diff --git a/lib/config.js b/lib/config.js
index 0d4161d3b53e8..5f9819879be23 100644
--- a/lib/config.js
+++ b/lib/config.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ var ini = require('ini')
 var editor = require('editor')
 var os = require('os')
 var path = require('path')
-var mkdirp = require('mkdirp')
+var mkdirp = require('gentle-fs').mkdir
 var umask = require('./utils/umask')
 var usage = require('./utils/usage')
 var output = require('./utils/output')
diff --git a/lib/config/core.js b/lib/config/core.js
index 36605555ff77a..18658842175f0 100644
--- a/lib/config/core.js
+++ b/lib/config/core.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ var path = require('path')
 var nopt = require('nopt')
 var ini = require('ini')
 var Umask = configDefs.Umask
-var mkdirp = require('mkdirp')
+var mkdirp = require('gentle-fs').mkdir
 var umask = require('../utils/umask')
 var isWindows = require('../utils/is-windows.js')
 
diff --git a/lib/config/set-user.js b/lib/config/set-user.js
index 14cc21d2ebd99..570a1f54e2757 100644
--- a/lib/config/set-user.js
+++ b/lib/config/set-user.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ module.exports = setUser
 var assert = require('assert')
 var path = require('path')
 var fs = require('fs')
-var mkdirp = require('mkdirp')
+var mkdirp = require('gentle-fs').mkdir
 
 function setUser (cb) {
   var defaultConf = this.root
diff --git a/lib/install.js b/lib/install.js
index d2f705e1d1abd..8cc6d16bdd169 100644
--- a/lib/install.js
+++ b/lib/install.js
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ var readPackageJson = require('read-package-json')
 var chain = require('slide').chain
 var asyncMap = require('slide').asyncMap
 var archy = require('archy')
-var mkdirp = require('mkdirp')
+var mkdirp = require('gentle-fs').mkdir
 var rimraf = require('rimraf')
 var iferr = require('iferr')
 var validate = require('aproba')
diff --git a/lib/install/action/extract.js b/lib/install/action/extract.js
index 32a4f4e004ad7..585580edd29b7 100644
--- a/lib/install/action/extract.js
+++ b/lib/install/action/extract.js
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ const BB = require('bluebird')
 const figgyPudding = require('figgy-pudding')
 const stat = BB.promisify(require('graceful-fs').stat)
 const gentlyRm = BB.promisify(require('../../utils/gently-rm.js'))
-const mkdirp = BB.promisify(require('mkdirp'))
+const mkdirp = BB.promisify(require('gentle-fs').mkdir)
 const moduleName = require('../../utils/module-name.js')
 const moduleStagingPath = require('../module-staging-path.js')
 const move = require('../../utils/move.js')
diff --git a/lib/install/action/finalize.js b/lib/install/action/finalize.js
index e46f1b9d83396..1e53c189d210e 100644
--- a/lib/install/action/finalize.js
+++ b/lib/install/action/finalize.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ const path = require('path')
 const fs = require('graceful-fs')
 const Bluebird = require('bluebird')
 const rimraf = Bluebird.promisify(require('rimraf'))
-const mkdirp = Bluebird.promisify(require('mkdirp'))
+const mkdirp = Bluebird.promisify(require('gentle-fs').mkdir)
 const lstat = Bluebird.promisify(fs.lstat)
 const readdir = Bluebird.promisify(fs.readdir)
 const symlink = Bluebird.promisify(fs.symlink)
diff --git a/lib/install/action/move.js b/lib/install/action/move.js
index 00d58a1592317..8a956f59d6d90 100644
--- a/lib/install/action/move.js
+++ b/lib/install/action/move.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ var path = require('path')
 var chain = require('slide').chain
 var iferr = require('iferr')
 var rimraf = require('rimraf')
-var mkdirp = require('mkdirp')
+var mkdirp = require('gentle-fs').mkdir
 var rmStuff = require('../../unbuild.js').rmStuff
 var lifecycle = require('../../utils/lifecycle.js')
 var move = require('../../utils/move.js')
diff --git a/lib/install/action/remove.js b/lib/install/action/remove.js
index a852d10c5fd84..f7182d596bed0 100644
--- a/lib/install/action/remove.js
+++ b/lib/install/action/remove.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ var path = require('path')
 var fs = require('graceful-fs')
 var rimraf = require('rimraf')
 var asyncMap = require('slide').asyncMap
-var mkdirp = require('mkdirp')
+var mkdirp = require('gentle-fs').mkdir
 var npm = require('../../npm.js')
 var andIgnoreErrors = require('../and-ignore-errors.js')
 var move = require('../../utils/move.js')
diff --git a/lib/search/all-package-metadata.js b/lib/search/all-package-metadata.js
index a006dadaddf3b..388b4f61f0496 100644
--- a/lib/search/all-package-metadata.js
+++ b/lib/search/all-package-metadata.js
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ const figgyPudding = require('figgy-pudding')
 const fs = require('graceful-fs')
 const JSONStream = require('JSONStream')
 const log = require('npmlog')
-const mkdir = BB.promisify(require('mkdirp'))
+const mkdir = BB.promisify(require('gentle-fs').mkdir)
 const ms = require('mississippi')
 const npmFetch = require('libnpm/fetch')
 const path = require('path')
diff --git a/lib/utils/cache-file.js b/lib/utils/cache-file.js
index 77df7d4e09361..7b3136b2e2db9 100644
--- a/lib/utils/cache-file.js
+++ b/lib/utils/cache-file.js
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+// XXX use infer-owner or gentle-fs.mkdir here
 const npm = require('../npm.js')
 const path = require('path')
 const chownr = require('chownr')
diff --git a/lib/utils/correct-mkdir.js b/lib/utils/correct-mkdir.js
index 2558de66f5b6f..57368e946e37f 100644
--- a/lib/utils/correct-mkdir.js
+++ b/lib/utils/correct-mkdir.js
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+// XXX this can probably be replaced with gentle-fs.mkdir everywhere it's used
 const chownr = require('chownr')
 const inflight = require('inflight')
 const log = require('npmlog')
diff --git a/node_modules/gentle-fs/CHANGELOG.md b/node_modules/gentle-fs/CHANGELOG.md
index e9bb23d98b891..38fc91cba587d 100644
--- a/node_modules/gentle-fs/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/node_modules/gentle-fs/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,41 @@
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file. See [standard-version](https://github.com/conventional-changelog/standard-version) for commit guidelines.
 
+<a name="2.2.1"></a>
+## [2.2.1](https://github.com/npm/gentle-fs/compare/v2.2.0...v2.2.1) (2019-08-15)
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* **link:** properly detect that we should chown the link ([1c69beb](https://github.com/npm/gentle-fs/commit/1c69beb))
+
+
+
+<a name="2.2.0"></a>
+# [2.2.0](https://github.com/npm/gentle-fs/compare/v2.1.0...v2.2.0) (2019-08-14)
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* don't chown if we didn't make any dirs ([c4df8a8](https://github.com/npm/gentle-fs/commit/c4df8a8))
+
+
+### Features
+
+* export mkdir method ([4891c09](https://github.com/npm/gentle-fs/commit/4891c09))
+
+
+
+<a name="2.1.0"></a>
+# [2.1.0](https://github.com/npm/gentle-fs/compare/v2.0.1...v2.1.0) (2019-08-14)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* infer ownership of created dirs and links ([0dd2879](https://github.com/npm/gentle-fs/commit/0dd2879))
+
+
+
 <a name="2.0.1"></a>
 ## [2.0.1](https://github.com/npm/gentle-fs/compare/v2.0.0...v2.0.1) (2017-11-28)
 
diff --git a/node_modules/gentle-fs/index.js b/node_modules/gentle-fs/index.js
index 2828fdb2bd318..9807ed9d8580b 100644
--- a/node_modules/gentle-fs/index.js
+++ b/node_modules/gentle-fs/index.js
@@ -2,9 +2,11 @@
 
 const rm = require('./lib/rm.js')
 const link = require('./lib/link.js')
+const mkdir = require('./lib/mkdir.js')
 
 exports = module.exports = {
   rm: rm,
   link: link.link,
-  linkIfExists: link.linkIfExists
+  linkIfExists: link.linkIfExists,
+  mkdir: mkdir
 }
diff --git a/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/chown.js b/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/chown.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..5921e56345769
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/chown.js
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+'use strict'
+
+// A module for chowning things we just created, to preserve
+// ownership of new links and directories.
+
+const chownr = require('chownr')
+
+const selfOwner = {
+  uid: process.getuid && process.getuid(),
+  gid: process.getgid && process.getgid()
+}
+
+module.exports = (path, uid, gid, cb) => {
+  if (selfOwner.uid !== 0 ||
+      uid === undefined || gid === undefined ||
+      (selfOwner.uid === uid && selfOwner.gid === gid)) {
+    // don't need to, or can't chown anyway, so just leave it.
+    // this also handles platforms where process.getuid is undefined
+    return cb()
+  }
+  chownr(path, uid, gid, cb)
+}
+
+module.exports.selfOwner = selfOwner
diff --git a/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/link.js b/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/link.js
index 246d801479a11..4623e7e82cf88 100644
--- a/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/link.js
+++ b/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/link.js
@@ -3,8 +3,10 @@
 const path = require('path')
 const fs = require('graceful-fs')
 const chain = require('slide').chain
-const mkdir = require('mkdirp')
+const mkdir = require('./mkdir.js')
 const rm = require('./rm.js')
+const inferOwner = require('infer-owner')
+const chown = require('./chown.js')
 
 exports = module.exports = {
   link: link,
@@ -53,14 +55,20 @@ function link (from, to, opts, cb) {
   var relativeTarget = path.relative(opts.base, absTarget)
   var target = opts.absolute ? absTarget : relativeTarget
 
-  chain(
-    [
-      [ensureFromIsNotSource, absTarget, to],
-      [fs, 'stat', absTarget],
-      [rm, to, opts],
-      [mkdir, path.dirname(to)],
-      [fs, 'symlink', target, to, 'junction']
-    ],
-    cb
-  )
+  const tasks = [
+    [ensureFromIsNotSource, absTarget, to],
+    [fs, 'stat', absTarget],
+    [rm, to, opts],
+    [mkdir, path.dirname(to)],
+    [fs, 'symlink', target, to, 'junction']
+  ]
+
+  if (chown.selfOwner.uid !== 0) {
+    chain(tasks, cb)
+  } else {
+    inferOwner(to).then(owner => {
+      tasks.push([chown, to, owner.uid, owner.gid])
+      chain(tasks, cb)
+    })
+  }
 }
diff --git a/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/mkdir.js b/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/mkdir.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..5b419959716bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node_modules/gentle-fs/lib/mkdir.js
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+'use strict'
+
+const mkdirp = require('mkdirp')
+const inferOwner = require('infer-owner')
+const chown = require('./chown.js')
+
+module.exports = (path, cb) => {
+  // don't bother chowning if we can't anyway
+  if (process.platform === 'win32' || chown.selfOwner.uid !== 0) {
+    return mkdirp(path, cb)
+  }
+
+  inferOwner(path).then(owner => {
+    mkdirp(path, (er, made) => {
+      if (er || !made) {
+        cb(er, made)
+      } else {
+        chown(made || path, owner.uid, owner.gid, cb)
+      }
+    })
+  }, cb)
+}
diff --git a/node_modules/gentle-fs/package.json b/node_modules/gentle-fs/package.json
index 55bc6bd40eca1..bf4867c08d328 100644
--- a/node_modules/gentle-fs/package.json
+++ b/node_modules/gentle-fs/package.json
@@ -1,49 +1,49 @@
 {
-  "_args": [
-    [
-      "gentle-fs@2.0.1",
-      "/Users/rebecca/code/npm"
-    ]
-  ],
-  "_from": "gentle-fs@2.0.1",
-  "_id": "gentle-fs@2.0.1",
+  "_from": "gentle-fs@2.2.1",
+  "_id": "gentle-fs@2.2.1",
   "_inBundle": false,
-  "_integrity": "sha512-cEng5+3fuARewXktTEGbwsktcldA+YsnUEaXZwcK/3pjSE1X9ObnTs+/8rYf8s+RnIcQm2D5x3rwpN7Zom8Bew==",
+  "_integrity": "sha512-e7dRgUM5fsS+7wm2oggZpgcRx6sEvJHXujPH5RzgQ1ziQY4+HuVBYsnUzJwJ+C7mjOJN27DjiFy1TaL+TNltow==",
   "_location": "/gentle-fs",
   "_phantomChildren": {},
   "_requested": {
     "type": "version",
     "registry": true,
-    "raw": "gentle-fs@2.0.1",
+    "raw": "gentle-fs@2.2.1",
     "name": "gentle-fs",
     "escapedName": "gentle-fs",
-    "rawSpec": "2.0.1",
+    "rawSpec": "2.2.1",
     "saveSpec": null,
-    "fetchSpec": "2.0.1"
+    "fetchSpec": "2.2.1"
   },
   "_requiredBy": [
+    "#USER",
     "/",
     "/bin-links"
   ],
-  "_resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/gentle-fs/-/gentle-fs-2.0.1.tgz",
-  "_spec": "2.0.1",
-  "_where": "/Users/rebecca/code/npm",
+  "_resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/gentle-fs/-/gentle-fs-2.2.1.tgz",
+  "_shasum": "1f38df4b4ead685566257201fd526de401ebb215",
+  "_spec": "gentle-fs@2.2.1",
+  "_where": "/Users/isaacs/dev/npm/cli",
   "author": {
     "name": "Mike Sherov"
   },
   "bugs": {
     "url": "https://github.com/npm/gentle-fs/issues"
   },
+  "bundleDependencies": false,
   "dependencies": {
     "aproba": "^1.1.2",
+    "chownr": "^1.1.2",
     "fs-vacuum": "^1.2.10",
     "graceful-fs": "^4.1.11",
     "iferr": "^0.1.5",
+    "infer-owner": "^1.0.4",
     "mkdirp": "^0.5.1",
     "path-is-inside": "^1.0.2",
     "read-cmd-shim": "^1.0.1",
     "slide": "^1.1.6"
   },
+  "deprecated": false,
   "description": "Gentle Filesystem operations",
   "devDependencies": {
     "dezalgo": "^1.0.3",
@@ -81,5 +81,5 @@
     "update-coc": "weallbehave -o . && git add CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md && git commit -m 'docs(coc): updated CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md'",
     "update-contrib": "weallcontribute -o . && git add CONTRIBUTING.md && git commit -m 'docs(contributing): updated CONTRIBUTING.md'"
   },
-  "version": "2.0.1"
+  "version": "2.2.1"
 }
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index a71b1709807b6..1ee37b3cd7d02 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -2239,14 +2239,16 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-KGDOARWVga7+rnB3z9Sd2Letx515owfk0hSxHGuqjANb1M+x2bGZGqHLiozPsYMdM2OubeMni/Hpwmjq6qIUhA=="
     },
     "gentle-fs": {
-      "version": "2.0.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/gentle-fs/-/gentle-fs-2.0.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-cEng5+3fuARewXktTEGbwsktcldA+YsnUEaXZwcK/3pjSE1X9ObnTs+/8rYf8s+RnIcQm2D5x3rwpN7Zom8Bew==",
+      "version": "2.2.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/gentle-fs/-/gentle-fs-2.2.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-e7dRgUM5fsS+7wm2oggZpgcRx6sEvJHXujPH5RzgQ1ziQY4+HuVBYsnUzJwJ+C7mjOJN27DjiFy1TaL+TNltow==",
       "requires": {
         "aproba": "^1.1.2",
+        "chownr": "^1.1.2",
         "fs-vacuum": "^1.2.10",
         "graceful-fs": "^4.1.11",
         "iferr": "^0.1.5",
+        "infer-owner": "^1.0.4",
         "mkdirp": "^0.5.1",
         "path-is-inside": "^1.0.2",
         "read-cmd-shim": "^1.0.1",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 252bc684ac7fc..a5f057a11bf97 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
     "find-npm-prefix": "^1.0.2",
     "fs-vacuum": "~1.2.10",
     "fs-write-stream-atomic": "~1.0.10",
-    "gentle-fs": "^2.0.1",
+    "gentle-fs": "^2.2.1",
     "glob": "^7.1.4",
     "graceful-fs": "^4.2.0",
     "has-unicode": "~2.0.1",