursively.
  */
-function copyFiles(srcPath: string, destPath: string) {
-  walk(srcPath).forEach(absoluteSrcFilePath => {
-    const relativeFilePath = path.relative(srcPath, absoluteSrcFilePath);
-    copyAndReplace(
-      absoluteSrcFilePath,
-      path.resolve(destPath, relativeFilePath),
-      {}, // no replacements
-    );
+async function copyFiles(srcPath: string, destPath: string) {
+  return Promise.all(
+    walk(srcPath).map(async absoluteSrcFilePath => {
+      const relativeFilePath = path.relative(srcPath, absoluteSrcFilePath);
+      await copyFile(
+        absoluteSrcFilePath,
+        path.resolve(destPath, relativeFilePath),
+      );
+    }),
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Copy a file to given destination.
+ */
+function copyFile(srcPath: string, destPath: string) {
+  if (fs.lstatSync(srcPath).isDirectory()) {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(destPath)) {
+      fs.mkdirSync(destPath);
+    }
+    // Not recursive
+    return;
+  }
+
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    copyBinaryFile(srcPath, destPath, err => {
+      if (err) {
+        reject(err);
+      }
+      resolve(destPath);
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Same as 'cp' on Unix. Don't do any replacements.
+ */
+function copyBinaryFile(srcPath, destPath, cb) {
+  let cbCalled = false;
+  // const {mode} = fs.statSync(srcPath);
+  const readStream = fs.createReadStream(srcPath);
+  const writeStream = fs.createWriteStream(destPath);
+  readStream.on('error', err => {
+    done(err);
+  });
+  writeStream.on('error', err => {
+    done(err);
+  });
+  readStream.on('close', () => {
+    done();
+    // We may revisit setting mode to original later, however this fn is used
+    // before "replace placeholder in template" step, which expects files to be
+    // writable.
+    // fs.chmodSync(destPath, mode);
   });
+  readStream.pipe(writeStream);
+  function done(err) {
+    if (!cbCalled) {
+      cb(err);
+      cbCalled = true;
+    }
+  }
 }
 
 export default copyFiles;
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 820d64cb9..c3750962c 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -2342,11 +2342,6 @@ binary@~0.3.0:
     buffers "~0.1.1"
     chainsaw "~0.1.0"
 
-binaryextensions@^2.1.2:
-  version "2.1.2"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/binaryextensions/-/binaryextensions-2.1.2.tgz#c83c3d74233ba7674e4f313cb2a2b70f54e94b7c"
-  integrity sha512-xVNN69YGDghOqCCtA6FI7avYrr02mTJjOgB0/f1VPD3pJC8QEvjTKWc4epDx8AqxxA75NI0QpVM2gPJXUbE4Tg==
-
 block-stream@*:
   version "0.0.9"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/block-stream/-/block-stream-0.0.9.tgz#13ebfe778a03205cfe03751481ebb4b3300c126a"
@@ -3377,14 +3372,6 @@ ecc-jsbn@~0.1.1:
     jsbn "~0.1.0"
     safer-buffer "^2.1.0"
 
-editions@^2.1.2, editions@^2.1.3:
-  version "2.1.3"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/editions/-/editions-2.1.3.tgz#727ccf3ec2c7b12dcc652c71000f16c4824d6f7d"
-  integrity sha512-xDZyVm0A4nLgMNWVVLJvcwMjI80ShiH/27RyLiCnW1L273TcJIA25C4pwJ33AWV01OX6UriP35Xu+lH4S7HWQw==
-  dependencies:
-    errlop "^1.1.1"
-    semver "^5.6.0"
-
 ee-first@1.1.1:
   version "1.1.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/ee-first/-/ee-first-1.1.1.tgz#590c61156b0ae2f4f0255732a158b266bc56b21d"
@@ -3420,13 +3407,6 @@ err-code@^1.0.0:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/err-code/-/err-code-1.1.2.tgz#06e0116d3028f6aef4806849eb0ea6a748ae6960"
   integrity sha1-BuARbTAo9q70gGhJ6w6mp0iuaWA=
 
-errlop@^1.1.1:
-  version "1.1.1"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/errlop/-/errlop-1.1.1.tgz#d9ae4c76c3e64956c5d79e6e035d6343bfd62250"
-  integrity sha512-WX7QjiPHhsny7/PQvrhS5VMizXXKoKCS3udaBp8gjlARdbn+XmK300eKBAAN0hGyRaTCtRpOaxK+xFVPUJ3zkw==
-  dependencies:
-    editions "^2.1.2"
-
 error-ex@^1.2.0, error-ex@^1.3.1:
   version "1.3.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/error-ex/-/error-ex-1.3.2.tgz#b4ac40648107fdcdcfae242f428bea8a14d4f1bf"
@@ -5078,15 +5058,6 @@ istanbul-reports@^2.1.1:
   dependencies:
     handlebars "^4.1.0"
 
-istextorbinary@^2.5.1:
-  version "2.5.1"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/istextorbinary/-/istextorbinary-2.5.1.tgz#14a33824cf6b9d5d7743eac1be2bd2c310d0ccbd"
-  integrity sha512-pv/JNPWnfpwGjPx7JrtWTwsWsxkrK3fNzcEVnt92YKEIErps4Fsk49+qzCe9iQF2hjqK8Naqf8P9kzoeCuQI1g==
-  dependencies:
-    binaryextensions "^2.1.2"
-    editions "^2.1.3"
-    textextensions "^2.4.0"
-
 isurl@^1.0.0-alpha5:
   version "1.0.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/isurl/-/isurl-1.0.0.tgz#b27f4f49f3cdaa3ea44a0a5b7f3462e6edc39d67"
@@ -8587,11 +8558,6 @@ text-table@^0.2.0:
   version "0.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/text-table/-/text-table-0.2.0.tgz#7f5ee823ae805207c00af2df4a84ec3fcfa570b4"
 
-textextensions@^2.4.0:
-  version "2.4.0"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/textextensions/-/textextensions-2.4.0.tgz#6a143a985464384cc2cff11aea448cd5b018e72b"
-  integrity sha512-qftQXnX1DzpSV8EddtHIT0eDDEiBF8ywhFYR2lI9xrGtxqKN+CvLXhACeCIGbCpQfxxERbrkZEFb8cZcDKbVZA==
-
 throat@^4.0.0, throat@^4.1.0:
   version "4.1.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/throat/-/throat-4.1.0.tgz#89037cbc92c56ab18926e6ba4cbb200e15672a6a"