diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 1bbd8fa3f6..c589f13d91 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -815,6 +815,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "buf-trait"
+version = "0.4.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "21eaafc770e8c073d6c3facafe7617e774305d4954aa6351b9c452eb37ee17b4"
+dependencies = [
+ "zerocopy 0.7.35",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "bumpalo"
 version = "3.16.0"
@@ -878,6 +887,15 @@ version = "1.3.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "2e93abca9e28e0a1b9877922aacb20576e05d4679ffa78c3d6dc22a26a216659"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "byteyarn"
+version = "0.5.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b93e51d26468a15ea59f8525e0c13dc405db43e644a0b1e6d44346c72cf4cf7b"
+dependencies = [
+ "buf-trait",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "calamine"
 version = "0.28.0"
@@ -3048,6 +3066,18 @@ version = "1.5.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "bbd2bcb4c963f2ddae06a2efc7e9f3591312473c50c6685e1f298068316e66fe"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "lean_string"
+version = "0.5.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "75e49998bd00bfb567a44a6d3c3d1a970ce35665b5ebf68d64e5e96410be58ae"
+dependencies = [
+ "castaway",
+ "itoa",
+ "ryu",
+ "serde",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "libc"
 version = "0.2.174"
@@ -4234,9 +4264,11 @@ dependencies = [
 name = "nu-utils"
 version = "0.106.2"
 dependencies = [
+ "byteyarn",
  "crossterm",
  "crossterm_winapi",
  "fancy-regex",
+ "lean_string",
  "log",
  "lscolors",
  "nix 0.29.0",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 8db830be13..592279dae1 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ brotli = "7.0"
 byteorder = "1.5"
 bytes = "1"
 bytesize = "1.3.3"
+byteyarn = "0.5"
 calamine = "0.28"
 chardetng = "0.1.17"
 chrono = { default-features = false, version = "0.4.34" }
@@ -100,6 +101,7 @@ indicatif = "0.17"
 interprocess = "2.2.0"
 is_executable = "1.0"
 itertools = "0.14"
+lean_string = { version = "0.5", features = ["serde"] }
 libc = "0.2"
 libproc = "0.14"
 log = "0.4"
diff --git a/crates/nu-utils/Cargo.toml b/crates/nu-utils/Cargo.toml
index ac602878ed..359984fa7a 100644
--- a/crates/nu-utils/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/nu-utils/Cargo.toml
@@ -17,8 +17,10 @@ bench = false
 bench = false
 
 [dependencies]
+byteyarn.workspace = true
 crossterm = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 fancy-regex = { workspace = true }
+lean_string.workspace = true
 lscolors = { workspace = true, default-features = false, features = ["nu-ansi-term"] }
 log = { workspace = true }
 num-format = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/crates/nu-utils/src/lib.rs b/crates/nu-utils/src/lib.rs
index ff52f557a1..d8a7db6975 100644
--- a/crates/nu-utils/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-utils/src/lib.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ pub mod float;
 pub mod locale;
 mod quoting;
 mod shared_cow;
+pub mod strings;
 pub mod utils;
 
 pub use locale::get_system_locale;
diff --git a/crates/nu-utils/src/strings/mod.rs b/crates/nu-utils/src/strings/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..450e5eb8be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/nu-utils/src/strings/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+//! String utility types with specific semantics.
+//!
+//! This module provides additional string types optimized for certain use-cases, offering
+//! alternatives to standard [`String`] or [`&str`](str) when specific performance characteristics
+//! are desired.
+//!
+//! The pipeline-based, functional programming model, we use, leads to frequent string operations
+//! that involve immutability and often copying.
+//! These specialized string types can provide performance and memory benefits for these cases.
+//!
+//! ## Choosing a String Type: `SharedString` vs. `UniqueString`
+//!
+//! ### Use [`SharedString`] when:
+//!
+//! `SharedString` is an owned, immutable string type optimized for **frequent cloning and sharing**.
+//! Cloning it is very inexpensive (a pointer copy and atomic reference count increment), avoiding
+//! deep copies of the string data.
+//! It also benefits from Small String Optimization (SSO) and static string re-use.
+//!
+//! **Ideal for:** Strings that need to be duplicated or passed by value frequently across
+//! pipeline stages or within complex data structures, where many references to the same string
+//! data are expected.
+//!
+//! ### Use [`UniqueString`] when:
+//!
+//! `UniqueString` is an owned, immutable string type optimized for
+//! **strings that are primarily unique** or rarely cloned.
+//! Cloning a `UniqueString` always involves copying the underlying string data.
+//! Its advantage lies in avoiding the overhead of atomic reference counting.
+//! It also benefits from Small String Optimization (SSO) and static string re-use.
+//!
+//! **Ideal for:** Strings that are created and consumed locally, or represent unique identifiers
+//! that are not expected to be duplicated across many ownership boundaries.
+//! When the cost of copying upon infrequent clones is acceptable.
+
+mod shared;
+mod unique;
+
+pub use shared::SharedString;
+pub use unique::UniqueString;
diff --git a/crates/nu-utils/src/strings/shared.rs b/crates/nu-utils/src/strings/shared.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3496dc7e03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/nu-utils/src/strings/shared.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,245 @@
+use std::{
+    borrow::Borrow,
+    fmt::{Arguments, Debug, Display},
+    hash::Hash,
+    ops::Deref,
+};
+
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+/// An owned, immutable string with compact storage and efficient cloning.
+///
+/// `SharedString` is designed for immutable strings that are frequently cloned and hold ownership.
+/// It offers similar characteristics to [`Arc<str>`](std::sync::Arc) but with several key
+/// optimizations for improved efficiency and memory usage:
+///
+/// - **Efficient Cloning:**
+///   Cloning a `SharedString` is very inexpensive.
+///   It typically involves just a pointer copy and an atomic reference count increment, without
+///   copying the actual string data.
+///
+/// - **Small String Optimization (SSO):**
+///   For shorter strings, the data is stored directly within the `SharedString` struct, keeping
+///   the data on the stack and avoiding indirection.
+///
+/// - **Static String Re-use:**
+///   Strings with a `'static` lifetime are directly referenced, avoiding unnecessary copies or
+///   allocations.
+///
+/// - **Niche Optimization:**
+///   `SharedString` allows niche-optimization, meaning that [`Option<SharedString>`] has the same
+///   memory footprint as `SharedString`.
+///
+/// - **Compact Size:**
+///   On 64-bit systems, `SharedString` is 16 bytes.
+///   This is achieved by disregarding the capacity of a `String` since we only hold the string as
+///   immutable.
+///   
+/// Internally, `SharedString` is powered by [`lean_string::LeanString`], which provides the
+/// underlying implementation for these optimizations.
+pub struct SharedString(lean_string::LeanString);
+
+const _: () = const {
+    assert!(size_of::<SharedString>() == size_of::<[usize; 2]>());
+    assert!(size_of::<SharedString>() == size_of::<Option<SharedString>>());
+};
+
+impl SharedString {
+    /// Returns a string slice containing the entire `SharedString`.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn as_str(&self) -> &str {
+        self.0.as_str()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns a byte slice of this `SharedString`'s contents.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn as_bytes(&self) -> &[u8] {
+        self.0.as_bytes()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns the length of this `SharedString`, in bytes.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn len(&self) -> usize {
+        self.0.len()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns `true` if the `SharedString` has a length of 0, `false` otherwise.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
+        self.0.is_empty()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns a `SharedString` by taking ownership of an allocation.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn from_string(string: String) -> Self {
+        Self(lean_string::LeanString::from(string))
+    }
+
+    /// Returns a `SharedString` pointing to the given slice, without copying.
+    ///
+    /// By using this function instead of [`from_string`](Self::from_string), we can avoid any
+    /// copying and always refer to the provided static string slice.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn from_static_str(string: &'static str) -> Self {
+        Self(lean_string::LeanString::from_static_str(string))
+    }
+
+    /// Builds a new `SharedString` from the given formatting arguments.
+    ///
+    /// You can get an [`Arguments`] instance by calling [`format_args!`].
+    /// This function is used when using [`sformat!`](crate::sformat) instead of [`format!`] to
+    /// create a `SharedString`.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn from_fmt(arguments: Arguments) -> Self {
+        match arguments.as_str() {
+            Some(static_str) => Self::from_static_str(static_str),
+            None => Self::from_string(std::fmt::format(arguments)),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl AsRef<str> for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn as_ref(&self) -> &str {
+        self.as_str()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Borrow<str> for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn borrow(&self) -> &str {
+        self.as_str()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Clone for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn clone(&self) -> Self {
+        Self(self.0.clone())
+    }
+}
+
+impl Debug for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        Debug::fmt(&self.0, f)
+    }
+}
+
+impl Default for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self(Default::default())
+    }
+}
+
+impl Deref for SharedString {
+    type Target = str;
+
+    #[inline]
+    fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
+        self.as_str()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Display for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        Display::fmt(&self.0, f)
+    }
+}
+
+impl Eq for SharedString {}
+
+impl From<String> for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn from(string: String) -> Self {
+        Self::from_string(string)
+    }
+}
+
+impl From<&'static str> for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn from(string: &'static str) -> Self {
+        Self::from_static_str(string)
+    }
+}
+
+impl Hash for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn hash<H: std::hash::Hasher>(&self, state: &mut H) {
+        self.0.hash(state);
+    }
+}
+
+impl Ord for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> std::cmp::Ordering {
+        self.0.cmp(&other.0)
+    }
+}
+
+impl PartialEq for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool {
+        self.0 == other.0
+    }
+}
+
+impl PartialOrd for SharedString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn partial_cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> Option<std::cmp::Ordering> {
+        Some(self.cmp(other))
+    }
+}
+
+impl Serialize for SharedString {
+    fn serialize<S>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
+    where
+        S: serde::Serializer,
+    {
+        self.0.serialize(serializer)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for SharedString {
+    fn deserialize<D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Self, D::Error>
+    where
+        D: serde::Deserializer<'de>,
+    {
+        Ok(Self(lean_string::LeanString::deserialize(deserializer)?))
+    }
+}
+
+/// A macro for creating [`SharedString`] instances from format arguments.
+///
+/// This macro works similarly to [`format!`] but returns a [`SharedString`] instead of a [`String`].
+/// It attempts to optimize for `'static` string literals.
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! sformat {
+    ($fmt:expr) => {
+        $crate::strings::SharedString::from_fmt(::std::format_args!($fmt))
+    };
+
+    ($fmt:expr, $($args:tt)*) => {
+        $crate::strings::SharedString::from_fmt(::std::format_args!($fmt, $($args)*))
+    };
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn macro_works() {
+        assert!(sformat!("").is_empty());
+        assert_eq!(
+            sformat!("Hello World"),
+            SharedString::from_static_str("Hello World")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            sformat!("Hello {}", "World"),
+            SharedString::from_static_str("Hello World")
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/nu-utils/src/strings/unique.rs b/crates/nu-utils/src/strings/unique.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..66a2bd7186
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/nu-utils/src/strings/unique.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+use std::{
+    borrow::Borrow,
+    fmt::{Arguments, Debug, Display},
+    hash::Hash,
+    ops::Deref,
+};
+
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+/// An owned, immutable string with compact storage.
+///
+/// `UniqueString` is designed for immutable strings that are not frequently cloned and hold ownership.
+/// It offers similar characteristics to `Box<str>` but with several key
+/// optimizations for improved efficiency and memory usage:
+///
+/// - **Efficient for Unique Strings:**
+///   When strings are not frequently cloned, `UniqueString` can be more performant than
+///   reference-counted alternatives like [`SharedString`](super::SharedString) as it avoids the
+///   overhead of atomic reference counting.
+///
+/// - **Small String Optimization (SSO):**
+///   For shorter strings, the data is stored directly within the `UniqueString` struct, keeping
+///   the data on the stack and avoiding indirection.
+///
+/// - **Static String Re-use:**
+///   Strings with a `'static` lifetime are directly referenced, avoiding unnecessary copies or
+///   allocations.
+///
+/// - **Niche Optimization:**
+///   `UniqueString` allows niche-optimization, meaning that [`Option<UniqueString>`] has the same
+///   memory footprint as `UniqueString`.
+///
+/// - **Compact Size:**
+///   On 64-bit systems, `UniqueString` is 16 bytes.
+///   This is achieved by disregarding the capacity of a `String` since we only hold the string as
+///   immutable.
+///
+/// Internally, `UniqueString` is powered by [`byteyarn::Yarn`], which provides the
+/// underlying implementation for these optimizations.
+pub struct UniqueString(byteyarn::Yarn);
+
+const _: () = const {
+    assert!(size_of::<UniqueString>() == size_of::<[usize; 2]>());
+    assert!(size_of::<UniqueString>() == size_of::<Option<UniqueString>>());
+};
+
+impl UniqueString {
+    /// Returns a string slice containing the entire `UniqueString`.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn as_str(&self) -> &str {
+        self.0.as_str()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns a byte slice of this `UniqueString`'s contents.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn as_bytes(&self) -> &[u8] {
+        self.0.as_bytes()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns the length of this `UniqueString`, in bytes.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn len(&self) -> usize {
+        self.0.len()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns `true` if the `UniqueString` has a length of 0, `false` otherwise.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
+        self.0.is_empty()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns a `UniqueString` by taking ownership of an allocation.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn from_string(string: String) -> Self {
+        Self(byteyarn::Yarn::from_string(string))
+    }
+
+    /// Returns a `UniqueString` pointing to the given slice, without copying.
+    ///
+    /// By using this function instead of [`from_string`](Self::from_string), we can avoid any
+    /// copying and always refer to the provided static string slice.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn from_static_str(string: &'static str) -> Self {
+        Self(byteyarn::Yarn::from_static(string))
+    }
+
+    /// Builds a new `UniqueString` from the given formatting arguments.
+    ///
+    /// You can get an [`Arguments`] instance by calling [`format_args!`].
+    /// This function is used when using [`uformat!`](crate::uformat) instead of [`format!`] to
+    /// create a `UniqueString`.
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn from_fmt(arguments: Arguments) -> Self {
+        Self(byteyarn::Yarn::from_fmt(arguments))
+    }
+}
+
+impl AsRef<str> for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn as_ref(&self) -> &str {
+        self.as_str()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Borrow<str> for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn borrow(&self) -> &str {
+        self.as_str()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Clone for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn clone(&self) -> Self {
+        Self(self.0.clone())
+    }
+}
+
+impl Debug for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        Debug::fmt(&self.0, f)
+    }
+}
+
+impl Default for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self(Default::default())
+    }
+}
+
+impl Deref for UniqueString {
+    type Target = str;
+
+    #[inline]
+    fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
+        self.as_str()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Display for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        Display::fmt(&self.0, f)
+    }
+}
+
+impl Eq for UniqueString {}
+
+impl From<String> for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn from(string: String) -> Self {
+        Self::from_string(string)
+    }
+}
+
+impl From<&'static str> for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn from(string: &'static str) -> Self {
+        Self::from_static_str(string)
+    }
+}
+
+impl Hash for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn hash<H: std::hash::Hasher>(&self, state: &mut H) {
+        self.0.hash(state);
+    }
+}
+
+impl Ord for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> std::cmp::Ordering {
+        self.0.cmp(&other.0)
+    }
+}
+
+impl PartialEq for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool {
+        self.0 == other.0
+    }
+}
+
+impl PartialOrd for UniqueString {
+    #[inline]
+    fn partial_cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> Option<std::cmp::Ordering> {
+        Some(self.cmp(other))
+    }
+}
+
+impl Serialize for UniqueString {
+    fn serialize<S>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
+    where
+        S: serde::Serializer,
+    {
+        self.0.serialize(serializer)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for UniqueString {
+    fn deserialize<D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Self, D::Error>
+    where
+        D: serde::Deserializer<'de>,
+    {
+        let s = String::deserialize(deserializer)?;
+        Ok(Self::from_string(s))
+    }
+}
+
+/// A macro for creating [`UniqueString`] instances from format arguments.
+///
+/// This macro works similarly to [`format!`] but returns a [`UniqueString`] instead of a [`String`].
+/// It attempts to optimize for `'static` string literals.
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! uformat {
+    ($fmt:expr) => {
+        $crate::strings::UniqueString::from_fmt(::std::format_args!($fmt))
+    };
+
+    ($fmt:expr, $($args:tt)*) => {
+        $crate::strings::UniqueString::from_fmt(::std::format_args!($fmt, $($args)*))
+    };
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn macro_works() {
+        assert!(uformat!("").is_empty());
+        assert_eq!(
+            uformat!("Hello World"),
+            UniqueString::from_static_str("Hello World")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            uformat!("Hello {}", "World"),
+            UniqueString::from_static_str("Hello World")
+        );
+    }
+}