diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
index 03a3b8f22..0a7eb7d26 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -180,6 +180,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: knative/actions/setup-go@main
       - uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v3
       - name: Login to GitHub Container Registry
         uses: docker/login-action@v3
@@ -189,12 +190,14 @@ jobs:
           password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       - name: Build and push
         run: |
-          ./hack/fetch-util-img-prerequisites.sh
+          for a in amd64 arm64 ppc64le s390x; do
+            CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -o "func-util-$a" -trimpath -ldflags '-w -s' ./cmd/func-util
+          done
           docker buildx create --name multiarch --driver docker-container --use
           docker buildx build . -f Dockerfile.utils \
             --platform=linux/ppc64le,linux/s390x,linux/amd64,linux/arm64 \
             --push \
-            -t "ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:latest" \
+            -t "ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:v2" \
             --annotation index:org.opencontainers.image.description="Knative Func Utils Image" \
             --annotation index:org.opencontainers.image.source="https://github.com/knative/func" \
             --annotation index:org.opencontainers.image.vendor="https://github.com/knative/func" \
diff --git a/Dockerfile.utils b/Dockerfile.utils
index c7e2b2f96..d0ba642ce 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.utils
+++ b/Dockerfile.utils
@@ -1,41 +1,13 @@
-FROM --platform=$BUILDPLATFORM scratch AS builder
-
-ARG BUILDPLATFORM
-ARG BUILDARCH
-ARG TARGETPLATFORM
-ARG TARGETARCH
-
-ADD .artifacts/alpine-minirootfs-$BUILDARCH.tar.gz /
-
-COPY .artifacts/go.tar.gz /tmp/go.tar.gz
-RUN tar -C /usr/local -xzf /tmp/go.tar.gz
-ENV PATH="/usr/local/go/bin:$PATH"
-
-WORKDIR /workspace
-
-COPY go.mod go.sum ./
-RUN go mod download -x
-
-COPY . .
-
-RUN GOARCH=$TARGETARCH go build -o func-util -trimpath -ldflags '-w -s' ./cmd/func-util
-
-#########################
-
 FROM scratch
 
 ARG TARGETARCH
+ARG FUNC_UTIL_BINARY=func-util-$TARGETARCH
 
-ADD .artifacts/alpine-minirootfs-$TARGETARCH.tar.gz /
+ENV PATH=/
 
-RUN apk add --no-cache tar
+COPY $FUNC_UTIL_BINARY /func-util
 
-COPY --from=builder /workspace/func-util /usr/local/bin/
-RUN ln -s /usr/local/bin/func-util /usr/local/bin/deploy && \
-    ln -s /usr/local/bin/func-util /usr/local/bin/scaffold && \
-    ln -s /usr/local/bin/func-util /usr/local/bin/s2i && \
-    ln -s /usr/local/bin/func-util /usr/local/bin/sh && \
-    ln -s /usr/local/bin/func-util /usr/local/bin/socat
+ADD func-util-symlinks.tgz /
 
 LABEL \
    org.opencontainers.image.description="Knative Func Utils Image" \
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index dd0fc9bab..9e4c72c8f 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ KVER         ?= $(shell git describe --tags --match 'knative-*')
 
 LDFLAGS      := -X knative.dev/func/pkg/app.vers=$(VERS) -X knative.dev/func/pkg/app.kver=$(KVER) -X knative.dev/func/pkg/app.hash=$(HASH)
 
-FUNC_UTILS_IMG ?= ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:latest
+FUNC_UTILS_IMG ?= ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:v2
 LDFLAGS += -X knative.dev/func/pkg/k8s.SocatImage=$(FUNC_UTILS_IMG)
 LDFLAGS += -X knative.dev/func/pkg/k8s.TarImage=$(FUNC_UTILS_IMG)
 LDFLAGS += -X knative.dev/func/pkg/pipelines/tekton.DeployerImage=$(FUNC_UTILS_IMG)
diff --git a/cmd/func-util/main.go b/cmd/func-util/main.go
index 26900ece3..0857cb3fd 100644
--- a/cmd/func-util/main.go
+++ b/cmd/func-util/main.go
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@ func main() {
 		cmd = socat
 	case "sh":
 		cmd = sh
+	case "s2i-generate":
+		cmd = s2iGenerate
 	}
 
 	err := cmd(ctx)
diff --git a/cmd/func-util/s2i_generate.go b/cmd/func-util/s2i_generate.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..40c79abb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/func-util/s2i_generate.go
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+//go:build exclude_graphdriver_btrfs || !cgo
+// +build exclude_graphdriver_btrfs !cgo
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"net/url"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/openshift/source-to-image/pkg/api"
+	"github.com/openshift/source-to-image/pkg/build"
+	"github.com/openshift/source-to-image/pkg/build/strategies"
+	"github.com/openshift/source-to-image/pkg/scm/git"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	fn "knative.dev/func/pkg/functions"
+)
+
+func s2iGenerate(ctx context.Context) error {
+	cmd := newS2IGenerateCmd()
+	err := cmd.ExecuteContext(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot s2i generate: %w", err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+type genConfig struct {
+	target         string
+	pathContext    string
+	builderImage   string
+	registry       string
+	imageScriptUrl string
+	logLevel       string
+	envVars        []string
+}
+
+func newS2IGenerateCmd() *cobra.Command {
+	var config genConfig
+
+	genCmd := &cobra.Command{
+		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			config.envVars = args
+			return runS2IGenerate(cmd.Context(), config)
+		},
+	}
+	genCmd.Flags().StringVar(&config.target, "target", "/gen-source", "")
+	genCmd.Flags().StringVar(&config.pathContext, "path-context", ".", "")
+	genCmd.Flags().StringVar(&config.builderImage, "builder-image", "", "")
+	genCmd.Flags().StringVar(&config.registry, "registry", "", "")
+	genCmd.Flags().StringVar(&config.imageScriptUrl, "image-script-url", "image:///usr/libexec/s2i", "")
+	genCmd.Flags().StringVar(&config.logLevel, "log-level", "0", "")
+
+	return genCmd
+}
+
+func runS2IGenerate(ctx context.Context, c genConfig) error {
+
+	wd, err := os.Getwd()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot get working directory: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	funcRoot := filepath.Join(wd, c.pathContext)
+
+	// replace registry in func.yaml
+	f, err := fn.NewFunction(funcRoot)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot load function: %w", err)
+	}
+	f.Registry = c.registry
+	err = f.Write()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot write function: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// append node_modules into .s2iignore
+	s2iIgnorePath := filepath.Join(funcRoot, ".s2iignore")
+	if fi, _ := os.Stat(s2iIgnorePath); fi != nil {
+		var file *os.File
+
+		file, err = os.OpenFile(s2iIgnorePath, os.O_APPEND|os.O_WRONLY, 0644)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("cannot open s2i ignore file for append: %w", err)
+		}
+		defer func(file *os.File) {
+			_ = file.Close()
+
+		}(file)
+
+		_, err = file.Write([]byte("\nnode_modules"))
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("cannot append node_modules directory to s2i ignore file: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// prepare envvars
+	var envs = make([]api.EnvironmentSpec, 0, len(c.envVars))
+	for _, e := range c.envVars {
+		var es api.EnvironmentSpec
+		part := strings.SplitN(e, "=", 2)
+		switch len(part) {
+		case 1:
+			es.Name = part[0]
+		case 2:
+			es.Name = part[0]
+			es.Value = part[1]
+		default:
+			continue
+		}
+		if es.Name != "" {
+			envs = append(envs, es)
+		}
+	}
+
+	s2iConfig := api.Config{
+		Source: &git.URL{
+			URL:  url.URL{Path: funcRoot},
+			Type: git.URLTypeLocal,
+		},
+		BuilderImage:    c.builderImage,
+		ImageScriptsURL: c.imageScriptUrl,
+		KeepSymlinks:    true,
+		Environment:     envs,
+		AsDockerfile:    filepath.Join(c.target, "Dockerfile.gen"),
+	}
+
+	builder, _, err := strategies.Strategy(nil, &s2iConfig, build.Overrides{})
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot create builder: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	_, err = builder.Build(&s2iConfig)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot build: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/func-util-symlinks.tgz b/func-util-symlinks.tgz
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..63939b94b
Binary files /dev/null and b/func-util-symlinks.tgz differ
diff --git a/hack/fetch-util-img-prerequisites.sh b/hack/fetch-util-img-prerequisites.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 7e3401263..000000000
--- a/hack/fetch-util-img-prerequisites.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,60 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-set -o errexit
-set -o nounset
-set -o pipefail
-
-alpine_version='3.21.2'
-go_version='1.23.5'
-
-alpine_release_key='0482D84022F52DF1C4E7CD43293ACD0907D9495A'
-google_release_key='EB4C1BFD4F042F6DDDCCEC917721F63BD38B4796'
-
-artifacts_dir="$(dirname "$(realpath "$0")")/../.artifacts"
-if [ ! -d "$artifacts_dir" ]; then
-  mkdir "$artifacts_dir";
-fi
-
-GNUPGHOME="$(mktemp -d)"
-export GNUPGHOME
-gpg --keyserver 'keyserver.ubuntu.com' --recv-keys "$alpine_release_key"
-gpg --keyserver 'keyserver.ubuntu.com' --recv-keys "$google_release_key"
-
-declare -A arch_map
-arch_map['x86_64']='amd64'
-arch_map['aarch64']='arm64'
-
-function fetch_alpine_minirootfs() {
-  local alpine_rel_url='https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/releases'
-
-  local arch
-  for arch in 'x86_64' 'aarch64' 'ppc64le' 's390x'; do
-    local arch_alt="${arch_map[$arch]:-$arch}"
-    local tarball="${artifacts_dir}/alpine-minirootfs-${arch_alt}.tar.gz"
-    local signature="${artifacts_dir}/alpine-minirootfs-${arch_alt}.tar.gz.asc"
-    curl -sSL "${alpine_rel_url}/${arch}/alpine-minirootfs-${alpine_version}-${arch}.tar.gz" > \
-      "${tarball}"
-    curl -sSL "${alpine_rel_url}/${arch}/alpine-minirootfs-${alpine_version}-${arch}.tar.gz.asc" > \
-      "${signature}"
-    gpg --assert-signer="$alpine_release_key" --verify "${signature}" "${tarball}"
-  done
-}
-
-function fetch_golang() {
-
-  local arch
-  arch="$(uname -m)"
-  local arch_alt="${arch_map[$arch]:-$arch}"
-  local tarball="${artifacts_dir}/go.tar.gz"
-  local signature="${artifacts_dir}/go.tar.gz.asc"
-  curl -sSL "https://go.dev/dl/go${go_version}.linux-${arch_alt}.tar.gz" > "${tarball}"
-  curl -sSL "https://go.dev/dl/go${go_version}.linux-${arch_alt}.tar.gz.asc" > "${signature}"
-  gpg --assert-signer="$google_release_key" --verify "${signature}" "${tarball}"
-}
-
-function main() {
-  fetch_alpine_minirootfs
-  fetch_golang
-}
-
-main "$@"
diff --git a/hack/setup-testing-images.sh b/hack/setup-testing-images.sh
index 3cc031829..53137c771 100755
--- a/hack/setup-testing-images.sh
+++ b/hack/setup-testing-images.sh
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ set -o errexit
 set -o nounset
 set -o pipefail
 
-FUNC_UTILS_IMG="localhost:50000/knative/func-utils:latest"
+FUNC_UTILS_IMG="localhost:50000/knative/func-utils:v2"
 
-"$(dirname "$(realpath "$0")")/fetch-util-img-prerequisites.sh"
+CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -o "func-util" -trimpath -ldflags '-w -s' ./cmd/func-util
 
-docker build . -f Dockerfile.utils -t "${FUNC_UTILS_IMG}"
+docker build . -f Dockerfile.utils -t "${FUNC_UTILS_IMG}" --build-arg FUNC_UTIL_BINARY=func-util
 docker push "${FUNC_UTILS_IMG}"
 
 # Build custom buildah image for tests.
diff --git a/pkg/k8s/dialer.go b/pkg/k8s/dialer.go
index 80f8067d4..dd1b6740d 100644
--- a/pkg/k8s/dialer.go
+++ b/pkg/k8s/dialer.go
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/remotecommand"
 )
 
-var SocatImage = "ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:latest"
+var SocatImage = "ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:v2"
 
 // NewInClusterDialer creates context dialer that will dial TCP connections via POD running in k8s cluster.
 // This is useful when accessing k8s services that are not exposed outside cluster (e.g. openshift image registry).
diff --git a/pkg/k8s/persistent_volumes.go b/pkg/k8s/persistent_volumes.go
index 6c0694f54..b46f4a216 100644
--- a/pkg/k8s/persistent_volumes.go
+++ b/pkg/k8s/persistent_volumes.go
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ func DeletePersistentVolumeClaims(ctx context.Context, namespaceOverride string,
 	return client.CoreV1().PersistentVolumeClaims(namespace).DeleteCollection(ctx, metav1.DeleteOptions{}, listOptions)
 }
 
-var TarImage = "ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:latest"
+var TarImage = "ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:v2"
 
 // UploadToVolume uploads files (passed in form of tar stream) into volume.
 func UploadToVolume(ctx context.Context, content io.Reader, claimName, namespace string) error {
diff --git a/pkg/pipelines/tekton/tasks.go b/pkg/pipelines/tekton/tasks.go
index ed1d8349a..5770b2433 100644
--- a/pkg/pipelines/tekton/tasks.go
+++ b/pkg/pipelines/tekton/tasks.go
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 )
 
-var DeployerImage = "ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:latest"
+var DeployerImage = "ghcr.io/knative/func-utils:v2"
 
 func getBuildpackTask() string {
 	return `apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1
@@ -306,37 +306,21 @@ spec:
     - name: generate
       image: %s
       workingDir: $(workspaces.source.path)
-      args: ["$(params.ENV_VARS[*])"]
-      script: |
-        echo "Processing Build Environment Variables"
-        echo "" > /env-vars/env-file
-        for var in "$@"
-        do
-            if [[ "$var" != "=" ]]; then
-                echo "$var" >> /env-vars/env-file
-            fi
-        done
-
-        echo "Generated Build Env Var file"
-        echo "------------------------------"
-        cat /env-vars/env-file
-        echo "------------------------------"
-
-        /usr/local/bin/s2i --loglevel=$(params.LOGLEVEL) build --keep-symlinks $(params.PATH_CONTEXT) $(params.BUILDER_IMAGE) \
-        --image-scripts-url $(params.S2I_IMAGE_SCRIPTS_URL) \
-        --as-dockerfile /gen-source/Dockerfile.gen --environment-file /env-vars/env-file
-
-        echo "Preparing func.yaml for later deployment"
-        func_file="$(workspaces.source.path)/func.yaml"
-        if [ "$(params.PATH_CONTEXT)" != "" ]; then
-          func_file="$(workspaces.source.path)/$(params.PATH_CONTEXT)/func.yaml"
-        fi
-        sed -i "s|^registry:.*$|registry: $(params.REGISTRY)|" "$func_file"
-        echo "Function image registry: $(params.REGISTRY)"
-
-        s2iignore_file="$(dirname "$func_file")/.s2iignore"
-        [ -f "$s2iignore_file" ] || echo "node_modules" >> "$s2iignore_file"
-
+      command:
+        - s2i-generate
+        - "--target"
+        - /gen-source
+        - "--path-context"
+        - $(params.PATH_CONTEXT)
+        - "--builder-image"
+        - $(params.BUILDER_IMAGE)
+        - "--registry"
+        - $(params.REGISTRY)
+        - "--image-script-url"
+        - $(params.S2I_IMAGE_SCRIPTS_URL)
+        - "--log-level"
+        - $(params.LOGLEVEL)
+        - $(params.ENV_VARS[*])
       volumeMounts:
         - mountPath: /gen-source
           name: gen-source
@@ -418,8 +402,7 @@ spec:
   steps:
     - name: func-deploy
       image: "%s"
-      script: |
-        deploy $(params.path) "$(params.image)"
+      command: ["deploy", "$(params.path)", "$(params.image)"]
 `, DeployerImage)
 }
 
@@ -446,8 +429,7 @@ spec:
   steps:
     - name: func-scaffold
       image: %s
-      script: |
-        scaffold $(params.path)
+      command: ["scaffold", "$(params.path)"]
 `, DeployerImage)
 }