diff --git a/lix/libutil/linear-map.hh b/lix/libutil/linear-map.hh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8e9318fd0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lix/libutil/linear-map.hh
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+#pragma once
+///@file
+
+#include <functional>
+#include <vector>
+#include <algorithm>
+
+namespace nix {
+/**
+ * Provides a map-like data structure but backed by a vector.
+ * The comparison `Comp` must be a linear order on `K`.
+ * This is mostly used for mapping symbols to values in the expression tree,
+ * where the data structure is immutable after having been built and fast linear
+ * access is important.
+ */
+template<typename K, typename V, typename Comp = std::less<>>
+class LinearMap : private std::vector<std::pair<K, V>>
+{
+private:
+    using base = std::vector<std::pair<K, V>>;
+
+    auto lower_bound_of(const K & key)
+    {
+        return std::lower_bound(
+            base::begin(),
+            base::end(),
+            key,
+            [](const std::pair<K, V> & pair, const K & k) { return Comp{}(pair.first, k); }
+        );
+    }
+    auto lower_bound_of(const K & key) const
+    {
+        return std::lower_bound(
+            base::begin(),
+            base::end(),
+            key,
+            [](const std::pair<K, V> & pair, const K & k) { return Comp{}(pair.first, k); }
+        );
+    }
+
+public:
+    using typename base::const_iterator, typename base::value_type;
+    LinearMap() = default;
+    LinearMap(size_t expectedSize)
+    {
+        reserve(expectedSize);
+    }
+    using base::size, base::reserve, base::clear, base::cbegin, base::cend;
+
+    /* Insert an element at the correct position, shifting later elements back by
+     * one place. Returns `true` if a previous element with that key was
+     * overwritten
+     */
+    std::pair<const_iterator, bool> insert_or_assign(const K key, V value)
+    {
+        /* Fast path: We are inserting elements in order and thus the insertion is bigger than the
+         * current last element */
+        if (base::empty() || Comp{}(base::back().first, key)) {
+            base::emplace_back(std::move(key), std::move(value));
+            return std::pair(base::end() - 1, false);
+        }
+
+        auto i = lower_bound_of(key);
+        if (i != end() && i->first == key) {
+            i->second = std::move(value);
+            return std::pair(i, true);
+        } else {
+            auto i2 = base::insert(i, std::pair(key, std::move(value)));
+            return std::pair(i2, false);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* Insert an arbitrary amount of values into the map with a callable function.
+     * This is a workaround to C++'s sad state of iterators and generators.
+     * The passed function gets access to the internal backing vector, and may append any number of
+     * elements to it. It is up to the passed function to ensure only elements are appended, and
+     * that the set of added elements is ordered and free of duplicates. After the insertion
+     * function terminates, the added items are merged into the map in O(n). Newly inserted elements
+     * override existing elements in the map.
+     */
+    template<typename Fn>
+    void unsafe_insert_bulk(Fn func)
+    {
+        auto oldSize = this->size();
+        func(static_cast<base &>(*this));
+
+        std::inplace_merge(
+            base::begin(),
+            base::begin() + oldSize,
+            base::end(),
+            [](const auto & a, const auto & b) { return Comp{}(a.first, b.first); }
+        );
+
+        /* Deduplicate, prefer newly inserted */
+        auto it = base::begin(), jt = it;
+        while (jt != base::end()) {
+            *it = *jt++;
+            while (jt != base::end() && it->first == jt->first) {
+                *it = *jt++;
+            }
+            it++;
+        }
+        base::erase(it, base::end());
+    }
+
+    /* The inserted range must be sorted and free of duplicates */
+    template<typename It>
+    void insert_range_sorted(It it, It end)
+    {
+        unsafe_insert_bulk([&](auto & map) {
+            if constexpr (requires { end - it; }) {
+                map.reserve(map.size() + (end - it));
+            }
+            for (; it != end; ++it) {
+                map.emplace_back(it->first, it->second);
+            }
+        });
+    };
+
+    /* The inserted range must be free of duplicates */
+    template<typename It>
+    void insert_range(It it, It end)
+    {
+        unsafe_insert_bulk([&](auto & map) {
+            auto oldSize = map.size();
+            if constexpr (requires { end - it; }) {
+                map.reserve(map.size() + (end - it));
+            }
+            for (; it != end; ++it) {
+                map.emplace_back(it->first, it->second);
+            }
+            std::sort(map.begin() + oldSize, map.end(), Comp{});
+        });
+    };
+
+    const_iterator find(const K & key) const
+    {
+        if (auto i = lower_bound_of(key); i != base::end() && i->first == key) {
+            return i;
+        }
+        return base::end();
+    }
+    const_iterator begin() const
+    {
+        return cbegin();
+    }
+    const_iterator end() const
+    {
+        return cend();
+    }
+};
+} // namespace nix
diff --git a/lix/libutil/meson.build b/lix/libutil/meson.build
index e09e471a5..6af6d25f1 100644
--- a/lix/libutil/meson.build
+++ b/lix/libutil/meson.build
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ libutil_headers = files(
   'input-accessor.hh',
   'json-fwd.hh',
   'json.hh',
+  'linear-map.hh',
   'logging.hh',
   'lru-cache.hh',
   'manually-drop.hh',
diff --git a/tests/unit/libutil/linear-map.cc b/tests/unit/libutil/linear-map.cc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..363a8b491
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/libutil/linear-map.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+#include "lix/libutil/linear-map.hh"
+
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+
+namespace nix {
+    TEST(LinearMap, Insert) {
+        LinearMap<size_t, int> map;
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.insert_or_assign(1, 1).second, false);
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.insert_or_assign(3, 5).second, false);
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.insert_or_assign(2, 2).second, false);
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.insert_or_assign(3, 3).second, true);
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.insert_or_assign(4, 4).second, false);
+
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.size(), 4);
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[0], std::pair((size_t) 1, 1));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[1], std::pair((size_t) 2, 2));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[2], std::pair((size_t) 3, 3));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[3], std::pair((size_t) 4, 4));
+    }
+
+    TEST(LinearMap, InsertRangeSorted) {
+        LinearMap<size_t, int> map;
+        std::map<int, int> items = {
+            {3, 3},
+            {2, 2},
+            {1, 1},
+            {4, 4},
+        };
+        map.insert_range_sorted(std::begin(items), std::end(items));
+
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.size(), 4);
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[0], std::pair((size_t) 1, 1));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[1], std::pair((size_t) 2, 2));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[2], std::pair((size_t) 3, 3));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[3], std::pair((size_t) 4, 4));
+    }
+
+    TEST(LinearMap, InsertRangeUnsorted) {
+        LinearMap<size_t, int> map;
+        std::vector<std::pair<int, int>> items = {
+            {3, 3},
+            {2, 2},
+            {1, 1},
+            {4, 4},
+        };
+        map.insert_range(std::begin(items), std::end(items));
+
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.size(), 4);
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[0], std::pair((size_t) 1, 1));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[1], std::pair((size_t) 2, 2));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[2], std::pair((size_t) 3, 3));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[3], std::pair((size_t) 4, 4));
+    }
+
+    TEST(LinearMap, InsertRangeDuplicates) {
+        LinearMap<size_t, int> map;
+        map.insert_or_assign(2, 5);
+        std::vector<std::pair<int, int>> items = {
+            {3, 3},
+            {2, 2},
+            {1, 1},
+            {4, 4},
+        };
+        map.insert_range(std::begin(items), std::end(items));
+
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.size(), 4);
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[0], std::pair((size_t) 1, 1));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[1], std::pair((size_t) 2, 2));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[2], std::pair((size_t) 3, 3));
+        ASSERT_EQ(map.begin()[3], std::pair((size_t) 4, 4));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/unit/meson.build b/tests/unit/meson.build
index 39828a074..e5b743b48 100644
--- a/tests/unit/meson.build
+++ b/tests/unit/meson.build
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ libutil_tests_sources = files(
   'libutil/hash.cc',
   'libutil/hilite.cc',
   'libutil/json-utils.cc',
+  'libutil/linear-map.cc',
   'libutil/logging.cc',
   'libutil/lru-cache.cc',
   'libutil/monitor-fd.cc',