diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeHelper.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeHelper.java
index d96d408..e5e2124 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeHelper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeHelper.java
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 // limitations under the License.
 package com.google.devtools.build.lib.exec;
 
+import static java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.ISO_8859_1;
+
 import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
 import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
 import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
@@ -26,7 +28,11 @@
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.util.io.OutErr;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.FileSystemUtils;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.Path;
+import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.PathFragment;
+import java.io.BufferedReader;
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStreamReader;
+import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
@@ -129,4 +135,32 @@
         .setEnv(shellEnvironment)
         .build();
   }
+
+  static Map<PathFragment, PathFragment> readSymlinksFromFilesetManifest(Path manifest)
+      throws IOException {
+    Map<PathFragment, PathFragment> result = new HashMap<>();
+    try (BufferedReader reader =
+        new BufferedReader(
+            new InputStreamReader(
+                // ISO_8859 is used to write the manifest in {Runfiles,Fileset}ManifestAction.
+                manifest.getInputStream(), ISO_8859_1))) {
+      String line;
+      int lineNumber = 0;
+      while ((line = reader.readLine()) != null) {
+        // If the input has metadata (for fileset), they appear in every other line.
+        if (++lineNumber % 2 == 0) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        int spaceIndex = line.indexOf(' ');
+        result.put(
+            PathFragment.create(line.substring(0, spaceIndex)),
+            PathFragment.create(line.substring(spaceIndex + 1)));
+      }
+      if (lineNumber % 2 != 0) {
+        throw new IOException(
+            "Possibly corrupted manifest file '" + manifest.getPathString() + "'");
+      }
+    }
+    return result;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeStrategy.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeStrategy.java
index 93caaea..bf3f824 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeStrategy.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeStrategy.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
 import com.google.common.base.Function;
+import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
 import com.google.common.collect.Maps;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.ActionExecutionContext;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.ActionExecutionException;
@@ -43,8 +44,8 @@
   private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(SymlinkTreeStrategy.class.getName());
 
   @VisibleForTesting
-  static final Function<Artifact, Path> TO_PATH =
-      (artifact) -> artifact == null ? null : artifact.getPath();
+  static final Function<Artifact, PathFragment> TO_PATH =
+      (artifact) -> artifact == null ? null : artifact.getPath().asFragment();
 
   private final OutputService outputService;
   private final BinTools binTools;
@@ -64,7 +65,8 @@
             "running " + action.prettyPrint(), logger, /*minTimeForLoggingInMilliseconds=*/ 100)) {
       try {
         if (outputService != null && outputService.canCreateSymlinkTree()) {
-          Map<PathFragment, Path> symlinks = null;
+          Path inputManifest = actionExecutionContext.getInputPath(action.getInputManifest());
+          Map<PathFragment, PathFragment> symlinks;
           if (action.getRunfiles() != null) {
             try {
               symlinks =
@@ -79,13 +81,30 @@
             } catch (IOException e) {
               throw new EnvironmentalExecException(e);
             }
+          } else {
+            Preconditions.checkState(action.isFilesetTree());
+            try {
+              symlinks = SymlinkTreeHelper.readSymlinksFromFilesetManifest(inputManifest);
+            } catch (IOException e) {
+              throw new EnvironmentalExecException(
+                  "Failed to read from manifest '" + inputManifest.getPathString() + "'", e);
+            }
           }
+
           outputService.createSymlinkTree(
-              actionExecutionContext.getInputPath(action.getInputManifest()),
               symlinks,
-              actionExecutionContext.getInputPath(action.getOutputManifest()),
-              action.isFilesetTree(),
               action.getOutputManifest().getExecPath().getParentDirectory());
+
+          // Link output manifest on success. We avoid a file copy as these manifests may be large.
+          // Note that this step has to come last because the OutputService may delete any
+          // pre-existing symlink tree before creating a new one.
+          Path outputManifest = actionExecutionContext.getInputPath(action.getOutputManifest());
+          try {
+            outputManifest.createSymbolicLink(inputManifest);
+          } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new EnvironmentalExecException(
+                "Failed to link output manifest '" + outputManifest.getPathString() + "'", e);
+          }
         } else if (!action.enableRunfiles()) {
           createSymlinkTreeHelper(action, actionExecutionContext).copyManifest();
         } else {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteOutputService.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteOutputService.java
index da925e6..93b4675 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteOutputService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteOutputService.java
@@ -107,11 +107,7 @@
 
   @Override
   public void createSymlinkTree(
-      Path inputManifest,
-      @Nullable Map<PathFragment, Path> symlinks,
-      Path outputManifest,
-      boolean filesetTree,
-      PathFragment symlinkTreeRoot) {
+      Map<PathFragment, PathFragment> symlinks, PathFragment symlinkTreeRoot) {
     throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
   }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/vfs/OutputService.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/vfs/OutputService.java
index 8f604a5..3bb5234 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/vfs/OutputService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/vfs/OutputService.java
@@ -119,20 +119,12 @@
   /**
    * Creates the symlink tree
    *
-   * @param inputPath the input manifest
    * @param symlinks the symlinks to create
-   * @param outputPath the output manifest
-   * @param filesetTree is true iff we're constructing a Fileset
    * @param symlinkTreeRoot the symlink tree root, relative to the execRoot
    * @throws ExecException on failure
    * @throws InterruptedException
    */
-  void createSymlinkTree(
-      Path inputPath,
-      @Nullable Map<PathFragment, Path> symlinks,
-      Path outputPath,
-      boolean filesetTree,
-      PathFragment symlinkTreeRoot)
+  void createSymlinkTree(Map<PathFragment, PathFragment> symlinks, PathFragment symlinkTreeRoot)
       throws ExecException, InterruptedException;
 
   /**
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeHelperTest.java b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeHelperTest.java
index e7314a9..8e81445 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeHelperTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeHelperTest.java
@@ -15,13 +15,19 @@
 package com.google.devtools.build.lib.exec;
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static com.google.devtools.build.lib.testutil.MoreAsserts.assertThrows;
 
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.shell.Command;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.FileSystem;
+import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.FileSystemUtils;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.Path;
+import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.PathFragment;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.inmemoryfs.InMemoryFileSystem;
+import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.Map;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
 import org.junit.runners.JUnit4;
@@ -48,4 +54,52 @@
     assertThat(commandLine[1]).isEqualTo("input_manifest");
     assertThat(commandLine[2]).isEqualTo("output/MANIFEST");
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void readManifest() throws Exception {
+    Path execRoot = fs.getPath("/my/workspace");
+    execRoot.createDirectoryAndParents();
+    Path inputManifestPath = execRoot.getRelative("input_manifest");
+    FileSystemUtils.writeContentAsLatin1(inputManifestPath, "from to\nmetadata");
+    Map<PathFragment, PathFragment> symlinks =
+        SymlinkTreeHelper.readSymlinksFromFilesetManifest(inputManifestPath);
+    assertThat(symlinks).containsExactly(PathFragment.create("from"), PathFragment.create("to"));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void readMultilineManifest() throws Exception {
+    Path execRoot = fs.getPath("/my/workspace");
+    execRoot.createDirectoryAndParents();
+    Path inputManifestPath = execRoot.getRelative("input_manifest");
+    FileSystemUtils.writeContentAsLatin1(
+        inputManifestPath, "from to\nmetadata\n/foo /bar\nmetadata");
+    Map<PathFragment, PathFragment> symlinks =
+        SymlinkTreeHelper.readSymlinksFromFilesetManifest(inputManifestPath);
+    assertThat(symlinks)
+        .containsExactly(
+            PathFragment.create("from"),
+            PathFragment.create("to"),
+            PathFragment.create("/foo"),
+            PathFragment.create("/bar"));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void readCorruptManifest() throws Exception {
+    Path execRoot = fs.getPath("/my/workspace");
+    execRoot.createDirectoryAndParents();
+    Path inputManifestPath = execRoot.getRelative("input_manifest");
+    FileSystemUtils.writeContentAsLatin1(inputManifestPath, "from to");
+    assertThrows(
+        IOException.class,
+        () -> SymlinkTreeHelper.readSymlinksFromFilesetManifest(inputManifestPath));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void readNonExistentManifestFails() {
+    Path execRoot = fs.getPath("/my/workspace");
+    Path inputManifestPath = execRoot.getRelative("input_manifest");
+    assertThrows(
+        FileNotFoundException.class,
+        () -> SymlinkTreeHelper.readSymlinksFromFilesetManifest(inputManifestPath));
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeStrategyTest.java b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeStrategyTest.java
index b81ad7a..b355035 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeStrategyTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/SymlinkTreeStrategyTest.java
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 
 import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
-import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.anyBoolean;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.doAnswer;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.times;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.analysis.util.BuildViewTestCase;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.events.StoredEventHandler;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.OutputService;
-import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.Path;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.PathFragment;
 import java.util.Map;
 import org.junit.Test;
@@ -48,7 +47,8 @@
   @Test
   public void testArtifactToPathConversion() {
     Artifact artifact = getBinArtifactWithNoOwner("dir/foo");
-    assertThat(SymlinkTreeStrategy.TO_PATH.apply(artifact)).isEqualTo(artifact.getPath());
+    assertThat(SymlinkTreeStrategy.TO_PATH.apply(artifact))
+        .isEqualTo(artifact.getPath().asFragment());
     assertThat(SymlinkTreeStrategy.TO_PATH.apply(null)).isEqualTo(null);
   }
 
@@ -68,6 +68,13 @@
     Artifact inputManifest = getBinArtifactWithNoOwner("dir/manifest.in");
     Artifact outputManifest = getBinArtifactWithNoOwner("dir/MANIFEST");
     Artifact runfile = getBinArtifactWithNoOwner("dir/runfile");
+    doAnswer(
+            (i) -> {
+              outputManifest.getPath().getParentDirectory().createDirectoryAndParents();
+              return null;
+            })
+        .when(outputService)
+        .createSymlinkTree(any(), any());
 
     Runfiles runfiles =
         new Runfiles.Builder("TESTING", false)
@@ -87,13 +94,12 @@
     action.execute(context);
 
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    ArgumentCaptor<Map<PathFragment, Path>> capture = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(Map.class);
-    verify(outputService, times(1))
-        .createSymlinkTree(any(), capture.capture(), any(), anyBoolean(), any());
+    ArgumentCaptor<Map<PathFragment, PathFragment>> capture = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(Map.class);
+    verify(outputService, times(1)).createSymlinkTree(capture.capture(), any());
     assertThat(capture.getValue())
         .containsExactly(
             PathFragment.create("TESTING/dir/runfile"),
-            runfile.getPath(),
+            runfile.getPath().asFragment(),
             PathFragment.create("TESTING/dir/empty"),
             null);
   }