diff --git a/hack/_update-generated-protobuf-dockerized.sh b/hack/_update-generated-protobuf-dockerized.sh
index 501760d430b..45e0535905a 100755
--- a/hack/_update-generated-protobuf-dockerized.sh
+++ b/hack/_update-generated-protobuf-dockerized.sh
@@ -33,14 +33,12 @@ kube::golang::setup_env
 GOPROXY=off go install k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/go-to-protobuf
 GOPROXY=off go install k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/go-to-protobuf/protoc-gen-gogo
 
-gotoprotobuf=$(kube::util::find-binary "go-to-protobuf")
-
 # requires the 'proto' tag to build (will remove when ready)
 # searches for the protoc-gen-gogo extension in the output directory
 # satisfies import of github.com/gogo/protobuf/gogoproto/gogo.proto and the
 # core Google protobuf types
 PATH="${KUBE_ROOT}/_output/bin:${PATH}" \
-  "${gotoprotobuf}" \
+  go-to-protobuf \
   -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
   --go-header-file "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/boilerplate/boilerplate.generatego.txt" \
   --output-dir="${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/src" \
diff --git a/hack/update-codegen.sh b/hack/update-codegen.sh
index a737e8f4717..9940676e596 100755
--- a/hack/update-codegen.sh
+++ b/hack/update-codegen.sh
@@ -142,10 +142,6 @@ function codegen::deepcopy() {
     # The result file, in each pkg, of deep-copy generation.
     local output_file="${GENERATED_FILE_PREFIX}deepcopy.go"
 
-    # The tool used to generate deep copies.
-    local gen_deepcopy_bin
-    gen_deepcopy_bin="$(kube::util::find-binary "deepcopy-gen")"
-
     # Find all the directories that request deep-copy generation.
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
         kube::log::status "DBG: finding all +k8s:deepcopy-gen tags"
@@ -166,7 +162,7 @@ function codegen::deepcopy() {
 
     kube::log::status "Generating deepcopy code for ${#tag_pkgs[@]} targets"
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${gen_deepcopy_bin} for:"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running deepcopy-gen for:"
         for dir in "${tag_dirs[@]}"; do
             kube::log::status "DBG:     $dir"
         done
@@ -174,7 +170,7 @@ function codegen::deepcopy() {
 
     git_find -z ':(glob)**'/"${output_file}" | xargs -0 rm -f
 
-    "${gen_deepcopy_bin}" \
+    deepcopy-gen \
         -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
         --go-header-file "${BOILERPLATE_FILENAME}" \
         --output-file "${output_file}" \
@@ -192,17 +188,13 @@ function codegen::deepcopy() {
 # $2: Path to the directory where types.go for that group version exists. This
 # is the directory where the file will be generated.
 function gen_types_swagger_doc() {
-    # The tool used to generate swagger code.
-    local swagger_bin
-    swagger_bin="$(kube::util::find-binary "genswaggertypedocs")"
-
     local group_version="$1"
     local gv_dir="$2"
     local tmpfile
     tmpfile="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/types_swagger_doc_generated.$(date +%s).go"
 
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${swagger_bin} for ${group_version} at ${gv_dir}"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running genswaggertypedocs for ${group_version} at ${gv_dir}"
     fi
 
     {
@@ -227,7 +219,7 @@ function gen_types_swagger_doc() {
 EOF
     } > "${tmpfile}"
 
-    "${swagger_bin}" \
+    genswaggertypedocs \
         -s \
         "${gv_dir}/types.go" \
         -f - \
@@ -274,10 +266,6 @@ function codegen::prerelease() {
     # The result file, in each pkg, of prerelease-lifecycle generation.
     local output_file="${GENERATED_FILE_PREFIX}prerelease-lifecycle.go"
 
-    # The tool used to generate prerelease-lifecycle code.
-    local gen_prerelease_bin
-    gen_prerelease_bin="$(kube::util::find-binary "prerelease-lifecycle-gen")"
-
     # Find all the directories that request prerelease-lifecycle generation.
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
         kube::log::status "DBG: finding all +k8s:prerelease-lifecycle-gen tags"
@@ -298,7 +286,7 @@ function codegen::prerelease() {
 
     kube::log::status "Generating prerelease-lifecycle code for ${#tag_pkgs[@]} targets"
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${gen_prerelease_bin} for:"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running prerelease-lifecycle-gen for:"
         for dir in "${tag_dirs[@]}"; do
             kube::log::status "DBG:     $dir"
         done
@@ -306,7 +294,7 @@ function codegen::prerelease() {
 
     git_find -z ':(glob)**'/"${output_file}" | xargs -0 rm -f
 
-    "${gen_prerelease_bin}" \
+    prerelease-lifecycle-gen \
         -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
         --go-header-file "${BOILERPLATE_FILENAME}" \
         --output-file "${output_file}" \
@@ -342,10 +330,6 @@ function codegen::defaults() {
     # The result file, in each pkg, of defaulter generation.
     local output_file="${GENERATED_FILE_PREFIX}defaults.go"
 
-    # The tool used to generate defaulters.
-    local gen_defaulter_bin
-    gen_defaulter_bin="$(kube::util::find-binary "defaulter-gen")"
-
     # All directories that request any form of defaulter generation.
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
         kube::log::status "DBG: finding all +k8s:defaulter-gen tags"
@@ -366,7 +350,7 @@ function codegen::defaults() {
 
     kube::log::status "Generating defaulter code for ${#tag_pkgs[@]} targets"
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${gen_defaulter_bin} for:"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running defaulter-gen for:"
         for dir in "${tag_dirs[@]}"; do
             kube::log::status "DBG:     $dir"
         done
@@ -374,7 +358,7 @@ function codegen::defaults() {
 
     git_find -z ':(glob)**'/"${output_file}" | xargs -0 rm -f
 
-    "${gen_defaulter_bin}" \
+    defaulter-gen \
         -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
         --go-header-file "${BOILERPLATE_FILENAME}" \
         --output-file "${output_file}" \
@@ -415,10 +399,6 @@ function codegen::conversions() {
     # The result file, in each pkg, of conversion generation.
     local output_file="${GENERATED_FILE_PREFIX}conversion.go"
 
-    # The tool used to generate conversions.
-    local gen_conversion_bin
-    gen_conversion_bin="$(kube::util::find-binary "conversion-gen")"
-
     # All directories that request any form of conversion generation.
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
         kube::log::status "DBG: finding all +k8s:conversion-gen tags"
@@ -445,7 +425,7 @@ function codegen::conversions() {
 
     kube::log::status "Generating conversion code for ${#tag_pkgs[@]} targets"
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${gen_conversion_bin} for:"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running conversion-gen for:"
         for dir in "${tag_dirs[@]}"; do
             kube::log::status "DBG:     $dir"
         done
@@ -453,7 +433,7 @@ function codegen::conversions() {
 
     git_find -z ':(glob)**'/"${output_file}" | xargs -0 rm -f
 
-    "${gen_conversion_bin}" \
+    conversion-gen \
         -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
         --go-header-file "${BOILERPLATE_FILENAME}" \
         --output-file "${output_file}" \
@@ -497,10 +477,6 @@ function codegen::openapi() {
     # The result file, in each pkg, of open-api generation.
     local output_file="${GENERATED_FILE_PREFIX}openapi.go"
 
-    # The tool used to generate open apis.
-    local gen_openapi_bin
-    gen_openapi_bin="$(kube::util::find-binary "openapi-gen")"
-
     local output_dir="pkg/generated/openapi"
     local output_pkg="k8s.io/kubernetes/${output_dir}"
     local known_violations_file="${API_KNOWN_VIOLATIONS_DIR}/violation_exceptions.list"
@@ -540,7 +516,7 @@ function codegen::openapi() {
 
     kube::log::status "Generating openapi code"
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${gen_openapi_bin} for:"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running openapi-gen for:"
         for dir in "${tag_dirs[@]}"; do
             kube::log::status "DBG:     $dir"
         done
@@ -548,7 +524,7 @@ function codegen::openapi() {
 
     git_find -z ':(glob)pkg/generated/**'/"${output_file}" | xargs -0 rm -f
 
-    "${gen_openapi_bin}" \
+    openapi-gen \
         -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
         --go-header-file "${BOILERPLATE_FILENAME}" \
         --output-file "${output_file}" \
@@ -576,11 +552,6 @@ function codegen::applyconfigs() {
         k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/generated/openapi/cmd/models-schema \
         k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/applyconfiguration-gen
 
-    local modelsschema
-    modelsschema=$(kube::util::find-binary "models-schema")
-    local applyconfigurationgen
-    applyconfigurationgen=$(kube::util::find-binary "applyconfiguration-gen")
-
     local ext_apis=()
     kube::util::read-array ext_apis < <(
         cd "${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/src"
@@ -591,7 +562,7 @@ function codegen::applyconfigs() {
 
     kube::log::status "Generating apply-config code for ${#ext_apis[@]} targets"
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${applyconfigurationgen} for:"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running applyconfiguration-gen for:"
         for api in "${ext_apis[@]}"; do
             kube::log::status "DBG:     $api"
         done
@@ -604,9 +575,9 @@ function codegen::applyconfigs() {
         || true) \
         | xargs -0 rm -f
 
-    "${applyconfigurationgen}" \
+    applyconfiguration-gen \
         -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
-        --openapi-schema <("${modelsschema}") \
+        --openapi-schema <(models-schema) \
         --go-header-file "${BOILERPLATE_FILENAME}" \
         --output-dir "${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/src/${APPLYCONFIG_PKG}" \
         --output-pkg "${APPLYCONFIG_PKG}" \
@@ -622,9 +593,6 @@ function codegen::clients() {
     GOPROXY=off go install \
         k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/client-gen
 
-    local clientgen
-    clientgen=$(kube::util::find-binary "client-gen")
-
     IFS=" " read -r -a group_versions <<< "${KUBE_AVAILABLE_GROUP_VERSIONS}"
     local gv_dirs=()
     for gv in "${group_versions[@]}"; do
@@ -645,7 +613,7 @@ function codegen::clients() {
 
     kube::log::status "Generating client code for ${#gv_dirs[@]} targets"
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${clientgen} for:"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running client-gen for:"
         for dir in "${gv_dirs[@]}"; do
             kube::log::status "DBG:     $dir"
         done
@@ -658,7 +626,7 @@ function codegen::clients() {
         || true) \
         | xargs -0 rm -f
 
-    "${clientgen}" \
+    client-gen \
         -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
         --go-header-file "${BOILERPLATE_FILENAME}" \
         --output-dir "${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go" \
@@ -678,9 +646,6 @@ function codegen::listers() {
     GOPROXY=off go install \
         k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/lister-gen
 
-    local listergen
-    listergen=$(kube::util::find-binary "lister-gen")
-
     local ext_apis=()
     kube::util::read-array ext_apis < <(
         cd "${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/src"
@@ -690,7 +655,7 @@ function codegen::listers() {
 
     kube::log::status "Generating lister code for ${#ext_apis[@]} targets"
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${listergen} for:"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running lister-gen for:"
         for api in "${ext_apis[@]}"; do
             kube::log::status "DBG:     $api"
         done
@@ -703,7 +668,7 @@ function codegen::listers() {
         || true) \
         | xargs -0 rm -f
 
-    "${listergen}" \
+    lister-gen \
         -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
         --go-header-file "${BOILERPLATE_FILENAME}" \
         --output-dir "${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/listers" \
@@ -720,9 +685,6 @@ function codegen::informers() {
     GOPROXY=off go install \
         k8s.io/code-generator/cmd/informer-gen
 
-    local informergen
-    informergen=$(kube::util::find-binary "informer-gen")
-
     local ext_apis=()
     kube::util::read-array ext_apis < <(
         cd "${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/src"
@@ -732,7 +694,7 @@ function codegen::informers() {
 
     kube::log::status "Generating informer code for ${#ext_apis[@]} targets"
     if [[ "${DBG_CODEGEN}" == 1 ]]; then
-        kube::log::status "DBG: running ${informergen} for:"
+        kube::log::status "DBG: running informer-gen for:"
         for api in "${ext_apis[@]}"; do
             kube::log::status "DBG:     $api"
         done
@@ -745,7 +707,7 @@ function codegen::informers() {
         || true) \
         | xargs -0 rm -f
 
-    "${informergen}" \
+    informer-gen \
         -v "${KUBE_VERBOSE}" \
         --go-header-file "${BOILERPLATE_FILENAME}" \
         --output-dir "${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/informers" \
diff --git a/hack/update-kustomize.sh b/hack/update-kustomize.sh
index 82de57a3089..80f8cab5ce5 100755
--- a/hack/update-kustomize.sh
+++ b/hack/update-kustomize.sh
@@ -18,8 +18,10 @@ set -o errexit
 set -o nounset
 set -o pipefail
 
-source hack/lib/util.sh
+KUBE_ROOT=$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/..
+source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/init.sh"
 
+kube::golang::setup_env
 kube::util::require-jq
 kube::util::ensure_clean_working_dir
 
@@ -62,9 +64,11 @@ git add .
 git commit -a -m "Update kubectl kustomize to kyaml/$LATEST_KYAML, cmd/config/$LATEST_CONFIG, api/$LATEST_API, kustomize/$LATEST_KUSTOMIZE"
 
 echo -e "\n${color_blue:?}Verifying kubectl kustomize version${color_norm:?}"
-make WHAT=cmd/kubectl
+# We use `make` here intead of `go install` to ensure that all of the
+# linker-defined values are set.
+make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT=./cmd/kubectl
 
-if [[ $(_output/bin/kubectl version --client -o json | jq -r '.kustomizeVersion') != "$LATEST_KUSTOMIZE" ]]; then
+if [[ $(kubectl version --client -o json | jq -r '.kustomizeVersion') != "$LATEST_KUSTOMIZE" ]]; then
   echo -e "${color_red:?}Unexpected kubectl kustomize version${color_norm:?}"
   exit 1
 fi
diff --git a/hack/update-openapi-spec.sh b/hack/update-openapi-spec.sh
index 90d59115111..35a787cd798 100755
--- a/hack/update-openapi-spec.sh
+++ b/hack/update-openapi-spec.sh
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ kube::util::require-jq
 kube::golang::setup_env
 kube::etcd::install
 
+# We need to call `make` here because that includes all of the compile and link
+# flags that we use for a production build, which we need for this script.
 make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT=cmd/kube-apiserver
 
 function cleanup()
@@ -70,7 +72,7 @@ fi
 # Start kube-apiserver
 # omit enums from static openapi snapshots used to generate clients until #109177 is resolved
 kube::log::status "Starting kube-apiserver"
-"${THIS_PLATFORM_BIN}/kube-apiserver" \
+kube-apiserver \
   --bind-address="${API_HOST}" \
   --secure-port="${API_PORT}" \
   --etcd-servers="http://${ETCD_HOST}:${ETCD_PORT}" \
diff --git a/hack/verify-cli-conventions.sh b/hack/verify-cli-conventions.sh
index 809d493a5f5..ac89cf60058 100755
--- a/hack/verify-cli-conventions.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-cli-conventions.sh
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/init.sh"
 
 kube::golang::setup_env
 
-hack/make-rules/build.sh ./cmd/clicheck
+GOPROXY=off go install ./cmd/clicheck
 
 if ! output=$(clicheck 2>&1)
 then
diff --git a/hack/verify-description.sh b/hack/verify-description.sh
index cf9d5dc5e11..7c543895cde 100755
--- a/hack/verify-description.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-description.sh
@@ -28,12 +28,7 @@ source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/util.sh"
 
 kube::golang::setup_env
 
-make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT=cmd/genswaggertypedocs
-
-# Find binary
-genswaggertypedocs=$(kube::util::find-binary "genswaggertypedocs")
-
-result=0
+GOPROXY=off go install ./cmd/genswaggertypedocs
 
 find_files() {
   find . -not \( \
@@ -69,10 +64,11 @@ kube::util::check-file-in-alphabetical-order "${failure_file}"
 failing_files=()
 while IFS='' read -r line; do failing_files+=("$line"); done < <(cat "$failure_file")
 
+result=0
 for file in $versioned_api_files; do
   if ! kube::util::array_contains "$file" "${failing_files[@]}"; then
     gen_swagger_result=0
-    $genswaggertypedocs -v -s "${file}" -f - || gen_swagger_result=$?
+    genswaggertypedocs -v -s "${file}" -f - || gen_swagger_result=$?
     if [[ "${gen_swagger_result}" -ne 0 ]]; then
       echo "API file: ${file} is missing: ${gen_swagger_result} descriptions"
       result=1
diff --git a/hack/verify-fieldname-docs.sh b/hack/verify-fieldname-docs.sh
index 723ac211e1d..7ab7f5ec96a 100755
--- a/hack/verify-fieldname-docs.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-fieldname-docs.sh
@@ -28,12 +28,7 @@ source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/util.sh"
 
 kube::golang::setup_env
 
-make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT=cmd/fieldnamedocscheck
-
-# Find binary
-fieldnamedocscheck=$(kube::util::find-binary "fieldnamedocscheck")
-
-result=0
+GOPROXY=off go install ./cmd/fieldnamedocscheck
 
 find_files() {
   find . -not \( \
@@ -55,10 +50,11 @@ find_files() {
 
 versioned_api_files=$(find_files) || true
 
+result=0
 for file in ${versioned_api_files}; do
   package="${file%"/types.go"}"
   echo "Checking ${package}"
-  ${fieldnamedocscheck} -s "${file}" || result=$?
+  fieldnamedocscheck -s "${file}" || result=$?
 done
 
 exit ${result}
diff --git a/hack/verify-generated-docs.sh b/hack/verify-generated-docs.sh
index a38df2e91d4..27a9e6b2ba5 100755
--- a/hack/verify-generated-docs.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-generated-docs.sh
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/init.sh"
 kube::golang::setup_env
 
 BINS=(
-	cmd/gendocs
-	cmd/genkubedocs
-	cmd/genman
-	cmd/genyaml
+	./cmd/gendocs
+	./cmd/genkubedocs
+	./cmd/genman
+	./cmd/genyaml
 )
-make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT="${BINS[*]}"
+GOPROXY=off go install "${BINS[@]}"
 
 kube::util::ensure-temp-dir
 
diff --git a/hack/verify-imports.sh b/hack/verify-imports.sh
index 35a2e5caa69..164c7010b53 100755
--- a/hack/verify-imports.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-imports.sh
@@ -28,19 +28,6 @@ source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/init.sh"
 
 kube::golang::setup_env
 
-make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT=cmd/importverifier
+GOPROXY=off go install ./cmd/importverifier
 
-# Find binary
-importverifier=$(kube::util::find-binary "importverifier")
-
-if [[ ! -x "$importverifier" ]]; then
-  {
-    echo "It looks as if you don't have a compiled importverifier binary"
-    echo
-    echo "If you are running from a clone of the git repo, please run"
-    echo "'make WHAT=cmd/importverifier'."
-  } >&2
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-"${importverifier}" "k8s.io/" "${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/publishing/import-restrictions.yaml"
+importverifier "k8s.io/" "${KUBE_ROOT}/staging/publishing/import-restrictions.yaml"
diff --git a/hack/verify-openapi-spec.sh b/hack/verify-openapi-spec.sh
index cfb582bb845..e37fa00866c 100755
--- a/hack/verify-openapi-spec.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-openapi-spec.sh
@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@ source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/init.sh"
 kube::golang::setup_env
 kube::etcd::install
 
-make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT=cmd/kube-apiserver
+# We use `make` here intead of `go install` to ensure that all of the
+# linker-defined values are set.
+make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT=./cmd/kube-apiserver
 
 SPECROOT="${KUBE_ROOT}/api/openapi-spec"
 SPECV3PATH="${SPECROOT}/v3"